The report, published by the Commonwealth Institute, revealed that the top 10% made a minimum of 5.7 times more than the bottom earners.

Michael Cassidy, the organization’s president, explained: “High earners have made wage gains despite the recession.”

Northern Virginia- A State of Its Own

“When you look at the northern part of the state, that’s where all the information sciences are, the defense contractors are,” explained Daraius Irani of the Division of Economic and Community Outreach at Towson University. “If you look at the southeastern/southwestern corers of Virginia, that’s where the problems are. Northern Virginia is, in itself, a state to some degree.”

Due to the high-paying technology and government jobs, Northern Virginia has had the highest average weekly wage rate for years. Another factor is college graduates, who have a significant advantage over those with less education.

“Individuals without college of high school diplomas are always going to be suffering, and unfortunately, this recession has exacerbated that fact,’ Mr. Irani said.

The tunnel will connect Dodge Island to area highways, while this summer will bring forth the beginning of work on a new rail line which will once again connect the Port of Miami to the Hialeah Rail Yard. In the next few months the dredging of one of the port’s many channels will commence.

The director of the port, Bill Johnson explained to participants at a logistic luncheon during the annual goals conference of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce what the next steps will be in revitalizing the port.

“It’s leveraging these port improvements; it’s what we do with these billions and billions of investments,” Mr. Johnson emphasized.

In order to get the most out of these investments it will be necessary to bring in major logistic centers to South Florida, Mr. Johnson and others at the luncheon said. The enormous ships that will be passing through the revitalized Panama Canal beginning in 2014 will need a good reason to stop in the Port of Miami. It is up to us, Mr. Johnson reiterated, to give them that reason.

The port, as well as its partner Florida East Coast Railway, are about to begin a marketing campaign to attract some of the world’s largest shippers, such as Tanker Pacific, APL, and APM-Maersk to the revamped Port of Miami.

“The objective is to double the amount of cargo activity,” Johnson said. In 2010 the port witnessed about 800,000 20-foot equivalent units, passing through its facility. “By 2020, in literally less than nine years, the Port of Miami should be double that, “he added.

Auberge du Soleil – Enjoy a tour of the Napa Valley more with a stay at this luxurious spa destination. Enjoy its sculpture garden with works of over 100 artists and dine in their olive grove or vineyard as an extra culinary treat.

The Jefferson Hotel – This newly renovated property in Washington, D.C. was only recently accepted into the Relais & Chateaux luxury hotel collection as the first Relais & Chateaux hotel in Washington, D.C.

White Barn Inn and Spa – Enjoy Kennebunkport Beach more with a stay at the White Barn Inn and Spa. Their full spa, luxury rooms and divine culinary delights from Grand Chef Jonathan Cartwright will enhance your beach getaway.

Lots of online results for these can be found on search engines like MyWebSearch and Blekko.

In recent business news in New York City, Hedge Funds for Habitat is an initiative that aims to help 41 families to acquire their own homes through Habitat for Humanity – New York City.

Headed by Stuart Feffer, the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Lacrosse Global Fund Services, Hedge Funds for Habitat-NYC is gathering supporters from hedge funds and private equity firms.  Together, they will contribute to help working families in NYC to own a Habitat home.

Currently, Habitat for Humanity – NYC is building the largest and greenest project they’ve ever undertaken.  This 41-unit condominium building on Atlantic in Brooklyn is affordable and constructed with environmentally-friendly materials.  It is set to be the largest multi-family unit ever constructed by Habitat for Humanity in the world.

Current donors include, but are not limited to : Advent Software Inc, Avenue Capital Group, Robert D. Barry, Black River Asset Management LLC, Christopher Brody, Hope D. Cohen, Correctnet, Deloitte & Touche LLP, the N.I.R. Group LLC with Corey Ribotsky, Jason A. Press and many others.

So, with that said, here are some recommendations for creative ways to save money on magazine subscriptions – while still enjoying those great reads.

1. Library: You might find great magazines that you can check out of the library.  All it will require is a library card.  Now, you may find that most of the good magazines are already taken by the time you get there each month, but it’s worth a try if you want to save that money.

2. Kindle or other reader: Yes, there is a large initial investment if you want to purchase Amazon’s Kindle or another e-reader.  Then, however, you’ll be able to get subscriptions to your favorite magazines at reduced rates and will have them at your fingertips wherever you are.

3. Magazine Subscription Companies: There are many companies that offer magazine subscriptions at reduced rates.  Companies such as National Magazine Exchange, Magazine Deals Now and others have great packages.  You can buy just one magazine, or a series of great reads, for reduced prices.  And, you can usually switch magazine titles mid-subscription, which allows for great flexibility in your subscription.

4. Magazine Exchanges: Get together with a few friends and swap magazines.  This will require a bit of coordination and you’ll have to make sure that you like the magazines that your friends read.  It will, however, allow you to read a number of magazines each month without paying for all of them.  Enjoy O Magazine, Time Magazine, Vogue and so much more without having to pay for them all from your pocketbook.

This is, certainly, most often happening at troubled companies.  However, more and more big businesses are also installing independent chairmen who were previous CEOs.  The Corporate Library, a governance research firm, says that 46 former CEOs are now chairmen of other companies. This statistic is in stark contrast to the numbers in 2004 when there were only 14.

C. Robert Kidder, the former CEO of Duracell International Inc. and Borden Chemical Inc., for instance, is now at Chrysler Group LLC leading the board.  He spends an average of three days a week at Chrysler, working with their CEO, Sergio Marchionne, and other executives.  He works hard not to micromanage.

Dennis Carey, a senior client partner at Korn/Ferry International says, “These chairmen are strategic equal partners of the CEO because they already demonstrated a successful ‘in the trenches’ style of management.”

The main person in the movie making process with ties to the business world is the producer.  This person is usually with the film production from beginning to end.  The producer usually has a part in developing the film idea or script and in securing the rights.  He will often be the one to hire the director and supervising cast, and to assemble the crew.  He will also be in charge of overseeing the budget and coordinating the postproduction work.

The executive producer will often be someone who owns the rights to the book or story and who secures at least 25% of the overall film budget.  Executive producers, such as Eric Gozlan, will often be involved in a number of productions at once and they rarely have creative or technical involvement in each film.  This person, or persons, main interest is to protect the studio’s investment in the course of the movie production.

Finally, the associate producer title is usually seen as an honorary one.  Often, it’s a way for a producer to say thank you to someone, or to pay back a favor.

Movies typically have more than one producer and executive producer.  While enjoying a film, it is important to consider the vast array of business energy and expense that went into the production of that enjoyable movie.

As a small business owner and successful entrepreneur, Mr. Touizer understands how much money the rent or mortgage can take from a business.  For 2010, he recommends renegotiating your rent, or looking for less expensive office space.  One advantage of the current recession is that commercial vacancy rates around the country are 10% or higher.  Use this to your advantage and find a new, less expensive place to conduct business.

Raw material prices are also down at the moment.  This means that you might be able to buy your business supplies for less and that you can find sales on office furniture, office supplies and more.

Take a look at your personnel and see if you might need to hire people.  While this may sound counterintuitive in a recession, it actually makes sense.  You can find quite talented workers for less.  This can make your company work more professionally and efficiently, while not requiring a huge salary expenditure.

Using these suggestions for almost any business in 2010  just might save you money and help you to get a leg-up in the current recession.