Under Armour Competes with Nike

For the past few years, Nike has dominated the basketball shoe market. Their control of the market has grown from 89 to 95 percent. Now, Under Armour, a sports retailer based out of Baltimore, is planning on competing against Nike in the basketball footwear market. Their focus will be building a relationship with customers, rather than looking for market share.

This article was interesting to me because I plan on entering a career in merchandising or marketing. People always think of their dream job as working for the top company at the time, but it’s also important to think about competitors within the same market, because the job could potentially entail so many different things. Nike has been on top for so many years now, and I would assume their focus is how to STAY on top. Working for them would be great, but working for a company like Under Armour or Addias would shift an employee’s focus on what they can do to get better. Being the underdog would be difficult, but it would be a great challenge to take.

I think it is a really great idea that Under Armour is shifting its focus on consumers in order to have more success as a brand. They plan on being more compelling for high school and college teams, which is a great target market. With Nike Basketball having endorsement deals with some of the top athletes in the world, such as LeBron James, it’s clear that Under Armour would have to step up their game and endorse athletes that their target market can look up to. Fortunately, they have done just that, by endorsing younger athletes who are fresh out of high school and college, but still extremely well-known.

This aspect of the retail industry has always struck my interest. I have taken a few marketing classes that actually focus on topics just like this. I would love to work for a popular retail company and have a job as someone who focuses on the consumer’s wants and needs. The main question I have at this point is: what are the different job titles within the marketing and merchandising industry of a retail company?

Jamaica Terry

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/10/upstarts_aiming_at_nikes_baske.html

Teaching Abroad

This article summarizes a few Americans' experiences teaching English abroad in Spain. The article discusses a few problems and expected credentials to have.

This article is relevant to me because after graduation I would like to work abraod and teach English. This article surprised me because it was fairly negative to the idea and programs in Spain. Through the article I learned that recieving a TEFL certificate is recommended, but not requirred if one would like to teach in Spain. The article also stressed that being from an EU country will improve your chances of finding a job rather than being a citizen of the United States. This article furthers my understanding of the industry by informing me which TEFL schools have accreditation and which schools do not. After reading the article I wondered how objective the author is. I would like to know if he had a poor experience in Spain or if this is the case for the majority of people who teach in Spain?

www.spainexpat.com/spain/information/teaching_english_in_spain_tefl/

Many Law Firms Catching on to CSR Policies

A major law firm in London, called Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, is starting to implement various CSR policies into their law firm. For example, instead of using styrofoam cups, they now use mugs. They even give their excess cooking oils from their in-house restaurant to taxi services to use in their hybrid cars. The company stated that they felt that customers were increasingly looking to work with companies that cared about the environment. This will most likely lead to a trend of law firms and other types of companies starting to care more about CSR, not just to help the environment, but to gain customers.

I think that this really cool in that it correlates to my groups proposal. We proposed to Dutch Bros. that switching to compostable cups would help them gain more customers due to the focus on CSR. This article proves this point in that people care about how companies contribute to the environment, even law firms. Someday I plan to work for and eventually own a law firm so it is encouraging that my field of work is already starting to focus on corporate social responsibility.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202422753677

Walmart Pharmacy

Walmart has one of the top Pharmacy chain in the country. they provide medication of millions of people with affordable prices. Walmart has the deal where patients can get their prescription drugs for $4 a month. This is avery good deal for the patients who can not afford a lot of money.

Right now, my major is pre-pharmacy so someday I want to be a pharmacist, and I would consider Walmart as one of the places I would like to work for. They have very good salary and benefits. My cousin, who just graduated from pharmacy school, got a job offer at Walmart down in California. She told me a lot about their company, and a lot of it are really good feedbacks.

On the other hand, there are patients who can not stand Walmart pharmacy. their reasons would be that it takes too long to get the medications. In this review article, a pharmacist, who works at a Walmart pharmacy, defend the pharmacy with the argument of a lot of people go there to get the drugs because the price is very affordable so it takes a little longer than other pharmacies. If one is there to get the drugs because of the price then why can't they understand that others would do the same thing. She aslo argue that people think all they do is to put the drugs in the bottle but the truth is that they need to contact the doctors and do all the paper works before they can deliver the drugs.

