ProfNet Experts Available on #RaceTogether, Business Lending, Bankruptcy, More Also in This Edition: Jobs for Writers, Media Industry Blog Posts
NEW YORK, March 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.
You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://bit.ly/findexperts?tc=expertalerts.
EXPERT ALERTS
- #RaceTogether Expected to Fail From Launch
- Financing Options Exist in Oil Downturn
- What to Do When a Customer Files for Bankruptcy
- Businesses Nationwide Should Beware of New California Regulations
- Same-Sex Couples Soon Eligible for FMLA
- Enhancing the Food Recall Process
MEDIA JOBS
- News Writer – BBC News (NY)
- Editor – The Brownsville Herald (TX)
- Writer/Head of Content - CloudTags (GA)
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES
- The Blog Blog: 10 Places to Find Paid Blogging Gigs
- Blogging Isn't Dead – and Here's Why
- PR Newswire's Media Moves, March 23 Edition
EXPERT ALERTS:
#RaceTogether Expected to Fail From Launch
Michael Barbera
Strategy Consultant
Barbera Solutions
"It's common knowledge that race and politics are not topics to spoken about at the dinner table. This is also true for coffee. Your friendly neighborhood barista is not a race relations expert, psychiatrist, or psychologist. They're another person who works a daily job to pay the bills – and who also has emotions, tempers and their own personal opinion regarding the topic. Recent Gallup polls identify there is a significant amount of racism within the United States. Chances are, there is probably at least one racist Starbucks barista. How will that sit with the consumer who voices their opinion? It was a recipe for disaster for Starbucks' stakeholders."
Based in Seattle, Barbera is available to discuss business management, leadership, business strategy, retail, valuation, financial projections, human resources and veteran affairs.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/michael_barbara
Website: http://www.michaelbarbera.co
Expert Contact: [email protected]
Financing Options Exist in Oil Downturn
Travis McCullough
Attorney
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, Houston
Amid the oil price downturn, many producers are looking for cash. However, many banks and other lending sources are paring back lending since no one knows for sure when or if prices will turn around. Says McCullough: "There are alternatives to traditional reserve-based lending. Many of these alternatives have downsides, but they can be lifesaving for some producers." One type of financing McCullough has helped arrange is a volumetric production payment (VPP) deal. With this method, a producer sells a portion of its reserves to a bank or investor for upfront cash. "When prices are down, you have to sell more of your future production to raise a given amount of funding, so it's not anybody's first choice," he says. "But if the banks are reducing lending based on reduced reserve valuations, or aren't lending at all, a VPP may be an option for those who need the liquidity and don't have much of a choice."
Media Contact: Kit Frieden, [email protected]
What to Do When a Customer Files for Bankruptcy
Demetra Liggins
Bankruptcy and Restructuring Attorney
Thompson & Knight LLP, Houston
As oil prices have spiraled down, oil company bankruptcies are rising. That means businesses providing products and services to energy companies should be on alert for bad news. Says Liggins: "Don't be caught by surprise when you receive notification from an attorney representing one of your customers informing you that the customer is in bankruptcy and seeking relief. If that happens, stop all communications with the customer right away. Next, immediately evaluate your situation, the health of the company, and the importance of the customer to your business to determine if it makes sense for your company to participate as a creditor in the bankruptcy process."
Media Contact: Kit Frieden, [email protected]
Businesses Nationwide Should Beware of New California Regulations
Maryann Zaki
Attorney
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, Houston
California is prepared to step up its already aggressive warnings on products that the state's regulators view as potentially hazardous to health. The new warnings are proposed amendments to California's Proposition 65. As a result, companies in Texas and elsewhere that sell products in the Golden State must be mindful of the latest proposed changes. Says Zaki: "If you are in the oilfield business, you should be informed about the proposed change requiring warnings for potential health hazards from chemicals in petroleum products. If the new warnings are approved, companies must be sure they heed California's rules or they may face the threat of lawsuits from lawyers often referred to as 'bounty hunters' (based on their high recovery of attorneys' fees) and costly penalties."
Media Contact: Kit Frieden, [email protected]
Same-Sex Couples Soon Eligible for FMLA
Amber Liddell Alwais
Family Law Attorney
Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, L.L.P. in San Antonio
Although there will be states, including Texas, to challenge the change, beginning March 27, all U.S. couples in legally recognized same-sex marriages will be entitled to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for childbirth, serious illness or to care for seriously ill immediate family under the U.S. Department of Labor's Family and Medical Leave Act. Previously, FMLA benefits only applied to same-sex couples if the state they lived in recognized their marriage. Says Liddell Alwais: "This is a quickly evolving area of the law that impacts several areas, from employee benefits to family law. But in challenging the right for same-sex couples to marry, Texas is setting itself up for a scenario similar to what was seen in Loving v. Virginia. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court was clear that this country would not support discrimination by individual states or the federal government against the fundamental right to marry. Contesting that premise that interracial couples should be allowed to marry was a permanent stain in Virginia's history. It seems Texas is headed down the same path."
Media Contact: Amy Hunt, [email protected]
Enhancing the Food Recall Process
Angela Fernandez
Vice President of Retail Grocery and Foodservice
GS1 US
"Regulators and consumers alike are demanding more vigilance and transparency from the food industry. By deciding on a common approach to uniquely identifying and tracking products as they move throughout the food supply chain, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, restaurants and solution providers are moving toward a safer food supply chain."
Fernandez is vice president of retail grocery and foodservices for GS1 US, a member of the global information standards organization that brings industry communities together to solve supply-chain problems through the adoption and implementation of GS1 Standards. Nearly 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading-partner collaboration and for maximizing the cost effectiveness, speed, visibility, security and sustainability of their business processes. Fernandez leads two GS1 US initiatives -- the Retail Grocery Initiative and the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative. On a daily basis, she collaborates with industry leaders and key trade associations to understand industry supply chain challenges and address how the use of GS1 Standards can help solve for those challenges. Currently, Fernandez is engaged in promoting the business benefits GS1 Standards can offer the food industry, including improved product traceability and food safety. She is available to discuss food traceability and how it relates to enhancing the food recall process and ensuring better accuracy with pinpointing affected food product.
Website: http://www.gs1us.org
Media Contact: Kaitlin Friedmann, [email protected]
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MEDIA JOBS:
Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/
- News Writer – BBC News (NY)
- Editor – The Brownsville Herald (TX)
- Writer/Head of Content - CloudTags (GA)
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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:
Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line.
- THE BLOG BLOG: 10 PLACES TO FIND PAID BLOGGING GIGS. Obtaining freelance writing or paid blogging gigs comes with major benefits, including getting a better job, growing your network, improving your skills, establishing yourself as an expert, and earning money doing what you love. Here are 10 job boards that can help you find these freelance writer/blogger gigs: http://prn.to/1C6kCuQ
- BLOGGING ISN'T DEAD – AND HERE'S WHY: "Blogging is dead!" Not so fast -- while there are certain aspects of blogging that are "dead," blogging still has a long life ahead of it. Amanda Hicken, media relations manager for PR Newswire and editor of the Beyond Bylines blog, explains: http://prn.to/1DAzNxR
- PR NEWSWIRE'S MEDIA MOVES, MARCH 23 EDITION. PR Newswire's weekly audience research newsletter, PR Newswire's Media Moves, is chock-full of media news and job changes. In this week's issue, you'll read updates on Thomson Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, FOX Business Network, CNN - New York Bureau, NBC News, New York Magazine, Huffington Post, Quartz and more: http://prn.to/1N6mSDL
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