Research published recently according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) makes known that the specific number of 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths in passenger vehicles increased slightly for the first six months of 2011, based on preliminary data supplied by all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Overall, 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths increased from 190 to 211 – an 11 percent increase. If the trend continued for the second half of 2011, it will mark the end of 8 consecutive years of collective decreases in deaths involving this age category.

The new report – the first state-by-state look at teen fatalities in 2011 – was completed by Dr. Allan Williams, a researcher who formerly served as chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Dr. Williams surveyed GHSA members, who reported fatality numbers for every state and D.C. The report comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a statistical projection suggesting that total motor vehicle deaths for the first six months of 2011 declined 0.9 percent.

Deaths of 16-year-old drivers increased from 80 to 93 (16 percent) while the number for 17-year-olds went from 110 to 118 (7 percent), a cumulative increase of 11 percent. Twenty-three states reported increases, 19 had decreases, and eight states and the District of Columbia reported no change. While the changes in state-by-state fatality numbers generally are small, states such as Florida, Texas and North Carolina reported significant increases.

Dr. Williams attributes much of the increase to the fact that the benefit of state Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws may be leveling off, as most of these laws have been in place for some time. Additionally, Dr. Williams speculates that improving economic conditions are contributing to an increase in teen driving, thus increasing their exposure to risk of traffic collisions. Dr. Williams notes, “While it is not a surprise that these numbers are stabilizing or slightly increasing, states should not accept these deaths as something that cannot be prevented. More work can and should be done to save teen lives.”

Troy E. Costales, Chairman of GHSA, pointed out, “While it is good news that overall deaths appear to have declined during the first six months of 2011, we are concerned that the trend with teens is going in the opposite direction,” He continued, “As the report notes, a widespread strengthening of laws is still possible and finding effective tools outside of GDL is an important goal. These include improving driver education and involving parents in proactively establishing safe driving habits for their teens.”

Chairman Costales stated, “As the parent of a young driver and a soon-to-be-driver, I know firsthand the pressures parents face in allowing their teens behind the wheel. As parents, we must set and enforce strict rules for our new drivers, making sure risks are minimized. This includes limiting other teens in the car, limiting nighttime driving and absolutely prohibiting any type of cell phone or electronic device use while driving.”

Barbara Harsha, Executive Director of GHSA, said states could use federal support to save more teen lives. “As part of the upcoming highway reauthorization bill, Congress should provide financial incentives to states that have strengthened or will strengthen teen driving laws. Additionally, Congress should provide adequate funding so that NHTSA can research and support demonstration projects to determine the most effective ways to increase teen seat belt use and compliance with GDL laws. Congress also should fund NHTSA and the states to carry out distracted driving campaigns aimed at teen drivers,” Harsha added, “Research also needs to be done to determine the impact of changing school start times so that teens are less likely to be driving fatigued.”

The full report, including state-by-state data, is available online at www.ghsa.org.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GHSA provides leadership and representation for the states and territories to improve traffic safety, influence national policy, enhance program management and promote best practices. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans.

Windsor Advantage, LLC, a leading lender service provider to banks participating in Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs, has achieved real success in 2011, by not only increasing profitability but also by creating or preserving more than 2,000 jobs and by assisting its bank clients in providing SBA loans to nearly 100 small businesses across the country.

Shawn Andrews, Managing Director of Windsor stated, “The SBA enables banks to offer borrowers the loans they need to increase productivity, hire employees and benefit their local communities. This partnership with the SBA will ultimately provide the foundation for the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovation in the US. We at Windsor are proud to be part of the solution by allowing our bank clients to participate profitability in this great program.”

In 2011, Windsor Advantage achieved its best year to date, generating over 84 million dollars in successfully completed transactions. This achievement is built on 150 years of collective experience working with SBA small business lending programs and a commitment to industry compliance as evidenced by Windsor’s recent SOC 1 Type 2 certification. From offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Charlotte, Kansas City and the corporate headquarters in Indianapolis, the Windsor Advantage team is poised to become the nation’s preeminent SBA lender service provider.

To meet the demands of its growing business, Windsor Advantage made a significant investment in human capital, hiring five new professional staff members last year. Windsor’s internal success in 2011 also resulted in meaningful growth for the United States economy. In partnership with its bank clients, Windsor helped to create or preserve over two thousand US jobs. Windsor has also played a pivotal role in the growth of the nearly 100 US small businesses represented in the loans closed and serviced by the company on behalf of its bank clients.

