Byline: Keith Stone Daily News Staff Writer
One person suggested that Los Angeles use its sewage treatment plant to grow abalone, a delicious and increasingly rare shellfish.
Another said that the city could deter graffiti vandals if it raised its street signs a few feet.
And a third participant in Mayor Richard Riordan's ``Bright Ideas'' program suggested that the city open its own store to sell street signs, manhole covers and other surplus items.
But perhaps the best of the nearly 240 ideas submitted was Riordan's - to ask Angelenos to brainstorm on how the city could save money and improve the quality of life.
``I'm proud of it,'' the mayor said during Saturday's conference, at which the 25 brightest of the bright ideas were discussed.
``In Los Angeles, we have the most creative and entrepreneurial people in the world. The politicians shouldn't think we know everything,'' Riordan said during the conference at the University of Southern California.
The mayor joined with some 95 other people to begin the long process of bringing these ideas to life. The abalone and raised street sign ideas didn't make it to the conference, having been discarded by the judges, a group of USC graduate students completing their master's degrees in public administration.
But those discussed Saturday included a proposal to open a Los Angeles city store and another that would allow the city to copyright and sell licenses to market some of its famous vistas, seals and freeway murals.
``It's plain capitalism, yet it is artistic,'' said John McCormick, a pediatric nurse from Van Nuys who suggested the licensing of public art. Money raised would be spent to preserve the artwork from graffiti.
``It is something for the city, and it's something for all of us,'' McCormick said.
The city store idea is not completely novel; the Los Angeles County Office of the Coroner four years ago opened a store through which it sells T-shirts, beach towels and other items bearing depictions of chalk body outlines and the coroner's seal.
The plan to license city vistas, the city seal and other uniquely Los Angeles imprints met with enthusiasm for its potential to raise money and burnish the city's image.
``I think it is possible, but there is a lot of work ahead before the city can do it,'' said one participant, Beth Braunstein, who works in marketing for DreamWorks SKG, the studio formed by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen in 1994.
``It is a fun idea, and it's a great city. There seems there should be a way where something can be done,'' she said.
Another idea discussed would allow the city to charge convicted drunk drivers for the time and expense of their cases. The idea's originator, Sherman Oaks attorney Howard Ekerling, estimated it could raise $1 million for the city.
The California Highway Patrol and a few other police agencies already are taking advantage of the 1985 state law that allows drunk drivers to be billed under certain circumstances.
``The public should not bear the burden of DUI arrests,'' said Ekerling, a reserve police officer. ``I don't think it will deter DUI drivers at all, but it will allow the city to recoup some costs.''
Other ideas discussed included the possibility of creating a second 911 number for nonemergency problems; converting fleet vehicles to run on natural gas; and using the Internet for building plan approval.
Host of New Editors, Columnists, and Writers Adds
To Award-Winning Editorial Staff
NEW YORK, April 27 /PRNewswire/ --
Worldlyinvestor.com, a production of New York-based Worldly Information Network, Inc., announced today a series of editorial hires and the creation of two new columns, adding to the site's quality financial insight. The editorial development of worldlyinvestor.com comes as the site focuses more intently on providing in-depth analysis of daily market events.
Bolstering the editorial staff of worldlyinvestor.com are three seasoned journalists from prominent financial media. Ed Lin, joining worldlyinvestor.com as an editor, was formerly Chief Equities Editor at Bridge News Service. In addition, Robert Cyran has been added to worldlyinvestor.com's roster of correspondents. Mr. Cyran was previously an editor at Forbes Magazine, including acting as a primary contributor to the "Forbes 1000" list. Rounding out the list of new editorial staff members, worldlyinvestor.com has brought on board Ermina Karim, the former Assistant Editor of International Financing Review. In this capacity, Ms. Karim covered international equities and the IPO market in the Americas. She will continue her coverage of global finance for worldlyinvestor.com.
"These new staff members, located in our New York office, represent top- flight talent for the coverage of financial markets," said Jeremy Pink, Editor-in-Chief of worldlyinvestor.com. "Worldlyinvestor.com has endeavored to bring a more comprehensive perspective on market events, which has taken on new importance with the market's volatility in recent weeks. The considerable experience of Mr. Lin, Mr. Cyran, and Ms. Karim enables worldlyinvestor.com to maintain and expand its coverage."
Further extending the editorial reach of worldlyinvestor.com's market analysis, the site has launched two new daily columns by prestigious figures in financial markets. Former high-profile hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer and acclaimed equities market reporter Laurel Kenner have joined forces to produce a daily column looking behind timely market trends. Their collaboration, named "Daily Speculations," adds to the site's in-depth coverage of financial markets. Mr. Niederhoffer is a private speculator specializing in futures and options trading and is the author of 1999 best- selling novel The Education of a Speculator. Ms. Kenner most recently headed U.S. stock market coverage at Bloomberg News.