In conclusion, Walmart pharmacy is very good place for both the employees and patients. Everyone will get treated with respect and professionalism.

Question: Would you get your drugs at the Walmart pharmacy?

this is the article
http://mw8xt6bj7r.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=news&rft.atitle=DMH+teams+up+with+Walmart&rft.jtitle=Herald+%26+review+(Decatur,+Ill.+:+1989)&rft.date=2009-11-24&rft.pub=McClatchy-Tribune+Information+Services&rft.externalDBID=n/a&rft.externalDocID=212771681

NFL Reinstating Players with Bad Pasts

This article is about how the NFL reinstated Michael Vick, a convicted felon after hosting and harboring illegal pit bull fights where he was responsible for the murder of numerous dogs. Vick spent a year in jail and was released on probation. Soon after he was reinstated to the NFL and is now soaring as quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Playing some of his best football ever. The article pretty much talks about how the stigma of Vick's horrible past is fading now that he is doing well in the NFL.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/sports/football/19vick.html?src=mv

As my future aspirations pertain to becoming Director of Public Relations for a NFL team, I feel like this is right down my alley. The NFL suffers from this type of bad publicity all the time. There are NFL players getting shot, getting in bar fights, and being accused of rape almost annually. And the problem with this is usually it's the star athletes who get into this type of trouble. Athletes who are making millions of dollars and who fans pay to see that are creating this debacle for the NFL. Now most people with a solid moral compass would say, if convicted of any of those said crimes, let alone killing innocent dogs like Michael Vick did, than they should be permanently banned from the NFL. Well I believe that every deserves a second chance, unless the crime committed is severe enough to get jail time of 5+ years. The reason for this being is because most felonies if convicted have punishments that fit the crime. And after 5+ years of being out of the NFL, you drop off the radar and that is enough time for you to lose any sort of appeal to the sport. Again, this type of problem is something that I will be learning how to manage in the future. To keep a positive image for a company while maintaining or increasing their profits off of someone like Michael Vick. It's a lot of teeter tattering, but in the end like the above article has shown, time will usually fade out any bad doings of a misguided or unfortunate player.

Coldwater Creek Clothing Store Decline in Sales

Coldwater Creek is a clothing store. As of October 2010, after a three month observation of a period, their sales went from $225 million to $230 million. This unfortunately, was a decline of about 18-20% since last years amount for this same time period. On the bright side, total inventory at quarter end is expected to increase in the mid-single digit range as compared to inventory at the end of the third quarter last year.

This article, truly reflected the extreme highs and lows that any retailer can experience during tough times in the economy. It is important that companies have knowledgeable buyers so they do not over buy with the money that they could potentially lose if they don't meet the sales goals. As a Merchandising Management major, these aspects of any business are crucial when it comes to sales, cost, and the sales history. This information can help us forecast trends for the future and tell us how much to buy for the retail store. It is especially important during recessions because it is unfortunate when major stores have to shut down because they do not look to the future and lose all of their money.

Desirae MacGillivray

http://www.fashionnewspaper.com/articles/6752/1/Coldwater-Creek-Updates-Third-Quarter-2010-Earnings-Guidance/Page1.html

Director in Bronx Zoo does more than Direct

To James J. Breheny the Bronx Zoo is more than a work space. Starting out working with ducks and goats his dreams have furthered to being the director of the zoo. But being the director is not just about business to be done. Breheny shows the fun and games that come with the job.

I am not totally sure what I want to do in the future but I know I would like to be in a zoo. This article shows that even with one job in a zoo one may have many opportunites to be involved with other departments. Breheny has been given an chance to expand his knowledge in the zoo with the 600+ species he is around on a day to day basis. I would love to have the opportunity to experience working with more than one type of animal, even though I would like my main focus to be on primates. There is a section in this article where they do not want people to experience the animals by looking down to them but rather close up and eye to eye. I believe all zoos should go this direction, allowing visitors to come rather close to an animal that one would normally never run into in their lifetime.

Question: Being that James Breheny is in charge of such a large amount of species, how much interaction does the director of the zoo have with the keepers and other staff in the zoo? and how does he allow knowledge of others to grow within the zoo?



