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October 31, 2007

Site Maintenance

Belicove.com is currently undergoing a major server and content management system upgrade and there may be issues with leaving or reading comments for the next day or two. Please bear with me... I will have everything running smoothly again by the time this week's Four For Friday rolls around.

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October 26, 2007

FOUR FOR FRIDAY - THE 'OTHER PEOPLE'S QUESTIONS' EDITION

Q1 - Jerry Chrisman Asks: What is one of your favorite words?

Q2 - Steve Lindhorst Asks: How do react when you are out in public and approached by someone carrying a clipboard asking for your signature on a petition or requesting that you participate in a survey?

Q3 - Jake Sabey Asks: I have a friend that I have never seen wear blue jeans, a friend who claims to never have tried Ketchup, and yet another friend who cannot help but say "Bless You" immediately upon hearing someone--anyone--sneeze. What do your friends or peers know you for?

Q4 - Katie Hanks Asks: Have you ever met anyone famous? If so who and where?

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October 25, 2007

Los Angeles is big. Just huge. It's simply ginormous. Bar none, from a footprint standpoint, Los Angeles has to be the largest city I have ever visited.

I'm in LA this week speaking at "Building Strong Nonprofits," the 16th Annual Conference of the California Association of Nonprofits. As I did at eBay Live! in June, I am co-presenting with eBay University Instructor extraordinaire Steve Lindhorst. Joining us on stage for our two presentations is Eric Gazin, president and founder of Auction Cause, a LA-based company that manages high-profile charity auctions on eBay and elsewhere (in fact, last week Auction Cause managed Rush Limbaugh's "Harry Reid Smear Letter," which sold for $2,100,100, a record-breaking winning bid for charity auction listing through eBay Giving Works).

Here's a short description of both presentations:

Blogging Basics for Nonprofits: Everything You Need to Know. Blogs are helping nonprofit organizations communicate with and retain their members. In this interactive session, blogging experts show you how and why your organization should start and manage a blog of its own. Blogging is the perfect tool to build a loyal member base and boost your organization's bottom line.

Using Online Auctions to Raise Money for Your Organization. Learn how to tap into the large online community, including the eBay Marketplace, to raise money for your organization! Find out how to set up an online auction, increase its income, ensure payment, save money on managing your efforts without an expensive consultant ñ and do it all safely and legally.

Seriously, LA is mungo colossal.

October 19, 2007

Q1 - I'm Telling!: In many parts of the U.S., drought conditions are so bad that homeowners are banned from watering their lawns. If you lived in a town that temporarily banned outside watering and you noticed a neighbor breaking the rule, would you go out of your way to report them to the local water authority? Would your answer change if the neighbor were someone you absolutely despise or consider a good friend?

Q2 - Now That's Funny!: An unlikely new candidate entered the Presidential race this week, adding his name to an already deep field of candidates: comedian Stephen Colbert. The host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" announced this week that he would enter the primary in his home state of South Carolina. Seriously folks, would you vote for a comedian or another non-traditional candidate, (i.e., someone who is not either a successful business person, legislator, politician, or community leader) for President of the United States?

Q3 - Cafeteria Trays: When you eat at a self-serve or walk-up-and-order and carry-it-to-your-table-yourself style of restaurant, do you use your cafeteria-style tray while you eat or do you immediately remove your food from the tray and turn in all directions to see just how quickly you can get rid of the thing?

Q4 - Media Ownership: The head of the Federal Communications Commission has circulated a plan to relax decades-old media ownership rules, including repealing a rule that forbids a company to own both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city. Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC, wants to repeal the rule in the next two months -- a plan that, if successful, would be a big victory for Samuel Zell, the Chicago investor who is seeking to complete a buyout of the Tribune Company, and Rupert Murdoch, who has lobbied against the rule for years so that he can continue controlling both The New York Post and a Fox television station in New York. Do you think media conglomerates like the ones Martin seeks to exist are okay, or, like church and state, should local newspapers and television and radio stations remain separate entities?

