TV doctor and actor, Patrick Dempsey, has apparently beat out Starbucks to buy Seattle-based Tully's Coffee, a bid Dempsey says will retain the company's jobs. Cnbc's Jane Wells reports.
By Martha C. White
Too much coffee can make anybody a little giddy.
Patrick Dempsey, best known as Dr. Derek ?McDreamy? Shepherd on medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," sent out a celebratory Tweet late last night after his investment group made the highest single bid for Tully?s Coffee in a Seattle bankruptcy auction. ?We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and...SHE BLINKED! We got it! Thank you Seattle!? he wrote.
The ?green monster? is Starbucks, and either it or the bankruptcy judge who still has to approve the deal at a hearing next week could throw a wrench into Dempsey?s white knighthood.
The investment group of which Dempsey is a member, Global Baristas LLC, beat out the other six bidders, including the coffee giant, with an offer of $9.15 million for the 47-store chain. In a statement, Scott Pearson, CEO and president of Tully?s parent company TC Global, Inc., called the auction outcome ?a big win for Seattle.?
Tully?s, which filed for bankruptcy in October and closed 19 stores, has more than 500 employees. Dempsey said preserving those jobs was a top priority.??I?m thrilled that we won and I?m even more excited about saving Tully?s Coffee and its hundreds of jobs,? he said in a statement. ?I am honored to have the privilege to own Tully?s.?
But his grand plans and talk of ownership are a little premature. ?On its face, Dempsey won because he outbid everybody else, but they haven?t won yet,? said Anthony Michael Sabino, a bankruptcy attorney who specializes in corporate restructuring.
Global Baristas still has to get through a hearing on Jan. 11 and have a bankruptcy judge verify that its bid is the highest and best. ?The reasonable expectation is very high that the Dempsey group will be the new owner of Tully?s, but it?s not an absolute certainty yet,? Sabino said.
One roadblock could be Starbucks. ?We?ve made an offer for 25 locations and another bidder made an offer for all of the remaining assets and the combined amount of our bids is $10.56 million,? said spokesman Zack Hutson, who added that even though the auction is over, the judge hasn?t made her decision yet.?
With a bid nearly $1.5 million higher than Global Baristas, Starbucks or the unnamed second bidder could challenge the results of the auction in next week's hearing. "We're evaluating our options," Hutson said.
Sabino said price isn?t everything in bankruptcy sales, though. ?The quality of the bid can sometimes overcome higher [ ones],? Sabino said. The bankruptcy court has to weigh a variety of factors besides the dollar amount, such as how much of an offer is cash or assumption of debt versus equity, how quickly the deal is likely to close, whether or not there is likely to be any regulatory review that could delay the sale and which buyer?s plan for the company?s future will benefit stakeholders the most.
A Global Baristas spokesperson said via email it was confident it would prevail at the hearing ?because of the loss of jobs and breakup of company if others were chosen.?
Hutson countered by saying Starbucks also would keep jobs. ?If our bid is accepted along with the companion bid, we intend to invite Tully?s employees at the locations we acquire to apply for positions with us,? he said, adding that current Tully?s employees would get preference as long as they met Starbucks? job requirements.
Despite his onscreen ability to resuscitate the ailing, Dempsey doesn?t have a background in corporate turnarounds, and he began making plans to buy Tully?s only about a week before Christmas. He seemed eager to get involved, sending out Tweets throughout the day on Friday chronicling his visits to different Tully?s shops. ?Heading to Clyde Hill Tully's now to meet employees and our customers. Very exciting,? he wrote.
?I will be making Seattle my home away from home and spending a significant amount of time in the community,? he pledged.
Burry Stander, seen here in 2010, was hailed as a "South African icon and sporting great" by Oscar Pistorius.
?
By NBC News wire services
JOHANNESBURG - One of the world's top mountain bikers died Thursday after being hit by?a minibus taxi?while training on a coastal road.
Burry Stander, 25, narrowly missed out on a medal at the London Olympics, coming in fifth in the men's cross country event. He also finished 15th at the Beijing Games.
The South African was a former under-19 and under-23 world champion.
Police said Stander was killed on Thursday while cycling alone. He died at the scene of the accident in Shelly Beach, about 75 miles southwest of Durban.
