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Happy 4th of July 2010 !!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Who needs a babysitter?
Thanks to Trudi for this one!
Have A Great Day
Within the heart of every stray
Lies the singular desire to be loved
Lies the singular desire to be loved
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Rt. 315 reconstruction begins Monday
http://columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/06/13/rt315.html?sid=101
| Rt. 315 reconstruction begins Monday
Project promises to be a long, confusing puzzle as drivers navigate the 3-mile construction zone Saturday, June 13, 2009 6:43 PM THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Tim Klunk can see the cars motoring along Rt. 315 a couple hundred feet from his Champps restaurant. The question is how many of them will stop at the Lennox Town Center when the state begins a major highway reconstruction Monday. The project will close 11 of 21 exit and entrance ramps by the end of this week on a 3-mile stretch from North Broadway to I-670. "Downtowners probably aren't going to stop on their way home for a quick pop or a quick bite," said Klunk, managing partner of the sports bar and restaurant. The exit ramp those customers probably would take, from Rt.315 north to Medical Center Drive, will close late next Sunday. Many people will just avoid the area, "depending on how much gloom and doom we have before then," Klunk said. "It sounds like a 'You can't get there from here' thing." While workers repair bridges and the highway surface, the 70,000 vehicles a day that travel Rt. 315 will be squeezed into two lanes in each direction, down from the existing three lanes. By June 22, those temporary lanes all will be on what is currently the southbound side of the freeway in a project that scheduled to stretch into October. The Ohio Department of Transportation is encouraging people to use alternative routes to get into and out of the area, and that will increase traffic on city streets. Michael McGuire, 59, thinks restaurants and other businesses helped by impulse decisions will benefit from increased traffic on city streets. Others, such as his Budget vehicle-rental operation at King Avenue and Olentangy River Road, won't. "I'm concerned about my customers getting off on the residential streets and weaving through," he said, noting that many aren't experienced at driving trucks on narrow, traffic-congested streets. "It will be interesting." How the construction zone handles traffic will get a major test Monday evening when the Schottenstein Center hosts 13,000 people expected for the Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood concert. The exit ramps from Rt. 315 onto Lane Avenue will be open, but motorists will not be able to get on 315 south. (The entrance to 315 north will close Tuesday morning.) Because of potential traffic delays, the Schott will be playing host to preconcert parties outside the arena -- starting up to two hours before shows -- to encourage people to arrive early, said General Manager Mike Gatto. "It's going to be a little bit of a learning process," Gatto said. "Mostly, we want people to get here on time for the show." The construction will make it harder for customers to find the Men's Wearhouse at Lennox, which frequently rents tuxedos to out-of-towners here for weddings. "I feel bad for the others who don't know their way around," said Mindy Francisco, 43, a wardrobe consultant at Men's Wearhouse. "We won't even know how to tell them how to get here. "Why are they doing the work all at once? We're already in a recession. Why are you trying to hurt us?" If the Ohio Department of Transportation were doing a bridge at a time, "we'd be doing this for the next five years," said spokeswoman Nancy Burton. "Can you imagine if we were doing this for the next five years?" As it is, the project will take two construction seasons -- this summer and next -- to complete. The highway will reopen between construction seasons. Columbus police are warning motorists to pay attention to speed limits in the construction zone. And police are asking drivers involved in minor, noninjury crashes to drive to the next exit before calling police. The project will affect access to the Ohio State University Medical Center and Riverside Methodist Hospital. The ramps into and out of the OSU Medical Center from Rt.315 northbound will be closed. Motorists traveling in either direction still will be able to get to Riverside by using the North Broadway exit, so the project shouldn't hamper the up to 300 people a day who use the emergency room, or the 1,650 ambulances that arrive there each month, said Dr. Steve Markovich, chief operating officer at Riverside. But leaving the hospital will be trickier for the 70,000 or so outpatients who use Riverside each month; both North Broadway ramps heading southbound will close. A detour will take motorists north to Henderson Road or west to I-71, depending on their destination, Markovich said. "Everybody who leaves here gets driving directions on how to get back on the freeway," he said. Upper Arlington is advising residents to expect delays, said Emma Speight, deputy city manager for community affairs. Officials are waiting to see what happens. "I think it's going to be a guessing game," Speight said. |
Facebook Launches Personal URLs (Finally)
http://www.switched.com/2009/06/11/facebook-launches-personal-urls-finally/?icid=main
Facebook, in what seems like a long overdue gesture, will finally roll out vanity URLs for its users this Saturday. After a semi-dramatic countdown, the social networking site will start letting members set user names, instead of random numbers, to show up in their pages' URLs.
