Tag: Cops and Courts

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Kindred pays $39M for Arkansas home-health ops; Humana top doc sells $603K in stock; and no charges for St. Louis cop in fatal KFC robbery shooting

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 8:29 p.m.

KINDRED: Under the agreement announced late his afternoon, Kindred said it will expand its existing home health and hospice services to 70 of the state’s 75 counties from the current six.

Smaller Kindred building detail
Fourth and Broadway headquarters.

The deal with the Arkansas Department of Health includes the Louisville company’s buying the agency’s 74 home health locations; seven hospice service offices, providing hospice services in 42 counties, plus personal-care service business that helps patients with daily living activities. It’s expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory and other approvals (press release).

HUMANA: Chief Medical Officer Roy Beveridge sold 3,228 company shares for $186.67 each — a total $603,000 — in a two-step transaction Friday, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this afternoon. The shares were among 7,947 he received earlier that day as restricted stock units awarded under the insurance giant’s 2011 stock incentive plan. Humana appointed Beveridge to the post in 2013 (SEC document). Humana’s stock closed at $189.90 a share today, up 1.5%.

KFC: A St. Louis police officer who gunned down a robbery suspect in the doorway of a KFC restaurant in January won’t face charges because he acted in self-defense, Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce announced today (Riverfront Times).

PAPA JOHN’S franchisees have signed a three-year contract to become the official pizza at the Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR track in Joliet in a deal announced today. The track previously served Chicago-based chains Giordano’s Pizza at its concession stands and Connie’s Pizza in its suites (Crain’s).

Laura Kay Roberts
Roberts

TACO BELL: In Eugene, Ore., police arrested a 44-year-old woman at a Taco Bell Friday night when a dispute with a teenager turned ugly in the restaurant’s drive-though lane. Laura Kay Roberts was booked and released from the Lane County Jail on charges of interfering with police, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. “Thank God county [jail’s] full,” read a post on her Facebook page, followed by several emoji icons. “No pickle suit for me hahaha.” When a commenter asked what happened, she replied, “I had beer muscles with a side of fireball” (Register-Guard).

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Yum! Brands wins trademark case in Philippines!!!; Kindred attorney bolts for a competitor, and a KFC beanie promo on Twitter captivates New Zealand

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 2:39 p.m.

Jolibee YumYumYUM has won a trademark case in the Philippines brought by fast-food chain Jollibee, which sought to block the Louisville company from using its business name in the country. The government’s trademark office said the word “yum” is a commonly-used interjection, and the chain’s “Yum!” logo employs an exclamation point and a different font — in caps-and-lower case — that distinguish the mark from Jollibee’s (Interaksyon). The Philippines is a potentially big market: its population is nearly 100 million.

HUMANA CEO Bruce Broussard knew his personal and work lives were out of whack after his mother died in a car accident. “I regretted the time I was not able to spend with family members. I also regretted that I defined life success as career success,” Broussard told Georgetown University graduates at their Saturday commencement ceremonies. The school gave him an honorary doctorate in humane sciences (The Hoya). Brossard, CEO since 2013, attended Texas A&M and the University of Houston.

David Pearce
Pearce

KINDRED: David Pearce, chief counsel for Kindred’s home division for 11 years, has been named senior vice president and chief compliance officer at home health provider Amedisys of Baton Rouge, La. (Home Health Care News).

KFC: It was the competition that captivated a nation on Twitter, according to Spinoff magazine: The busy working world of New Zealand ground to a halt last week as one tweet from a KFC New Zealand social media person — featuring three, identical, crimson beanies — got 6,800 retweets and a 16-piece bucket full of favorites. “This is the oral history of the greatest online giveaway in New Zealand history, as told by key players” (Spinoff).

PAPA JOHN’S: In the Seattle area, Continue reading “Yum! Brands wins trademark case in Philippines!!!; Kindred attorney bolts for a competitor, and a KFC beanie promo on Twitter captivates New Zealand” →

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Ford summer factories shutdown whacked in half; Calif. taqueria gives KFC the finger, plus: how to profit from Taco Bell rival Chipolte’s misery

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 8:59 a.m.