'Ultra-competitive' "The taxi driver allegedly stopped after the accident until the arrival of the police. No arrest has been made at this stage," police said in a statement.
"I'm totally shattered," said Gideon Sam, president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. He called Stander "talented, ultra-competitive but at the same time extremely humble and a true gentleman."
Full international coverage from NBC News
The two-time Olympian's death prompted a flood of tributes on social media from South African athletes, politicians and celebrities. Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic runner and multiple Paralympic medalist, said on Twitter he was "utterly devastated."
"A South African icon and sporting great. RIP my friend," Pistorius wrote.
Cycling South Africa said Stander was the country's most successful mountain biker and "a true icon and sporting role model."
Stander was the second leading cyclist to be killed in a road accident in South Africa in recent years. Carla Swart died in January 2011 when she was hit by a truck while training.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More world stories from NBC News:
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HOUSTON (AP) The Houston Texans were looking forward to enjoying a bye this week before beginning their work in the playoffs as the AFC?s top seed.
Instead, a terrible month in which they lost three of four games dropped the Texans to the third seed. It has them in the exact same spot as year ago, hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in a wild-card playoff game Saturday.
The Texans wasted little time this week lamenting their missed opportunities, though, instead focusing on their next task.
Y-cam Showcases Wide Range of Security Cameras at CES ? Debuting First-to-Market Outdoor Cloud Camera for the Home, Professional IP Models and Award-Winning BabyPing Smart Baby Monitor
Y-cam HomeMonitorTM, Y-cam Cube HD and award-winning BabyPing smart baby monitor showcased in
Las Vegas ? January 3, 2013 ? Award-winning, British IP camera specialist Y-cam Solutions Ltd, the leading provider of affordable and easy-to-use security cameras and as well as popular smart baby monitor BabyPing, debuts HomeMonitorTM and Cube at CES ? two distinct lines of wireless cameras catering to residential and professional use, with a first-to-market outdoor cloud version offered with HomeMonitorTM. New products will be showcased in South Hall 2, Booth # MP25458, along with the award-winning BabyPing remote-viewing baby monitor, launched this past September in the United States. "We believe remote video monitoring is genuinely valuable to a wide range of consumers. Who wouldn't want the option to see what's happening at their home from anywhere or record a short clip each time someone approaches their front door?" said Devin Chawda, Y-cam CEO. "The challenge up until now is most people are put off due to high costs, technical fears or reliability issues. Y-cam HomeMonitorTM changes this. Our market-leading camera technology connects to a free secure cloud account that can be viewed on virtually any mobile, computer, tablet or even TV. HomeMonitorTM is a truly unique product, simple enough to be used by anyone, and we believe it will revolutionize the way people connect to the things they care about most."
Y-cam HomeMonitorTM HomeMonitorTM is a new 'plug & play' secure cloud camera service that makes it easier than ever for people to monitor their home, loved ones and belongings from any device, anywhere. Quick and easy set-up takes minutes: connect the HomeMonitorTM camera to a home network (through Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable), create an online account and begin viewing live from anywhere; no technical knowhow or fiddling with routers required. Users can now see and store events securely in the cloud, viewing footage from any Internet-enabled computer or smartphone, with no monthly subscription required. Having the ability to tap into home life from anywhere in the world gives users peace of mind: check on children or elderly relatives, record clips each time someone approaches a front door or vehicle, or ensure the house is safe while traveling.
HomeMonitorTM is the first-ever residential monitoring solution offering both indoor and outdoor installations that are Wi-Fi enabled and offer true cloud-based viewing and recording. HomeMonitorTM Indoor ($199.99) and HomeMonitorTM Outdoor ($349.99) both come standard with the HomeMonitorTM free service package which includes 7 days of free online cloud storage and unlimited email alerts; an upgrade package is available to increase storage time for a low yearly fee (30 days of online recording is just $39.99 per camera, per year). HomeMonitorTM is a super easy, all-in-one home monitoring solution that works right out of the box. For a full list of features and to purchase HomeMonitorTM, visit www.homemonitoronline.com.
