Resolute Requests Lower Taxes for Ft Frances

http://fftimes.com/node/256766

Some district municipal leaders are concerned about the possible reassessment of the mill property in Fort Frances heading into 2013.
With the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board's cost apportionment schedule based on weighted assessment, including payments in lieu, using municipal tax ratios for municipalities, and weighted average tax ratios for the unincorporated areas, there is concern some of the smaller townships will see their payments increase.

Catalyst, Lincoln Paper & Tissue, Port Townsend News

Catalyst Paper unable to close sale agreement
Catalyst Paper announces that the sale of its Elk Falls site in Campbell River to Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Incorporated did not close and the sale agreement has been terminated.  
More on Catalyst:
Catalyst Paper Corporation announced today that final approval has been received for listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) of its new class of common shares (new Shares) created pursuant to its reorganization under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act that completed on September 13, 2012 . The new Shares will begin trading on the TSX on January 7, 2013 under the trading symbol "CYT".

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/01/02/business/lincoln-mill-hopes-to-have-natural-gas-deal-announced-soon/?ref=latest

Lincoln Paper & Tissue LLC leaders hope within a few months to have a deal made to get their mill machinery operating on natural gas that isn't trucked to the facility, co-owner Keith Van Scotter says.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130103/NEWS/301039995/jefferson-county-issues-formal-denial-of-port-townsend-paper-permit

Port Townsend Paper Corp. no longer qualifies for an inert-waste permit for the landfill at its Port Townsend plant, according to final findings issued by the Jefferson County Public Health Department, and the company plans to appeal the decision.

Hanley Wood Buys Metrostudy

Hanley Wood Boosts Market Intelligence Group with Metrostudy Deal:
Hanley Wood has put some of the capital it received from its new owners to use by acquiring Houston-based market research and information firm Metrostudy. The deal firms up and expands the structure of Hanley Wood's Market Intelligence group, with the group operating from here on out under the Metrostudy name.

Starbucks Offers Substitute for Paper Cup

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/02/starbucks-reusable-cup-trash/1804095/

Amid public pressure to curb trash from disposable cups, Starbucks is rolling out a novel possible solution Thursday: a $1 reusable tumbler.

The Seattle-based coffee giant will start selling the plastic cups, bearing its logo and resembling the paper version, at all its company-owned stores in the USA and Canada in a bid to get customers to kick their throwaway habit. It will give a dime discount for each refill so the cup pays for itself after 10 uses.
The $1 tumbler is the latest effort to address criticism that food and beverage retailers need to reduce the amount of disposable cups and containers that ends up in landfills or litters streets and waterways. Thousands of people have signed petitions on Change.org, a website promoting social change, urging companies to promote reusable options and abandon polystyrene foam packaging, which is rarely recycled.
McDonald's began testing a paper cup at some of its stores last year and Dunkin' Donuts plans to do the same this year, but neither requires its stores to offer a refill discount to customers with reusable tumblers. Jamba Juice, which plans to phase out foam cups this year, says it offers a dime discount to those bringing in clean reusable ones, but very few do so.

Brown Printing Names CEO

http://www.piworld.com/article/mike-amundson-appointed-president-ceo-brown-printing-volker-petersen-retire/1

Mike Amundson, currently CFO and executive vice president of the Catalog Market Segment at Brown Printing, has been appointed president and CEO. Volker Petersen, current president and CEO of Brown, will retire as planned on June 30, 2013, after devoting the next few months to a smooth business transition.

Congress Leaves USPS Hanging

Congress Leaves USPS Hanging:
Hemorrhaging $25 million a day, Postmaster warns of 'accelerated cost-cutting.'
Add the USPS to the list of unfinished business left by the now-adjourned 112th Congress. As it muddled its way through negotiating terms for avoiding the fiscal cliff, the legislation the Postal Service was looking for fell by the wayside, prompting Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to voice his disappointment in an official statement.

The Wicks Group to Acquire TMG and McMurry

The Wicks Group to Acquire TMG and McMurry:
Wicks Group has made a big private-equity play in content marketing, acquiring two of the sector’s leaders in The Magazine Group and McMurry, according to multiple sources.

MeritDirect Buys LDSGroup

MeritDirect Buys LDSGroup: The first in a series of upcoming moves, direct marketing firm MeritDirect has purchased LDSGroup, another direct marketing firm specializing in list management and prospect generation for consumer publications.

Holiday Online Spending Up

US Online Spending Up This Christmas: New figures from comScore reveal how much America spent online over the holiday period. The figures reveal that American shoppers spent $42.3 billion online between November 1st and December 31st 2012.  That represents an increase of 14% on the figures for 2011.

