Limbaugh host wrongly accuses area spa of using stimulus money (Times-Dispatch)
When Henrico County businessman Mike Vines applied for a loan to open a second spa, he never imagined his transaction would become fodder for a national radio show
Luna purchases rival’s patents (Roanoke Times)
It is one of several moves the biotech company is making as it prepares to emerge from bankruptcy.
D.C. housing market’s collapse lessens developers’ swagger (Washington Post)
Some of those who rode the boom are still plugging away, setting up for the recovery, but others are taking time off or abandoning the real estate business. One is pitching a reality TV show. Another has returned to the land, raising sheep, growing tomatoes and delivering farm-food orders to Washington households. The swagger is now a limp.
Health Cuts With Little Effect on Care (NY Times)
A New York Times business reporter comes to Richmond to examine health care costs. At the heart of the health care debate is the question of whether it’s possible to cut medical costs without harming patients. What has happened here in Richmond helps to answer that question. Since 1996, the Richmond area has lost more than 600 of its hospital beds, mostly because of state regulations on capacity. Several hospitals have closed, and others have shrunk. In 1996, the region had 4.8 hospital beds for every 1,000 residents. Today, it has about three. Hospital care has been, in a word, rationed.
Laid-off executives struggle to find any kind of job (USA Today)
They’re competing for far fewer positions — keeping them out of work longer, in many cases — and grappling with professional failure for the first time in their lives. They’re also saddled with significantly higher expenses, such as large mortgages.
Ads We Hate (Slate)
Abilify. Bonus points for a deliciously awesome product name. Points off for the ad’s assertion: If the pill you’ve been taking for depression isn’t doing any good, you shouldn’t even think about not taking it—you should just take an adjunct pill, which will somehow activate the first pill and get you over the hump.
Business Fumbles and Blunders From 2009. What Were They Thinking? (BNET)
No year is without its collection of baffling business blunders. But for a year in which everyone supposedly was extra mindful of job security, 2009 was loaded with amazingly boneheaded moves. Did Burger King really run sexually suggestive ad in super-conservative Singapore? Did execs at Amazon.com actually pull a classic book from its store and assume no one would notice? You have to ask, ‘What were they thinking?’ So ask is what we did, in quiz form.
To Recruit the Best, Admit Weaknesses (Business Week)
The co-founder and CEO of online pants retailer Bonobos ignored naysayers from the tech and fashion industries. Then he swallowed his pride and hired them