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/nyregion/21experience.html?_r=1&ref=bronx_zoo_wildlife_conservation_park

250,000 Hours Without an Accident

This article, from 2001, praises the general contracting company R&H Construction for their safety in building the Adidas America headquarters in North Portland. According to the author, Jeremy Vesbach, Adidas was so pleased when they reached 100,000 hours of safety that they halted to the project and catered a huge lunch to all the workers. At any time, there are 150 to 200 workers on the job site, and for nobody to have an accident in construction in this time span is pretty significant.

I found this article rather topical for two reasons. First, because our class just heard a proposal about improving the safety of construction workers through communication, and second, because several of my family members work for R&H. Being a Construction Engineering Management major, this directly pertains to my area of study and the field that I expect to work in. I think it is undeniable that this is an outstanding record of safety in the field of construction, and R&H ought to be praised and exemplified.

Joel S
*Couldn't paste into this text field, but the article is from the Portland newspaper Daily Journal of Commerce. The article was found in LexisNexis.

Opening of Another Microsoft Store

Microsoft opened new store at Bellevue Square. More than two thousand of people showed up for the opening. This was the seventh retail store, because Microsoft Store are only at limited places comparing to Apple which has stores across the nation.

Microsoft Stores is something I want to see in Oregon. We have many Apple Stores and I'm not a big fan of Apple except the Iphones and audios electronics such as Ipods and such. But when it come to computer, I like Microsoft more. I'm more of a PC guy and I know how PC works and my major is Computer Science and programing is what I am seeking to become. I'm very surprise that they opened another store but I hope they open one that is closer to me so I can have a chance to be part of the company in the near future or hopeful get an internship with them. I already know a lot about Microsoft since its been around for many of years already and I'm more toward the gaming console of Xbox 360. Something I wish to learn more is how we can get in touch with them in Oregon because I rather learn more information about their company in term of what they have to offer for college students. They didn't have a post up during the career fair so I really want to get in touch with a representative.

This is a big CSR contribution of which is offering more jobs out there. 50 employees were waiting as they heard the coward, that is a lot of employee for a store like that. This definitely open more jobs out there and I think they should expand more to get more supporters.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/228963.asp

Rangel Censure is Recommended

This article discusses the charges against Congressman Charles Rengel, a member of the 111th congress of the United States of America. Rengel is accused of misuse of congressional funds, failure to file proper taxes ect, ect. Essentially he is being charged with unethical conduct. His likely punishment is censure, which will prevent him from serving as the head of any committee. Personally, if a member of congress is found guilty of unethical conduct I believe that nothing less than expulsion or a suspension ( for the remainder of the term ) should be mandatory. Remove the guilty from office and let the people know of their crimes, if the people wish to reelect the former official after knowing all the facts then that is their right.
I have nothing against Rangel personally, and I am a democrat, but I believe the things he did were wrong, and any excuse he gives is worthless because 434 other people in congress got by just fine without doing the things he has done. If it hasn't been made apparent already, I am a political science major and hope to eventually make my way into the political field, but not necessarily in the form of an elected official. With the level of unethical behavior that seems to be apparent, and the polarization that has been displayed between the two parties these last few elections my hope and faith in Americas political system has been crushed. I do not think that it is beyond repair, but I do believe that the people need to push for moderation instead of blindly following leaders and believing everything they see on TV. Change is need in America, the common citizen needs to wake up and take an active role in politics in this nation, or it will soon be led by the best actors and speakers, instead of the best thinkers and legislators.


Q: What needs to happen to get the American people more involved in their own political system?

--Edit-- Forgot link!!!! here it is.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704104104575622511610792080.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond

Ready! From the Vale Elementary School

This article is explaining the program called "Ready!" at the Vale Elementary School in Cashmere, Wa. This program is to head start the students that are ready to being kindergarten in the fall. It provides the parents with a binder of tools and ideas of how to help their children be mentally prepared to start school.

The reason I chose this article is because my dream is to teach at the Vale Elementary after I finish college. I attended this school and have first hand experience with the teachers and programs that are similar to this one. The teachers and staff are always willing to help the students and parents succeed. I am surprised that they are doing a program such as this one a year before the students go to school. They are starting to put a huge emphasis on kindergarten (they didn't used to).

