Christopher Simmons

NEWS: (SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) –- Author and financial historian Michael Piontkowski, also known as "Piont," has launched a new website portal to serve as the anchor for a grass roots movement to encourage elected officials to enact better finance options for U.S. citizens.

NEWS: (ADDISON, Texas) Mid America Mortgage, Inc. (Mid America) Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bode announced the firm has hired four new account executives in its wholesale and correspondent lending division.

NEWS: (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) Civic Resource Group (CRG), a data, mobile and Augmented Reality pioneer in the burgeoning Smart City market, has secured financial support and backing from a group of international investors led by Atlantic Bridge (ABVEN) out of Silicon Valley, London, and Dublin, and Globalive Capital out of Toronto, it was announced by Gregory G. Curtin, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of CRG.

NEWS: (FLAT ROCK, N.C.) Four Seasons Compassion for Life today announced its 2016-2017 officers and directors. Officers elected were Dorothy Moyer, chair, Columbus, N.C.; Greg Burnette, vice chair, Hendersonville, N.C.; John Veazy, Esq., secretary, Hendersonville, N.C.; and Stephanie Bailey, treasurer, Asheville, N.C.

NEWS: (HOLLYWOOD, Calif.) Zak Lee Guarnaccia is a multifaceted actor, Hollywood stuntman, filmmaker, martial artist and fitness expert, whose career has been evolving in film, television, martial arts and fitness for well-over two decades. Guarnaccia is thrilled to join the cast on 'Live by Night' - the upcoming American crime film, written and directed by the Oscar-winning director Ben Affleck, based on the 2012 novel by Dennis Lehane and distributed by Warner Bros.

NEWS: (DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.) RedFin POS today announced the launch of a web-based electronic bill payment and presentment (EBPP) platform to its payment gateway. The new platform allows merchants to generate and email secure payment links to customers who can then make payments through a secure payment form and/or make donations online. When done, vendors will receive direct deposit of funds into their bank.

NEWS: (MESA, Ariz.) Edupoint Educational Systems - a leading student information and learning management solutions provider for the K-12 market, has seen rapid adoption of Synergy(R) Learning Management solutions across the nation, including a recent implementation of the LessonVUE Curriculum Management solution by Federal Way Public Schools (FWPS).

NEWS: (ASHLAND, Ohio) Hedstrom Fitness now offers a product line that literally changes the paradigm of stability training. Via the physics of water, the Kamagon Ball and The Surge create 'live and ever-changing' resistance, taking functional training to a whole new level.

NEWS: (FORT WORTH, Texas) A film documentary commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Texas Boys Choir will be screened at 7 p.m., Feb. 18 during a special ceremony at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The documentary - literally seven decades in the making - explores the vast and rich history and legacy of the boys choir. It is written and directed by Gary McGrath, a TBC alum who also is executive director of The Texas State Men and Boys Choir.

NEWS: (NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) Powers of Arkansas, the state's largest commercial HVAC company, announces the promotion of three key leaders at Powers who have contributed leadership and vision to the growth of Powers as the industry leader in commercial HVAC equipment, air distribution, and controls in Arkansas.

NEWS: (CHICAGO, Ill.) As policy debates rage in states from Michigan and New Hampshire to New Mexico and West Virginia, researchers from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, Colorado State University-Pueblo, and Smart Cities Prevail have just completed the first ever national study on the economic, social, and project cost impacts of state prevailing wage laws.

NEWS: (MIAMI BEACH, Fla.) One of the most urgent issues South Florida's municipal leaders must tackle is sea level rise. Faced with inevitable flooding problems. RMA, which is currently planning and redeveloping several cities along the coast, sent their Director of Urban Design and Planning, Natasha Alfonso, to the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit to help their clients stay ahead of the challenge.

NEWS: (DETROIT, Mich.) The RuReal App released by U.S. Publications, Inc. is designed to help its users avoid scams, posers, catfish and more. Not sure if that dating profile image is real? Unsure of the authenticity of a product being sold online? RuReal sets the truth free.

