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John Brackenbury notified Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. on Aug. 23 that he will retire from his board and committee posts with the company and its U.K. subsidiaries, the company said Friday in a regulatory filing.

He will leave the board effective Oct. 5, when the company will hold its 2010 annual stockholders meeting at its Creve Coeur, Mo., headquarters, and won’t stand for re-election. Brackenbury’s retirement from the board isn’t the result of any disagreement with the company, according to the filing.

Brackenbury, 72, had been a director since January 2004 and was on Isle of Capri’s stock option and compensation committee. He has more than 40 years’ experience in the leisure industry in the U.K., and has served as chairman of trade group Business in Sport & Leisure since 1985 free business cards.

Isle of Capri began exiting its international operations with the sale last April of its casino in Coventry in the U.K.

Isle of Capri (Nasdaq: ISLE), led by Chairman and Chief Executive James Perry, reported $999.8 million in net revenue in fiscal 2010, which ended April 25. The company owns and operates riverboat, dockside and land-based casinos at 15 locations in Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Colorado, Iowa and Florida.

The company plans to build a $125 million casino north of downtown Cape Girardeau, Mo., if it’s successful in winning Missouri’s 13th and final gaming license.

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I have always had trouble delegating. Even as a manager in corporate America, I had a tendency to do all my work myself — everything from scheduling meetings, to reserving conference rooms, to ordering lunch for guests and sending faxes. I was convinced I was the best person to complete these tasks.

That tendency continued when I started my own marketing agency and hired a couple of interns. Rarely could they get the work done as quickly or as thoroughly as I could, so, too often, I kept it for myself.

As you might expect with only one person working at capacity — me — my firm quickly hit a revenue ceiling. Everything I was able to do myself, I did. It was only when I encountered a need for a website, which I had no idea how to design and create, that I was forced hand over a key task.

And after witnessing how much could be done by someone else, I did a complete about-face. I began looking for opportunities to delegate and outsource.

Buoyed by Tim Ferriss’ recommendation of low-cost help in his bestselling The 4-Hour Workweek, I turned to Brickwork India, in Bangalore, for some market research. I wanted to know how large a particular industry was to help me determine if it was worth targeting. But since this was a not yet a revenue-generating concern, I also wanted to keep my costs as low as possible. Hiring Bain or the Boston Consulting Group was not an option.

I have a virtual assistant in Texas (I’m in New York) who handles much of my Web work, at $50 an hour, but this project required a different skill-set. I had already spent a few hours of my time conducting my own top-line investigation and came up short. So when Ferriss indicated that Brickwork charges as little as $15 an hour, I decided to test them out.

I went to the company’s website and completed an initial Request for Information form identifying myself and the specific tasks I needed a Brickwork analyst to perform. Based on that input, I received a quote for a block of 10 hours of work in the next 30 days. The cost was $140. Total. I was more than willing to risk $14 an hour on this experiment.

The next step was setting up my Brickwork account, which took a matter of minutes, and paying the $140 via credit card. I received an introductory e-mail from my senior executive assistant the next afternoon, the start of their work day. I would have liked to have been able to request a particular worker, since a colleague had recommended a talented researcher there, but there was no opportunity to request anyone specific during the sign-up quick guaranteed personal loans.

Unsure of whether I should immediately hand off this important research project, I started with a softball task — compile a list of associations and organizations for writers in the U.S. Within a matter of hours, I had a spreadsheet listing 15 such organizations, their corresponding locations and number of members. Given that I could rattle off close to a dozen writers’ associations off the top of my head, I was a bit disappointed it took my executive assistant two hours to come up with 15. I was fairly certain there were more, but the information I received was well-organized.

So I forged ahead and with eight hours remaining on my credit I asked for help in finding the size of the ghostwriting industry. Mindful that more than eight hours could be spent with little to show for it, I set a cap of two hours. Those two hours were quickly gone and, in exchange, I received a list of four small companies that compete in that market. Not exactly what I was after. And then there were six hours left.

We spent some time going back and forth, as I tried to clarify exactly what I needed while also trying to assess whether there was any chance I would actually get it. Looking back, I should have picked up the phone and spent five minute making sure my assistant truly understood what I wanted, but e-mail was so much more convenient; I had her phone number but didn’t use it.

