May Denton Business Chronicle 2017

May 2017

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Differentiating Denton

Courtesy photo

Heather Steele’s 6-year-old son, Travis, has autism. Steele and others are on a mission to educate the city of Denton on how to best react to and interact with individuals with autism.

Mission to better accommodate people with autism could result in tourism

By Matt Payne

H

eather Steele knows what it’s like to go out with her family and have skeptical looks thrown her way.

Her 6-year-old son, Travis, who falls on the severe side of the autism spectrum, is prone to having meltdowns when her family is going about their regular activities. Travis’ behavior during a meltdown might include spitting, yelling and other gestures that lead many to mistakenly think he is a bad kid.

“The most common mistake is to

Heather Steele, CEO of Blue Steele Solutions, poses for a photo at Stoke.

Jeff Woo

judge,” Steele said. “The first thing people do when they see any behavior other than what they consider to be completely typical is to become judgmental.”

Steele, together with community members and fellow individuals with loved ones who fall on the spectrum, is on a mission to educate the city of Denton on how to best respond when these circumstances occur.

In 2014, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Center for Strategic Decision Support reported there are nearly 400,000 Texans with autism, with more than

130,000 of them being children. In the Denton school district, there were 342 students with autism enrolled.

Steele first pitched the idea of holding workshops for businesses, first responders and other organizations when then-City Council member Kevin Roden hosted Big Ideas for Denton, a forum held in March for residents to pitch new ideas for the future of Denton, at Stoke, the city’s co-working space at the Railyard. Steele’s company, Blue Steele

AUTISM | CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Feds, Wal-Mart allege tuna price fixing

By Martha Mendoza | AP

We’re getting a huge entertainment center. Andy B’s, from Missouri, announced plans for a 40,000-square-foot entertainment center at Rayzor Ranch Town Center, set to open next summer. Features will include bowling, laser tag and tons of games.

Upventur, a startup platform that allows adventurers to research, book and talk about trips, is now in Denton. It plans to launch this summer and hire up to 30 people for an office in the Railyard.

BANGKOK — Executives of the most popular tuna brands in the U.S. — Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee and StarKist — conspired regularly to keep prices high for consumers with a taste for one of America’s favorite sandwich ingredients, according to criminal and civil court records updated this week.

A typical can of tuna today costs about $1.50, and the U.S. Department of Justice says that price may be the result of price fixing by Thai, South Korean and U.S. seafood dealers, while major retailers are suing alleging they’ve been ripped off.

The U.S. government began investigating criminal price fixing between the three companies more than two years ago.

DUNCAN | CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

TUNA | CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Eugene Hoshiko/AP

Customers walk past the head of a bluefin tuna in front of a restaurant Tuesday in Tokyo.

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Enterprising Voices

You can’t take it with you, but it has to go W

e all know you can’t take it with you when you die, but you can take steps to ensure “it” goes were you think it should. Otherwise, Texas law will decide for you.

Ownership of some assets, such as life insurance proceeds and funds in bank accounts, may transfer to a designated beneficiary upon death. The property a person leaves behind is his estate.

What follows is a general description of what may happen to a person’s estate after he departs and before it is distributed to his distributees.

The contents and value of an estate may change after death. Estates receive income and pay debts incurred by the deceased or his estate. Common income sources include rent owed to the deceased and dividend payments. Insurance premiums to insure estate property and funeral expenses are common estate debts.

In many cases, a personal representative must be appointed by a court to manage the estate’s affairs until it is closed. The personal representative figuratively steps into the shoes of the deceased and is tasked with such things as gathering the estate’s property and keeping it safe, filing a final tax return for the deceased, filing estate tax returns, paying debts, selling estate property, notifying

Ryan WEBSTER | COMMENTARY

estate creditors and beneficiaries, filing an inventory of the estate’s assets, and ultimately making distributions.

A personal representative may have to account for all property that came through the estate while he or she is in charge. In carrying out their duties, the personal representative should never commingle estate assets with their own and should open a bank account solely for estate transactions.

A personal representative is either independent or dependent. An independent representative has autonomy to carry out her work with very little court oversight. Alternatively, a dependent representative is closely supervised by the court that appointed her.

Dependent representatives must get court approval to purchase or sell property, pay most debts, make distributions, etc. Whether an administration is independent or dependent depends on the

circumstances surrounding the estate and whether the deceased left a valid will.

A will may be offered for probate within four years of the testator’s date of death.

The person who offers a will for probate is referred to as an applicant. To probate a will and have a personal representative appointed, the applicant’s attorney must file an application and the will with the proper court, provide certain notices and present evidence at a hearing to substantiate the application.