If you're a relative newcomer to Facebook, though, you should keep your shirt on, according to the Facebook Blog. In order to protect URLs from spammers and squatters, Facebook administrators are instituting a temporary ban from registration against anybody who has created a Facebook Page since May 31st or a regular profile since 3 p.m. EST Tuesday. That ban will be lifted at an as-of-yet unspecified time. If you're a long-standing Facebooker, though, you should have no problem in signing up a minute after the stroke of midnight (Eastern time) this coming Saturday.
Facebook claims that more will be done with user names in the future, which sounds just about right; the idea of having unique URLs -- which Myspace has featured for years -- is one that Facebook should have had a long time ago. So get ready for June 13th, at 12:01 a.m. [From: Facebook Blog, via DownloadSquad]
Facebook, in what seems like a long overdue gesture, will finally roll out vanity URLs for its users this Saturday. After a semi-dramatic countdown, the social networking site will start letting members set user names, instead of random numbers, to show up in their pages' URLs.
If you're a relative newcomer to Facebook, though, you should keep your shirt on, according to the Facebook Blog. In order to protect URLs from spammers and squatters, Facebook administrators are instituting a temporary ban from registration against anybody who has created a Facebook Page since May 31st or a regular profile since 3 p.m. EST Tuesday. That ban will be lifted at an as-of-yet unspecified time. If you're a long-standing Facebooker, though, you should have no problem in signing up a minute after the stroke of midnight (Eastern time) this coming Saturday.
Facebook claims that more will be done with user names in the future, which sounds just about right; the idea of having unique URLs -- which Myspace has featured for years -- is one that Facebook should have had a long time ago. So get ready for June 13th, at 12:01 a.m. [From: Facebook Blog, via DownloadSquad]
Columbus Changes Its Summer Curfew Initiative
http://www.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/local/article/city_changes_its_summer_curfew_initiative/16566/
By Donna Willis
Web Content Coordinator
Published: June 11, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio—The city of Columbus again plans to crack down on youth who stay out too late.
NBC 4’s Mikaela Hunt reported with BOTTOM LINE.
The city announced its 2009 summer-curfew enforcement Thursday.
CURFEW FAST FACTS
- Children younger than 13 should be home one hour after sunset and until 4:30 a.m.
- Juveniles between 13 and 17 years old must be off the streets by midnight and until 4:30 a.m. If the teens aren’t in home by midnight, they will face charges.
- A curfew violation is a third-degree misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $500 and/or 60 days in jail.
Last summer, Columbus police picked up those after curfew and took them to a truancy classroom at the Downtown YMCA.
CPD picked up 60 kids during the summer months of 2008; 27 were taken to the YMCA.
The city planned to do things a little differently this summer.
“Last year’s pilot curfew program was a huge success, and we’re proud to work with Franklin County Children Services to ensure that we continue to keep our kids and neighborhoods safe,” said Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “Nothing good happens when kids are on the streets after midnight, and we need to do more to keep kids out of harm’s way and out of trouble.”
Coleman credited the media and said the direct result was less children on the streets after curfew.
The 2009 summer initiative was set to be a 24/7 operation in partnership with children services.
The 2008 summer initiative was enforced Thursdays through Saturdays.
If a child is picked up for curfew violation, CPD officers will issue them a summons to appear in court for a curfew violation.
CPD officers are to take violating youth home and to a parent or other responsible adult or to FCCS intake center at 525 E. Mound St. if a parent is not at the home.
There, caseworkers will contact the child’s parent or guardian to facilitate the return of the child as expediently as possible.
“I think what we’ll be able to bring is an early assessment if there needs to be further help,” FCCS’s Pam Schriner said.
The city will pay nothing for the program; the county absorbs the cost.
CPD officers will be crucial to its success, which brings the program’s future success back to the city budget.
If voters weren’t to pass Issue 1, the failure’s outcome on the summer curfew initiative in 2010 couldn’t be assumed currently.