From the tasks I assigned and the deliverables I received, it slowly became clear that Brickwork was awesome at tracking down information with a single known value. For example, if you wanted to know how many babies were born last year worldwide, I’m sure my executive assistant could have found that fact. But ask for information that requires some primary research or deductive reasoning and you’ll burn through several hours just explaining what you’re after, information-wise. Alas, my industry research task falls into the latter category.

At such a low hourly rate and with the flexibility to hire a Brickworker on a whim, I may turn to them for administrative help in the future. But only when the data I need is well-defined and finite. 

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San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed on Friday asked county leaders to delay picking an ambulance service provider, saying the county has offered few details on how the two companies vying for the five-year, $375 million contract can afford to deliver their promised services.

Reed issued the warning in a letter to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, whose members appear ready to pick Rural Rural/Metro Corp. as its new provider on Tuesday and drop its longtime ambulance company, American Medical Response Inc.

In his letter, Reed asked the supervisors to delay any decisions until a more “detailed analysis” of the two companies’ bids can take place.

Among other things, Rural/Metro (NASDAQ:RURL) has offered to pay the paramedic training costs for 15 members of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety within the first two years of its ambulance contract, according to a recent county government staff report. Sunnyvale, the report noted, is the only city in the county without first response paramedic services.

Meanwhile, AMR or its predecessors have contracted with the county since 1979. According to its website, AMR employs 480 paramedics and emergency medical technicians in the county and responds to an average of 115,000 calls annually.

“I urge you to take more time to ensure that the proposals are fiscally viable,” Reed wrote, adding there is too much “at stake” to do otherwise.

According to the recent county staff report, Rural/Metro and AMR were the only two companies to respond to the county’s request for ambulance service proposals. The RFP was issued in mid-April.

An evaluation committee scored their proposals. The staff report said Rural/Metro won in six of nine categories, including clinical care, ambulance deployment plan and price. For instance, Rural/Metro proposed charging $35 per mile for each transport, far less than AMR’s $90 per mileproposal saving account payday loan.

AMR, however, scored 90 out of 90 possible points in the “finance” category. Rural/Metro scored 67.5.

Rural/Metro is a nationwide ambulance contractor based in Scottsdale, Ariz.

In January, for instance, its longtime CEO abruptly resigned, and in April, the Arizona Republic reported the company “ousted” two high-ranking executives. One of those executives was fired over alleged expense-reimbursement violations, according to the news report.

Metro reportedly took on a heavy debt load in the 1990s during a nationwide, acquisition-fueled expansion but appears to have since righted itself. In 2006, the company’s credit rating with Moody’s Investors Service stood at B2, a “junk” quality that is five levels below investment-grade. Moody’s later upgraded the rating after the company improved financially.

In its most recent earnings report, Rural/Metro recorded a $4.4 million profit for the three months ending March 31, nearly three times higher than the $1.6 million profit during the same period a year earlier.

Liz Merritt, a company spokeswoman, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday night.

Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith is seeking approval from the Board of Supervisors next week to negotiate a first response and paramedic ambulance transportation contract with Rural/Metro. The board is slated in December to vote on approving a contract.

The county’s existing contract with AMR expires on June 30 of next year. AMR, which operates in 37 states and Washington, D.C, is owned by Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Emergency Medical Services Corporation (NYSE:EMS).

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Exactly what happened behind the scenes at Hewlett-Packard Co. as the board of directors reached a deal for CEO Mark Hurd to resign after an ethics probe over sexual harassment allegations is still not known.

But the back-room dealing that led to one of America's top CEOs to resign with what could be up to a $40 million severance deal from HP (NYSE: HPQ) continues to be one of the most-talked about topics in the business world more than a week after his departure.

In a report this weekend, The Wall Street Journal cited a person it says was familiar with the HP board's thinking who said that the former CEO short-circuited an internal investigation by agreeing to a settlement with former actress Jodie Fisher on August 4, two days before his departure was announced.

The Journal reported that the settlement with the former marketing contractor came without the board's knowledge or input, a day before Fisher and her lawyer were supposed to meet with HP's outside counsel and Hurd's personal lawyer.

