Crank It Up

The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding small enterprises that Feb. 24 is the application deadline regarding federal government financial damage catastrophe loans offered in Lee and Scott counties in Virginia. The SBA proclaimed a natural disaster because of intense storms, tornadoes, straight-line gusts of wind along with floods which began on April 23, 2011.

In addition, the Small Business Administration stated in the week that federal government economic damage catastrophe financial loans are available to small companies, small farm cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and the majority of private non-profit organizations of any size based in the counties of Dillon and also Horry in South Carolina as a result of Hurricane Irene which took place in August.

“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to assist eligible entities affected by the same disaster,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is accessible to qualified farm-related in addition to nonfarm-related businesses that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. Aside from aquacultural organizations, agricultural producers, farmers along with ranchers are definitely not eligible to apply to SBA.

Financing for small business can be up to $2 million, with interest rates of 3 percent for non-profit organizations and 4 percent for small businesses. Terms can be up to 30 years. The SBA decides eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of undertaking and its financial assets. The agency identifies loan amounts as well as terms dependent on each and every applicant’s financial condition. SBA small business loan may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. These particular small business loans are not developed to take the place of already lost sales or business earnings.

Involved in the wake of the darkest court budget cuts in California’s history, plaintiffs’ trial lawyer Michael Alder of AlderLaw, P.C. in Beverly Hills assumed the office of president of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the nation’s largest local association of plaintiffs’ attorneys, that’s consisted of almost 3,000 attorneys.

“Consumer lawyers are vital, now more than ever, to protecting the civil rights of people who’ve been left without access to judicial relief, which is just about everyone except the super-rich,” said Alder. “Legal bills add up to astronomical sums very quickly, because litigation is such an intensive process. Without lawyers who work on a contingency fee basis, which means they risk their own money instead of the clients’ and agree not to be paid unless they win the case, even people with big incomes quickly find their resources drained when faced with the large legal bills that result from a contested matter. Consumer lawyers must be prepared to provide leadership, vision and most of all integrity.”

Alder is known as the steadfast advocate of plaintiffs’ couselors, also called consumer lawyers, working to raise public awareness of their importance at a time of corporate fraud and abuse. He’s been a member of CAALA for 14 years and spearheaded a city-wide billboard campaign to fund billboards that highlight the good that consumer lawyers do for society. He also is one of five founding members of the Trial Lawyers Charities, a non-profit enterprise which gives money and legal services to men and women in need within Los Angeles.

Alder is at this time accomplishing some of the very most cutting-edge litigation work in the state. He’s tried upwards of seventy court cases within his professional career and obtained in excess of $140 million in verdicts and settlements for his valued clients in the year 2011 alone. Recently, in Dec 2011 he gained a nearly $33 million decision for Concept Chaser, Co., Inc. in the advertising fraud case Concept Chaser Co., Inc. v. Pentel of America Ltd.

CAALA officially installed Alder as its 2012 president on Jan. 21 at its 63rd Annual CAALA Installation & Awards Banquet at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. The group also announced its new officers and Board of Governors. For more information, visit www.caala.org.

AlderLaw, P.C. is a Los Angeles criminal attorney and plaintiffs’ law firm that represents plaintiffs in personal injury, business tort and employment litigation nationwide. The firm was founded in 2000 by attorney Michael Alder, current president of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) and past CAALA Trial Lawyer of the Year. Alder has tried more than 70 cases in his career, and works with a team of seven associate attorneys. AlderLaw, P.C. obtained more than $140 million in verdicts and lawsuit settlements for its clientele last year. For information, visit www.alderlaw.com.

Juhl Wind Inc, leading the way in Community Wind Energy, has announced the official commercial start-up and operation of the two wind turbine project regarding Gundersen Health System in Winona County, MN. The 4.95 megawatt project may be the first-of-its-kind throughout The United States to be created specifically to handle the alternative energy concerns of a big regional health care firm, in this instance, Gundersen Health System.

“This unique wind project represents the continued activity by Juhl over the past two years and highlights our strength and diversity in the community wind energy market,” outlined Corey Juhl, Vice President of Development for Juhl Wind Inc. “We are seeing an increased demand for large commercial and industrial organization projects such as Gundersen’s as they fit extremely well within Juhl Wind’s area of expertise. This community-based project will provide significant economic benefits to the region. As one piece of their Envision program, the wind farm project will help Gundersen Health System achieve their goal of becoming 100% energy independent by 2014.”

“This is an exciting time for Gundersen and our Envision program. This community wind project we have done with Juhl Wind was about two years in the making, and we’re happy to report that the turbines are now creating energy,” noted Jeff Rich, executive director, GL Envision, LLC.

Juhl Wind is an established innovator in Community Based Wind Power advancement and management, focused on wind farm projects throughout the United States and Canada. Juhl Wind pioneered Community-Based wind farms, developing the currently accepted financial, operational and legal structure providing local ownership of medium-to-large scale wind farms. To date, the Company has completed 21 wind farm projects and provides operations management and oversight across the portfolio of renewable resources. Juhl Wind services every aspect of wind farm development from full development and ownership, general consultation, construction management and system operations and maintenance. With its consolidation of the Valley View, Winona County and Woodstock Hills wind farms, the Company has now invested in and operates 21.7 MWs of wind power through its independent power producer subsidiary, Juhl Renewable Asset, Inc. Through its Next Generation Power Systems subsidiary, Juhl Wind also provides total sales along with service to smaller, on-site wind turbine and solar panel ventures besides the company’s larger Community Wind Farms.

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