CURFEWS FOR SOME SUBURBS
Dublin: All youths younger than 13 should be home at 9 p.m. during the school year and 10 p.m. during the summer. All youths between 13 and 17 years should stay out of public venues after midnight and before 4:30 a.m.
Grove City: All youths younger than 18 should be home between midnight and 4:30 a.m.
Reynoldsburg: All youths 15 years and younger should be home at 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. All youths between 15 and 17 years should be home by 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
Whitehall: All youths younger than 12 should be home between 10 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. All youths between 12 and 18 years should be home between 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. WPD will make exceptions for parental-approved activities.
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Top 10 Reasons Your Job Search Isn't Working
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2009/06/03/top-10-reasons-your-job-search-isnt-working/?ncid=AOLCOMMjobsDYNLprim0001&icid=main
Posted Jun 3rd 2009 5:31PM
Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer
"Initially, it is overconfidence that the process will be easy and [that] time should be carved out for family, sports and other activities that were neglected when working. The opposite is true. Getting a job is usually more work than being employed," Villwock says. "The core mistake is not procrastination, not working on a résumé or not going to a networking meeting. It is not knowing the process and working the plan to get the job that you deserve."
You don't get it: You've scoured the Internet for jobs. You've blanketed the market with your résumé. You've sent a basic cover letter with every application. Why isn't anything happening?
While simply submitting your application materials and waiting for an opportunity to fall in your lap might have been enough to land a job at one point in time, the frustrating reality of today's job market makes that type of job search impossible. Instead, today's job seekers must go above and beyond if they want to stand a chance at landing a great opportunity.
Competing for work is a process that requires full engagement but generates significant momentum, says Jim Villwock, author of "Whacked Again! Secrets to Getting Back on the Executive Saddle." But, many job seekers get distracted in their searches and get frustrated when they don't see results right away.
Here are 10 reasons your job search might not be succeeding:
1. You aren't networking
No one can help you find a job if you they don't know you need it. Your friends, family and previous employers all know someone who knows someone, so utilize their knowledge and connections as you look for work.
Additionally, make yourself (and your job search) visible on social and professional networking sites like BrightFuse, Facebook or LinkedIn. According to a survey by Robert Half International, 62 percent of executives think professional networking sites will be useful while searching for candidates in the next few years. Thirty-five percent of respondents said they would use social networking sites as a recruitment resource.
2. You're skipping the cover letter online
For some reason, people can't get used to the idea of how to submit a cover letter online, so they just skip the step altogether. Wrong move, people. Your cover letter is your chance to make a good first impression or address any inconsistencies on your résumé. When sending your application via e-mail, your cover letter serves as the body of the e-mail and your résumé is attached.
3. Your cover letter is generic
Now that we know you have to send a cover letter, the next step is making sure that it's not generic. You need to tailor each letter to a specific job and person, while clearly identifying the aspects of your background that meet the employer's needs, says Ane Powers, managing partner at The White Hawk Group, a career management firm.
"Your cover letter is your ticket to the interview. The ticket is voided and placed in the 'thanks, but no thanks' pile if it doesn't scream 'I am a perfect fit for this position,'" she says.
4. You're procrastinating
Oftentimes, when we don't see the results we want, we get frustrated and worried. After applying to so many jobs without hearing anything, you just don't have the energy to update your résumé, write a targeted cover letter or follow up with a hiring manager, so you put it off until tomorrow, then the next day and the next day. But why put off tomorrow what can be done today? Your dream job is not going to fall from the sky, so continue to endure and be proactive in your search.
5. You're only searching for jobs on the Internet
While job boards and company Web sites are a great starting place to find a job, the majority of open positions are never advertised, Powers says. Communicate with people who can help you: human resource managers, recruiters and successful professionals will all be key in discovering new opportunities.
6. You're not doing your research
This might be the most basic piece of job advice out there, yet some people still choose not to follow it. Executives polled by RHI said 25 percent of candidates didn't have any knowledge of the company or industry to which they're applying.
Things change every day in business, especially in today's market. It's important to know of any changes going on at the company where you're applying. If you are applying for work in a new industry, do some research to prove that you can be a valuable addition to that field.