The responsible and real growth of Windsor Advantage in 2011 is a significant achievement that is made more significant by the company’s success in job creation and preservation and in facilitating the flow of invaluable financial support to small businesses across the country. This is what makes Windsor Advantage a progressive industry leader.

Windsor Advantage provides a comprehensive outsourced SBA department solution to banks across the country. Services include application packaging, loans closing and compliance, secondary market sales, loan servicing and regulatory exam support. Windsor also provides continuing training and technical assistance to banks at no cost. With more than 150 years of collective SBA lending experience, cutting edge systems and rigid controls, Windsor Advantage is uniquely qualified to support its clients to develop and execute a thoughtful and profitable SBA 7(a) loan program.

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC is grateful to broadcast the introduction of John Kelly, a former top U.S. Department of Justice official, as a partner in the firm’s Compliance and Government Investigations Practice.

Mr. Kelly will be the managing business partner of the organization’s new Washington, D.C. office. He has extensive experience with complex federal and state investigations and Litigation matters related to healthcare fraud and abuse, the False Claims Act, white collar crime, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and regulatory and compliance issues.

Mr. Kelly joins Bass Berry following a notable record of service as a criminal law attorney with the Department of Justice, and subsequently as a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. During his tenure at DOJ, Mr. Kelly supervised investigations and prosecutions in a broad range of healthcare fraud actions nationwide, including criminal law violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, wire and insurance fraud, and anti-money laundering. He served in several prestigious positions including Assistant Chief for Health Care Fraud of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and he led the Los Angeles Medicare Fraud Strike Force. He also served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, where he worked closely with senior leadership within the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Department of Justice, and various federal agencies including HHS-OIG, FBI, and DEA.

“With increasingly significant regulatory and enforcement activity having such direct impact on our clients and the healthcare industry, we saw no better time than now to establish a presence in Washington, DC,” said Keith Simmons, Managing Partner of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC. “We are most fortunate to have John at the helm. He is deservedly regarded as one of the most capable healthcare fraud enforcement and compliance lawyers in the profession.

“The best way to build a practice in Washington is by recruiting the best lawyers in Washington, those who are firmly established and recognized in the marketplace,” added Mr. Simmons. “John brings an insider’s knowledge of the Beltway that will have a direct and beneficial impact on our clients who are so directly affected by legislative and regulatory decisions made at the federal level.”

“It is an honor to now be a part of this prestigious law firm,” said Kelly. “I particularly welcome the opportunity to build on Bass, Berry & Sims’ stellar client base and grow its Compliance and Government Investigations Practice here in Washington.”

About Bass, Berry & Sims

Ranging from a rich heritage within capital markets activity in the southeast, the firm’s more than 200 attorneys now represent more than 40 public companies and have developed a national healthcare practice from Nashville, the hub of for-profit healthcare. Bass, Berry & Sims has distinguished itself for service to healthcare clients at every level, including service to hospitals, health systems, pharmaceutical companies and outpatient service providers. The healthcare practice, which includes an interdisciplinary team of more than 100 attorneys, provides unsurpassed depth in government investigations and enforcement, compliance, regulatory and operational matters, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures and syndications.

Sol Systems, LLC and Cooley LLP are thrilled to announce a webinar series on bankable solar contracts for solar installers, developers and investors. Each webinar in the series will lead participants through key terms and issues of a different contract and will provide an opportunity for Q&A. The webinars will be hosted by Sol Systems’ CEO, Yuri Horwitz, Cooley Clean Energy and Technologies group attorneys and guest panelists.

The webinar series is a complement to the strategic collaboration announced by Sol Systems and Cooley last fall. Through this collaboration, Cooley developed a suite of legal e-documents and tailored consulting services for Sol Systems’ SolMarket users. SolMarket is a transaction-driven community that facilitates solar project origination and investment and currently has more than $1.7 billion in aggregate partnership funds. Members of the SolMarket community have access to this network of business funding as well as transaction and financial resources. SolMarket members can view and utilize Cooley’s form legal templates as well as request direct consultations with Cooley attorneys.

“The Cooley collaboration and our suite of legal templates are critical to our overarching goal of driving efficiencies and uniformity into the solar space,” noted Horwitz. “Cooley and Sol Systems are focused on connecting a fragmented solar industry and helping solar companies operate more efficiently.”