Y-cam Cube The Cube is a professional grade, indoor IP camera providing exceptional video and audio representation, ideal for home or business customers seeking the upmost in security, integration, design and reliability. Cube offers remote viewing and recording, plus local recording to microSD or NAS. Offering the highest quality, and widest range of inter-device compatibility, each camera is filled to the brim with specialized features which provide the next level of security for high-tech homes and safety-conscious businesses, allowing users to stay in control no matter where they may be. Cube also eliminates the need for bulky camera equipment; its small and sleek design blends quietly into any setting.
Three versions of the Cube are available ? VGA (640 x 480 resolution) and HD (720p and full HD 1080p) ? in either black or white. All offer market-leading powerful night vision, automatic IR cut filter operation for uncompromising color and picture quality in day and night, intuitive motion detection, real-time video and audio streaming to Internet-enabled devices, and minimal bandwidth usage and storage requirements. Y-cam is also one of the few IP camera companies that supports both PC and Mac platforms.
Cube is a robust, powerful security solution providing complete reassurance and protection, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For a full list of specs and to purchase Cube ($199.99-$349.99) beginning in February, visit www.y- cam.com.
"Over the past five years, we've seen a trend among parents trying to use our existing Y-cam cameras for baby monitoring. As parents ourselves, we understood that our current cameras didn't meet the needs of modern parents so we tasked ourselves with creating a baby monitoring system that integrated the high-tech video and wireless Wi-Fi technology of our current lines blended with more user-friendly features and cutting-edge app development," said Chawda. "The BabyPing Video Monitor leads the Y-cam vision to make monitoring loved ones simple and affordable for everyone."
BabyPing BabyPing is a secure Wi-Fi-enabled smart baby monitor. Parents can hear, view and monitor their infant at all times via an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch using the free BabyPing app, which runs in the background so users can continue to read books, surf the web or listen to music on their devices while simultaneously monitoring their baby.
BabyPing has developed its own technology evolving it into a truly next generation smart baby monitor ? not just a 'baby viewer.' SmartFilterTM technology cuts out background noise and static associated with traditional baby monitors, and Constant-ConnectTM acts as a permanent tether between the app and monitor notifying the user when the baby is upset or or if their Wi-Fi network status changes at any point. BabyPing+ allows for viewing when outside the home over 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi, and also gives one-tap sharing access to family and friends, wherever they are in the world. These features allow parents to not only see their baby remotely, but actually monitor their baby locally without delays or broken connections. BabyPing is currently the only Wi-Fi monitor on the market with completely invisible infrared night vision, offering round-the-clock visibility without disturbing the baby. Modern and sleek in design, BabyPing is simple to set-up directly on an iOS device with no need for a computer, and the ability to use the monitor at home when not connected to the internet ensures parents who worry about privacy and security can rest easy. BabyPing also features all the specifications you would expect from a high tech baby monitor, such as vivid full color video with 640 x 480 resolution, a high quality built-in microphone and superfast wireless Wi-Fi, double-layer security and customizable alerts (live audio or silent vibrations) to inform parents if the baby cries, if Wi-Fi connection has been broken or if the iOS device is out of range, putting parents firmly in control by creating the safest way to monitor their baby.
Launched in September 2012 in the US, BabyPing has already received the prestigious 2012 Kind Und Jugend Innovation Award for its ingenious use of the latest in modern, safe technology. To learn more or to purchase BabyPing ($199.99), visit www.babyping.com.
Every few years, the Census releases its projections for how many people of every possible combination of age, sex, race and ethnicity will live in the United States over the next half century. Curious how many 35-year-old female Hispanic American Indian/Alaskan Natives there will be in 2045? I can tell you. It?s 17,632.
One might scoff at this sort of datum. How could the Census Bureau possibly know what medical advances will prolong our lives over the next 33 years? Or what geopolitical currents will shift immigration patterns? And what about the robot apocalypse? Will the robots prey on every age group with statistical uniformity?
The Census doesn?t know, of course. A projection is a portrait of what the country will look like if present trends persist exactly as they are now: if babies are born to parents of different races at the same rates, immigration is unchanged, and people?s life spans adhere precisely to the unforgiving mathematics of decline. No one, including the Census Bureau, believes this will happen.
When your mother says, ?Keep eating like that and you?ll have a heart attack when you?re 50,? she is not predicting the future. She is commenting on your present behavior. Population projections have the same effect: They don?t tell us much about the distant future, but they tell us a surprising amount about the present.
