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State pols flock to Big Apple
Let the Manhattan migration begin.
Pennsylvania's politically well connected will jaunt to New York City this weekend for the annual Pennsylvania Society festivities that will feature two nationally prominent politicos. Vice President Joe Biden will be feted at the society's Saturday-evening dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be the special guest at the state Republican Committee's annual Commonwealth Club luncheon on Friday.
Other highlights of the weekend include a Friday-night cocktail reception with Gov. Tom Corbett at the Omni Berkshire Place Hotel and another Friday-evening soiree at the Trump World Tower with a Democrat gubernatorial candidate, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski.
As is customary in this space when mentioning The Pennsylvania Society, we will ask the question that has befuddled us for years: Why does this organization hold its signature annual event out of state?
RENDELL RIPS ACA WEBSITE GLITCHES.Ed Rendell once again is acting like a Republican.
The former Pennsylvania governor and onetime Democratic National Committee chairman offered a stinging rebuke of the Affordable Care Act rollout on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show. He labeled the health-care fiasco an example of "terrible mismanagement."
It's certainly not the first time Rendell has gone all John Boehner-esque on the Obama administration. During last year's presidential campaign, Rendell harshly criticized an Obama attack ad that targeted Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
NO RAVES. If the film critics are to be believed, Rick Santorum's movie-studio offerings will bear strong similarities to his political viewpoints.
The former U.S. senator of Pennsylvania now heads EchoLight Studios, whose recent first release, "The Christmas Candle," bombed at the box office and was savaged by critics. Paul Carpenter, a columnist for The Morning Call of Allentown, pored over merciless reviews that labeled the movie "artless" and "muddled," "a vaguely distasteful concoction," a "Bible-banging hunk of whimsy" and "pablum, best served to babies and the undiscriminating."
Funny, those movie descriptions describe almost perfectly the messages Santorum delivered during his ill-fated GOP presidential campaign last year.
NO FANFARE. Over Thanksgiving break, former state House Speaker Bill DeWeese lost his bid to overturn his 2012 conviction for public corruption.
The state Supreme Court posted a one-sentence order that said it would not hear the often verbose Greene County Democrat's appeal.
DeWeese, 63, will continue serving his two-and-a-half-to-five-year term at State Correctional Institution-Retreat in Luzerne County.
In August, state Superior Court upheld DeWeese's conviction by a Dauphin County jury on theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest charges related to illegally using state employees to work on his election campaigns at taxpayers' expense.
NO HESITATION. It took less than a month after the 2012 general election for former 12th District U.S. Rep. Mark Critz to start seeking campaign donations for his 2014 bid for lieutenant governor.
Now, the Johnstown Democrat is seeking any donation, however small — "$25, $50, $100 or whatever you can afford to give so we can build a strong campaign focused on job creation and providing adequate funding for our schools," Critz said in an email pitch.
He opted to run for the Democrat nomination for lieutenant governor rather than challenge U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Sewickley, who defeated Critz to win the seat representing the redrawn 12th District.
— compiled by Trib Total Media staff
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Grand Canyon Education, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2012 Results PR Newswire PHOENIX, Feb. 19, 2013 PHOENIX, Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE), a regionally accredited provider of online and campus-based postsecondary education services, today announced financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2012. For the three months ended December 31, 2012: oNet revenue increased 25.0% to $141.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to $113.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. oAt December 31, 2012, our enrollment was approximately 52,300, an increase of 19.1% from our enrollment of approximately 43,900 at December 31, 2011. Ground enrollment increased 52.1% to approximately 7,600 from enrollment of approximately 5,000 at December 31, 2011. oOperating income for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $33.2 million, an increase of 42.6% as compared to $23.3 million for the same period in 2011. The operating margin for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 23.5%, compared to 20.6% for the same period in 2011. Excluding the contributions we made in lieu of state income taxes, operating income and operating margin for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $35.2 million and 24.9%, respectively. Excluding the contributions we made in lieu of state income taxes, operating income and operating margin for the fourth quarter of 2011 were $24.3 million and 21.5%, respectively. oAdjusted EBITDA increased 41.5% to $43.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to $30.8 million for the same period in 2011. oThe tax rate in the fourth quarter of 2012 was 36.7% compared to 33.1% in the fourth quarter of 2011. The low effective tax rates in the fourth quarters of both 2012 and 2011 were primarily due to the University making contributions of $2.0 million in 2012 and $1.0 million in 2011 to school tuition organizations in lieu of state income taxes, which had the effect of increasing operating expenses and decreasing income tax expenses. oNet income increased 36.4% to $20.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to $15.3 million for the same period in 2011. oDiluted net income per share was $0.46 for the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to $0.34 for the same period in 2011. For the year ended December 31, 2012: oNet revenue increased 19.8% to $511.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to $426.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. oOperating income for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $114.1 million, an increase of 38.8% as compared to $82.2 million for the same period in 2011. The operating margin for the year ended December 31, 2012 was 22.3%, compared to 19.3% for the same period in 2011. Excluding the contributions we made in lieu of state income taxes, operating income and operating margin for the year ended December 31, 2012 were $116.1 million and 22.7%, respectively. Excluding the contributions we made in lieu of state income taxes, operating income and operating margin for the year ended December 31, 2011 were $83.2 million and 19.5%, respectively oAdjusted EBITDA increased 39.3% to $149.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to $107.4 million for the same period in 2011. oThe tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2012 was 38.8% compared to 38.0% for the same period in 2011. oNet income increased 37.4% to $69.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to $50.5 million for the same period in 2011. oDiluted net income per share was $1.53 for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to $1.12 for the same period in 2011. Balance Sheet and Cash Flow As of December 31, 2012, the University had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $105.1 million compared to $21.2 million at December 31, 2011 and restricted cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 of $56.2 million and $56.7 million, respectively. In December 2012, the University entered into a new credit agreement, which refinanced our prior indebtedness, with multiple lenders. This credit facility increased our term loan to $100 million with a maturity date of December 2019 and decreased the interest rate on the outstanding balance from the BBA Libor Rate plus 200 basis points to the BBA Libor Rate plus 175 basis points, with monthly principal and interest payments. Additionally, this facility provides a revolving line of credit in the amount of $50 million through December 2017 to be utilized for working capital, capital expenditures, share repurchases and other general corporate purposes. Indebtedness under the credit facility is secured by our assets and is guaranteed by certain of our subsidiaries. No amounts were drawn on the revolver as of December 31, 2012. The University generated $144.2 million in cash from operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to $88.0 million for the same period in 2011. Cash provided by operating activities in 2012 and 2011 resulted from our net income plus non-cash charges for provision for bad debts, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation and improvement in our working capital. Net cash used in investing activities was $131.5million and $75.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Our cash used in investing activities was primarily related to the purchase of property and equipment, leasehold improvements, and the purchase of two real estate related assets that we plan to develop and then sell to third parties during the next six months. Capital expenditures were $97.7million and $80.5million for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. In 2012, capital expenditures primarily consisted of construction costs associated with two additional dormitories, an Arts and Sciences classroom building, a remodel of our student union, and a parking garage to support our increasing traditional student enrollment as well as purchases of computer equipment, internal use software projects and furniture and equipment to support our increasing employee headcount. Also, in 2012 we purchased an on campus dormitory that was previously leased. In 2011, capital expenditures completed consisted of a 140,000 square foot/5,000 seat basketball and entertainment arena, a student activity center that contains a food court, a bowling alley, and other student services, and a new dormitory, as well as campus improvements to support our growing on-campus student population, purchases of computer equipment, leasehold improvements, infrastructure licenses and software development costs, and office furniture and fixtures to support our increasing employee headcounts. In 2011 expenditures were partially offset by a $5.4 million decrease in restricted cash as a result of payment of the settlement amount related to the qui tam legal matter in June 2011. Net cash provided by financing activities was $71.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. Net cash used in financing activities was $25.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. During 2012, we received $99.2 million from our new credit facility and $8.0 million from the exercise of stock options, which was partially offset by $21.7 million used for principal payments on notes payable and capital lease obligations and $15.2 million to repurchase our common stock. During 2011, $23.1 million was used to repurchase our common stock and principal payments on notes payable and capital leases totaled $3.7 million. 