Worldlyinvestor.com continued to expand its quality market insight with the recent addition of "Market View" by Ben Warwick. Mr. Warwick specializes in quantitative market analysis. He is a principal of the Bornhoft Group Corp. and Warwick Capital Management, a quantitative trading firm. His daily column focuses on how to invest based on an analysis of economic indicators.
"We are very pleased to have daily contributions from Mr. Niederhoffer and Ms. Kenner, as well as Mr. Warwick," said Mr. Pink. "The addition of their insight will certainly allow us to continue to provide the solid, investable financial information that has become the standard at worldlyinvestor.com."
Worldlyinvestor.com also announced the hiring of Eric Melman and Travis Yoes. Eric Melman, previously with MSNBC, joins worldlyinvestor.com as a production assistant, while Travis Yoes, a member of the Louisiana bar, will be responsible for the "Stocks to Watch" column, which is published four times daily.
The editorial staff and acclaimed columnists of worldlyinvestor.com have made the site the most honored financial information provider on the Internet. In the last eight months, worldlyinvestor.com has received "Best in Class" distinctions from Forbes, Fortune, Barron's, Money, and Online Investor.
About worldlyinvestor.com
A production of Worldly Information Network, Inc., worldlyinvestor.com is dedicated to providing unique insight on the global financial marketplace and its impact on the U.S. investor. Worldlyinvestor.com delivers timely, proprietary, and investable information about stock, bonds, and mutual funds from a network of seasoned journalists and influential columnists. Worldlyinvestor.com is distributed on Yahoo! Finance, AltaVista and MyWay.com, majority owned operating companies of CMGI, Inc., Lycos.com, GO Network, Ziff- Davis Interactive Investor, XOOM.com, InfoSpace, GeoCities, Quote.com, a majority owned operating company of Lycos, Inc., as well as other prominent sites. In addition, worldlyinvestor.com is partnered with EDGAR Online, Inc. to provide SEC filings.
M2 PRESSWIRE-12 October 1999-FROST & SULLIVAN: Online gambling companies prosper as market thrives under fire (C)1994-99 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
RDATE:121099
SAN ANTONIO -- Despite the debates over the legal status of Internet gambling, software developers and online gambling operators continue to churn out more games and features to satiate their customers? appetites.
Frost & Sullivan?s latest strategic research, World Online Gambling Markets, examines this exciting market, which generated $834.5 million in 1998'an increase of more than 100 percent over 1997. Analysts expect the Internet gambling software and operations markets to continue experiencing exponential growth up to 2005, when the market will be worth $10.95 billion.
Frost & Sullivan researchers report that software developers and operators maintain that laws prohibiting online gambling will be effectively unenforceable and that people who wish to gamble online will do so regardless. Consequently, market participants march forward despite legal uncertainties engulfing the market.
Key market opportunities revolve around the Internet. As the number of Internet users swells, the pool of potential online gamblers will expand as well. To power growth, gambling software developers and operators are focusing on international markets such as Europe and Asia, where the fastest Internet user growth is occurring.
Improving technology is attracting new gamblers. The development of Java-based software enables players to gamble directly from a Web browser without having to wait for a lengthy download. The widespread availability of graphic accelerators and increasing bandwidth raises the sophistication of graphics on browser-based games to a whole new level. Online companies will have to withstand several threats to stay viable. Enforcement of laws prohibiting online gambling in the United States could become a major stumbling block. The absence of a formal regulatory body has led to a lack of credibility for the industry. The possible entrance of land-based casinos into the market also poses a threat.
'If the U.S. government opts to regulate Internet gambling, this will open the floodgates to the Harrah's and Caesar's of the world to establish online operations and essentially drive the lesser-known operations out of the market,' says the author of the report.
However, market participants able to compete on the basis of reputation, quality, price, features, available games, available sportsbook bets, foreign language sites, payout rate, 'comp' programs and timely payouts will be winners.
World Online Gambling Markets analyzes the online gambling operations market by geography, sportsbook versus casino wagers and net revenues and gives forecasts and percentages of revenues derived from revenue-sharing contracts for software developers. By discussing key industry trends, drivers and restraints, this research provides readers a privileged industry overview.
Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting and training company that monitors the information technology industry for market trends, market measurements and strategies. This ongoing research is used to complement a series of research publications and to support participants with customized consulting needs. Free executive summaries are available to the press through our media relations department.
Report: 7168-70 Publication Date: October 1999 Price: $3,450
CONTACT: Frost & Sullivan's Public Relations Department Tel: +44 (0)171 915 7824 Fax: +44 (0)171 730 3343 e-mail: kristina.menzefricke@fs-europe.com WWW: http://www.frost.com
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