7. You're blanketing the market with your résumé
"Attractive candidates demonstrate strategic marketing. Blanketing the market with your résumé demonstrates desperation and lack of strategic thinking," Powers says. Don't send résumés to every single job opening out there. Identify the organizations that meet your requirements and go from there.
8. You're not following up
Too many job seekers assume that if they haven't heard back from an employer, it's because they've been shot down for the position. While that may be true, there is also every possibility that your résumé never made it to its final destination or it got lost in the flood of submissions. Eighty-two percent of executives say candidates should contact hiring managers via e-mail, phone or personalized letter within two weeks of submitting their résumés, according to RHI. Just contact the hiring manager to say that you wanted to confirm your application was received and ask if there is anything else they need from you.
9. You have too many distractions
Try to focus on only your job search for a couple hours each day -- don't check your personal e-mail, make phone calls or surf the Internet (unless it's for jobs).
"Conducting a job campaign is a full-time job. As with any job, to achieve results, one needs to set goals and develop an action plan to achieve the goals," Powers says.
10. You don't ask for the job
Many candidates are shy about being to outspoken or upfront about their desire for the job, but many hiring managers will be impressed with your candor.
"Employers are looking for candidates who are excited about the position," Powers says. Be forward and ask for the position by telling the interviewer why it is a good fit for you and the organization.
New aid for jobless based on old data Stimulus money uses flawed formula
http://columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/06/10/COWIC_Stim.ART_ART_06-10-09_A1_FOE4PMA.html?sid=101
| New aid for jobless based on old data Stimulus money uses flawed formula Wednesday, June 10, 2009 3:07 AM THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH DispatchPolitics
More than $100 million in federal stimulus money designed to provide summer jobs for young Ohioans and help laid-off workers find new jobs is intended to offer immediate aid to people stuck in the economic moment. But much of the money is based on federal formulas that rely on out-of-date statistics, including poverty rates that are 9 years old and unemployment rates from before the recession hit. That means the amount of money going to the state's 20 "work force investment" areas has little connection to the number of unemployed people searching for work there today. Depending on where summer job-seekers or the unemployed live, the agency designated to help them is getting as little as $110 per unemployed worker or as much as $295. "We understand that the numbers that are used in the input do not reflect current economic trends, but they are regulated by the federal government," said Brian Baker, assistant bureau chief in the state's Bureau of Labor Market Information. Divided evenly among the state's unemployed, the $102 million in stimulus money that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Service distributed to regional work force agencies would amount to $170 per person, based on the state's April jobless numbers. In Franklin County, the Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corp. received $7 million in stimulus money, doubling the federal money available to the jobs program this year. That's about $141 per unemployed worker in the county. At $170 per worker, Franklin County would receive nearly $1.5 million more. Cuyahoga County would lose $4.1 million at $170 per unemployed worker. As it stands, Cuyahoga County's work force agency received $13.7 million, about $242 per unemployed worker. That doesn't bother Suzanne Coleman-Tolbert, president of the Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corp. "We're very fortunate here in central Ohio," she said. "Our unemployment rate has gone up, but there are still jobs to be had." Franklin County's unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in April, up from 4.6 percent a year earlier, but it remains among the lowest in the state. Cuyahoga County's rate is 9 percent, up from 6 percent a year earlier. Coleman-Tolbert said her office also needs fewer resources to retrain each worker because they are less likely than those laid off in Cuyahoga County to switch from manufacturing jobs to service and financial positions, which require more training. "An individual who's worked for GM 25 or 30 years, they'll have to retool those skills." She must use about half the stimulus money to provide minimum-wage summer jobs to 2,500 people ages 14 to 24. Last year, the program helped 1,000 find summer jobs. The rest will help more than 2,000 out-of-work adults with several training programs. That amount includes $278,317 for a "Jobs Mobile," a bus that can take the corporation's services to the neighborhoods and work sites where they're needed. In April, there were 50,200 people seeking work in Franklin County, according to state statistics. Despite the disparities, Coleman-Tolbert and other Workforce Investment leaders across Ohio say they're satisfied with their share of the stimulus money. "The formula is what it is, and it was applied fairly, and we have adequate resources to deal with our situation," said Tim McCourtie, director of the Ohio Area 8 One Stop Employment and Training Network. His agency serves a four-county area in west-central Ohio and received the lowest amount of stimulus money per job seeker: $110. Of more concern is an expected plunge in Ohio's allocation of non-stimulus work force money in the next funding year, which starts July 1, said