?The idea is that if all of the assumptions were to come true, that is what we would expect the population to be at that future point in time,? says Census demographer Jennifer Ortman, who led the team that produced the projections.
In the interactive below, you can track the predicted population for any demographic profile, based on the figures released last month. Each line represents people born in a single year. You can drag the sliding bar back and forth to examine individual years of birth.
If the line rises, it is due to immigration (there is no method by which people of a given age otherwise materialize from thin air). Lines tend to tick up at the end because the Census groups everyone who is 100 or older together, and there tend to be more of them than there are 99-year-olds.
If this view is too morbid for you?I?d like to think I have more than a 3-in-4 shot at being a vibrant, dashing 77-year-old in 2060?you can switch the view in the upper right-hand corner to ?by age,? which shows a different view: How many people of an exact age, race, ethnicity and sex will live in America in the next five decades? Rather than, for example, track people who are 37 right now, this tracks the number of 37-year-olds there will be each year going forward.
I find this more interesting, because it shows us waves of births and captures the rise or decline of a given slice of the population independent of time?s cruel recall. There will be twice as many 72-year-olds in 2060 as there are today, for example?a fact that starkly captures the reality of our aging population. Dragging the bar to age zero shows projected births. Dragging it to 65 shows us that, in the next several years alone, the number of newly eligible retirees will spike dramatically.
When we look at these projections, we?re visited by the Ghost of Census Future?not, perhaps, attended by the same terror as Scrooge encountered, but with the same knowledge that what we?re really seeing is the present.
No need for routine repeated CT scans after mild head trauma, reports neurosurgeryPublic release date: 3-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Connie Hughes Connie.Hughes@wolterskluwer.com 646-674-6348 Wolters Kluwer Health
If patient is stable, repeated scans unlikely to affect treatment
Philadelphia, Pa. (January 3, 2013) When initial computed tomography (CT) scans show bleeding within the brain after mild head injury, decisions about repeated CT scans should be based on the patient's neurological condition, according to a report in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
The study questions the need for routinely obtaining repeated CT scans in patients with mild head trauma. "The available evidence indicates that it is unnecessary to schedule a repeat CT scan after mild head injury when patients are unchanged or improving neurologically," according to the study by Dr. Saleh Almenawer and colleagues of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., Canada.
Are Repeated Scans Necessary after Mild Head Trauma?
In a review of their hospital's trauma database, the researchers identified 445 adult patients with mild head injury who had evidence of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH)bleeding within the brainon an initial CT scan. In many trauma centers, it's standard practice to schedule a second CT scan within 24 hours after ICH is detected, to make sure that the bleeding has not progressed.
To evaluate the need for routine repeated scans, Dr. Almenawer and colleagues looked at how many patients needed surgery or other additional treatments, and whether the change in treatment was triggered by changes in the patients' neurological condition or based on the routine CT scan alone. (For patients whose neurological condition worsened, CT was performed immediately.)
Overall, 5.6 percent of the patients required a change in treatment after the second CT scan. Most of these patients underwent surgery (craniectomy) to relieve pressure on the brain. Nearly all patients who underwent further treatment developed neurological changes leading to immediate CT scanning.
Just two patients had a change in treatment based solely on routine repeated CT scans. Both of these patients received a drug (mannitol) to reduce intracranial pressure, rather than surgery
Decisions on CT Scans Can Be Based on Neurological Status
Dr. Almenawer and colleagues extended the same method to patients reported in 15 previous studies of CT scanning after mild head injury. Including the 445 new patients, the analysis included a total of 2,693 patients. Overall, 2.7 percent of patients had a change in management based on neurological changes. In contrast, just 0.6 percent had treatment changes based on CT scans only.
Bleeding within the brain is a potentially life-threatening condition, prompting routine repeated CT scans after even mild head injury. The researchers write, "Although CT scanners are very useful tools, in an era of diminishing resources and a need to justify medical costs, this practice needs to be evaluated." Each scan also exposes the patient to radiation, contributing to increased cancer risk.
The new study questions the need for routine repeated CT scans, as long as the patient's neurological condition is improving or stable. "In the absence of supporting data, we question the value of routine follow-up imaging given the associated accumulative increase in cost and risks," Dr. Almenawer and coauthors conclude.