October 18, 2007

I recently wrote an article for the October issue of Connect Magazine about the surprisingly large number of Inc. 500 companies located in the Provo-Orem area of Utah. For the third time in the last five years, the Provo-Orem area leads the nation in the category of ìcities with the most Inc. 500 companies per million residentsî with 12.7, which is nearly double that of the closest-ranked cities.

Provo-Orem Overdrive
Utah County Tops Inc. 500 Companies Per Capita List Again
By Mikal Belicove

A chief purveyor of news pertaining to private companies, Inc. magazine, recently released its 26th annual Inc. 500 list (as part of the inaugural expansion to Inc. 5,000), spotlighting America's 500 fastest-growing private companies and declaring Provo-Orem the city "with the most Inc. 500 companies per million residents" for the 2nd year in a row. Even more marked is the two-to-one advantage Provo-Orem holds over its closest runner-up, Washington, D.C.

According to the magazine, the Inc. 5,000 is "the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy -- Americaís independent-minded entrepreneurs"; the 2007 list measures revenue growth from 2003 through 2006. To qualify, companies had to be U.S.-based and privately held, independent (not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies) as of December 31, 2006, and had to have reaped at least $200,000 in revenue in 2003 and $2 million in 2006.

Utah is home to...

Subscribers should be receiving the October hard-copy edition of the magazine any day now. If you're not a subscriber, click here to subscribe. In the meantime, the rest of the article is available online by clicking here.

October 12, 2007

Q1 - Death and Taxes: When a successful business or corporation shows an interest in relocating to a new city, town or municipality, if the business in question employs a fair amount of people or generates a significant amount of business or prestige for the local area, city officials will often woo or entice the company by offering significant tax breaks. Similarly, when a successful company indicates that it may move its headquarters or manufacturing facilities to another locale, officials offer the same--tax abatements (a reduction of taxes or an exemption from taxes granted by a local government on a piece of real property for a specified length of time). They say there are two things in life that are certain: Death and Taxes. Do you think businesses should be granted tax breaks by local governments or should they have to pay their property taxes just like everyone else?

Q2 - Politics and Religion: After speaking to an evangelical church last Sunday in a traditionally conservative South Carolina town, U.S. Senator and Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama said that Republicans no longer have a firm grip on religion in political discourse. "I think its important particularly for those of us in the Democratic Party to not cede values and faith to any one party," Obama told reporters outside the Redemption World Outreach Center where he attended church services. As everyone knows, separation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine that basically states that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent of one another. Some would say that the two principles--secularity of government and freedom of religious exercise--are what make the United States the greatest place to live on Earth, while others would argue that secularity is our greatest downfall. What do you think? Should religion play a part in which candidate we elect as the next President of the United States?

Q3 - Home Ownership: Foreclosure filings across the United States nearly doubled last month (compared with those from September of 2006), as financially strapped homeowners already behind on mortgage payments defaulted on their loans or came closer to losing their homes to foreclosure. Without naming names, do you know anyone impacted by or who is facing foreclosure?

Q4 - X-Ray Vision: Earlier this week, at an airport in Phoenix, Arizona, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) launched a pilot program to test a new airline passenger screening system capable of spotting threats hidden underneath clothing. For now, passengers selected for 'secondary screening' can opt to forgo a typical pat-down and instead walk through a device that allows security screeners to view the person without their clothing getting in the way. (In other words, whoever is watching the security scanner gets to see you in the buff.) The TSA insists the machines cannot store images, but some privacy watchdogs are not buying it. Moreover, the TSA says that the people watching the scanner sit in a remote location and are not able to tell the actual identities of the thousands of bodies they'll be look at all day. How do you feel about this? If this screening process became a mandatory condition of boarding an airplane or entering a building, would your protest the process by simply refusing, or, is this just another reasonable measure to protect everyone from those who wish to cause us the greatest amount of harm?

October 8, 2007

Welcome to the second installment of Monday's Big Interview (MBI). If you liked the first MBI, you're bound to like this one too (especially you, Stu... I think you actually requested something along these lines).