NEWS: (IRVING, Texas) As North Texas creative and design agency the Bubble enters its 17th year in business, the company has plenty of linchpin client campaigns to reflect on - from the College Football Playoffs, Super Bowl XLV, the NBA, Texas Rangers and the Crowne Plaza Invitational to Six Flags, Sony, Kraft, Axe and Levi's - but more importantly, a host of highly-visible projects to be announced in 2016.

NEWS: (CINCINNATI, Ohio) Rejuvatek Medical, Inc., Sandy, Utah, announced the opening of their latest Tatt2Away(R) center in Cincinnati, Ohio at Cincinnati Aesthetics. Rejuvatek Medical offers a patented, innovative alternative to laser tattoo removal that is less painful, less costly, and more effective at removing all tattoo colors of pigment.

NEWS: (BRADENTON, Fla.) An article entitled 'Modern Spinal Surgery Options' by Injury Attorney Bernard F. Walsh, managing partner of Shapiro Goldman Babboni and Walsh, and Attorney Elisabeth Dewitt formerly of the Bradenton Florida office of Shapiro Goldman Babboni and Walsh, has been published by the Southern Trial Lawyers Association in JUSTLAW.

NEWS: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) Environmental activist Erin Brockovich, together with a team of Weitz and Luxenberg attorneys, look forward to meeting with victims of the Hoosick Falls, New York PFOA groundwater contamination on Saturday, January 30, 2016, said the nationally known personal injury and mass tort law firm.

NEWS: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) Laconia Capital Group L.P. announces the launch of a new Business-to-Business Venture Capital Fund. The newly capitalized fund utilizes an investment approach described as 'Inflection Capital Investing,' through which Laconia will invest in late seed-stage companies that have reached an inflection point in their business development that strongly suggests continued growth.

NEWS: (MESA, Ariz.) Edupoint Educational Systems, a leading student information and learning management solutions provider for the K-12 market, now supports technology enhanced items in Synergy Assessment, part of the Synergy Learning Management System. The full support of technology enhanced items in Synergy Assessment enables students to take pre-assessments and benchmark assessments using the same kind of item types that appear on high-stakes tests such as the PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments.

NEWS: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) Robin L. Greenwald, head of the Weitz and Luxenberg Environmental, Toxic Tort and Consumer Protection litigation unit, will serve as interim co-lead counsel in the developing Excellus BlueCross BlueShield data breach class action lawsuit, according to the firm.

NEWS: (NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J.) Capacity LLC, a trusted leader in order fulfillment, ecommerce, and electronic data interchange (EDI), has launched a brand new website. The site has been redesigned to make it easier to navigate and to help visitors quickly find the information they need to understand modern order fulfillment.

NEWS: (GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. and ZURICH, Switzerland) eAgile Inc., a global leader in radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies, announces the successful high-volume production launch of the eSeal heat induction solution. eSeal is the first turnkey solution engineered to integrate the benefits of RFID into the billions of caps and closures consumed by the over-the-counter pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and chemical manufacturers.

NEWS: (HARAHAN, La.) TriWest Healthcare Alliance welcomed employees to the company's New Operations Center in Harahan, La. on Monday. TriWest serves the community health care needs of America's veterans, alongside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in administering the Veterans Choice Program.

NEWS: (GREAT FALLS, Va.) LeaseAccelerator, the leader in Equipment Lease Management software, published today a report listing the off-balance sheet lease obligations of the 500 largest U.S. public companies. The report, entitled "Who is Most Impacted by the New Lease Accounting Standards?" aims to provide greater awareness of the potential impact of the new lease accounting standards.

NEWS: (BOLINGBROOK, Ill.) As of January 1, 2016, Midwest Fuel Injection Service Corporation (MWFI), which operates under the Seidel Diesel Group, has a new president: Paul Thoms. When MWFI moved to Bolingbrook in 2005, Thoms served as branch manager. In 2010, he was promoted to general manager; in 2012 he was promoted to vice president.