That story runs counter to another that the Journal attributes to an unnamed source it said is familiar with Hurd's thinking that HP had repeatedly instructed its CEO for three weeks before the settlement to come to an agreement with his accuser.

That source told the Journal that Hurd gave the board everything it asked for up to that point but the directors didn't let him address them or respond directly to questions.

The paper further said, however, that another unnamed source familiar with the board's thinking encouraged Hurd to speak with the board but he declined. It said, however, that the source on Hurd's side didn't agree with that version of the story.

Hurd led NCR Corp. (NYSE: NCR) in Dayton before going to HP, and had helped grow it's data warehouse division into what spun off as Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC) while at NCR.

The latest revelations about Hurd's departure come amid continuing scrutiny of the reasons for his sudden exit.

New York Times columnist Joe Nocera called it "one of the great head-scratchers in recent times" in a Saturday piece.

"The consensus in Silicon Valley is that Mr. Hurd was despised at HP, not just by the rank and file, but even by HP’s top executives," Nocera wrote.

The Times columnist suggests that the sexual harassment claim merely gave the board the pretext for doing what it wanted to do, get rid of Hurd without provoking an outcry on Wall Street where he was extremely popular for turning around the company's finances.

"In fact, the directors should be called out for acting like the cowards they are," the columnist wrote in a scathing piece. "Mr. Hurd’s supposed peccadilloes were a smoke screen for the real reason they got rid of an executive they didn’t trust and employees didn’t like."

Fisher, 50, was working as a contractor for HP when the alleged incidents that led to Hurd's resignation on August 6 occurred. She was reportedly paid to appear as a greeter at HP customer events where Hurd also appeared.

HP said an internal investigation didn't find evidence of sexual harassment but did find instances when Hurd's behavior didn't live up to the company's codes of conduct. This reportedly included alleged instances of expenses Fisher was paid that weren't properly reported.

For more on this story, including Hurd's full connections to Dayton through the years, click the following DBJ stories in our continuing coverage:

Mark Hurd - Rise and fall of a CEO

Poll: HP right to force Mark Hurd to resign

Report: Mark Hurd agrees to pay settlement

Hewlett-Packard stock plummets on CEO scandal

HP CEO Hurd to get $12M severance payout

Full text of Mark Hurd's separation agreement with HP

HP CEO Mark Hurd resigns amid sexual harassment scandal

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Let’s be honest, academic types are known for many things. Efficiency is not the first that comes to mind.

That is unless they work at Southern Methodist University, which University Business magazine is recognizing as a “Model of Efficiency” in streamlining its business operations.

To be exact, the magazine is recognizing the university’s efforts to do away with hard copy postings for jobs internships. Instead, the university is replacing the process with an online program called SaddleUp that allows students and alumni to connect with employers online.

University Business magazine chooses stellar programs using its Higher One’s ‘Models of Efficiency’ program that identifies schools that find innovative and cost-effective ways to manage business operations No teletrak payday loan.

SMU caught the magazine's eye since the university’s Hegi Career Center used to have to post jobs and internships manually on its Web site. Employees there also had to make photocopies of each job for distribution. When the school purchased new software, they were then able to allow students to self-register online and search for jobs without the extra paperwork. Because of this change, the wait time for job postings has been reduced from six weeks to six hours.

No other Texas universities ranked on the “Model of Efficiency” list.

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Universal Orlando announced Aug. 6 that it is raising its one-day, one-park admission to $82 from $79, just a day after theme park-competitor Walt Disney World raised its prices on Aug.5.

In addition, many of the park’s other ticket options have received a $5 increase, except for the two-day, park-to-park ticket, which remains unchanged at $145. The Florida resident online specials remain unchanged. All price changes are effective Aug. 7.

The company’s goal is to continue to deliver high-end entertainment at a great value, “while keeping an eye on the marketplace,” said Tom Schroder, a Universal Orlando spokesman.

This marks the fifth consecutive year Universal and Disney have bumped up ticket costs.

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Restaurants can get a shot at a business makeover as part of Bernalillo County’s Taste of New Mexico event, which takes place October 8 and 9.

Anyone can nominate and vote for their favorite local restaurant online. The deadline is July 31, although that may be extended.