Most wills name a personal representative and do not require her to post a bond or file a final accounting. Wills that waive these requirements reduce costs to the estate.

Once a will is admitted to probate, its directives may be carried out.

Alternatively, when a person dies intestate (without a valid will), different rules apply. The application process is similar but requires more steps and is usually more expensive. An attorney ad litem must search for missing or unknown heirs, additional witnesses must be called to testify in support of the application, and the personal representative is usually required to post a bond and file an accounting. Intestate administrations are more likely to be dependent.

Intestate distributions to

Biz on the Wire

Ben Torres/DMN file photo

Lee Batson of Dallas was moved to draw up her own estate planning documents after the death of her mother, Deborah Batson. the devisees are governed by statute, not the wishes of the deceased. The Texas Legislature has considered multiple family structures in determining how estate property gets distributed. The right to receive distributions is based on

marital status and degree of consanguinity to the departed.

For example, if a man dies leaving a wife and their two children, the wife inherits the community property and separate property is divided among her and the children,

Tuesday, May 23, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 6, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 20, 6:30 p.m.

Argyle Planning and Zoning Commission meets the first Tuesday of the month at 308 Denton St. Tuesday, June 6, 6:30 p.m.

Aubrey 380 Area Chamber of Commerce hosts monthly networking luncheons the third Wednesday of the month at Prairie House Restaurant. Admission is always $12 and includes a meal.

Wednesday, June 21, 11:30 a.m.

Denton Chamber of Commerce will host its quarterly membership luncheon at SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 1434 Centre Place Drive. Tickets cost $35 per person or $400 for a 10-seat table sponsorship.

Friday, June 23, 11:30 a.m.

Denton Young Professionals hosts coffee and breakfast every third Wednesday of the month at The Chestnut Tree, 107 W. Hickory St. Wednesday, June 21, 7:15 a.m.

Denton Young Professionals hosts a monthly mixer at a new business each month.

June’s location will be Mulberry Street Cantina.

Thursday, June 1, 5:30 p.m.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP file photo

A Delta Air Lines jet takes off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Va. Delta scored the best for on-time flights in the latest government rankings.

Delta tops in on-time flights WASHINGTON — Delta Air Lines scored the best for on-time flights in the latest government rankings, and United and Fort Worth-based American weren’t far behind.

Virgin America had the highest rate of delayed flights, and discount carrier Spirit Airlines drew the highest rate of consumer complaints.

The Transportation Department released figures for March on Tuesday. The report covers the 12 largest U.S. airlines.

Through the first three months of the year, airlines bumped one in every 16,000 passengers off a flight — the same rate as in early 2016.

More commonly, airlines find volunteers to give up their seats on overbooked flights — that happened to about one in every 1,500 passengers, slightly less often than in early 2016.

JetBlue had the highest rate of bumping, which it says can occur when a smaller plane replaces a larger one.

Delta had the lowest bumping rate and the highest number of volunteers who gave up their seats.

A national debate about bumping and customer service erupted in April after videos showed a man being forcibly pulled off a United

Express plane. He had refused to give up his seat to make room for an airline crew member.

United ranks in the middle of the pack for bumping passengers against their will.

In March, 79.9 percent of flights on the 12 largest airlines arrived on time — that’s within 14 minutes of schedule.

That was down from the 81.5 percent rate in March 2016.

Delta had an 86.9 percent on-time rate, followed by Hawaiian, United and American. Only 65.5 percent of Virgin America flights arrived on time.

Airlines canceled 1.8 percent of domestic flights, up from 1.0 percent a year earlier.

Consumer complaints filed with the government fell by nearly one-third, with Spirit continuing to have the highest complaint rate. The lowest rate belonged to ExpressJet, which operates regional flights for bigger airlines.

Many more consumers complain directly to the airlines, but the carriers do not disclose those figures.

Canada: Overbooked passengers get to stay

TORONTO — No one who has bought a ticket for a domestic or international flight in Canada will be allowed to be removed because of over-

RYAN WEBSTER is a lawyer at Alagood Cartwright Burke PC and can be reached at rwebster@denton law.com and www.denton law.com.

Calendar of Events APIs and IPAs, hosted by TechMill, meets every other Tuesday at Harvest House, 331 E. Hickory St., for a techcentered hangout.

By The Associated Press

but no one else would inherit.

If the two children were not the wife’s children, the children inherit half of the community property and wife the other half.