2017 Super Duty truck
The Kentucky Truck Plant will retool this summer to build the new 2017 Super Duty F-series.

FORD‘s auto and truck factories in Louisville will shut down for only one week this summer vs. the usual two, because of unexpectedly strong demand for SUVs, and the need to gear up for launching the new 2017 Super Duty F-series truck later this year.

The company says it will crank out an extra 22,000 SUVs at the Louisville Assembly Plant and at two other sites in Chicago and Oakville, Ontario. Through May, SUVs sales totaled 325,475, a 9% increase from a year ago, including Escape, Edge, Explorer, Flex and Expedition. The 4,700-employee Assembly Plant closing will be the week of July 4. Ford had disclosed the SUV production increase to investors in its second-quarter production guidance April 28.

This is the fourth consecutive year the automaker has trimmed its summer shutdowns (press release).

The Kentucky Truck Plant employs 5,100, but that figure is growing substantially. In December, Ford said it would add 2,000 jobs and invest $1.3 billion there to produce the new F-series; it originally opened in 1969. The factory already produces F-250 and F-550 Super Duty pickups, plus Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator trucks. More about Ford’s history and operations in Louisville.

KFC: The owner of the El Taqueria Amigo restaurant in southern California has sued KFC after the chain started using the Spanish-language slogan, “para chuparse los dedos,” which translates to “suck your fingers” or Continue reading “Ford summer factories shutdown whacked in half; Calif. taqueria gives KFC the finger, plus: how to profit from Taco Bell rival Chipolte’s misery” →

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$125M Appliance Park value far more than GE once claimed; Humana employees fear threat, and California UPS driver rescues world’s cutest puppy

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 7:33 p.m.

Appliance Park aerial
An aerial view shows Appliance Park.

GE sold Appliance Park to Haier Group for five times what it claimed the complex was worth in 2013, when it won a dispute with Jefferson County over the southend property’s value, a dispute that ultimately reduced the taxes the conglomerate paid. At the time, GE said the complex was worth $23 million, nearly half the $42 million value assigned by Property Valuation Administrator Tony Landauer’s office (WDRB).

HUMANA beefed up security yesterday after reports of what some employees said was a threatening graffiti message written on a bathroom wall at the insurer’s Waterside building downtown, one the company seriously enough to allow employees to go home early. The FBI is investigating the incident, said WAVE. The threat may be related to annual gay pride events planned downtown this weekend. Several employees told WLKY the graffiti referenced last weekend’s mass shooting at an Orlando gay bar, where a suspected terrorist possibly inspired by ISIS killed 50 people and injured another 50 (WAVE, WLKY and Courier-Journal).

Yesterday’s incident came after authorities arrested a Jeffersonville man arrested in California who was heavily armed and headed to a gay pride event, plus reports of possible copycat threats at a New York gay bar and in the U.K. June is gay pride month in many cities, with parades and other public festivities (Courier-Journal, Time and BBC).

BROWN-FORMAN filed its annual 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning; as always, a key section describes the business itself. The filing came a day after the whiskey giant disclosed how much it paid CEO Paul Varga and other top executives, plus fresh details about the value of the controlling Brown family’s $6 billion in stock holdings (SEC document).

Triple Treat Box
It costs $19.99.

PIZZA HUT‘S bacon-stuffed pizza has arrived in the U.K., but only for in-the-know customers. “To savour one of the new pimped-up crusts, all you need to do is whisper the secret words ‘Bacon Crust Have’ when ordering any large pizza (Mirror). Also, the chain has brought back its Triple Treat Box in a special summer edition, “a tri-level wonder decorated to look just like your favorite picnic basket” (Delish). It includes two medium one-topping pizzas, bread sticks and the just-introduced Ultimate Hershey’s Chocolate Chip Cookie (Brand Eating).

PAPA JOHN’S: In San Diego, no injuries were reported after an SUV crashed into a Papa John’s Pizza restaurant yesterday afternoon (KGTV).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE is looking for Baltimore area cooks “who are ready for a fun and rewarding career in the restaurant business.” Applicants are considered without regard to race, religion, color, age, gender, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, citizenship, national origin, or any other legally protected status (Craigslist). Apparently, gender expression hasn’t made that list — yet.