This article tells me that the Vale is constantly working to improve the school district. They are striving to produce intelligent students. This is also a great program because it is giving the parents a chance to meet the teachers that their children will be working with for the next five years of their lives. Cashmere is a small town and the classes are small, therefore giving more one-on-one teaching. This is very beneficial to students and I am going to continue researching this program to see it's success.

http://cashmere.ncwcommunities.com/stories/are-you-ready/

If this program continues to be successful, will the Vale extend this idea to other school districts in hopes to help more children? And, would this program work in other school districts? (I ask this because of how unique the town and families of Cashmere are)

"Toy" to the World

The toy business has come well-prepared for the holiday season. New gadgets, cheaper prices, and a child’s happiness make toys a must-have for parents. Although the economy has been bad lately, toys weren’t hit as hard as other things, like luxury or electronics. A stay-at-home mom said, “You still want [your children] to have something to open and something to get excited about. Santa doesn’t know about the recession.” This year, toys that are relatively cheap, but come in variety are predicted to do well. Barbie, technology, movie referenced toys, and family games will also top the charts.

It surprised me that toys have not been that affected by the recession. It makes sense to think that parents wouldn’t buy their children as many toys as they have in previous years because the economy hasn’t been helping. However, as a parent, a happy and excited child on Christmas is worth spending a few extra dollars for. The toy companies know this, so new toy ideas are constantly being brought up. Because of the economy, the parent has to choose the right toy; the best toy. The supply and demand principle works here too. The harder it is to get a toy, the more the child wants it, and, in turn, the parent is more willing to track it down and pay for it. It would be helpful to know which toys have always been successful, why, and how those same toys can be improved on to better accommodate the next generation of children (technology-wise or character-wise for newer television shows).

What marketing strategies are used to make sure that the newest toy will be wanted by children and worth paying for to the adults?

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toys-christmas-20101107,0,5440822,full.story

Reaching the World

Urban Minx is a small clothing boutique in Medford, Oregon. It was struggling tremendously from the economic fall, but has been doing well do to it's online store. Many people from around the world shop on this site. A bonus of shopping on this web site is that in Oregon people don't have to pay taxes, so the people that end up buying something on this site doesn't have to either.

I think this article is great because this is exactly what I want to do. I want to own a small clothing store and have a web site for my company. I have been to this store and have always liked it. It is a bit pricey, but the type of clothing sold is well known brands. This article is an example for people that are struggling in this industry. People like to have a fast and easy way to get what they want. I did a report on Internet shopping and it is the leading source for buying anything, especially clothes. It didn't surprise me that Urban Minx was struggling. In Medford and the surrounding areas people don't necessarily feel like spending a good amount on something fashionable. Usually, these types of store don't last very long. From this article, I learned that location is everything when it comes to running a clothing business.

Retail Sales Increasing

As the holidays approach us, many retailers are anticipating that consumers will be buying much more this year compared the the previous years. According the Bloomberg article, sales for U.S. retailers climbed in October even with unemployment near 10 percent. Purchases rose 1.2 percent, exceeding what forecasters had predicted. They believe because of the stock gains and growing employment, households have been able to repair their finances which is why we are seeing this increase in consumer spending. Still retailers are being cautious, such stores like J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart are still focusing on promoting good sales for the holidays to get consumers into stores. Some companies are stocking up ahead of time in anticipation for better sales.

This article was very uplifting for me to read. As a merchandising management major and a pursuer of becoming a buyer for a large retail store, it is very important that the economy continue to flow normally and have normal consumer spending in order for me to have a job when i graduate. I am hoping for this holiday season that consumers are willing to get out there and purchase items to boost the economy. My only concern and question is that, will retailers build up to much expectation for consumer spending this holiday and end up over compensating for this? Even though we are seeing an increase in spending the economy is still recovering and i think retailers should still play it safe.

- S. Monson

50 Best Magazines

This article from The Chicago Tribute not only names Real Simple Magazine as number 2 on their list of the top 50 best magazines, but they also explain a little bit about why magazines are so successful. Magazines are more than just writing, pictures and advertisements, they are something that grabs that readers attention and hearts and are worth buying. Although highly debated, the newspaper tries its best to present what they believe to be the best magazines in conveying the message they set out to tell.