Bert Cene, co-chairman of the state association for directors of work force investment boards. Not only do federal formulas affect how money is distributed within each state, they also determine how much federal money each state receives from the U.S. Department of Labor. Because states such as Nevada and Florida have had skyrocketing unemployment rates recently, he said, they'll receive a larger share this time. That will cost Ohio about $34 million, said Robin Rice, program administrator for the Ohio Office of Workforce Development. This funding year, the state received $174 million; next year, $140 million. "We anticipated stimulus plus our normal allocation, so we actually have less money than we thought," said Cene, who oversees the work force agency for Columbiana and Mahoning counties. "We're going to be beefing up and expanding and then slowing back down again." Whether it comes from the stimulus or the annual federal allocation, much of the money for youth and adult jobs programs in Ohio is allocated based on unemployment rates more than a year old, Rice said. Stimulus money was distributed based on an average of the monthly rates from July 2007 through June 2008, months before the economy took a dive in September. Another major factor is poverty rates. That number, under federal rules, comes from the 2000 Census, Price said. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated poverty rates for counties as recently as 2007. In 2000, Franklin County's poverty rate was 11.6 percent. By 2007 it had almost doubled to 21.3 percent. Cuyahoga County's 2000 poverty rate was 13.1 percent. In 2007, the Census Bureau estimated it at 23.3 percent. States can use the federal formula or the governor can set his own standard after a lengthy public process, Rice said. Ohio always has used the federal formula for the youth and adult jobs programs. The stimulus package, approved in February, left little time for a change. The state previously had set its own standard for a third program that focuses on workers who lost their jobs in a plant closing or layoff, she said. The state looks at the number of people seeking work for more than 15 weeks to determine how to allocate 55 percent of the money for dislocated workers. Officials averaged monthly numbers from calendar year 2008, Rice said. The next biggest factor measures the number of unemployed people in areas where the unemployment rate is higher than the state average. For the stimulus distribution, that was counted from Oct. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2008, Rice said. "For Franklin County during that time period, its unemployment wasn't more than the state average, whereas Cuyahoga's was." |
Program Helps Jobless Get Career Back On Track
http://www.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/local/article/Company_Offers_Program_To_Help_Find_Work/16519/
Increase your chances of getting your career back on track.
By Tom Brockman
Reporter
Published: June 10, 2009
DUBLIN, Ohio—Increase your chances of getting your career back on track.
With an unemployment rate of more than 10 percent in the state of Ohio, people are looking for work wherever they can.
Some open classified ads or visit job-search Web sites such as http://www.monster.com or http://www.careerbuilder.com.
Others seek help from the professionals.
That’s where Sequent, a human-resource consulting firm out of Dublin, comes in.
For the last 14 years, it primarily has worked with local, mid-size companies, but when those companies began laying off employees in recent months, the firm began a new program to help people who have spent years in the same trade transition to a new career.
“So many people when they go through a career transition, particularly those people who have never been in a career transition, this is the worst time in decades, really don’t know what
they want to do,” said Tim Reed, vice president of employment services.
The program costs anywhere between $2,000 to $3,500 and involves much more than polishing your resume.
President Joe Cole said the firm first assesses your education, training and experience.
“Once we understand what your attributes are and what your strengths are, then we try to help you determine what kind of career track might be beneficial for you,” Cole said.
Cole said firm’s professionals then offer additional training on topics such as confidence and how to sell yourself to a potential employer.
“We can provide the kind of training that helps shore up those deficiencies and potentially make you more attractive to a potential employer,” Cole said.
And to find you a job, it offers a recruitment process.
To contact Sequent, call 614-436-5880 or visit http://www.sequent.biz/index.asp.
For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com—Where Accuracy Matters.
An Old Farmer's Advice:
* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
* Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen, anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy
it a second time.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from
the mirror every mornin'.'
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you'r e a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody
else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
*Leave the rest to God.
* Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen, anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy
it a second time.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from
the mirror every mornin'.'
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you'r e a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody
else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
*Leave the rest to God.
The Piggy-Bank Billionaire
Thanks to Bill H. for this one!
How KKR is raking in the pennies.