When someone dies without children or a spouse, their parents and siblings inherit. If there are no living parents or siblings, more distant relatives will inherit. If no heirs are found, an estate ultimately will go to the state.

These statutes do not account for friends or more distant relatives who may be the natural object of the deceased’s affection — for example, a niece or neighbor who cared for mom during the year prior to her death.

The statutes are rigid and may not allow the deceased’s wishes to be carried out.

This article does not discuss every way in which an estate may be distributed.

Regardless of whether we depart with a will or die intestate, our property will ultimately go somewhere. To benefit those you love and to ensure your wishes are carried out, it is best to consult with an estate planning attorney and make a plan.

booking under a new passenger bill of rights, the transportation minister announced Tuesday.

Minister Marc Garneau said the shoddy treatment of air passengers outlined in recent news reports will not be tolerated on any domestic flight as well as any flight leaving or arriving to Canada.

He says said the rules would ensure “travelers are treated like people and not numbers.”

Garneau said if airlines can’t get a volunteer with a minimum level of compensation, they will have to increase the amount offered.

“When Canadians buy an airline ticket, they expect the airline to keep its part of the deal,” he said.

Minimum compensation standards would also be set for damaged baggage.

The regulations would additionally increase the cap on foreign ownership of airlines from 25 percent to 49 percent.

The government hopes to have the new regulations in place in 2018.

They are contained in legislation that must get the nod from Canada’s parliament, but passage is assured because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party holds a majority of seats.

Denton Black Chamber of Commerce meets the second Tuesday of the month at the Denton Housing Authority, 1225 Wilson St. Tuesday, June 13, 6 p.m.

Denton Chamber of Commerce hosts the Smart Business 101 series regularly for members at the chamber office, 414 W. Parkway St. The event is free to members and $15 for nonmembers.

Tuesday, May 23, 11:45 a.m.

Denton Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Commerce will host a mixer at Hannah’s Off the Square, 111 W. Mulberry St. The event is intended for business professionals who are women to come together and network.

Wednesday, May 24, 4 p.m.

Denton Chamber of Commerce will host a Business Over Breakfast meeting at SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 1434 Centre Place Drive.

Breakfast can be purchased from the venue for $13.

Denton Hispanic Chamber of Commerce holds its monthly lead generator luncheon the second Tuesday of the month. It is held at Sidewalk Cafe, 2900 Wind River Lane, and admission is $5 for members and $10 for guests.

Tuesday, June 13, 11:30 a.m.

The Denton League of United Latin American Citizens No. 4366 meets the third Saturday of every month at the Denton Senior Center, 509 N. Bell Ave. Saturday, May 20, 9:30 a.m.

Saturday, June 17, 9:30 a.m.

Electronics recycling takes place at The Cupboard Natural Foods and Cafe, 200 W. Congress St., the second Saturday of each month. Drop off any computer-related electronics for recycling. Visit www.computercrusher.com for a list of acceptable items and more information.

Saturday, June 10, 8 a.m.

Lake Cities Chamber of Commerce holds weekly coffee meetings at rotating businesses on Wednesdays.

The May 24 coffee will be at Lake Cities United Methodist Church, and the May 31 meeting will be at Northstar Bank.

Upcoming locations will be listed at www.lakecities chamber.com/events.

Wednesday, May 24, 7 a.m.

Wednesday, May 31, 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday, June 14, 7 a.m.

Little D Open Coffee Club, hosted by TechMill, meets every other Tuesday at West Oak Coffee Bar, 114 W. Oak St., to discuss technology and startups.

Tuesday, May 30, 8 a.m.

Tuesday, June 13, 8 a.m.

Sanger Chamber of Commerce holds a networking leads luncheon the fourth Wednesday of every month.

RSVP at http://sangertexas. com. This month’s luncheon will be held at the chamber office, 300 Bolivar St. Wednesday, May 24, noon

Denton Planning and Zoning Commission meets at City Hall, 215 E. McKinney St., every other Wednesday.

Wednesday, May 24, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 7, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 21, 6:30 p.m.

Women Who Code, a global nonprofit that helps women grow in technology careers, hosts meet-ups in Denton the third Thursday of the month at Stoke, 608 E. Hickory St. Thursday, May 18, 7 p.m.

Thursday, June 15, 7 p.m.

Friday, June 2, 7:45 a.m.

Who to contact Scott K. Parks Managing Editor 940-566-6879 | sparks@dentonrc.com Jenna Duncan Business Editor 940-566-6889 | jduncan@dentonrc.com Sandra Hammond Advertising Director 940-566-6820 | shammond@dentonrc.com Shawn Reneau Retail Advertising 940-566-6843 | sreneau@dentonrc.com

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Enterprising Voices

Are the big banks still a bargain?

