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The Briefcase

ROC LAUNCHES WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION

The Arizona Registar of Contractors (ROC) has started a program to foster success in the contracting industry by women. ROC is partnering with the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Greater Phoenix and Phoenix East chapters, and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Phoenix chapter, as well as other prominent women in the industry, to develop and host a three-part ROC Women in Construction workshop series for women in the construction industry as well as aspiring woman contractors.    

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors will host two free Women in Construction workshops in January to provide resources and information to current and aspiring female contractors. On Jan. 19 the topic is Getting Your ROC License. On Jan. 19, Maintaining Your ROC License will be addressed. Both workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the ROC’s main office, 800 W. Washington, in Phoenix. For information and registration, call the  (602) 542-1525 Ext. 7106 , or register online at www.azroc.gov/wic/womeninconstruction.com.

HURBAN FORMATS JUMP

Following a trend occurring on the West Coast, Valley Hurban radio station 91.5 Latino Vibe was a big winner in Arbitron’s summer book of radio ratings after flipping its format to Reggaeton contemporary in 2005. The revamped station’s format jumped to No. 5 in the Phoenix market, among Latino listeners.  Los Angeles’ new Hurban station did the same, jumping from 18th place to tie for No. 2 with Univision’s Romantica KLVE-FM. “You usually see a jump after these stations flip because the reason they were flipped in the first place is because they weren’t doing as well as the company would have liked,” says Rich Isaacson, founder of the Fuerte Group, a music label focused on the Hispanic urban genre.

COMPANY IN GROWTH 

Marie Torres, owner of MRM Construction Services, broke ground for her company’s new headquarters at 16th Street and Weir Avenue in south Phoenix. The new building will more than double MRM’s current office space nearby and allow the company to hire more area residents, Torres says. (602) 340-0378.

AZHCC HONORS 12

The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce honored 12 Arizona companies named on Hispanic Business magazine’s Hispanic 500 list. The Phoenix area companies are: Essco Sholesale Electric, Creative Human Resources Concepts, Sun Eagle Corporation, Ceiba Technologies, and AR Utility Specialists, Inc. The Tucson companies are:  W.G. Valenzuela Drywall, Inc., Canchola Group, Inc., Qualified Mechanical Contractors, SBBI, Inc., Mountain Power Electrical Contractors, Inc., Allstar Auto Exchange LLC, and El Charro Café.

HERNANDEZ MOVES

Attorney Wendy Raquel Hernandez recently moved her firm, the Law Offices of Wendy Raquel Hernandez, P.C., to 2001 W. Camelback Road, Ste. 135. Hernandez practices areas of family law and criminal defense. (602) 230-2333.

SKIN FRENZY NEW SERVICES

Liz Trevino, owner of Skin Frenzy Day Spa, has invested in the Oxy Therapeutic System that delivers 99.9 percent oxygen into the skin. The treatment is popular in Europe and is considered an exclusive treatment for all skin types. This treatment lightens and evens out complexion of skin and helps reduce the depth of wrinkles. The second new service is the eyelash extension procedure, a semi-permanent process that can last up to two months or longer. Skin Frenzy is located at 828 N. Central Ave. (602) 258-9099.

MPAC ONLINE

The nonprofit Maricopa Partnership for Arts and Culture has launched its new Web site at  http://mpacarts.org. The site has been designed as an interactive bulletin board and forum for culture and arts in Arizona. “We encourage you to subscribe to the content and to participate in our blogs, public review forums and in our arts for youth creative work submissions,” says Dolores Valdez Zachy, director of communications and participation.
(602) 224-8411.

TUCSON ARTS

The Tucson Pima Arts Council has issued a call to artists for its 2006 Tucson Luminarias del Pueblo project. Sculptors and teams of artists are invited to submit designs for luminous sculptures, lighted preferably by solar energy, to be juried onto a roster of prequalified luminaria sculpture proposals, and to be commissioned based on sponsor/buyer selections. Download the application from the council’s Web site at www.TucsonPimaArtsCouncil.org.