Daniel Gross
NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Jun 22, 2009
So far, it's shaping up to be a dreadful year for the retail industry. American shoppers generally soldier on through thick and thin. "But sales are down 2.5 percent in the first four months of 2009," says Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. The fancier the store, the uglier the results. Sales at Tiffany's Fifth Avenue flagship were off 42 percent in the most recent quarter.
It's also been an ugly period for the private-equity honchos who toil in offices a gemstone's throw from Tiffany's. The executives at the Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR), it turned out, were no smarter than the rest of us. In 2006 and 2007 they used loads of debt to purchase huge, cyclical companies at absurd valuations. Many of those firms are now struggling. Things are getting so bad that some private-equity barons may be forced to sell their seventh homes.
In late May, KKR reported that it lost $1.2 billion in 2008. As of March 31, 2009, the value of the five large companies on which it closed in 2007 was off 20 to 50 percent. Only one of KKR's 2007 mega-deals was in the black. And it couldn't be farther away—geographically, socioeconomically, culturally—from KKR's Manhattan headquarters at 9 West 57th Street. It's Dollar General, the largest of the thriving chains of 99-cent stores. At Dollar Tree, Inc. (3,667 stores), earnings were up nearly 38 percent in the most recent quarter. In its most recent quarter, Family Dollar Stores (6,654 stores) said same-store sales were up 6.2 percent. Both companies' stocks are higher than they were when the market peaked in October 2007. But Dollar General (8,400 stores, $10.5 billion in 2008 sales) is performing even better. KKR says the value of its stake in the company is up 30.8 percent since July 2007, when KKR and several other partners completed the $7.3 billion acquisition, just as the fat lady was singing her final leveraged aria.
Back then, Dollar General, which traces its origins to a Kentucky wholesaler, seemed an unlikely target for the affections of an urbane billionaire like KKR founder Henry Kravis. Based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., and concentrated in the South and Appalachia (976 stores in Texas, 472 in Alabama), Dollar General catered to shoppers who found Wal-Mart too inconvenient and too pricey. And in the summer of 2007, downscale retailers were even more déclassé than usual. After all, during the credit boom, Americans, primed by rising asset values and cheap credit, relentlessly traded up. But once the credit crunch took a bite out of consumers' wallets and egos, the pendulum began to swing.
KKR had the luck to acquire Dollar General just as thriftiness was returning to the culture. It brought in a new CEO, Rick Dreiling, who had previously run Duane Reade. Along with several new executives and KKR's in-house retailing experts, Dreiling focused on the basics of retailing. Rather than simply pile up cheap bottles of detergents and ultra-cheap clothes—truth be told, only about 30 percent of the items it stocks retail for less than a buck—Dollar General began to think about how the firm could be more relevant to its customers. For example, even though most of Dollar General's stores are in the South, which is hard-core Coca-Cola country, the stores had carried only Pepsi. Dreiling stocked Coke, and upgraded the quality of private-label products. The new team systematically examined the items offered—about 7,500 per store—and eliminated less-profitable ones. Essentially, they've tried to remodel the bargain basement into a condensed version of Wal-Mart—tightly run, more convenient, less overwhelming.
It's working. More customers are coming to Dollar General, and they're visiting more frequently and spending more money. After rising 9 percent in fiscal 2008, same-store sales grew by 13.3 percent in the first quarter, better than smaller rivals or Wal-Mart. Most significantly, profits aren't being driven by heavy discounts. In the most recent quarter, gross profits were 30.8 percent of sales, compared with 25.8 percent in fiscal 2006. And amid a capital-spending Dust Bowl, the chain is expanding rapidly. This year, it plans to open 450 new stores, creating 4,000 jobs in the process.
Of course, there are limits to the growth. Connecticut remains a Dollar General–free zone. Management knows that some shoppers won't set foot in them. And when (if?) the economy turns around, there's no guarantee many of its customers won't start trading up.
Until that day, however, Dollar General remains a rare green shoot—at KKR, and in the retail industry. Dollar General and KKR's executives are hesitant to crow on the record about the chain's success. But don't chalk it up to modesty. The run of good results may have set the stage for a sighting that has become as rare as a banker picking up detergent at a Dollar General: an initial public offering.
Gross is NEWSWEEK's economics editor.
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