“This collaboration with Sol Systems is part of Cooley’s deep commitment to the innovative delivery of legal services and business insight in the clean energy and technology space,” explained Cooley Partner Tom Amis, co-chair of the firm’s Clean Energy and Technologies practice. “SolMarket is rapidly becoming a go-to resource for some of the most exciting and ambitious players in the solar and clean energy space, from across the United States and further afield.”

Webinar Series Schedule

* Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 12:30 pm EDT: Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Agreements Register
* Wednesday, February 29 at 12:30 pm EDT: Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) Register
* Wednesday, March 14 at 12:30 pm EDT: Securing Site Control Register
* Wednesday, March 28 at 12:30 pm EDT: Developing a Solar Lease Register

Questions regarding the webinars should be directed to info@solmarket.com and interested participants can sign up by visiting solmarket.com/events.

About Cooley LLP

Cooley’s 650 attorneys located throughout the U.S. and in China have an entrepreneurial spirit and deep, substantive experience, and are committed to solving clients’ most challenging legal matters. From small business with big ideas to international enterprises with diverse legal needs, Cooley has the breadth of legal resources to enable companies of all sizes to seize opportunities in today’s global marketplace. The firm represents clients across a broad array of dynamic industry sectors, including technology, life sciences, venture capital, clean energy, real estate and retail.

Cooley Clean Energy and Technologies group attorneys have been singularly focused on the renewable energy sector for over a decade. Cooley’s comprehensive strength throughout the clean energy value chain, from emerging cleantech startups to utility and refinery scale deployment, is unique among law firms and provides a compelling value proposition for our clients.

About SolMarket

SolMarket is a transaction-driven ecosystem for the solar industry that catalyzes investment in solar energy by transforming how solar projects are financed. SolMarket provides investors and developers with the tools they need to efficiently originate, evaluate, finance, and construct renewable energy projects. SolMarket has over $1.7 billion in committed partnership funds seeking qualified solar projects and hundreds of users from the solar community. SolMarket is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sol Systems.

About Sol Systems

Sol Systems, LLC is a Washington D.C. based solar finance firm, and the largest solar renewable energy credit (SREC) aggregator in the nation. Through its SREC offerings, it has promoted the development of the solar market by providing long-term business financing options for SRECs, facilitating over $100 million in solar development.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is providing a reward as high as $2,500 with regard to knowledge which results in the public arrest and conviction of the individual or maybe persons liable regarding the Jan. 23, 2012, break-in and attempted arson of the Tipsy Toad Tavern, located at 609 W. Western Ave., in Muskegon.

In addition to the ATF reward, the Muskegon Police Department is offering an additional $500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual responsible for the break-in and attempted arson.

“Arson can have a devastating effect on our community. We need the public’s help to solve this crime,” outlined David McCain, special agent in charge of the ATF Detroit Field Division. “ATF and the Muskegon Police Department will continue working together toward our goal of a successful prosecution in the investigation.”

ATF and the Muskegon Police Department are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the individuals responsible. Anyone who may have noticed a drunk driver on January 23, or with any information is encouraged to call the Muskegon Police Department at 231/724-6750 or Silent Observer at 231/72CRIME (231/722-7463). Callers can easily get a hold of the ATF Grand Rapids Field Office at 616/301-6100 or ATF at 1-888-ATF-FIRE (1-888-283-3473).

The U.S. Small Business Administration is telling small businesses proprietors that Mar. 8 will be the applying due date regarding federal economic injury disaster loans available in Appling, Candler, Emanuel, Evans, Liberty, Long, Tattnall, Toombs and Wayne counties in Georgia. The SBA declared a disaster because of excessive rain, high winds and a hail storm on March 26 – 28, 2011.

“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster,” announced Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East.

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers.

The small business funding can be up to $2 million with a 4 percent interest rate for eligible small businesses and 3 percent for non-profit organizations with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources. small business loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. These SBA working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Disaster loan information and application forms may be obtained by calling the SBA‘s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov.

Medizone International, Inc., the company behind the AJIC peer-reviewed disinfection technology AsepticSure, declared at present that it has now executed National patent application filings of their fairly recently awarded lead patent application (Canadian Patent No 2735739). These filings apply to the United States, Mexico, Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, the 37 countries of the European Patent Organization, Great Britain, India and Australia.

AsepticSure’s clinically proven efficacy against a vast spectrum of pathogenic bacteria, fungi, spores and viruses clears the way for its use in large-scale reductions of hospital acquired infections in surgical centers, long-term care facilities and hospitals around the world.