2013 Outlook by Quarter Net revenue between $136.5 million and $138.5 million; Target Q1 2013: Operating Margin 22.0%; Diluted EPS between $0.38 and $0.39 using 45.5 million diluted shares; student counts between 52,700 to 53,200 Net revenue between $135.5 million and $137.5 million; Target Q2 2013: Operating Margin 22.5%; Diluted EPS between $0.39 and $0.40 using 45.8 million diluted shares; student counts between 48,900 to 49,500 Net revenue between $145.0 million and $147.0 million; Target Q3 2013: Operating Margin 23.5%; Diluted EPS between $0.43 and $0.44 using 46.0 million diluted shares; student counts between 57,250 to 58,250 Net revenue between $153.5 million and $156.0 million; Target Q4 2013: Operating Margin 24.5%; Diluted EPS between $0.48 and $0.49 using 46.3 million diluted shares; student counts between 56,750 to 57,750 Net revenue between $570.5 million and $579.0 million; Target Full Year 2013: Operating Margin 23.2%; Diluted EPS between $1.68 and $1.72 using 45.9 million diluted shares Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which include information relating to future events, future financial performance, strategies expectations, competitive environment, regulation, and availability of resources. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding: projections, predictions, expectations, estimates, and forecasts as to our business, financial and operating results, and future economic performance; and statements of management's goals and objectives and other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Words such as "may," "should," "could," "would," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar expressions, as well as statements in future tense, identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to: our failure to comply with the extensive regulatory framework applicable to our industry, including Title IV of the Higher Education Act and the regulations thereunder, state laws and regulatory requirements, and accrediting commission requirements; the results of the ongoing program review being conducted by the Department of Education of our compliance with Title IV program requirements, and possible fines or other administrative sanctions resulting therefrom; the ability of our students to obtain federal Title IV funds, state financial aid, and private financing; risks associated with changes in applicable federal and state laws and regulations and accrediting commission standards, including pending rulemaking by the Department of Education; potential damage to our reputation or other adverse effects as a result of negative publicity in the media, in the industry or in connection with governmental reports or investigations or otherwise, affecting us or other companies in the for-profit postsecondary education sector; our ability to properly manage risks and challenges associated with potential acquisitions of, or investments in, new businesses, acquisitions of new properties, or the expansion of our campus to new locations; our ability to hire and train new, and develop and train existing, faculty and employees; the pace of growth of our enrollment; our ability to convert prospective students to enrolled students and to retain active students; our success in updating and expanding the content of existing programs and developing new programs in a cost-effective manner or on a timely basis; industry competition, including competition for qualified executives and other personnel; risks associated with the competitive environment for marketing our programs; failure on our part to keep up with advances in technology that could enhance the online experience for our students; the extent to which obligations under our loan agreement, including the need to comply with restrictive and financial covenants and to pay principal and interest payments, limits our ability to conduct our operations or seek new business opportunities; our ability to manage future growth effectively; general adverse economic conditions or other developments that affect job prospects in our core disciplines; and other factors discussed in reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions, or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Conference Call Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will discuss its fourth quarter 2012 results and 2013 outlook during a conference call scheduled for today, February 19, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time (ET). To participate in the live call, investors should dial 877-815-5362 (domestic and Canada) or 706-679-7806 (international), passcode 4391398 at 4:25 p.m. (ET). The Webcast will be available on the Grand Canyon Education, Inc. Web site at www.gcu.edu. A replay of the call will be available approximately two hours following the conclusion of the call through February 25, 2013, at 855-859-2056 (domestic) or 404-537-3406 (international), passcode 4391398. It will also be archived at www.gcu.edu in the investor relations section for 60 days. About Grand Canyon Education, Inc. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. is a regionally accredited provider of postsecondary education services focused on offering graduate and undergraduate degree programs in its core disciplines of education, healthcare, business, and liberal arts. In addition to its online programs, it offers programs on ground at its approximately 115 acre traditional campus in Phoenix, Arizona and onsite at facilities we lease and at facilities owned by third party employers. Approximately 52,300 students were enrolled as of December 31, 2012. For more information about Grand Canyon Education, Inc., please visit http://www.gcu.edu. ____________ Grand Canyon Education, Inc. is regionally accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), http://www.ncahlc.org. Grand Canyon University, 3300 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ 85017, www.gcu.edu. GRAND CANYON EDUCATION, INC. Consolidated Income Statements Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31, December 31, 2012 2011 2012 2011 (In thousands, except per (Unaudited) share amounts) Net revenue $ 141,298 $ 113,005 $ 511,257 $ 426,741 Costs and expenses: Instructional costs and 58,819 50,639 220,403 194,801 services Selling and promotional, including $647 and $259 for the three months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively, and $2,328 and 37,536 31,166 141,300 119,955 $877 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively, to related parties General and administrative 11,696 8,028 35,502 29,043 Lease termination costs — (140) — 782 Total costs and expenses 108,051 89,693 397,205 344,581 Operating income 33,247 23,312 114,052 82,160 Interest expense (260) (414) (699) (720) Interest income 19 10 71 88 Income before income taxes 33,006 22,908 113,424 81,528 Income tax expense 12,097 7,584 43,977 30,982 Net income $ 20,909 $ 15,324 $ 69,447 $ 50,546 Net income per common share: Basic $ 0.47 $ 0.35 $ $ 1.57 1.13 Diluted $ 0.46 $ 0.34 $ $ 1.53 1.12 Shares used in computing net income per common share: Basic 44,167 44,317 44,332 44,631 Diluted 45,364 44,868 45,251 45,105 GRAND CANYON EDUCATION, INC. Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income plus interest expense net of interest income, plus income tax expense, and plus depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), as adjusted for (i) the amortization of prepaid royalty payments recorded in conjunction with a settlement of a dispute with our former owner; (ii) contributions to Arizona school tuition organizations in lieu of the payment of state income taxes, which we typically make in the fourth quarter of a fiscal year; (iii) litigation and regulatory reserves, if any (iv) exit costs, if any; (v) contract termination fees, if any; (vi) lease termination costs, if any; and (vii) share-based compensation. We present Adjusted EBITDA because we consider it to be an important supplemental measure of our operating performance. We also make certain compensation decisions based, in part, on our operating performance, as measured by Adjusted EBITDA, and our loan agreement requires us to comply with covenants that include performance metrics substantially similar to Adjusted EBITDA. All of the adjustments made in our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA are adjustments to items that management does not consider to be reflective of our core operating performance. Management considers our core operating performance to be that which can be affected by our managers in any particular period through their management of the resources that affect our underlying revenue and profit generating operations during that period. Royalty expenses paid to our former owner, contributions made to Arizona school tuition organizations in lieu of the payment of state income taxes, estimated litigation and regulatory reserves, exit costs, contract and lease termination fees, and share-based compensation are not considered reflective of our core performance. We believe Adjusted EBITDA allows us to compare our current operating results with corresponding historical periods and with the operational performance of other companies in our industry because it does not give effect to potential differences caused by variations in capital structures (affecting relative interest expense, including the impact of write-offs of deferred financing costs when companies refinance their indebtedness), tax positions (such as the impact on periods or companies of changes in effective tax rates or net operating losses), the book amortization of intangibles (affecting relative amortization expense), and other items that we do not consider reflective of underlying operating performance. We also present Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties as a measure of performance. In evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, investors should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses similar to the adjustments described above. Our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by expenses that are unusual, non-routine, or non-recurring. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for net income, operating income, or any other performance measure derived in accordance with and reported under GAAP or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or as a measure of our liquidity. Some of these limitations are that it does not reflect: ocash expenditures for capital expenditures or contractual commitments; ochanges in, or cash requirement for, our working capital requirements; ointerest expense, or the cash required to replace assets that are being depreciated or amortized; and othe impact on our reported results of earnings or charges resulting from the items for which we make adjustments to our EBITDA, as described above and set forth in the table below. In addition, other companies, including other companies in our industry, may calculate these measures differently than we do, limiting the usefulness of Adjusted EBITDA as a comparative measure. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a substitute for net income, operating income, or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP, or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or as a measure of our liquidity. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP measure for the periods indicated: Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31, December 31, 2012 2011 2012 2011 (Unaudited, in thousands) (Unaudited, in thousands) Net income $ 20,909 $ 15,324 $ 69,447 $ 50,546 Plus: interest expense net 241 404 628 632 of interest income Plus: income tax expense 12,097 7,584 43,977 30,982 Plus: depreciation and 6,065 4,906 21,627 16,738 amortization EBITDA 39,312 28,218 135,679 98,898 Plus: royalty to former 74 74 296 296 owner Plus: contributions made in lieu of state income 2,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 taxes Plus: lease termination — (140) — 782 costs Plus: estimated litigation 147 — 3,807 — and regulatory reserves Plus: share-based 2,063 1,655 7,811 6,452 compensation Adjusted EBITDA $ 43,596 $ 30,807 $ 149,593 $ 107,428 GRAND CANYON EDUCATION, INC. Consolidated Balance Sheets December 31, December 31, (In thousands, except par value) 2012 2011 ASSETS: Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 105,111 $ 21,189 Restricted cash and cash equivalents 55,964 56,115 Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $8,657 and 7,951 11,815 $11,706 at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively Note receivable secured by real estate 27,000 — Income taxes receivable — 11,861 Deferred income taxes 5,481 3,353 Other current assets 12,667 11,081 Total current assets 214,174 115,414 Property and equipment, net 269,162 189,947 Restricted cash 225 555 Prepaid royalties 5,299 5,958 Goodwill 2,941 2,941 Other assets 3,122 3,032 Total assets $ 494,923 $ 317,847 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 14,174 $ 18,523 Accrued compensation and benefits 18,812 12,229 Accrued liabilities 17,467 8,456 Income taxes payable 8,704 536 Student deposits 57,745 57,602 Deferred revenue 28,614 21,723 Due to related parties 523 227 Current portion of capital lease obligations 87 470 Current portion of notes payable 6,601 1,739 Total current liabilities 152,727 121,505 Capital lease obligations, less current portion 587 674 Other noncurrent liabilities 7,405 7,140 Deferred income taxes, noncurrent 7,045 5,334 Notes payable, less current portion 93,100 19,901 Total liabilities 260,864 154,554 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders' equity Preferred stock, $0.01 par value, 10,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued — — and outstanding at December 31, 2012 and 2011 Common stock, $0.01 par value, 100,000 shares authorized; 47,136 and 45,955 shares issued and 44,716 and 44,298 471 460 shares outstanding at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively Treasury stock, at cost, 2,420 and 1,657 shares of common stock at (39,136) (23,894) December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively Additional paid-in capital 102,133 85,720 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (223) (360) Accumulated earnings 170,814 101,367 Total stockholders' equity 234,059 163,293 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 494,923 $ 317,847 GRAND CANYON EDUCATION, INC. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2012 2011 Cash flows provided by operating activities: Net income $ 69,447 $ 50,546 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Share-based compensation 7,811 6,452 Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation (1,427) — Amortization of debt issuance costs 244 80 Provision for bad debts 18,012 34,364 Depreciation and amortization 21,923 17,034 Loss on asset disposal 1,106 — Lease termination costs — 782 Exit costs — (64) Deferred income taxes (518) 20,794 Other — 92 Changes in assets and liabilities: Restricted cash and cash equivalents 151 (9,137) Accounts receivable (14,148) (28,196) Prepaid expenses and other (1,920) (6,158) Due to/from related parties 296 (9,244) Accounts payable (630) 3,155 Accrued liabilities and employee related 15,719 (3,300) liabilities Accrued litigation loss — (5,200) Income taxes receivable/payable 20,593 (3,599) Deferred rent 503 4,143 Deferred revenue 6,891 6,689 Student deposits 143 8,729 Net cash provided by operating activities 144,196 87,962 Cash flows used in investing activities: Capital expenditures (97,653) (80,545) Purchase of land and building related to future (7,223) — development Investment in note receivable secured by real (27,000) — estate Restricted funds held for derivative collateral and 330 5,405 legal matter Net cash used in investing activities (131,546) (75,140) Cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities: Principal payments on notes payable and capital (21,744) (3,748) lease obligations Proceeds from notes payable 99,210 — Notes payable modification costs (428) (91) Repurchase of common shares (15,242) (23,112) Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation 1,427 — Net proceeds from exercise of stock options 8,049 1,681 Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 71,272 (25,270) Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash 83,922 (12,448) equivalents Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 21,189 33,637 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 105,111 $ 21,189 Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information Cash paid for interest $ 606 $ 535 Cash paid for income taxes $ 32,810 $ 13,463 Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities Purchases of property and equipment included in $ 3,291 $ 325 accounts payable Purchases of equipment through capital lease $ — $ 801 obligations Tax benefit of Spirit warrant intangible $ 267 $ 291 Shortfall tax expense from share-based compensation $ 283 $ 151 The following is a summary of our student enrollment at December 31, 2012 and 2011 (which included fewer than 700 students pursuing non-degree certificates in each period) by degree type and by instructional delivery method: December 31, 2012^(1) 2011^(1) # of Students % of Total # of Students % of Total Graduate degrees^(2) 19,395 37.1% 17,175 39.1% Undergraduate 32,897 62.9% 26,742 60.9% degree Total 52,292 100.0% 43,917 100.0% December 31, 2012^(1) 2011^(1) # of % of Total # of Students % of Total Students Online^(3) 44,690 85.5% 38,918 88.6% Ground^(3) (4) 7,602 14.5% 4,999 11.4% Total 52,292 100.0% 43,917 100.0% Enrollment at December 31, 2012 and 2011 represents individual students ^(1) who attended a course during the last two months of the calendar quarter. ^(2) Includes 3,065 and 1,924 students pursuing doctoral degrees at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. ^(3) As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, 41.9% and 42.8%, respectively, of our online and professional studies students are pursuing graduate degrees. ^(4) Includes both our traditional on-campus ground students, as well as our professional studies students. SOURCE Grand Canyon Education, Inc. Website: http://gcu.edu Contact: Investor Relations: Dan Bachus, Chief Financial Officer, Grand Canyon Education, Inc., +1-602-639-6648, firstname.lastname@example.com; or Media: Bill Jenkins, Grand Canyon Education, Inc., +1-602-639-6678, email@example.com
Grand Canyon Education, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2012 Results
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subset: commoncrawl


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POSTED: 1:30 a.m. HST, Feb 23, 2011
State House and Senate leaders questioned Gov. Neil Abercrombie and his state budget director yesterday about a new two-year budget draft, including what would happen if they reject the governor's tax revision and spending cut proposals to close a projected $700 million deficit.
The governor's recommendations to establish a soda tax and end state Medicare Part B reimbursements for retired public workers are in danger of failing at the Legislature. Lawmakers would have to come up with alternative options to balance the budget if they do not go along with the governor's ideas.
"By now you probably realize that there are several initiatives that are listed here that have not gained traction or any support in either chamber, and passage of those measures are questionable at best," said state Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa), chairman of the House Finance Committee, which held a joint briefing on the budget draft with the state Senate Ways and Means Committee.
"Do you have any idea of how we would make up the revenues lost if those measures fail to pass?" Oshiro asked.
Abercrombie, a former lawmaker, said there is often a "Lazarus effect" in which proposals that appear dead early in the session are resurrected later. He asked lawmakers to keep his recommendations alive as part of the discussion.
The governor defended the soda tax as an option to generate revenue and to help offset the health care costs associated with drinking sugary beverages. He also stood by his call to end Medicare Part B reimbursements and said he is not swayed by legal arguments that it would be unconstitutional.
"I am not persuaded by legal advocates for those who want to keep this going saying, 'Well, this is unconstitutional, I guess you shouldn't take it up.' That's an easy way to deal with anything you don't like — call it unconstitutional," the governor said. "That's nonsense."
Abercrombie said he does not consider Medicare Part B reimbursements an accrued benefit protected by the state Constitution or an entitlement. House lawmakers have moved out a bill that would end Medicare Part B reimbursements only for public-worker retirees after July.
"Moses did not come down from the mountain with Medicare Part B," the governor said. "This is done by human beings. This is a policy question."
Oshiro and state Sen. David Ige (D, Aiea-Pearl City), chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said afterward that they are preparing alternatives.
"We are definitely having those conversations, because it's clear that in order to balance the budget, if we're going with his basic blueprint and if we're not doing his revenue enhancements, we have to find some others," Ige said.


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On the Road at the Tour de France: Off to the races
Martin Ayres now handed over to his colleague Neil Thompson at Jaguar for Tour de France 2013. Neil has worked at Jaguar for a similar time as Martin, but feels less inclined to name a number! He also was the first embedded performance mechanic with the team in 2011, and here picks up the 'On The Road' Blog. Like Martin, he is a big pro cycling fan now after spending time with the team.
"It's a lap of France", mentioned Chris Froome recently. Examining that statement a little more explains a lot about the Tour de France. No other event can quite compete in terms of scale; I think it is fair to say. It's pretty epic – so epic in fact, that you need an entire country as the racing circuit. It's got a TV audience of 3.5 billion people, and a live audience that hovers somewhere around 12 million people. 2,000 journalists attend it, from over 188 countries. Just the scale of the thing is enough to blow you away, before you start thinking about the racing itself.
Sadly this year I won't be one of the many thousands of lucky characters involved with the Tour circus. I'm going to be the watching from the sofa and (I'm sure) boring the family with old stories from 2012 Tour.
This year for the Tour I am extremely happy to be passing back the Team Sky baton to my oldest friend and colleague, Neil Thompson. Team Sky is in very safe hands too; Neil went on all three Grand Tours with the Team in 2011 before we decided to run a blog, and knows the ins and out of working with Team Sky so he'll fit right back in.
I'll also take the opportunity to say good luck to Froomey and the Team Sky boys! That's it from me, folks – over to Neil.
Porto Vecchio, Corsica
Well here we are, as the old BBC introduction says! When Martin and I agreed to take on the role looking after Team Sky we knew it would be exhausting, but it was just too good to turn down and we'd be kicking ourselves if we didn't. When I was on Tour in 2011 I knew already it was a special event, but being on the 100th edition, in the favourite's team, is something else. I was pretty jealous seeing Martin take on the Tour and help the team ride to victory (who wouldn't be), so it's great that Team Sky are right up there again and gunning for another win.
