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.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Dr. Fred Haney, a venture capital veteran with a reputation for success joined forces today with ElectionMall Technologies, Inc. (www.electionmall.com), a nonpartisan worldwide provider of campaign technology solutions. Fred was the founder of 3i Ventures California in the 1980s, a highly successful venture fund and later was a founding member of the Tech Coast Angels, the largest group of angel investors in the country.

ST. CHARLES, Ill. -- Chicago-based property tax consulting firm Advantax(R) Group announced today the appointment of Sam Kinslow as National Director of Real Property Consulting Services. Mr. Kinslow has 13 years of experience in the fields of property valuation, consulting, and tax assessment.

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.

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.

TRIPOLI, Libya -- According to Phoenicia Group, the U.S.-Libyan diversified business group, which is a strategic partner to several U.S. and international companies in Libya, business opportunities in the oil services sector is rocketing as E&P majors ratchet up their drilling schedules in Libya's much sought oil fields, with hundreds of wells estimated to be drilled in the next few years.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- GSP Consulting, a fast-growing government affairs and economic architecture consulting firm today announced the expansion of their Federal Government Affairs practice in Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh.

VENICE, Calif. -- in January 2006, Richard Karno, a Los Angeles-based organic coffee roaster, introduced a single serving packet of organic liquid coffee extract, which he named Java Juice(R). The shelf-stable, portable coffee packets were a great fit for the outdoor and travel industries, so Karno chose the 2006 Winter Outdoor Retailer, the leading outdoor industry event to showcase his invention.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- ElectionMall Technologies, Inc., a nonpartisan worldwide provider of technology solutions to political campaigns, released today a testimonial by Joe Trippi praising ElectionMall's suite of technology tools for federal, state, and local races, and also announced that Dr. Michael Cornfield has been named Vice President of Public Affairs.

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.

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.

TRIPOLI, Libya -- Phoenicia Group Libya LLC (www.phoenicia-group.net), the leading U.S.-Libyan diversified business and consultancy group, today announced acquisitions of several Libyan companies in key growth sectors in Libya and spearheading the establishment of Libya's first private equity fund. New acquisitions include Al-Itlala Healthcare Co, a medical services company.

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.

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.

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.

YUBA CITY, Calif. -- Prime Companies, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: PRMC) announces that it has executed an agreement and has consummated the purchase of certain strategic assets from Mount Logic, LLC, including Mount Logic's Manufacturing Patents of ergonomic arms and mounts.

COVINGTON, Ga. -- Robert W. ("Bill") Donohue, retired Senior Vice President - Electric Operations of Consolidated Edison, has been elected to the Board of Directors of Utility Associates, Inc. (www.utility.com). Utility Associates is a venture-funded mobile asset management hardware and software company serving the electric and gas utility, telecom, distribution, and government market segments.