For me, I found this article to be interesting because working in the magazine industry is something that I am really interested in. The magazine in particular that I really enjoy reading as well as could see myself working for is Real Simple Magazine. I enjoy the format and overall nature of the magazine as well as the ideas that they present in their monthly publications. I learned that magazines are not just about how well they can write stories and present images, but they are also about catching the readers attention and telling valuable stories or giving interesting information on topics that are relate-able and that people care to read about.

As a new media communications major, I enjoyed reading about the various magazines and what they are doing well to not only attract customers but also to inform readers on their particular theme/message. I hope that one day I can work for a magazine similar to Real Simple because they present their ideas in a such a logical fashion that makes the magazine both fun to read and informative, which definitely sets it apart from other magazines. One question that I have about this post is how were the 50 best magazines determined? Were readers polled or was it based on numbers/money at all?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-040615mags,0,2988284.story

High Tech Talent Shortage

The article I found on Fortune’s tech website describes the current talent shortage hitting the silicon valley right now. The article describes the relationship between investors, entrepreneurs, technologist, and large corporations. The article also makes correlations to the dot com bust of the early 2000’s but says that the current issue is not nearly as dangerous or high risk as the dot com bust. The article gives evidence that there is a talent shortage because large corporations are paying big money for successful startups primarily for the talent the startup possesses. Startups with good talent are attracting lots of investment in the very early stages of product development because there is an excess of capital and a shortage of talent.

Reading through this article was very encouraging for me. I am a senior in Computer Science with a focus on web software engineering. This article specifically calls out people with my training and says that there will be a shortage of workers in this industry for many years. This means that demand for my skill set will be high and as such, pay will be high. This is a great turnaround from what the industry looked like two years ago.

After reading this article I am giving more consideration to a startup focused job hunt. Several examples are provided of large corporations buying startups and giving huge payouts to employees of the startup to keep them onboard after the buyout. While joining a startup can be risky the risk can be substantially lower when large companies are constantly buying startups. Instead of a startup having to make it big on their own they now only have to show a promising product and decent start and they are eligible for a large buyout or a significant investment. While the recent industry trends may change in the future they will likely stay the same for the beginning of my career and the talent shortage will not be going away anytime soon.

The article did mention that the talent shortage can be remedied by two factors. One would be an increased enrollment rate in related fields of study at universities. With a shortage of workers the pay rates will go up which will increase the interest of students graduating high school and considering different options in college. Another factor that could affect the talent shortage is bringing over talent from other countries. Outsourcing jobs was common in the 2000’s but now companies have a desire to keep the talent closer to home. Companies are looking to bring over tech talent and help them get visas or citizenship. The article does not provide any information about current enrolment rates in related fields of study at universities. The article also does not provide information about how many workers are coming from overseas. It would be interesting to see the number of students graduating each year in related fields over the past 20 years. After the dot com bust I read numerous articles that enrolment in computer science and software engineering programs at universities across the US took a steep nosedive when the industry collapsed. It would be interesting to see if enrolment rates have begun to turn around or if they are still really low in this field.

How do current university enrolment rates in tech related programs compare over the last 20 years? Do changes in the enrolment rates show that this talent shortage may be a long term issue or one that appears to be fixing itself now?

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/11/16/the-implications-of-too-much-vc-money-and-too-little-startup-talent/?section=magazines_fortune

Builder of Planned Parenthood Project in Portland Pulls Out

This article explains why Walsh Construction recently pulled out of a contract to build a 40,000 square foot, Planned Parenthood building in Portland, Oregon. Bob Walsh explained that his employees were at risk from angry anti-abortion protesters.

I am shocked to find out that anti-abortion protesters would target people who have nothing to do with abortions. The people who work at Walsh Construction do not deserve to be targeted for simply doing their jobs. I was also appalled to learn that some of these protesters would actually follow construction workers home and threaten their families.