I've never been to Corsica before, and it is stunning. The sea is as blue as blue can be and the sun keeping things ticking over nicely in the mid-twenties. I'll make no excuses here – I am a sun worshipper and life in the heat is certainly where I'm happiest (the thought of Martin in the rainy Midlands did induce a chuckle or two).
You can also tell it's a unique place. French, yes but also with a strong Italian influence and its own language too. It's the only region of France that has never been visited by the Tour, and it's making up for that now – the beaches look like they've been handpicked clean, they're just so pristine! Then you've got mountains too, just a few miles from the beach, so it's a heady mix and great cycling territory.
It was brilliant to arrive back with the team again too (as well as the nice uniform you get, of course – thanks Rapha!). Last year I spent a drive of several hours chatting away with Eddy Boasson Hagen as I gave him a transfer from the airport, and it was touching that he drifted over to say 'hi and good to see me'.
Martin mentioned it in one of his posts, but it is striking how relaxed the riders are. I know they spend a lot of time teaching themselves to be calm under pressure in order to perform, but I also think they are pretty genuine, feet-on-the-ground people who realise what they are doing is an amazing thing and are happy about it. We also saw Richie Porte, the Tasmanian devil, bouncing around camp yesterday afternoon. He's full of energy and life is our Richie, and I think if he wasn't a pro cyclist he'd have to be doing some kind of ultra-marathon running to be able to wear himself out! He and Froomey being best mates must make this pretty special for the both of them. I'm going to try and keep to a word limit here so time to sign out – I'll be back in touch on Tuesday I imagine, once we're back in the mainland.
Lastly a plug for my twitter – follow me for all the most recent news from On The Road!
Follow Neil on Twitter : @Jaguar_TeamSky
Latest from Independent journalists on Twitter


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Paul's sister and her husband, Elizabeth and Dag were in town this weekend visiting Nora, and we went to dinner at Seasons 52. (No one really wants to see us anymore. We understand.) The waiter was excellent. Very kind and gracious. And he really did the job his managers want him to do because he talked up the curry (originally made to be served with fish, but easily substituted out for tofu), which was a steeper-priced featured dish to the point where even though I don't like curry, I actually ordered it very willingly. Paul got the Market Vegetable Plate, and we switched dishes half way through the meal.
Truth be known, I was really sorry I had to share my curried tofu with Paul. I felt like I was on some of those lame commercials where one spouse hides food from the other. But in this case, I did my best to show true love and gave up half of my curry for my husband to enjoy. But, I emphasize "just half". I would be very happy if this item were always on the menu and would say it was well worth the additional price tag.
When I got the vegetable plate, I finally I got the opportunity to try fennel. After searching for months at local grocery stores and farmer's markets, I finally got to try fennel. But, it was roasted and tough. With all the build up and reading in my Bon Appetit, it was a sad let-down. We were also all disappointed because a) one of the featured vegetables was Zellwood Corn-on-the-cob, a favorite around here, but it wasn't on the veggie plate and b) there was less food on the spring plate than we get on the fall and winter plate.
Not photographed, but certainly worth the additional mention, was the spinach salad with pine nuts, gorgonzola, raspberries, and what I thought might be a dijon dressing. So yum!
The conclusion is, of course, we will always take any opportunity to visit Seasons 52. The food is always consistently good (except the fennel, I guess) and the wait staff is more than willing to adjust recipes for the vegetarian diner. I also enjoy new takes on old ideas, like the cranberry almond tabouli that is a staple on the vegetable plate and always gets praised.


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39th district challenger moves into Elizabeth campaign office
Family, friends and Democratic lawmakers past and present helped Lisa Stout-Bashioum open her 39th Legislative District campaign office on Saturday at 120 S. Third Ave. in Elizabeth.
It opened as well a lively race for a state House seat bridging the Mon-Yough, South Hills and Mid-Mon Valley regions.
"I want to live up to your expectations," said Stout-Bashioum, 53, a Bentworth school director and mother of six challenging Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth Township, and what she called "the entire Republican attack machine" in the fall election.
"We're running against a well-financed incumbent," said House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Cheswick. "We will be well-financed, too."
"It looks like the Democratic attack machine has already started," Saccone responded.
"I'm a positive person," Stout-Bashioum said. "I don't want to get ugly. I don't want to get down and dirty. But I don't want them to do that, either."
Saccone said in May that he expected this campaign "to be much more civil" than his contests with David Levdansky, whom he unseated in 2010 and defeated again in 2012.
His latest foe is the daughter of retired state Sen. J. Barry Stout, D-Somerset Township, who recalled when her teacher asked students what their fathers did for a living.
"He types, he writes letters," his daughter replied.
Stout was joined by his daughter's husband Bob, daughter Brynne, sons Josh, Same, Will and Ben and stepdaughter Kristy Andrulonis with her husband Jim and son Robbie. Stout-Bashioum's eldest son Jonathan was in Montana and unable to attend.
"It was solely her decision to run," Stout said. "She is qualified and determined to support the people of the 39th."
"I see an opportunity for a legacy to continue from the Stout family that has served this district for many years," said Allegheny County Councilman Bob Macey, D-West Mifflin.
"Without Barry we wouldn't have the Mon/Fayette Expressway or the money we've had for roads and bridges," said Rep. Bill Kortz, D-Dravosburg.
"It is a candidate who supports public education," said Elizabeth Forward school board president Philip Martell. "Mr. Saccone does not support public education."
Saccone said on Saturday that the Democrats are lying about his record and insisted that the new state budget provides increased basic funding for local school districts.
"He also voted against transportation," Stout-Bashioum said.
"I did not vote for the gas tax," Saccone said, referring to the provision in Act 89 of 2013, the transportation finance act, to raise the cap on the Oil Company Franchise Tax, which could raise prices at the pump by 28 cents by 2018. "The Democrats did."
Dermody said Saccone "has voted with the governor every single time on what is clearly a failed agenda."
"I did not vote for Act 13 (of 2012, the oil and gas regulation), they did," Saccone said.
Saccone voted no on the final version of Act 13 but so did all area Democrats except Rep. Marc J. Gergely, D-White Oak.
On the final version of Act 89, Saccone voted no as did Dermody and Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Carrick.
Readshaw survived a May primary in the redrawn 36th District where he was forced to take on and defeat Rep. Erin Molchany, D-Brookline.
"It is more difficult to run against a fellow Democrat," Readshaw said. "It is easier to show the differences in the general election."
The redrawn 39th takes out the city of Clairton among other changes but Stout's successor Sen. Timothy Solobay, D-Canonsburg, thinks "it is a competitive district for Lisa."
"With Tom Wolf running (as Democratic nominee for governor) and the support he is getting it will be interesting," said Elizabeth Township commissioner and Democratic chairman Dr. Robert Rhoderick. "We have a lot of moderate Democrats who lean Republican. I don't think the turnout will be affected, but people tend to vote for the hometown candidate."
"If Wolf is elected," Stout-Bashioum said, "from the top down we can start to address the problems in Pennsylvania."
She would support a Marcellus shale severance tax to "responsibly alleviate" the tax burden for property owners who pay thousands of dollars to school districts each year.
For 26 years Levdansky of neighboring Forward Township represented the 39th. Family matters were more important than another rematch with Saccone.
"Last year I spent a lot of time with my dad, who passed away in November," Levdansky said. In February his mother broke a hip.
"She'll be 88 next month," Levdansky said. In addition, he wanted to spend more time with his sons Josh, who will be 20 in a few weeks, and Tim, now 22, as well as a 36-year-old stepson from his former marriage.
When Stout-Bashioum called Levdansky last spring about running for his old seat, he told her, "If you're interested, go for it."
Levdansky's former chief of staff Carol Burke said constituents told her that they do not get the service they used to get from her old boss.
"I have offered outstanding constituent service," Saccone said. "I have a wall of thank you cards from people who used my office."
Martell said Saccone again will take "boatloads of money from the gas and oil industries." Saccone said Stout-Bashioum accepted a $5,000 contribution from the Pennsylvania State Education Association teachers union.
According to state records, Saccone has $40,266.83 in campaign funds after the latest reporting period, while Stout-Bashioum has $6,761.51 including the May 22 PSEA contribution.
Stout, now on the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County, had six years in the House and 34 in the Senate when he retired in 2010.
There is a difference between Stout-Bashioum and Levdansky, supporters said.
"Lisa is pro-life, pro-gun," Rhoderick said.
"Put up a table at the (Washington County) gun show," Finleyville Mayor Mike Kutsek told Stout-Bashioum. "Show them you are pro-gun."