Puppy
Adopt me, please!

UPS: In northern California, a UPS driver who happened to be on the scene rescued a crazy-cute puppy dumped Tuesday evening in the street by a passing vehicle. The Modesto Bee identified the driver as 39-year-old Jason Harcrow of Hughson. Police said the puppy, believed to be a Cairn terrier less than a year old, was in great spirits and would be put up for adoption at the county shelter (KPIX). The driver who abandoned the pup is expected to spend eternity in hell with tobacco lobbyists.

In other news, U.S. stocks closed slightly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indices up less than 1% (Google Finance). Among Boulevard’s 10 big Louisville employers, Papa John’s performed best, closing at $65.89, up 2%. And on the A-list front, there was no news of any consequence about Louisville native and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence.

Latest Headlines

Amazon wants Texas tax cut, as Trump slams Bezos anew; Haier paid $125M for Appliance Park, and much ado about new KFC pulled-porker down under in Oz

A news summary, focused on 10 big employers; updated 9:34 a.m.

AMAZON is seeking tax breaks for a proposed distribution center in Houston that would lower the retailer’s taxes there to 65% for 10 years, starting Jan. 1; Harris County officials meet today to consider whether to call a public meeting on the company’s request. The $136 million facility would create 1,000 jobs and construction would start in the third quarter (Houston Chronicle). Amazon already has at least one center in Houston; it opened in 2014. In the Louisville area, it employs 6,000 at two distribution centers. What it’s like to work in one of the centers.

Presumptive GOP White House nominee Donald Trump has renewed his attack on The Washington Post and owner Jeff Bezos, after the paper called him out for trying multiple times yesterday to quietly link President Obama to this weekend’s devastating attack in Orlando. Trump has revoked the paper’s press access to his campaign, saying Bezos is using the newspaper as his personal mouthpiece to gain tax advantages for Amazon. Bezos bought the paper from its long-time owners, the Grahams, for $250 million in 2013; he owns it separately from Amazon (The Verge). Also, Amazon is getting ready to roll out its second annual Prime Day, a special 24-hour discount extravaganza for Prime members that last year exceeded its Black Friday results. It was held in July last year; the company hasn’t set a date this year yet (Street Insider).

FORD has been much less visible than competitors in forging deals with Silicon Valley partners, raising questions about whether it’s getting left behind in the race for self-driving cars and other innovations. Talks with Google this year went nowhere, while Fiat Chrysler has already forged a relationship with that technology giant. Meanwhile, Ford’s experiments with on-demand shuttles and e-bikes have been overshadowed by General Motors’ Maven car-sharing and Toyota’s alliance with Uber (Hybrid Cars).

GE: We now know what Haier paid GE’s 61-year-old Appliance Park: $125 million, according to Jefferson County Clerk Office records reviewed by Business First. Overall, Haier paid $5.6 billion for the home appliances division in a deal completed last week.

Pulled Pork Burger
Exhibit A.

KFC: Some customers are confused and angry — and even angry about that anger — after the fast food restaurant famous for fried chicken launched a $6 limited edition burger with that other white meat: pork. The sandwich of pulled pork, coleslaw and barbecue sauce on a brioche bun is available across KFC restaurants in at least Australia starting today for the next four weeks (Emmanorris Blog and EFTM ). The Ozzie KFC division posted that video at the top of this page and the photo on the left.

News about the sandwich is spreading across Twitter, with many outraged or at least annoyed over the outrage:

Boulevard sees the Australian Mafia-of-one at work: Greg Creed has been leading a KFC makeover since become CEO of corporate parent Yum in January 2015.

TACO BELL: Our foreign news story of the day is about the Mexican chain’s move into Brazil next month in the megalopolis of Sao Paulo, just in time for the summer Olympics: “Taco Bell desembarca no Brasil ainda no segundo semestre” (Clica Piaui). For those who don’t speak Portuguese, Google Translate is your friend. Facing an increasingly saturated U.S. fast-food market, the Yum unit is ramping up overseas openings, expanding to 1,000 locations by 2020 from about 280 now (Bloomberg).