COCA-COLA GIVES EQUIPMENT

Local employees of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Phoenix, Kraft Foods and Albertson’s donated $15,000 worth of sporting equipment for youth at Phoenix parks and recreation centers. Sporting equipment is purchased under the Keeping Sports Alive program and will be dispersed throughout 24 parks and recreation centers in the City of Phoenix.  The majority of these parks and recreation centers are located in South Phoenix and other inner city areas where minority communities reside. (480) 756-3433

LISC MOVES

The Local Initiatives Support Corporation, or LISC, Phoenix, recently moved to 101 N. First Ave., Ste. 990, says Ruth Osuna, program director. In addition, LISC national and the Nacional Equity Fund have partnered with One Economy to launch "access@home," a $1 billion initiative that will build more than 15,000 affordable homes with high-speed digital Internet connectivity across the country. The campaign expects to connect nearly 100,000 people to the net. (602) 256-0015. 

HEALTH SCREENINGS

Food City Supermarkets are offering A Su Salud/To Your Health bilingual nutrition education and health screenings to low-income customers lacking adequate health-care insurance coverage. The program runs through May. Owned by Bashas’ supermarket chain, Food City participating stores are in Phoenix, Glendale, Chandler, Mesa and Avondale. For more info, visit www.myfoodcity.com.

PARTNERSHIP BREAKFAST

The Phoenix Union High School Partnership Board invites businesses interested in working with the Phoenix Union High School District to a breakfast on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 8-9:30 a.m. at the Metro Tech High School, 1900 W. Thomas. RVSP to (602) 764-1525.

SONORA TRAVEL EASIER

The government of Sonora has established a checkpoint near Guaymas, turning most of the state into a “vehicle free-zone” for tourists. The program is scheduled to begin the first week of December. Officials say status as a vehicle free-zone means Arizona travelers will be able to drive their cars through most of Sonora without having to stop off for a car permit through the “Only Sonora” program. The program’s goal is to increase tourism in Sonora. It’s estimated that two-thirds of tourists to Sonora come from Arizona. For more info, visit www.gotosonora.com.

SONORA INVESTS $1.5 MIL IN AZ ADS

Sonora also is in the midst of an unprecedented promotion campaign targeting Arizonans on-line, through their Sunday newspapers, televisions and on billboards. The campaign depends on local Sonora markets, state and federal governments to each chip in one-third of the cost. It was implemented after a comprehensive study conducted by Nichols Tourism Group, a Phoenix-based research and advisory firm, showed that about two-thirds of all visitors to Sonora come from Arizona.

SCRIPPS SEEKS PARITY

The E. W. Scripps Company’s broadcast television station group, including its ABC-affiliated KNXV Channel 15 station in Phoenix,  is becoming a partner in the Parity Project, a program established by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists to improve the quality of news coverage of the Hispanic community and to increase the number of Latinos working in the nation’s newsrooms. Scripps is the country’s first television station group to become a Parity Project partner. “By partnering with NAHJ, we believe we can enhance the ongoing efforts to diversify our newsrooms and strengthen our connection journalistically with the Hispanic community, especially in Scripps television markets with significant Latino populations,” said Adam Symson, director of news strategy for Scripps T.V. stations. For more visit www.scripps.com.

UNIVISION RADIO STARTS STATION

Univision Radio Phoenix, Inc., announced the launch of a new station in the Phoenix market, Recuerdo 100.3/106.3. The former “Amor 100.3/106.3” (KQMR/KOMR/KKMR), a Spanish Contemporary format, will now become a classic Spanish Variety format that is music intensive, playing favorites primarily from the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s.

WAL-MART IN NOGALES

Wal-Mart, Inc. has announced plans to build its first store in Nogales, Sonora. The Arkansas-based retailer said it has purchased a 21,000 square-meter property at the southern end of Nogales in a center known as Nogales Mall. Wal-Mart has had a store in Nogales, Arizona for about 15 years. Its stores in Mexico are in Hermosillo and Ciudad Obregon.

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