Organizations that deal with abortion and Second Amendment issues are more familiar with Saccone.
Stout-Bashioum was not endorsed by LifePAC, an anti-abortion political action committee, while Saccone was.
Planned Parenthood said it did not get a response from Stout-Bashioum regarding her stand on "safe, legal abortion" (Saccone was listed as opposing) and neither responded about "family planning and reproductive health."
The National Rifle Association endorsed Saccone. Firearms Owners Against Crime listed Saccone but said there was "no suitable candidate" in the Democratic primary.
Kutsek is a longtime Stout family friend, during 26 years as mayor in Finleyville and 40 years until his retirement as a teacher at McClellan Elementary School in Pleasant Hills.
"Lisa's my girl," Kutsek said. "(Sen. Stout) is the best man in all of Washington County. He built the Mon Valley."
Patrick Cloonan is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.
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Top Five Most Shocking Grammy Moments of All Time
3) Billy Joel's River of Delays 1994
A particularly fierce topic of Grammy debate is which moment of the 1994 telecast was the most controversial. All possible contenders revolve around that year's lifetime achievement award, which was awarded to Frank Sinatra. From U2 hooligan Bono dropping a live "F-bomb" to Sinatra's stumbling acceptance speech being abruptly cutoff as the show went to commercial, a lot didn't go right that night. But our pick has to be Billy Joel stopping the show and mocking the wasting of valuable commercial time during "River of Dreams." With Sinatra himself was thankful the show cut his speech, Joel took offense and struck back the best way he knew how.
2) John Lennon and Paul Simon Innovate Awkward Passive Aggression 1975
How's this for a wacky idea that's sure to create a moment that will last forever? Take one-half of two celebrated and recently separated critically acclaimed and wildly successful songwriting teams, and have them present an award together?! There's something just not right about John Lennon and Paul Simon being prompted to read banter, but things only got weirder as Simon's former partner Art Garfunkel took the stage to accept the coveted Record of the Year award on Olivia Newton-John's behalf. When the playful digs outweigh the magnitude of a tuxedo shirt, you know you have a classic(ly bizarre) moment.
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Kelly Coyle DiNorcia uses her degrees in neuroscience and education to out-maneuver two small children, care for an astonishing variety of animals, and run an ice hockey organization with her husband. She thinks "work life balance" is a lie and spends her time careening from one extreme to the other.
If you read books like The Wonder of Boys and Raising Cain, you will learn that today's American boys are in crisis. As schools become more heavily focused on academic achievement and test scores, children are expected to spend more time seated quietly at their desks while physical education and recess are being squeezed out of their schedules. The crunch is on after school as well, when time is spent going to organized activities and completing homework instead of running around outside, playing stickball and manhunt and generally letting off steam.
Boys, who on average are less inclined to sit quietly at desks and have more of a need to move their bodies, are suffering disproportionately under the current state of affairs. Some even argue that the bias against girls in academic settings is a relic of the past. With teachers under ever-increasing pressure, they tend to favor girls who (again on average) are more able to sit and focus for long periods of time. This is borne out by the fact that young women are currently earning more post-secondary degrees than young men.
If women are doing better in school, and are earning more advanced degrees, then logic would dictate that the number of women in positions of power and prestige should be at least equal to, if not exceeding, the number of men. And yet…women continue to be underrepresented in business, science, academia, medicine, and government. The reason seems obvious: biology is destiny, and motherhood makes the difference.
I have a friend who is a stay-home dad and who grew up as one of six brothers (and no sisters), and he insists that men and women are, in every way and absolutely, equal. He has four children of his own, and his wife, the bringer home of the proverbial bacon in their family, needed to take leave from work in order to birth these children into existence. While he is a man who would have chosen to take family leave when his children were born, this would have in no way been a biological imperative in the way that it was for his wife. That's a pretty major difference when you consider the effect such absences may, and do, have on career potential and achievement.
People argue that having children is a choice, and in many cases (though by no means all, or even most) that is true. What this fails to take into account is that when a heterosexual couple makes the choice to have a child, it is the woman who, even in the most enlightened and egalitarian of families, bears the physical brunt of bringing said child into the world. The subsequent interaction among hormonal, biological, psychological and social forces is poorly understood, but it would be difficult to deny that the mothers are usually the ones tasked with raising the children.
Smart, motivated, well-educated women are left to choose between fulfilling their responsibilities as mother or having fulfilling and lucrative careers. Perhaps more importantly, smart and motivated but less well-educated women are in a position where it is expected that they and their children will suffer exhaustion and separation, among other things, so their work doesn't have to suffer at all. In both cases, society does not support these women in their efforts to continue employment and earn long-term economic security while simultaneously maintaining an acceptable standard of living for themselves and their families.
If the problems seem obvious, so do the solutions: paid maternity leave, subsidized quality child care, flexible work arrangements, time off for family obligations, social security credits for time spent bringing up baby. Unfortunately, the people who make the decisions in this country, primarily legislators and business leaders, do not see these things as a priority for a whole plethora of reasons. So it is up to us, ladies, to bring about change by coming together and using our smarts and our strength to demand family-friendly social policies. We deserve it.


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Uploaded By: spanking_cpl_uk
Videos: 6
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- 1
Love the way her legs were held in place and swearings an immediate spanking offence if I want my spanker to spank me swearing never fails;)
if honest bobby she has got a very tough ass but feel free to have a go lol
Was she laughing? If she called me a cunt, I can promise she wouldn't be laughing when I got through with her. Unless she's got a tough butt, that is. ;-)
ty very much piper ye its a greats song and agree fully on the swearing ty for the comment
Firstly, one of my favourite P!NK songs. Secondly, this is exactly what should happen when an errant lady swears! well done.
Hi all feel free to leave a comment on our vid gd or bad the feed bad wud b gd ty all
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Roundtable members (in order of year of sale):
* * *
Bernard A. Goldhirsh Age 50. Founded Sail magazine, 1970; sold to Meredith Corp., 1980, for estimated $12.5 million in cash. Approximate revenues year prior to sale: $8 million. Founded INC. magazine, 1979. Launched High Technology magazine, 1981.
Dodge D. Morgan Age 58. Founded Controlonics, manufacturer of electronic communications products, 1971; sold to Dynatech for $37.5 million in stock, 1983. Approximate revenues year prior to sale: $26 million. Purchased Maine Times, a weekly newspaper, 1985. Performed solo, nonstop circumnavigation of the world on 60-foot American Promise, 1985 to '86. Wrote book, The Voyage of American Promise, 1989.* * *
John S. (Jay) Wurts Age 42. Cofounded Management Decision Systems (MDS), developer of advanced software, 1970; sold to Information Resources for about $47 million in stock, 1985. Approximate revenues year prior to sale: $27 million. Unemployed, 1985 to '88. Hired as chairman and CEO, Symbolics, 1988.* * *
Stanley I. Kravetz Age 57. Purchased The Frye Boot Co. from Alberto-Culver, 1985; sold to Reebok for an undisclosed sum, 1987. Approximate revenues year prior to sale: $15 million. President of Rockport, a division of Reebok, 1987. Created consulting firm The Kravetz Group, 1988.* * *
Eric Kriss Age 41. As member of venture capital team, began MediVision, a national network of eye-surgery centers, 1984; sold to Medical Care International for about $90 million in cash and stock, 1989. Approximate revenues year prior to sale: $50 million. Became president and CEO of Manson Kriss, a lingerie manufacturer, June 1, 1990.* * *
The five entrepreneurs who, at a roundtable this spring, agreed to air their experiences in INC.'s pages, share one significant event -- the selling of the multimillion-dollar company that each built. As ex-owners now confronting the what-to-do-next dilemma, however, their paths diverge markedly. One spanned the abyss by having started a second business even before the sale of the first. Another chose to sail alone around the world. A third opted to go to work for a large international concern, then quit to establish his own consulting firm. A fourth couldn't find anything challenging until, some 30 months later, he took on a turnaround try. A fifth -- the gathering's most recent seller -- was still undecided at the time of this discussion. What is most striking, however, is that their candid introspection reveals that parting with an owner-operated company is no simple matter, despite the lavish amounts of cash and freedom that result. As the following candidly discloses, there's apt to be remorse before the sale, a sense of loss in the doing, and pain and self-doubt in the aftermath. (The session was conducted by senior writer Robert A. Mamis.)* * *
INC.: What was the toughest interval -- deciding to sell, or right after the sale, or a lot later?* * *
KRISS: For me it wasn't after I sold the company, it was the six months before I sold when I knew it was going to happen and I was stepping out of an operating role. It got so painful that three months before the deal actually closed, I moved out of my office. I didn't go to work anymore.* * *
MORGAN: I moved to an office in a house about five miles away from the plant when I brought in my replacement. There was no way I could stay around for my own health -- and for his.* * *
WURTS: I wish I could have done that. I negotiated the deal and that was a lot of fun. I worked a week with the chairman of the new company figuring out which positions to put people in, and then there was nothing. The deal hadn't closed; there was another month before we got SEC approval for the stock registration, and there was nothing to do except pray the deal didn't fall through.