PAPA JOHN’S: Three men armed with a gun and a baseball bat robbed a driver at 10 p.m. Sunday night in Magnolia, Del., taking money and his cellphone (Delaware Online).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE is hiring in Knoxville and Alcoa, Tenn., at a job fair today (WVLT).

In other news, the newly opened Speed Cinema this weekend will present this year’s Sundance Short Film Festival Tour (Insider Louisville). And on Wall Street, U.S. stocks traded lower again right after the opening bell (Google Finance).

Latest Headlines

Brown-Forman jumps 4% on Q4 financial results; N.Y. says UPS illegally shipped 700K cartons of untaxed cigs; and a Brit’s bonkers for Roadhouse

A news summary, focused on big employers; updated 6:17 p.m.

Paul Varga
Varga

BROWN-FORMAN said fiscal fourth-quarter operating income soared to $726 million on sales of $933 million, on the continued strength of Jack Daniel’s whiskey sales. But the figures included a one-time $485 million gain from the sale of Southern Comfort and Tuaca during the quarter, which ended April 30. On a diluted per-share basis, earnings were $2.60 per share vs. 66 cents a year ago at the spirits and wine giant (press release and the SEC 8-K). What analysts had forecast. The company’s class A and class B shares both closed up 3.5% (Google Finance). CEO Paul Varga called the fiscal year “a tale of two halves,” with emerging market sales rising by 8% in the first half of the year before paring that decline to 1% in the second half (Wall Street Journal). Management held a 10 a.m. conference call to discuss the results, and it’s now available for replay. More about Brown-Forman.

UPS: New York’s attorney general yesterday accused UPS of knowingly shipping about 700,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes from Native American reservations to consumers and smoke shops between 2010 and 2014, even though the company had agreed to halt the practice more than a decade ago. UPS denied the allegation (Associated Press).

Amazon logoAMAZON will invest another $3 billion in its India operations, more than doubling its prior commitment in what CEO Jeff Bezos said yesterday is the company’s fastest-growing market. Two years ago, the online retail giant announced a $2 billion investment in the nation, where it already employs 45,000 workers. Bezos disclosed the news at a Washington business summit attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (BBC and International Business Times). Amazon didn’t help its efforts when consumers threatened a boycott over the company’s selling doormats bearing the image of the Hindu gods and other religious symbols; the company pulled the items this week (Mashable).

KINDRED: Jurors heard opening statements yesterday in a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital and nursing home giant, brought by the family of a man who died in 2011 at the Greenbriar Terrace nursing home in Nashua, N.H. Byam “Bing” Whitney Jr. had developed pneumonia, followed by bedsores that led to sepsis; he was 84 (Union-Leader).

PAPA JOHN’S: A Miami delivery driver filed another proposed class-action lawsuit against 31-store franchiser Pizzerias LLC in Florida federal court on Monday, accusing the company of shorting drivers on mileage reimbursements (Law 360). In August, Papa John’s agreed to pay $12.3 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of underpaying mileage reimbursements to drivers in Florida and five other states. That suit was originally filed in federal court in St. Louis in 2009, and represented about 19,000 drivers (KYCIR).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE: Noted, because it popped up in Boulevard’s news search results this morning: TripAdvisor users rated Texas Roadhouse No. 21 of 194 restaurants in St. George, Utah. “This was possibly our best meal out of the four that we had in St George,” user Tired Boy of the U.K.’s Sheffield wrote yesterday, in a perfect five-star review. “Some people may feel that they don’t like the chain restaurant scene, but it was our first time there and we’d definitely go back again” (TripAdvisor). St. George is a Mojave Desert resort in the state’s southwest corner.

In other news, U.S. stocks closed the day up modestly, as did most of the 11 big employers in Boulevard’s Stock Portfolio (Google Finance). Finally, the cast of “The Phantom of the Opera” was to pay tribute to the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali this afternoon at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, where it began a 12-day run last week; Ali died last week at 74, and his funeral will be Friday (WDRB).