The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that anywhere between 5% and 20% of Americans get some strain of the flu each year, causing anywhere from 4,000 to 50,000 deaths; even in its best years, the flu is one of the most dangerous illnesses in the country. Health experts had predicted that the…
Sony Employees File 6 Lawsuits Claiming Studio Left Personal Information Vulnerable
Sony has been hit with six class-action suits thus far in response to a massive data breach in late November, all filed by employees claiming that the movie studio was negligent in its protection of personal data. “For decades, Defendant failed, and continues to fail, to take the reasonably necessary actions to provide a sufficient…
Right Under Their Nose: Los Angeles Scientists Work With Citizens to Document Urban Wildlife
Metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles are often referred to as concrete jungles. However, these urban jungles may be home to more wilderness and wildlife than previously thought.Biologists are just now beginning to comprehend the amount of wildlife hidden in plain view in Los Angeles’s vast sprawl of urban and suburban areas. Residents of the…
Italian HVAC Supplier Expands Into the U.S. in 2015, in $6.1 Million Investment
Thanks to the expansion of an Italian-based heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) company, Augusta County in Virginia will have 45 new jobs within the next year, nearly half of which will be available within the first quarter of 2015.Provides U.S. Inc. is making its first move across U.S. borders, and is a subsidiary of…
Wisconsin DOT Proposes Annual Fee on Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
Wisconsin may join five other states that charge the owners of electric and hybrid cars fees to make up for lost revenue in gasoline taxes, if a budget proposal submitted by the Department of Transportation in November passes next year. But advocates of green cars “feel these fees do more to target certain drivers than…
Beyond the Office Door Expands Online Business with Weston Showroom
An unusual furniture company based in Weston, WI is expanding its e-commerce business with a local showroom on Camp Phillips Road. The 7,000-square-foot space and 2,000-square-foot showroom will allow customers to peruse a variety of health-conscious and ergonomic desk options in person before they decide to make a purchase. Beyond the Office Door made a…
Alabama’s Largest Insurance Provider Extending Coverage to Same-Sex Couples
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama is now offering legally married gay couples spousal coverage, in compliance with a federal rule requiring insurance companies to treat all married couples equally, regardless of their sexual orientations.A spokesperson for the largest insurer in the Heart of Dixie said that the company started offering same-sex spousal coverage for…
T-Mobile Announces ‘Data Stash’ Plan for Unused Mobile Internet
Remember how important rollover minutes were in the days before unlimited calling plans? T-Mobile announced Dec. 16 that it will launch a similar program for data. “It’s your data,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a webcast. “What you don’t use, you don’t lose.” “Data Stash,” as the initiative is called, will allow users to…
Texas State Senate Chamber Gets $500,000 Carpet Restoration
The State Senate Chamber will look a little different this January when its members reconvene, after installation of new carpet to the tune of $500,000. According to the Houston Chronicle, officials from the State Preservation Board say that the carpet came all the way from Dewbury, England.The hefty price and the distance that the carpet came…
BuildDirect’s New Funding Will Help Improve the Home Improvement Industry
Vancouver based technology company BuildDirect has big plans. It wants to create a simpler home improvement industry with its Home Marketplace, a community-based tech platform that creates a one-stop solution connecting homeowners and subcontractors with product manufacturers, designers, trades and shippers. Even more impressive is the fact that it may actually achieve that goal, now…