GOLDHIRSH: I had a hard time making the decision. In 1978 I asked students at the MIT Sloan School to do a study for an idea for a business magazine. When they confirmed what I suspected -- that there was a market for a magazine serving the entrepreneurial subset of the economy -- I decided to launch it. I thought I should sell Sail, but it was hard because I was so emotionally involved with it. I couldn't decide, so I went and sat on a beach in the Florida Keys for a while, just sat there with no distractions, and found myself oscillating. I could do it rationally but not emotionally. But once I made a decision, it was done.* * *
WURTS: I had a much harder time before I did it, too, agonizing over what would happen. Afterward, I felt liberated.* * *
KRAVETZ: It's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't regret for one second having sold.* * *
INC.: After you sold Frye Boot, you went back on salary. Did that feel strange?* * *
KRAVETZ: My feelings about selling my company have to do with how I bought it. I wasn't on a Florida beach; I was in California sitting around a hot tub with friends and drinking cabernet. I was working for Timberland then, but I'd always had a feeling for how to run Frye Boot. I watched its demise over the years: it used to be an $80-million business, now it was passing through $25 million. They kept making the wrong product at the wrong time. I called the chairman while I was in the tub. "You've got a problem, and I'm prepared to solve it -- I'll buy Frye Boot. But I won't spend a dime of my own money. You'll have to float everything." To make a long story short, he sent his plane for me, so I knew he was in lots of trouble. So I bought the company.* * *
INC.: And when did you decide to sell?* * *
KRAVETZ: Eighteen months into it, I got a call from [Reebok founder] Paul Fireman, whom I had worked for before. He said, "Give that company back to the Indians and come to work for me, I got a great deal for you." Still, I couldn't. I had brought people with me, and I owed it to them to stay with it. He said, "You're going to go down the tube with that thing." My $100,000 weekly payroll kept mounting, and I kept weakening. Six months later I sold. I got a pretty good package and went to work for Reebok. The whole thing was a rather modest interlude, one might say. You couldn't get me to be an operating guy again for anything!* * *
MORGAN: I knew I would sell my company from the time I founded it. I don't regret selling it, although the moment I did it, even though it was a logical conclusion, the emotional impact was great. I wanted to sell because if I didn't, I was afraid I'd grow old and still be running it. I was 55 -- that was the driving incentive.* * *
INC.: Not that it had peaked?* * *
MORGAN: No, I had shaped up that business to last forever. In fact, the company was accelerating. When I sold, it was doing $40 million; it was at $70 million two years after. Dynatech got something of real value. Then they screwed it up.* * *
WURTS: The buyer screwed up mine, too. It's painful to watch them change your company. But then, they paid for the privilege.* * *
INC.: Yet you stayed on.* * *
WURTS: I had to. I signed a three-year contract because it was a public company and they needed to show that management wasn't going to bolt. But I knew I couldn't stay for three years; I just didn't know how I was going to get out. And I felt since I had taken all that money from them, I had an obligation to stay, and it was the worst nine months in my life.* * *
INC.: What went wrong?* * *
WURTS: The company that bought us was not much bigger than we were, and they wanted to merge the companies totally, and there's not room for two CEOs in a company like that. I wasn't about to go from a CEO to an operating guy. So there wasn't anything for me to do.* * *
INC.: Had you planned to sell from the beginning, like Dodge?* * *
WURTS: A lot like Dodge. We had always intended to go public or sell out in a blaze of glory. We thought we'd do it in a couple of years; had we known it would take 15, we never would've started it. But it turned out to be more fun to run a larger company than I thought. I was 21 when we started, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have 16 people, much less 250. Then there was a stretch in the middle '70s when you couldn't sell a software company like ours, so we went through a period of not even trying. We figured we were paying ourselves probably twice our market value, we owned the business 100% and had no outside investors, we were growing the thing at 50% a year, it was profitable, and we were having a great time. But I was frustrated because I couldn't get any data on what going public was like. I used to grab everyone who was public and ask, do you spend half your time doing boring stuff? Can you still run your own company? And I didn't know anyone who had sold a company.* * *
INC.: Eric, you're a bit different in that you were picked by a venture firm to build and run a company.* * *
KRISS: My decision to sell the company was relatively easy: there didn't seem to be a whole lot of alternatives. When I started MediVision in '84, it was venture-backed from day one. It wasn't even my idea. Stockholders need liquidity, so there was no question of a hundred years. I always assumed that at some point soon, I wasn't going to be there.* * *
WURTS: I always assumed we would sell when the numbers looked good for the right number of quarters and we were profitable and growing, and we'd sell with amazing timing. Eventually it hit me that that's wrong, that you can't control when you get the best price. The stock market goes crazy every number of years and pays ridiculous multiples and IPOs are easy. At other times, you can't even do them. It's out of your control. So I changed the strategy completely. I said, I'm not going for this blaze of glory and then sell the company. Instead, I'm going to keep it profitable and always acceptable, so if somebody wanted it, they could buy it. If someone offers me a fair price for the company, I'm going to turn them down. I'm going to be prepared to wait until somebody comes along who's willing to pay a ridiculous price, then I'm going to take it on the spot. That's how you make real money with your business -- not selling it for a fair price.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: I have a question about regrets. You may start a company with the intention of selling it, but what if you get emotionally involved? Many people who start a company, or even are asked to run one, unexpectedly get absorbed in it. The relationships they have with their employees and their customers become their identity. The company justifies their existence in ways that are totally different from when they started out.* * *
MORGAN: I view myself as having only been my company's steward for a while. When a buyer comes up with cash, you revert back to what drove you to build the business from scratch in the first place, mortgaging your house and all that. "Hey, there's a buyer out there -- that's why I grew this business."* * *
INC.: And you had something else you wanted to do right away. That must have helped.
* * *
MORGAN: Anyone who sells his company and doesn't have something else to do is going to run into trouble.
GOLDHIRSH: But you didn't have to take the cash and leave. You could've gotten somebody to run it, sailed around the world for a year as you did, come back, and continued on with it. Don't you regret not having done it that way?* * *
MORGAN: No. The regrets I have about selling have more to do with the loss of the culture we created in the company. We had built a decentralized decision-making machine. There were no officers, no trappings of rank anywhere in the company. We were institutionalizing chaos in a way. To see that stepped on was what I regret; I thought the power of the people would keep rolling, despite the new leadership style.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: If you could have predicted that what happened was going to happen, would you have taken a different course?* * *
MORGAN: The culture issue is something you think of only later. That culture didn't start with your employees, you developed it. You developed a theme as to how people related to you. It fed down to your employees, they liked it, and those employees attracted other employees. If I had left the company with a powerful leader in place, the culture would've continued, I think. I can't blame Dynatech that it didn't.* * *
KRISS: The culture I miss is going to work in the morning and being around four or five people I enjoy, and spending time with them during the day in a social/work environment. You can't re-create it outside, you can't have reunions, you can't get it back through dinner parties. It's never the same after you're not in your role and they're not in theirs. It's gone forever.* * *
INC: Didn't they resent your selling the company and abandoning them?* * *
WURTS: Somewhat, but half our people owned stock. The sale created seven or eight millionaires.* * *
MORGAN: About five, in mine.* * *
WURTS: If I had found a way to get my money out and felt I wasn't deserting my people, I might've left sooner. In any event, everyone in the company expected it to be sold. They had stock in it. We couldn't not sell it. I had this very high offer -- $50 million for a company with $27 million in sales that hadn't had a very good year that particular year. And it looked like almost all our people would find good roles in the new company.* * *
INC.: Now that you've all accomplished enviable ends, why not take off and essentially just poke around?* * *
GOLDHIRSH: I couldn't bail out and be a wanderer.