A team will do the makeover and will also work with the nominated restaurants to provide advice and assistance in marketing and branding.

The winning restaurant must be a local business owner who has great food and a passion for what they do. They must also show community involvement and help need help promoting their restaurant.

Local businesses that want to donate labor or materials to these effort should contact Rick Metz at rick.metz@upublic.tv. For more information, call Jesse Lopez in Bernalillo County Economic Development at (505) 468-7818.

The makeover will be based on what a restaurant needs. That could mean renovations or consulting or marketing and social networking.

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The parent company of First Community Bank said Monday that its stock was being delisted by NASDAQ, effective at the open of business Wednesday.

First State Bancorp (NASDAQ: FSNM ) made the announcement in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The stock closed at 36 cents per share Monday.

First Community lost $25.7 million in the first quarter, $110.5 million in 2009, and $153 million in 2008. It has been trying to raise capital to boost its reserves.

First Community President and CEO Pat Dee said the delisting was “another little bump in the road” for the bank, which has been under a regulatory order from the Federal Reserve Bank since the summer of 2009.

“The good news for our shareholders is that they can continue to trade the shares on the over-the-counter market,” Dee said. “This will not affect the day-to-day operations of the bank.”

The bank announced earlier this month that it had ended an unsuccessful effort to buy back $95 million in trust preferred securities at 15 cents on the dollar Internet Payday loans. The bank holding company announced June 9 that it was attempting to buy back the securities in an effort to rid itself of debt and recapitalize the bank.

The securities, bought by investors between 2002 and 2007, were used to capitalize the bank. The repurchase offer ended at 5 p.m. July 7.

In May, First State revised its first quarter financial statements to add $10 million to its loan loss reserves. That move dropped First Community’s ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets to 7.53 percent, which put the bank into the undercapitalized category for federal regulatory purposes.

First Community is New Mexico’s third largest bank, with $2.7 billion in assets.

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BCSB Bancorp Inc. swung to a profit of $607,000, or 14 cents a share, during the third quarter. That compares with a loss of $418,000, or 20 cents a share, the parent company of Baltimore County Savings Bank posted in the year-ago period.

BCSB Bancorp (NASDAQ: BCSB) said non-performing assets, consisting primarily of commercial loans, increased to $13.9 million as of June 30, up from $8.3 million on Sept. 30, 2009. That was also up from $2.4 million on June 30, 2009.

“Although our troubled loans have risen, asset quality remains strong overall,” Joseph J no fax payday loans. Bouffard, BCSB Bancorp’s CEO, said in a statement. “Management continues to be proactive in establishing what are believed to be appropriate reserve levels. We remain very well capitalized and are favorably positioned to weather these difficult economic conditions.”

BCSB Bancorp operates 18 branches in Baltimore City, and Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties.

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The drugmaking arm of Johnson & Johnson said late Thursday that it is laying off hundreds of workers at the manufacturing plant at the center of a recall of millions of units of children’s Tylenol, Motrin and other over-the-counter drugs.

Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ, Fortune 500) McNeil Consumer Healthcare division said 300 of more than 400 positions at the Fort Washington, PA facility will be eliminated as the company conducts a complete quality overhaul at the facility.

McNeil halted all production at the Fort Washington plant in early May this year after it recalled about 135 million bottles of children’s and infant’s Motrin, Tylenol, Benadryl and Zyrtec drugs made at the plant, due to quality concerns. The facility is the company’s only plant that makes its liquid pediatric non-prescription drugs.

McNeil is also currently under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration and lawmakers over a string of recalls of its products over the past year, including the latest recall of children’s drugs.

McNeil, which submitted what it called its "comprehensive action plan on quality improvement" for the Fort Washington plant to the FDA on Thursday, also said it will make a "significant investment in re-fitting its Fort Washington manufacturing facility with new equipment, and will reorganize the plant’s operations." As a result, the company anticipates that the plant will be out of service for a "protracted period of time."

The company said it is taking steps to expedite production of many of the products that were previously produced at Fort Washington by utilizing other Johnson & Johnson plants.

However, McNeil had previously announced that most of the products made at the Fort Washington plant will not be available in stores before the end of the year. 

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