Neurological examination is the "simple yet important" predictive factor leading to changes in treatment and guiding the need for repeat CT scanning after mild head injury, the researchers add. They emphasize that their findings don't necessarily apply to patients with more severe head injury.
###
About Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery, the Official Journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, is your most complete window to the contemporary field of neurosurgery. Members of the Congress and non-member subscribers receive 3,000 pages per year packed with the very latest science, technology, and medicine, not to mention full-text online access to the world's most complete, up-to-the-minute neurosurgery resource. For professionals aware of the rapid pace of developments in the field, Neurosurgery is nothing short of indispensable.
About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.
LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2011 annual revenues of 3.4 billion ($4.7 billion).
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
No need for routine repeated CT scans after mild head trauma, reports neurosurgeryPublic release date: 3-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Connie Hughes Connie.Hughes@wolterskluwer.com 646-674-6348 Wolters Kluwer Health
If patient is stable, repeated scans unlikely to affect treatment
Philadelphia, Pa. (January 3, 2013) When initial computed tomography (CT) scans show bleeding within the brain after mild head injury, decisions about repeated CT scans should be based on the patient's neurological condition, according to a report in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
The study questions the need for routinely obtaining repeated CT scans in patients with mild head trauma. "The available evidence indicates that it is unnecessary to schedule a repeat CT scan after mild head injury when patients are unchanged or improving neurologically," according to the study by Dr. Saleh Almenawer and colleagues of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., Canada.
Are Repeated Scans Necessary after Mild Head Trauma?
In a review of their hospital's trauma database, the researchers identified 445 adult patients with mild head injury who had evidence of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH)bleeding within the brainon an initial CT scan. In many trauma centers, it's standard practice to schedule a second CT scan within 24 hours after ICH is detected, to make sure that the bleeding has not progressed.
To evaluate the need for routine repeated scans, Dr. Almenawer and colleagues looked at how many patients needed surgery or other additional treatments, and whether the change in treatment was triggered by changes in the patients' neurological condition or based on the routine CT scan alone. (For patients whose neurological condition worsened, CT was performed immediately.)
Overall, 5.6 percent of the patients required a change in treatment after the second CT scan. Most of these patients underwent surgery (craniectomy) to relieve pressure on the brain. Nearly all patients who underwent further treatment developed neurological changes leading to immediate CT scanning.
Just two patients had a change in treatment based solely on routine repeated CT scans. Both of these patients received a drug (mannitol) to reduce intracranial pressure, rather than surgery
Decisions on CT Scans Can Be Based on Neurological Status
Dr. Almenawer and colleagues extended the same method to patients reported in 15 previous studies of CT scanning after mild head injury. Including the 445 new patients, the analysis included a total of 2,693 patients. Overall, 2.7 percent of patients had a change in management based on neurological changes. In contrast, just 0.6 percent had treatment changes based on CT scans only.
Bleeding within the brain is a potentially life-threatening condition, prompting routine repeated CT scans after even mild head injury. The researchers write, "Although CT scanners are very useful tools, in an era of diminishing resources and a need to justify medical costs, this practice needs to be evaluated." Each scan also exposes the patient to radiation, contributing to increased cancer risk.
The new study questions the need for routine repeated CT scans, as long as the patient's neurological condition is improving or stable. "In the absence of supporting data, we question the value of routine follow-up imaging given the associated accumulative increase in cost and risks," Dr. Almenawer and coauthors conclude.
Neurological examination is the "simple yet important" predictive factor leading to changes in treatment and guiding the need for repeat CT scanning after mild head injury, the researchers add. They emphasize that their findings don't necessarily apply to patients with more severe head injury.
###
About Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery, the Official Journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, is your most complete window to the contemporary field of neurosurgery. Members of the Congress and non-member subscribers receive 3,000 pages per year packed with the very latest science, technology, and medicine, not to mention full-text online access to the world's most complete, up-to-the-minute neurosurgery resource. For professionals aware of the rapid pace of developments in the field, Neurosurgery is nothing short of indispensable.
About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.
LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2011 annual revenues of 3.4 billion ($4.7 billion).
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 3-Jan-2013
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