This Monday's Big Interview features The Orange County Register's Nancy Luna a.k.a the Fast Food Maven. A mother first, full-time journalist second, Nancy's love of fast food restaurants and the marketing and business decisions that drive them, led her to launch a blog that deals exclusively with all things related to fast food. While most of her writing focuses on fast food establishments and related news in Southern California, occasionally--like a few weeks ago when she traveled to the Big Apple--Nancy's coverage includes other areas of the country as well.

Without further adieu, here is my interview with Nancy Luna the Fast Food Maven:

1. Let's start at the beginning: What qualifies you to be considered a fast food connoisseur?

   Maven: A few things. First - like any Southern California kid, I grew up eating fast food. Drive-through eating is a way of life here. My fave item as a teen was Taco Bell's Taco Supreme. I just loved the sour cream in those things. These days, I've definitely upgraded my tastes. I go for fresh-Mex whenever I can.

   My job requires me to cover the Southern California restaurant industry, which includes some of the nation's largest and most popular fast food chains. (Taco Bell, Del Taco, In-N-Out Burger, Carl's Jr., Wahooís, Rubio's, Jack in the Box.) I've been covering this beat for almost three years. I've written hundreds of stories on fast food - from legal flaps at In-N-Out Burger to E. coli messes at Taco Bell.

   As a professional writer and an everyday consumer, I think I bring a unique, fun and trusted viewpoint in my Fast Food Maven blog. So please check it out.

2. How many times per week do you eat fast food?

   Maven: More than I care to count. Probably about five times a week. (And, before you say, "She must be fat." I'm not.) I try and make healthy choices such as eating tacos or salads with chicken and shrimp. It's rare that I eat a burger and fries. But, my biggest weakness is tortilla chips, especially salty ones.

3. Count 'em down for us, 1 through 10... in your professional opinion, which fast food chains are the best and which are the worst?

   Maven: I donít believe in Top 10s. So, here's my Top 5 Favorites:

   1. In-N-Out Burger (burger) 2. El Pollo Loco (chicken) 3. Wahoo's (fresh-Mex) 4. Super Mex (traditional Mexican) 5. Panera Bread (sandwich)

   Note: List is for Southern California chains, not independents.

4. Fast food chains are notorious for debuting and then removing specialty items from their menus. For instance, when I was kid, McDonald's offered--for a limited time only--a rib sandwich (I think it was called the McRib); and more recently, Carl's Jr. had a Philly Cheese Steak Burger on its menu, and sadly, it is gone also. If you could bring back any one limited-run menu item from any fast food chain, what would it be and why? (Feel free to name more than one.)

   Maven: The biggest scandal in fast food history is the demise of the crinkle cut fries from Carl's Jr. Those fries were the best. I will never forgive Carl Karcher and Co. for getting rid of those fries. I'm also bummed that Baja Fresh recently removed its shrimp tacos from its menu, and I would love to bring back the taco salad cup at Naugles, (re-branded as Del Taco years ago.)

5. Whose French fries are better... Burger King or McDonald's (or someone else's)?

   Maven: None. Both leave a bad taste in your mouth.

6. If you were forced into becoming the day-shift manager of a fast food restaurant but were given the choice of picking the chain, which one would you chose?

   Maven: I'd work for Chipotle. I like the idea of being in charge of one station, like the gal who asks you what kind of salsa you want. They make it look so easy. Plus the chips and guacamole are so good there. I'd eat it as a snack on every break.

7. Which fast food chain has the best television commercials?

   Maven: Funny you ask. I just wrote a blog entry on commercials, and posted a Poll to go with it. Click here to cast your vote on your favorite ads. When you read my blog, youíll see my fave choices. (Hint: Think CEO with a golf ball size head.)

8. What's the next great fast food concept (something you've seen that has yet to make it nationally and has the potential to reach millions of stomachs once it does)?

   Maven: I'm interested in The Counter, an up and coming burger joint that acts like a Subway or Chipotle. You essentially "build your own" custom burger. There's one coming to Orange County soon, and I can't wait to give it a try.

