Business

NANUET, N.Y. -- Little Scoops, the retro 50's themed children's birthday party franchise, will be exhibiting for the first time at the National Franchise & Business Opportunities trade show at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey on March 17-18, 2007, it was announced today by Michelle Violetto and Tanya Ehrlich, co-founders of LS Franchise Corp.

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Costa Mesa-based BandCon, the leading peering network provider for large content sites, today announced that Todd Braning has joined the company as Vice President of Peering and Backbone operations. Braning is responsible for the company's peering and backbone services and operations.

DENVER, Colo. -- ProLine, a longtime producer of media care and storage products has developed a new universal disc hanging file system for your file cabinet and desk drawer. The patented design offers a very familiar storage concept, especially for those who have been using hanging document files over the years.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Gameshastra, a leading provider of Game Outsource Services, announced today the appointment of Geoff Mulligan to its Advisory Board. Geoff will assist the company in formulating its strategic vision and corporate strategy to become a global leader in outsourcing services for the games industry.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two West, Inc. is a branding and communications firm providing research-driven, strategic consulting services and agency solutions for high-growth companies and products. While the firm offers experience in select verticals including telecommunications, retail, automotive, human and animal health, and professional services, it has also developed horizontal expertise in brand strategy for companies needing next-level marketing guidance.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The View recently featured the award-winning LifeSpan TR2000 treadmill, from PCE Health and Fitness, for its unique downhill walking feature. Not only is downhill-walking excellent for cardiovascular fitness, it also provides health benefits that help reduce the risks and effects associated with diabetes.

JAMAICA, Vt. -- Jamaica Cottage Shop, Inc. announced today that it will be offering its wooden post and beam shed kits to retailers nationwide as part of a new wholesale program. The program is designed to make their New England style buildings more readily available to consumers outside the northeast.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Authernative, Inc., the developer of innovative user authentication and identity management technologies, announced today that the European Patent Office has granted the company its patent for a user authentication method.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Gameshastra, a leading provider of Game Outsource Services, announced today the appointment of Jason Wong as Vice President - Quality Assurance. In this position, Mr. Wong will be responsible for overseeing all of Gameshastra's outsource testing operations, including their offshore testing facility in Hyderabad, India.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Carry You, LLC, a Minneapolis-based family company, was invited to kick off the awards season and to participate in the Boom Boom Room - the ultimate gifting suite for Hollywood parents and their little ones. Founded by Jayneoni Moore, a celebrity-style insider, the Boom Boom Room was founded to bring baby fashion lines and products to celebrities and the media.

ATLANTA, Ga. -- GeckoSystems, Inc. (OTC PK: GKSY / GKSY.pk) announced today the formation and opening of its new UK office located in greater London, England. The new subsidiary, GeckoSystems UK Ltd., will be responsible for manufacturing, sales, and support in the commercial security and defense marketplaces.

CHICAGO, Ill. -- According to Solay Wellness Inc., natural salt is not just for healthy flavor. Boasting 84 minerals, unrefined, crystallized, natural salt delivers an array of health benefits, with users finding relief from respiratory ailments, improvements in skin condition, increased energy levels, pain relief, stress relief and more.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- CADFORCE, the Los Angeles-based global leader in outsourced architectural services, today announced that it has added three new people to its management team. They are Paul Fielding, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer; Jeffrey Matzek, AIA, Vice President of Quality; and Catrina Gregory, Vice President of Client Care.

DULUTH, Ga. -- ActionCOACH Cornerstone, a local, independently-owned licensee of ActionCOACH, the world's #1 business coaching franchise, announced today that it will be expanding it's business presence in Georgia through a merger with two other established ActionCOACH Business Coaches. This will significantly impact the Business Coaching Firm's ability to help private business owners and their teams to become more efficient, more productive, better focused, and more profitable through professional, objective mentoring and education.

PETALUMA, Calif. -- World Business Services, Inc., founded in 1994, has contractual agreements with a myriad of vendors who provide one-of-a-kind programs designed to help businesses save money, improve efficiencies, and increase sales. By having several service providers available, World Business Services, Inc. is able to custom tailor a specific program to help any sized company, in any vocation, in the United States.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Action International, the world's #1 business coaching franchise, today announced it is changing its company name to ActionCOACH effective immediately. Among other benefits, the name change will give clients, potential franchisees and the general public an immediate understanding of the services that have propelled the company to the top of the business coaching field.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) awarded U.S. Facilities, Inc. (USF) a five-year contract for facilities management and maintenance services at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building (TMFJB) in The District of Columbia.

DULUTH, Ga. -- The local, independently-owned office of Action International, the world's #1 business coaching franchise, today announced its corporate name is changing to ActionCOACH, effective immediately. ActionCOACH will continue to aggressively expand its mission to help small- to medium-sized businesses and their owners become more efficient, more productive, better focused, and more profitable through professional, objective mentoring and education.

MODESTO, Calif. -- Now, it's easier than ever get your hands on your very own Oxygenics showerhead! In one of the most exciting developments of the year, ETL(R) is proud to announce that Oxygenics is now available in all Target stores nationwide and online.

AUBURN, Maine -- KIC Products Waffletechnology engineers in cooperation with NCR have created a product to protect Magnetic stripe readers from Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) that can cause MSR failures and system lockups. ESD issues are more common in low humidity environments when customers use the new Debit/Credit cards with holographic images.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Ascentia Biomedical Corporation ("Ascentia") (OTC Pink Sheets: ASCE) today announced that, effective November 28, 2006, it has completed the acquisition of all the outstanding common stock of Fortress Technology Systems, Inc. ("Fortress"), pursuant to a share exchange agreement. Ascentia acquired all of the outstanding shares of Fortress common and preferred stock in exchange for 254,531,004 shares of Ascentia common stock and 8,000,000 shares of Ascentia Series A Preferred Stock.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Buying and servicing a boat has become a much easier task for consumers around the country, thanks to Boating Industry magazine's second annual Top 100 Dealers, a ranking of an incredibly powerful group of marine dealers that generated more than $2.88 billion in retail sales, or nearly 8 percent of the entire $37 billion marine market.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Scientific research, development, software, and consulting company, Numerica Corporation, has just announced the hiring of the following personnel: Randy Paffenroth, Ph.D. as Computational Scientist V, and Stephanie Chan as Research Scientist I.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- A specialty government and economic development consulting firm is extending its reach further into the Midwest as it announced today the opening of an office in Minneapolis. GSP Consulting, based in Pittsburgh, Pa., has announced it will establish its 10th office in Minneapolis. Led by former legislator and leading bioscience advocate Lynne Osterman, the firm will bring to the marketplace its unique brand of government and economic development consulting.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In some homes, a kid's sock is just that: a sock, say the folks at Diabetic Sock Store. But in Melissa Bruner's home, socks are the inciter of one colossal tantrum. Daily, the crying and screaming commences when Melissa simply asks her 6-year-old son Conner to put on his socks. "Every morning I feel like I'm going into battle. All I have to do is ask him to put on his socks and shoes and he goes ballistic," says Melissa.