MORGAN: One of the problems of how you end up after the sale -- and I'm getting used to it now -- is doing a number of things poorly, rather than one thing well.* * *
INC.: Can you elaborate?* * *
MORGAN: When you're in your company, you're doing that one thing well to the exclusion of everything else. Now I own a newspaper in Maine, that takes only a day a week. I'm on the board of a small boat-building company, that takes a little more time. These things are like part-time jobs.* * *
KRAVETZ: Why do you feel you're not doing them well? They're just not as big.* * *
MORGAN: I sit there and spend maybe 15 minutes on an important subject, and I don't treat it very thoroughly or very well. I leave each one saying "I really didn't do that justice." I'm happier on the line.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: When you were running Controlonics, it reached a size where you really weren't on the line. You were directing others who were on the line.* * *
MORGAN: Aah, but then I had the same vision every day.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: And now you're reacting to someone else's vision.* * *
WURTS: That's the difference! I spent two years and five months not working, and I learned a lot about what it's like. In particular, that you can't schedule every minute. If somebody canceled a meeting, I had nothing to do that day! That's when I told myself I absolutely, positively will work full-time again. I'm not going to run the risk of ever having nothing to do.* * *
KRAVETZ: It's stupid, but I recognize the mind-set. You generate such a high level of activity via your business that you can't slow the pace when you're away from it. When I was putting together a deal in Switzerland, I went to Zurich for two or three days a month for four months. I love to ski, but I never took even one stinking day off. That left an indelible mark; it was one of the motivating issues for selling.* * *
MORGAN: I recognize that mind-set, too. It's a spiritual thing; it has nothing to do with money or power. The values we're talking about aren't measured by any standard unit of exchange.* * *
KRISS: When I was with MediVision, I was thinking about that company, dreaming about it, without stopping. I thought about it in the shower, going to sleep. I might not have been at my desk or by a telephone, but I was constantly, totally immersed in it, to the extent that everything else -- a conversation when it wasn't about the business, for example -- was interference.* * *
MORGAN: You weren't a very desirable guest, I guess.* * *
KRISS: Probably not. But what's happened since is the pendulum is going in the opposite direction. Instead of a unilateral, single-minded focus, my focus is fragmented. I'm doing maybe 30 different things. I see it as an exercise to explore a lot of alternatives.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: Everyone needs a medium -- especially entrepreneurs. When a business owner sells out, it's like taking clay away from a sculptor. How do you use incidental business vehicles as a medium for creative expression?* * *
MORGAN: The only way to do it -- and I'm beginning to learn how -- is to be satisfied by seeing others engaging themselves in that same dream and to help them stay out of trouble. My job there is support -- a cheering section -- for the people who are new at running companies. I hope I can add some value through my experience. A teaching function, now, rather than a doing function.* * *
WURTS: Helping start-up companies by bringing them the benefit of your experience is useful. People I talk to who sold and went totally cold turkey to doing nothing suffered a crisis of self-confidence after about a month, saying "Gee, I must have been lucky. I could never do it again." I never had those doubts, in part because I was helping start-up companies and I'd get a shot of, "Yeah, I've still got it. Maybe I'm not doing it right now, but still, I wasn't just lucky, I know something."* * *
INC.: Do you all feel differently about money now -- having a lot of it all at once?* * *
WURTS: People who haven't sold companies think that you create a tremendous amount of wealth the instant you sell. But you've built up this wealth all along. All it does is change the value from one form to another.* * *
MORGAN: You're already making a lot before you sell your business, or you wouldn't be able to sell it.* * *
WURTS: I felt simply that I was more liquid. In fact, I felt poorer, because I wasn't going up in value. When I was running it, I thought I was getting more valuable every year. After I sold it, it was a fixed number.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: For me, it was anticlimactic. After the deal was done, the funds were wired, so it wasn't even money. It was an electronic signal, like looking in an oscilloscope. It's not like somebody shows up with a briefcase.* * *
KRAVETZ: I think of material things differently now. The odd thing is, it's a more conservative outlook. And I can't tell why.* * *
WURTS: I got rid of my Porsche! I had a Porsche before I sold, and bought an Audi 5000 Quattro that I could drive in the winter, and then I got rid of it and bought an Audi 90.* * *
MORGAN: That won't go down in the annals of conservatism.* * *
KRAVETZ: Once you know you're wealthy, you find there's no need to express it. The motivation to spend fades away.* * *
INC.: Jay mentioned that he had no models for selling and therefore didn't for a while. How did the rest of you determine whether to sell or to go public?* * *
KRISS: We tried to go public. We had our final drafting session on October 19, 1987! A secretary came in and announced the Dow was down 300 points. Obviously, we didn't go. The only other option was to sell the company. We hired an investment banker and made it known we could be bought.* * *
INC.: Did the sale price ever recover?* * *
KRISS: That's hard to answer, because of the accounting of the deal. It was a purchase, not a pooling of interests. If you factor in all of the advantages to structuring the sale that way, we sold for a P/E of about 18, which, for an emerging growth company after the crash, wasn't bad.* * *
MORGAN: We sold for about 14 P/E. The stock fell apart afterward because there was so much overhang from the new stock issued for my company that it raised holy hell with Dynatech stock.* * *
INC.: They paid you totally in stock?* * *
MORGAN: Yes. My sale was a pooling of interests.* * *
WURTS: We did a stock pooling of interests, too.* * *
INC.: It behooves you in that case to make sure the buyer knows how to run your company -- to keep you rich until you can sell the stock.* * *
WURTS: It's very scary. You've sold your company but you haven't sold your company.
INC.: Then why undertake a pooling of interests? There are SEC restrictions.* * *
WURTS: It's a big tax advantage. In a software company, you have few assets; what you sell is goodwill. If it's not a pooling of interests, the buyer has to put it on the balance sheet as goodwill and write it off over a period of years. With pooling, however, there's no tax consequences.* * *
MORGAN: And for the seller, it's like going public and instantly having a trading market for your stock.* * *
WURTS: Sometimes there are restrictions in the deal, as well. We agreed we wouldn't sell more than 20% the first year and 25% the second. After that, we were unrestricted.* * *
MORGAN: On the assumption that what entrepreneurs screw up most is the selling of their companies, I went to an investment seminar where 600 financial types and presidents got up and presented their companies that maybe were going public. I wanted to hear how they described things, what values they put on them. I sat in the audience and thought, how can I compete -- listening to them, each company was going to be as big as the gross national product by the time it was 10 years out. I knew then that I would never run a public company.* * *
WURTS: Being public is like signing up for enlistment in the Army: you keep agreeing to five more years. You can't get any money out, because when you sell as the president of a public company, you discourage everybody else. Going public is the way if you're desperate to get a little money, but really want to end up keeping the company. Or if the company itself needs the money. Ours didn't, so a public offering wasn't a good vehicle for us: we couldn't get enough out.* * *
INC.: Is there a postpartum depression of a sort that hits after you've sold?* * *
MORGAN: It's painful -- that's one way of saying it. People don't change quickly. Do not expect to be different in a week.* * *
INC.: Not even if they do something dramatic, like sail around the world?* * *
MORGAN: In retrospect, the problem arose after returning. Returning was extraordinarily, excruciatingly painful. Suddenly I was going nowhere. At least when I was sailing, I was making progress toward a goal -- 90 miles, 200 miles, a day. But I didn't know where I was going when I came back. Nowhere was where I was going.* * *
WURTS: I was envious when I read Dodge's book. Here's a guy who had a company, sold it, got the money, and then went right on to do something he wanted to do. Perfect! Whereas I had dumped myself out with nothing to do. Hearing that, I'm not so envious.* * *
MORGAN: It was something, coming back from complete solitude and being shot out of a cannon into the center ring of a circus. I barked and rolled over and did what I was supposed to. Friends who had come there to see me, I never even said hello to -- I was spending my time talking to reporters. That celebrity crap, it's unsatisfying.* * *
INC.: But don't you agree there's something to being a business star, that there's a certain fame to building outstanding businesses? If not, then what's in it for you?* * *
WURTS: I don't think founders do it because they want the fame. They want the sense of accomplishment.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: And when you don't have a sense of destination anymore for the people in your company, it's time to go out and find a new vision.* * *
MORGAN: It's the intensity of that vision that has a lot to do with the problem of change. Some people lead productive and happy lives without intensely chasing goals.* * *
WURTS: That's why entrepreneurs are special. Another person's vision won't work for an entrepreneur.* * *
KRISS: It really can't be somebody else's. Most, if not all, the entrepreneurs I know have a hard time working for other people. Not that you can't be in collaboration with others, but you have a hard time taking certain kinds of directions at a high level from other people. Maybe that's what, in part, creates that intensity.* * *
INC.: Statistics say that a large percentage of people who sell businesses later admit they regret having sold them. Can you reflect on why that might be?* * *
WURTS: It's precisely because they don't have anything to do. Their kids are in school, they can't get up and leave and change their lives.* * *
INC.: What advice would you give INC. readers?* * *
WURTS: I think you should find out the next thing before you get rid of the first thing.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: What about the idea of the unknown? In other words, drop off a cliff into a black hole, and confront who you are and what your deep needs are. Isn't that a valuable experience?* * *
WURTS: No. You're saying get rid of everything and start all over again for the hell of it. Most people aren't that gutsy. The sane thing to do is take time off.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: But it's not the same thing.* * *
WURTS: It absolutely is the same thing. You can find out just what getting out of the rat race is like by taking six months off.* * *
MORGAN: It's different. You're renewing your spirit for the venture, which you go back to. You ought to sell your company first, then sit down and logically go through alternatives. Come up with your next plan without having to hurry.* * *
KRISS: I think people who do that are miserable.* * *
WURTS: I did it, and I was miserable.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: If you take a six-month sabbatical, you may realize that what you already have is an ideal platform from which to go on to the next, bigger project. That's one reason people might regret having sold their companies.* * *
MORGAN: Realistically, how many entrepreneurs can take six months off?* * *
WURTS: They think they can't, but they can.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: Oh, yeah, they definitely can.* * *
WURTS: Hire a chief operating officer, get some good vice-presidents. Most entrepreneurs won't put a second team underneath them. They feel they have to be everything themselves. If they could just do that, they'd cure a big reason for selling. Go take six months off, let everybody else do the stuff you've gotten tired of.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: The other thing about a sale is its trauma. It's irreversible. If you take time off, at least you can think about it.* * *
KRISS: Your relationship with your family changes, too. If you're suddenly home 20 days a month, it's going to affect everyone.* * *
MORGAN: And you've already told us what wonderful company you are.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: For me, and I think for most, the mystery is the fun. When you're starting a new company, there's so much mystery. It's predictability that gets to you. I equate predictability with boredom. You know the kinds of problems you have to solve, and you know you can solve them. You've agonized those problems through time and again, and even the agony is predictable. You must have that mystery; you must not know how it's going to come out.* * *
KRAVETZ: One of the great reasons for an entrepreneur to sell a business is that the business is predictable. You're so used to living in an aura of risk that when you know what's going to happen, when you become CEO of a staid and stable environment, you realize that's not what you signed up for. That could be more a motivating factor than getting a good price.