It’s also the only green disinfection technology on the planet that has consistently demonstrated in peer-reviewed research, an unprecedented 100% kill-rate with formidable pathogens such as C-difficile, MRSA, E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous and VRE, the root sources of superbug infections – on both hard and soft surfaces – and without the need to remove, cover or protect the treated room’s contents.

Medizone‘s lead patent was granted on November 22, 2011 by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for processes and systems relating to the platform technology. The Company considers this an extraordinarily strong foundational patent as it covers both the science and technology of AsepticSure.

Medizone Board Chairman and CEO, Edwin Marshall added, “Shareholders should also be delighted to know that our patent attorneys have recently received a most favorable report from the Patent Cooperation Treaty Examiners on both the Bed Bug Application and our Bio-Terrorism Countermeasures Application for dealing with weaponized pathogens for building remediation following an attack.

“To quote, ‘The way forward to an international, favorable patentability opinion on each case seems to be clear. In no case has the examiner found any prior art of which we were not previously aware. In respect of the Anthrax case and the Bed Bugs case, there are no pertinent prior art references at all. All claims in both cases are ruled to possess both novelty and inventive step, so that they can proceed without further amendment or argument.’”

Marshall concluded, “As Medizone’s AsepticSure technology moves closer to becoming the International Standard for Disinfection of enclosed spaces, the significance of these patents to shareholder value moving forward should prove immense. It’s a great time to be involved with this Company.”

Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day of the year, and if you have ever tried setting up dinner reservations for a particular date, you already know it’s also just about the busiest eating out events of the year. It can be almost impossible to obtain a dining table. And, just how romantic can it be when you’re surrounded by a crowded restaurant full of strangers?

Certainly, there’s an other option.

With eMeals’ special Valentine’s Day Dinner for Two, you and your sweetie can enjoy a delicious, home-cooked meal in the privacy of your own home without the prying eyes of onlookers.

“There’s no better way to show someone how much you care than by cooking a delicious meal just for them, and with our special Valentine’s Day Dinner Menu, it couldn’t be easier,” said Jane DeLaney, founder of eMeals.com. “We take the worry out of what to prepare and give you the step-by-step instructions and ingredients you need so that you can focus on the romance and not stress out over the food.”

Relating to eMeals.com

eMeals.com has been the market leader in online meal planning since 2003, providing a simple and affordable dinnertime solution to hundreds of thousands of busy people everywhere. Dinner menu plans include classic family meals, low-fat, portion control, low-carb, gluten-free, vegetarian recipes and the new natural and organic plan.

E.ON Climate & Renewables North America expressed recently it has secured $122.2 million of institutional guarantee funding from JPM Capital Corporation and Wells Fargo Wind Holdings LLC in exchange for a partial interest in its recently completed Settlers Trail Wind Farm. JP Morgan acted as lead investor in the business funding.

“EC&R constantly looks to determine the most beneficial economic structures best suited for its projects,” said Dr. Verena Volpert, Senior Vice President Finance, E.ON AG. “For this project, teaming with JP Morgan and Wells Fargo made the most sense.”

The development, the very first wind power farm within Iroquois County, Ill., is located 10 miles west of Watseka and consists of 94 GE 1.6 megawatt turbines providing more than 150 megawatts (MW) of power, enough to provide clean power to more than 45,000 households in the central Illinois region using North American made wind turbine generators, blades and towers.

“Wind farms generate clean, affordable, homegrown electricity, creating jobs, providing an economic shot in the arm to farmers, ranchers, and rural communities across America,” said Steve Trenholm, CEO, EC&RNA. “JP Morgan and Wells Fargo were natural partners due to their leadership and experience in the tax equity market.”

This specific endeavor is envisioned to bring in in excess of $29 million in community taxes, pay $8 million in local salaries, and earn landowners more than $20 million. At the height of construction, the Settlers Trail Wind Farm project brought more than 200 jobs to the area.

E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R) is responsible for the E.ON group’s renewable energy and environmental protection activities around the world. Tapping renewable energy sources offers enormous alternatives, both from a business perspective and for the environment. E.ON Climate & Renewables will be investing euro 7 billion in renewable energy and environmental protection projects over the next five years to expand the share of renewable energy in E.ON’s portfolio for the long term. E.ON has thus taken a leading role in developing alternative energy sources world wide.