I feel that what Bob Walsh did was exactly right. It takes an ethically strong construction company to put the safety of their employees before any lucrative contract, no matter what the situation is. No project is worth employees being harassed and terrorized for things they have no control over. Anti-abortion protesters have no right to threaten anybody, much less the people who indirectly related to the issue.

Questions:

How do contractors decide if a project is too risky for their employees? What can they even do about controlling protesters and people who strongly oppose certain projects?

Graphic designers in Portland thinking sustainably

This article is about garlic that is packaged by a company (name not given) and how it inspired students to make a difference. I chose this article because I will be graduating this year and will be getting a job having something to do with my major graphic design.

In this article it says that these local students from Portland went to this "Waste Not" seminar where they were shown garlic packaged in a very unsustainable way. What made its packaging unsustainable was that it had garlic wrapped in individual bags and all these individual bags were then placed in another bag. This is a huge waste of plastic. So these students spurred an idea to encourage packaging ideas that were more sustainable. This involves having products packaged in the least amount of materials possible and in a smart way that won’t harm the environment. The students from this certain group then “envisioned a system whereby customers would be rewarded with points for purchases that generate less waste.” The students will then have “an event to inform, inspire and engage peers, clients and students about sustainable design thinking and practices.”

People, including graphic designers and now me as well, need to start thinking about how to be smarter with the environment and not be so wasteful. You see examples of wasteful packaging everywhere such as a bag of candy that has several bags in bags then is put in another bag at the grocery store. When you think about it packaging has become all about getting the product out there and sold. The consumers buy that product and don’t think about how much is wasted after there done consuming it. Graphic designers can create a better way of designing packaging by using the least amount of materials as possible. Think about it as a challenge to better the environment by creating good inventive packaging or if you’re buying a product get the product with the least amount of plastic or cardboard used.

Question:

As a consumer would you like to see more smart sustainable packaging?

Would you buy it over another product because of the better packaging?

http://blog.oregonlive.com/pdxgreen/2010/11/graphic_designers_in_portland.html

Dentists meet Digital

In this article, dental offices across the nation are moving from traditional x-ray films to digital films. These are more efficient and less of a hassle to patients. However, the cost for these machines are astronomically expensive. A machine like these can rage from $10,000 to $25,000 dollars. Nonetheless, the cost to maintain and extra equipment is less which balances out the costs.

I have worked at a dental office for many years and they had a digital x-ray machine. They are very effective and gives more information then a regular x-ray would. Better treatment plans and diagnosis done to help patients.

What alarmed me was how the cost of a machine like this was nowadays. Considering how technology continues to change and move forward, the cost of these machines should be becoming lower. Also, I have known that the equipment in a dental office are unbelievably expensive, however, when you put everything together and add up everything the cost will be just as expensive as going to dental school. What I felt was missing was why aren't these machines being made readily available to more practices. If these machines help treating and catching problems quicker and better, manufacturers should be making these machines available to everyone.

What will it take to lower the prices of these machines? Especially in areas that have a community with a lower income, dentist there should be able to have access to these machines to help treat patients.

Really Real-Estate

So I found this article relating to real-estate and real-estate agents. The article focuses on Florida real-estate, but I am certain there are similar situations wherever you go. When I graduate I plan on investing in multi-family housing complexes in hopes of repositioning them to rent. Since the market is at an all time low, buying apartment complexes is probably one of the only ways to succeed in real estate now days.
This article talks about being picky when choosing a real-estate agent. It discusses not selling yourself short and researching agents and the areas they cover. Real-estate agents are desperate during these times and some of them have no business experience at all. Assuming that it is your money being invested, why would you not properly research the market prior to dealing with a agency? Times are tough, but it doesn't mean that you have to settle for the first person that comes trying to assist you.
My overall opinion on this article is that it shows how the real-estate market is functioning in today's economy. It is important to know your facts prior to making a big purchase or sale. I was surprised to learn that internet can be a faulty tool when researching real-estate. I now understand that it doesn't matter if they have a license, they can still be completely incompetent when finishing the deal and in some cases not have a clue what they are doing. My question would be, What is the proper technique on choosing an agent? Who can you trust? So research thoroughly and make a decision that is going to benefit you!
Article here...
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/nov/17/chris-griffith-its-free-market-so-choose-real-esta/