Global Newspaper Readership Still High

Global Newspaper Trends: Readership Remains High: According to the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, in 2012 more than 2.5 billion people read daily newspapers in print, 500 million read daily newspapers in both print and online, and 100 million read online only.

Gap Buys Intermix Inc.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323689604578218041584954854.h

Gap Inc. is buying women's fashion boutique Intermix Inc. for $130 million, a deal that will give the mostly casual-clothes retailer an opening to the all-important luxury market.

The acquisition is the first in half a decade for Gap, which is coming off a string of rare fashion successes that boosted its sales and stock price last year.

Media Daily News: Mag Bag

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/190329/mag-bag-atlantic-posts-big-digital-gains.html#axzz2H21IHyhM

Atlantic Posts Big Digital GainsThe 'Atlantic' announced that digital advertising revenue increased 32% in 2012 compared to the previous year, and now makes up over half (59%) of its total advertising revenues...
Yoga Journal To Publish 4 Special Issues in 2013
Yoga Journal will publish four special issues in 2013...
Sullivan Decamps From Newsweek Daily Beast Co.
Andrew Sullivan is taking his blog independent again. That means the well-known political/cultural  blogger is leaving the Newsweek Daily Beast Co...
Marie Claire Announces Editorial Hires
Marie Claire is starting off the year with some new appointments and a promotion on the editorial side...

Time's Latest Collaboration

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/time-incs-latest-collaboration-146250

Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang has made a point of capitalizing on the company's enormous number of print subscribers and breaking down walls between its traditionally autonomous brands.

In keeping with this new collaborative spirit, celeb weekly People teamed up with healthy-eating monthly Cooking Light on a new editorial booklet called “Fresh Start” that mixes celebrities’ weight-loss stories with healthy eating tips and recipes. Sponsored by Barilla pasta and featuring a cover interview with actress and Jenny Craig spokeswoman Valerie Bertinelli, the booklet appears in People's ’s annual “Half Their Size” issue on sale Jan. 4 and in Cooking Light's Jan/Feb issue.

The Atlantic Publishes First eBook

http://www.pubexec.com/article/the-atlantic-publishes-its-first-original-ebook-battle-end-eden/1

In "Battle at the End of Eden," a globe-trotting tale that marks the first time original Atlantic reporting is being published exclusively as an ebook, author Amanda R. Martinez takes readers inside the fight to preserve the most delicate places on Earth.

Getting Attention with Once Forbidden Words

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/books/womens-magazine-editors-allow-more-printed-vulgarities.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Cindi Leive, editor in chief of Glamour, was searching for the best way to draw readers’ attention to an article in the November 2011 issue about how women could better organize their closets and bank accounts. “12 ways to get your act together” didn’t have much punch. “12 ways to get your stuff together” also fell flat. So she decided to substitute “act” with a word unprintable here and waited for the angry letters to pour in. They never came.

The long-running debate in women’s magazines — how frank can they be? — seems to have shifted, as editors throughout the industry are sprinkling more curse words on their covers and weaving expletives into the headlines and the copy between the photos of celebrities with flawless skin. 

Metrocorp Acquires Slice Communications

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/190355/media-reach-publisher-metrocorp-buys-slice.html#axzz2H21IHyhM

Another media owner just entered the agency sector. Metrocorp, parent company of Philadelphia and Boston magazines, confirmed it has purchased a majority interest in Slice Communications, a social media and public relations shop based in Philadelphia.

The deal is the latest example of a media company buying into the agency business.
Both Hearst and Meredith have invested in well-known shops. In 2010, Hearst bought digital shop iCrossing for more than $300 million. That same year, Meredith purchased mobile specialist The Hyperfactory. Terms of the Slice acquisition were not disclosed.

December Retail Spending Up

http://adage.com/article/news/minute-markdowns-boosted-holiday-sales/238978/

Retailers lured reluctant shoppers with late-December specials after Hurricane Sandy, the presidential election and the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., tempered earlier holiday spending.

December same-store sales for the more than 20 companies tracked by Swampscott, Mass.-based Retail Metrics rose 4.8%, excluding drugstores, beating the estimate for a 3.4% gain, the firm said in a report today. That follows a 1.6% gain in November

84% of Americans Go Online Daily

84% of Americans Go Online Daily; Increase Thanks to Smartphones: In 2011, 78% of U.S. adults went online daily. In 2012, this number jumped to 84% -- thanks to the increasing adoption of smartphones.