GOLDHIRSH: I agree. And that ties into the concept of vision. If you still have a vision, there's still mystery. Once you achieve the vision and the business gets there, you start to wallow in it.* * *
WURTS: You've got to have the next goal in place, or you're stuck. I remember finally getting profitable, and there was a letdown: now what do we do?* * *
KRAVETZ: The difference is the operating guy likes predictability, and the entrepreneur likes risk. When risk is excised from the equation, you have a problem.* * *
KRISS: One of the things that has happened over the last decade -- maybe because of the popular press -- is that entrepreneurs seem to be characterized as people who do what they do to make a lot of money. If there were a list of motivating factors, making money is going to be toward the bottom. For some, it is the bottom.* * *
WURTS: Well, I started my business because I wanted to make money, but I wouldn't have started it if I hadn't also had a vision for a product. And that's why I didn't start a second business. After I sold MDS, I had the cash, I had the people, I had everything I needed -- except I couldn't find a vision for a product to get excited about. If I had, I guarantee I would have started another company from scratch. It had to be a big idea -- that's the problem.* * *
KRISS: Now there are these venture funds buying companies and doing deals to make money as the number-one motivating factor. It's all been institutionalized. Instead of a visionary entrepreneur saying he'll put together his own company and do it for reasons beyond the fact that he's going to make an economic return, you now have people with M.B.A.s whose only reason for doing it is economic return.* * *
KRAVETZ: Wait a minute. Their vision is money, your vision was some particular product. There's nothing wrong with their vision.* * *
KRISS: I can name lots of examples of deals that were done recently without any overriding strategic vision of any kind other than a good way to make 10 times on your money instead of 3 times.* * *
KRAVETZ: If you find a way to make 10 times more that way than any other way, what's wrong with that?* * *
KRISS: It's short term, that's what's wrong.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: What's wrong with it is that we're not building things of enduring value. It's like playing chess: the game may be challenging, but when it's over, nothing's been built.* * *
KRISS: Here's a typical cycle: an entrepreneur builds a company and sells it to an enterprise that doesn't have the same kind of personal investment he does. It has purely financial motives. A year or two later the company's a complete wreck. There's no transfer of vision from the entrepreneur; no one else has that kind of direction.* * *
WURTS: But that problem stems from the entrepreneur. He builds up the company and it becomes successful. Then he says I need to do something else, I'm no longer the right guy to run this, let the operating guys do it. What happens is, its world changes. Then the business needs that vision again. The people in it don't recognize the world as changed, and they run the company as before. Reacting to change is what the entrepreneur is good at, yet he's gone.* * *
MORGAN: I think you're right. In fact, an entrepreneur causes change.* * *
INC.: How did you all take care of your employees?* * *
KRISS: MediVision had some 500 employees, of whom 450 were in the field. They were going to be there no matter what. It was the 50 people or so in Boston that I was concerned about. Of those, top management was 10 or 12, and I knew realistically that at least half wouldn't survive. That was tough. But today, they're all talking to me.* * *
INC.: You could have taken them and started another business with them.* * *
KRISS: You can't do that. It's like if you took your grown-up children and decided you were going to re-create your family when they were kids. For example, the guy who took over as president as my replacement at MediVision started out as my corporate counsel. He developed tremendously during those years. You can't turn the clock back and say, OK, let's go back to the way we were.* * *
INC.: Did anyone set up the people left behind with employment contracts?* * *
MORGAN: I didn't demand employment contracts, because I was sure our people would earn their way. But one thing I did convince Dynatech to do was set up an incentive stock option plan. I hadn't carried out all my promises to my people, so I got Dynatech to do it.* * *
INC.: If any of you were to start another business now, would you predict it would be easier or harder?* * *
WURTS: It would be harder. When I was looking for companies to start after I sold, I must have found a dozen situations where I said if I were 25 years old, I would do it. Instead, I said, well, that's impossible.* * *
GOLDHIRSH: But you have more knowledge.* * *
MORGAN: More knowledge -- and less energy. And the need is less.* * *
KRAVETZ: And you're not willing to put everything at risk to accomplish it.* * *
INC.: Is there a difference in deciding what to do next, now that you've got a lot of cash to fool around with?* * *
KRISS: I don't know many who have sold their company and, when they start a second project, put their own money in.* * *
WURTS: You've spent all that time trying to get the money, the last thing you want to do is bet it on the next roll of dice.* * *
KRISS: One thing I realize is right now I'm not interested in starting another company, although I've had opportunities. I'm much more interested in fixing a company, going down the sort of path that Jay went. At first I thought the reason I didn't want to start a company is I've seen how damn hard it is. Then I understood that wasn't the real reason. What was troubling me was the realization that the start-up would have to be much more spectacular than what I had just done to give me the same satisfaction, and the likelihood of that happening was small.* * *
INC.: Since you've sold, are any of you involved with civic or charitable causes?* * *
WURTS: Maybe it's outrageous, but I've always assumed I could contribute more by creating a successful company and creating jobs and making better products and using Yankee ingenuity, now that American business is involved in a world battle.* * *
ALL: Without question. Absolutely right.


text:
A sweet girl snuggles in her blanket with her teddy bear and doll.
Threads are not included with the canvas, please purchase separately.
Stitch count for this canvas is approximately 9,633
(assuming regular needlepoint stitch).
The design is made up of 16 different colors.
See the list below for a swatch of each color, along with the approximate number of stitches each color will use.
teddy, doll, blanket, girl, sleeping, nap


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Capri Cellars opens store, tasting room
September 25, 2012
By Staff
Capri Cellars recently opened a wine store and tasting room at 88 Front St. S.
Capri Cellars offers six different tasting flights each with three wines. A total of 18 wines are available for tasting whenever the store is open.
New wines are rotated into the flights weekly. Flight prices range from $11 to $18.
At Capri Cellars, the focus is on smaller boutique Northwest wineries.
Domestic wines include a large selection from Washington as well as several from Oregon and California. Foreign selections include favorites from France, Italy and Spain, South America and Australia.
Regular hours are from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Wine tasting is offered seven days a week.
Also offered are free wine tastings every Thursday from 5-7 p.m. Check the website www.capricellars.com for the schedule, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/capricellars or call 369-4289.
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Watch Big Wave Surfers Take on the Biggest, Coldest Left in the World Today and Tomorrow
- When
- June 4, 2013
The Big Wave World Tour makes its annual stop at Punta De Lobos, Chile today and tomorrow. Want to see surfers take on very large, very long waves breaking off a spectacular rock about a quarter mile off the Chilean Coast? Tune in. I'll be rooting for San Francisco-based surfers Joao De Macedo and Alex Martins


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The Swiss franc is taking a beating against the US dollar today, down 1.5%, as the Swiss continue to try to throw up walls to keep investors from scrambling into the franc as a safe haven.
Central-bank intervention has already been tried, and recently we've seen negative Swiss Libor rates.
The latest pot of boiling oil that might get poured on investors? Fees on bank deposits.
Katharina Bart reports:
MarketBeat looks under the hood of Wall Street each day, finding market-moving news, analyzing trends and highlighting noteworthy commentary from the best blogs and research. MarketBeat is updated frequently throughout the day, helping investors stay on top of what's happening in the markets. Lead writers Paul Vigna and Steven Russolillo spearhead the MarketBeat team, with contributions from other Journal reporters and editors. Have a comment? Write to email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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