9. Which fast food chain makes the best malt or shake (my favorite, in case you're wondering, is Arby's Jamocha Shake)?

   Maven: Dairy Queen, of course. (And, yes, that's fast food.)

10. With your passion for fast food, do you think you could do what Morgan Spurlock did--eat three McDonald's meals a day every day (and nothing else) for 30 days, opting for the "super-size" option whenever it was offered? If your gut (no pun intended) instinct is to say no, what is the least amount of money you would accept for taking on and completing the challenge?

    Maven: First of all, super size is not an option anymore at McDonald's. Though, I suppose you can order "double" of anything, anywhere.

    I would never do what Spurlock did to his body - not at any price. I just don't think my stomach could take that kind of greasy abuse. In fact, I know it. In the summer, I was researching a piece on fast food breakfast trends. I drove to Wendy's, Wienerschnitzel, Del Taco and Burger King to get several different breakfast items: tater tots, hash browns, egg sandwiches, etc. I tasted nearly all of them when I got home, and felt sick the rest of the day. I didn't barf, but I sure felt heavy and tired all day.

Feel free to comment on today's MBI by clicking on the "Comments" link below. While Nancy is a pretty busy lady, I'm sure she'll check in from time to time to answer follow-up questions and see what everyone thinks about her observations. (To read Nancy's blog, simply click here.)

October 6, 2007

Q1 - Stay or Go: Eduardo Gonzalez, a petty officer second class with the U.S. Navy, is about to be deployed to the Persian Gulf for a third time. Making his deployment a little more frustrating this time around is the fact his wife may not be around when he comes back. Gonzalez's wife, Mildred, came to the United States with her mother in 1989 when she was just 5 years old (they were granted political asylum because of their status as war refugees from Guatemala). Fast-forward 11 years to September 2000, when Mildred's mother applied for legalization and included her daughter (Mildred) in that application. Mildred's mother was finally granted legal status in July 2004, however, six weeks earlier, Eduardo and Mildred got married, canceling Mildred's ability to apply for legal status through her mother because she was no longer an unmarried daughter under the age of 21. You with me so far? (If not, read it again.) In June of this year, a judge granted Mildred a one-year extension to remain in the United States. If her legal status does not change by June 2008, she will have to leave the country or face deportation. And of course, all of this would happen while Eduardo is overseas serving in the U.S. Navy. Okay, with all this in mind, do you think Mildred Gonzalez should be allowed to stay in the United States simply because she is the wife of a U.S. soldier, or should she be treated like every other non-citizen who is deemed to be in this country illegally? Oh, by the way, Mildred and Eduardo have a young song, Eduardo Jr., who was born here in the United States.

Q2 - Prove It!: If you could disprove something that many people believe is true, what would you like to disprove?

Q3 - What Matters Most: When it comes to deciding which Presidential candidate you are going to support in 2008, which one of the following areas is most important to you when it comes to the candidates' stances on issues: National defense issues, such as the situation Iraq and terrorism; Domestic issues, such as education and health care; Moral issues, such as abortion and gay rights; Economic issues, such as taxes and trade; None of these issues; or, you're just not sure? (Note: f you are inclined to say more than one or all, then the question becomes... if you had to choose just ONE, which area would you say is MOST important to you personally?)

Q4 - Police Competitions: Reports of on-duty sheriffs deputies in Los Angeles County participating in "enforcement competitions" have watchdog groups in California crying foul. One recent competition -- Operation Any Booking -- challenged deputies to arrest as many people as possible within a specific 24-hour period. Other one-day competitions included "Operation Vehicle Impound," a contest aimed at seizing as many cars as possible, while another challenged deputies to see how many gang members and other suspected criminals could be stopped and questioned. How do you feel about these sorts of "competitions"? So long as the bad guys are rounded up and put into jail, no harm no foul; or, situations such as these encourage bad arrests, distort policing priorities, and encourage police to focus on trivial matters instead of more serious crimes?