California

NEWS: Beauty pageants are sometimes criticized for being overly competitive, cut throat and an advantage to the wealthy due to high costs of preparing for and participating in the pageant, says Stephanie Farrell of Miss Greater Bay Area, Calif. California's state pageant, owned and operated by Top 10 Productions of Southern Calif., works with several independent regional directors who host preliminary pageants that qualify contestants for the Miss California USA(R) and Miss California Teen USA(R) pageants.

NEWS: Civic Resource Group International (CRG) and the Downtown Development Authority of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (DDA) today announced the completion of the DDA's modernizing Smart City initiative. The joint collaboration achieves the goal of designing and delivering a mobile solution that provides instant, multi-aspect navigation data.

NEWS: SmartStops, an online service that helps investors of all levels manage investment risk, announced today that it has extended its relationship with BNP Paribas and is now available to investors in the Italian market.

NEWS: BJD Inc., a privately held men's sportswear manufacturer, established in 1985, located in Los Angeles and New York, has selected DrivenBI's SRK to help transform their Sales Cycle Analysis. BJD Inc. owns several different brands, their most distinguished being Michael Brandon, Thread and Cloth, James Tattersall, and Park West. BJD Inc. distributes to retail giants such as Burlington, Marmaxx Group, Ross, Steinmart, and many more.

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. /eNewsChannels/ -- NEWS: Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) announced Grant Hier, Chair of Liberal Arts and Art History, has been nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. Hier was nominated as an author and will choose which works he wishes to submit to Pushcart judges for consideration for inclusion in their revered annual anthology.

NEWS: Leading mortgage compliance and quality control (QC) services provider The Compliance Group, Inc. (TCG) announced it has hired Michelle Doyle as Director of Quality Control. Doyle brings more than two decades of experience in mortgage underwriting, quality control, risk mitigation and compliance to her new role at TCG.

NEWS: ReverseVision today announced it ranked number 367 on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 'fastest growing' technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. ReverseVision grew 175.1 percent during this period.

NEWS: MLSListings Inc. this week became the first multiple listing service (MLS) in California to offer New Homes Navigator - a first of its kind service that connects real estate professionals with new construction inventory for their clients' home search.

NEWS: More than 500 people are expected to attend the annual award luncheon Saturday, November 14, 2015 in Sacramento, to recognize winners of the 'Women of Excellence,' 'Lifetime Achievement' and 'Business of the Year' Awards presented by the Sacramento Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.

NEWS: On Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, KMA Black Belt Champions is proud to host their 16th ceremony showcasing the new Black Belts at their Sherman Oaks, California school. The celebration, at Van Nuys High School Auditorium, is the culmination of a three month testing process.

NEWS: MCT Trading, Inc., a recognized industry leader in mortgage risk management providing pipeline hedging, best-execution loan sales and centralized lock desk services, announced that its COO, Phil Rasori, was named to San Diego Metro (SD Metro) magazine's prestigious Top 40 Under 40 list for 2015.

NEWS: Phil Sears Collectibles LLC announced today that the only known existing scrapbook of original cartoons drawn by Walt Disney will be auctioned at Bonhams in New York City this month. Walt Disney was no more than 17 years old when he drew the 13 cartoon characters in the scrapbook. Two of the characters are rodents, drawn a full 10 years before he created his iconic Mickey Mouse.

NEWS: Art collectors have something to get excited about. It's a new global art movement called 'Excessivism' and its early adopters date back to the late twentieth century. The movement's founder, American artist Kaloust Guedel, explains that Excessivism is a commentary on economic materialism.

NEWS: Kick Punch Labs, a Calif.-based web and app development firm, knows that idea makers might find the app ecosystem intimidating, but it believes that it's still an open market for people who know how to disrupt the current environment.

NEWS: On November 19-21, 2015, MostFit will join more than 300 manufacturers, suppliers, architects and consultants from the sports, recreation, fitness, active-aging and medical fitness industries, plus attendees from 49 states and 20 countries at the 34th annual Athletic Business Conference and Expo.

NEWS: SecuGen, the world's leading optical fingerprint device vendor, is pleased to announce the immediate availability of biometric identity management and fraud prevention for SAP(R) system users with SecuGen's flagship fingerprint reader, the Hamster Pro 20.

NEWS: Los Angeles-based Neotrope, a 32-year-old brand marketing, PR, and content development firm, today announced the launch of its 2016 annual PR Grants program for U.S.-based 501(c)3 charities. Launched in 2000, the Non-Profit PR Grant was designed to help raise awareness of selected charities to traditional media, to the public, as well as to potential 'halo' sponsors and donors.

NEWS: Minister Keith Muhammad, of the Oakland Mosque, in collaboration with community leaders, announce that on Oct. 24, 2015 at 12 noon, protesters will rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, Calif. in solidarity with the Truth, Transparency and Freedom Rally happening on the same day at the CDC in Atlanta.

NEWS: Uproar Entertainment is pleased to announce the release of Darryl Littleton's newest comedy CD, 'Too Raw for Mainstream.' For Darryl Littleton pka D'Militant, no subject is out of bounds, no topic too sensitive, no commentary too raw. With his crackling wit, Littleton holds nothing back, unflinchingly delivering slicing and incisive social and political commentary.

NEWS: Council for Vaccine Safety, and A Voice for Choice, in collaboration with community leaders, announce that on October 24, 2015 at 12 noon, protesters will rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, Calif. in solidarity with the Truth, Transparency and Freedom Rally happening on the same day at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia.

NEWS: Bank of Southern California, N.A. (OTCQB:FBBN / OTCMKTS:FBBN) has announced the promotion of Rhonda Guthrie to the position of Senior Vice President, Loan Administration. With over 20 years in Loan Administration, Guthrie joined the Company in 2013 as Loan Administration Manager responsible for all functions related to loan processing, documentation, compliance and loan servicing.

NEWS: ArteQuesta announces its new software for art collectors, the Art Portfolio Management System. 'From a collector's standpoint, our software offers simplicity for managing a collection without cutting corners or lowering standards,' comments Rayah Levy, ArteQuesta's Founder and Director.

NEWS: According to Harbor Compounding Pharmacy, many insurance plans are dropping coverage of compounded medications -- but some insurance plans still do cover for these custom formulations. Harbor Compounding Pharmacy provides resources and referrals to patients to find insurance coverage for their compounded medications during open enrollment 2016.

NEWS: For the first time since its launch in 2009, Living Textiles Baby and Kids, the innovative textiles and design baby and kids brand, is relaunching their own website. This initiative will provide Living Textiles and Baby a larger platform to expand and grow its ecommerce.

NEWS: 'Before I Die' walls, a new interactive art exhibit with installations cropping up around the world - including one now being planned by Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes the weekend of October 16 - is providing a much-needed opportunity to pause for reflection.