“Too Big to Fail has been solved.”

— Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, in his 2017 letter to shareholders

W

e recently held a conversation with a prospective investor who was curious about the values we were seeing in the context of a broader market that seems fully valued. We outlined our thesis on several holdings.

When we began discussing our interest rate plays, the prospective investor asked how Bank of America could be a bargain after its huge run over the past year: “It seems once the Federal Reserve hiked rates in December everyone jumped on board the big-bank bandwagon. How can a value investor believe they are getting something like Bank of America at a discount today?”

Great question. Let’s spend some time reviewing from where Bank of America has come and what may still lie ahead.

In 2011, Bank of America was at a crossroads. The economy was beginning to emerge from the recession and investors believed the Federal Reserve might begin to normalize interest rate policies.

The stock price of Bank of America was marching higher in response.

Then two forces slammed the bank — regulatory fines for sins that spawned the financial crisis and systemic fears tied to the breakup of the eurozone, the countries that use the euro for currency. This 1-2 punch pummeled Bank of America, whose shares that were nearly $18 in early 2011 fell below $5 later that year.

The regulatory fines were tied to bad mortgages sold by Countrywide Financial, the subprime lender bought by Bank of America in the throes of the crisis. Many of the early policies by the Federal Reserve helped the banks restore profitability and shore up their balance sheets. But after a few years, the regulators sought massive penalties from companies that packaged and sold the toxic mortgages that sowed the seeds of the crisis.

Early estimates pegged the penalties for Bank of America close to $200 billion, nearly equal to all of the bank’s equity capital. Our analysis indicated the fines were more likely to be in the $60 billion to $70 billion range and likely would be paid over several years, rather than a much larger penalty due all at once.

Given the profits the company was earning, we saw this low-

Jonathon FITE | COMMENTARY

er penalty as meaningful but not disastrous.

But then these fears were compounded by European woes. Greece was on fire, threatening to break apart from the eurozone as it could not afford the conditions of its own bailouts. The rest of the continent was still in recession, and the threat of a eurozone collapse placed huge pressure on the large European banks. They had not taken the medicine of raising capital like their U.S. counterparts had over the preceding years, and the European banks were coming under pressure from investors.

In response, European regulators banned “short sales” of European bank stocks. If you were keen to exploit the European banking fears but could not short the European banks, the next best thing was to short a large U.S. bank like Bank of America.

Eventually Bank of America’s stock bottomed out in the mid-$4 range. We bought a lot of stock at those levels. Our thesis was fairly simple.

We believed the U.S. financial system was much stronger than it had been going into the recession, the eurozone fears were overdone and the bad mortgage fines would be less than initially thought. Bank of America’s tangible liquidation value was $13 per share, which became our initial valuation anchor.

Over the next two years, the eurozone fears abated and the $200 billion of potential bad-mortgage fines came in closer to $65 billion — in the middle of our original estimate. These fines were paid over a number of years, so the tangible liquidation value actually grew even as the fines were paid. Eventually the share price converged to this level and we drastically cut our position.

But something else happened during this time. The management team put to bed the legacy issues of the past while also cutting costs and growing the deposit base.

Bank of America emerged as one of the strongest, safest banks, and the reality that it could generate sustainable profits led us to believe its full

Paul Morigi/AP

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, discusses his annual letter to shareholders April 4 in Washington. book value (all assets minus all liabilities, or roughly $24 per share) was a more appropriate valuation anchor. Rather than fully exiting our position in the teens, we kept a smaller holding.

This worked well in 2014 and 2015, as shares climbed into the high teens. But then the collapse of oil prices began to panic investors with worries Bank of America made too many loans to the oil patch players. The bank’s management team went to great lengths to explain how these risks had been contained, but shares still fell back below the tangible book value of roughly $13 per share. We loaded up again, anchoring our valuation to the $24 target.

As oil prices rebounded and the general economy continued to chug along, the Federal Reserve finally began to raise short-term interest rates. This is a huge boon to Bank of America because with each quarter-point hike they gush hundreds of millions in incremental profit each quarter. When rates were hiked a second time, and investors became excited about the prospects of a stronger economy under a Donald Trump presidency, investors bid Bank of America shares over $25 this spring.

Accordingly, we dramat-

ically reduced the position we built up the year before. But could a big bank like Bank of America still be intriguing?

Historically, banks’ stock prices have traded at 11/2 to two times book value. This implies a fairer valuation for Bank of America’s stock price could be north of $30 per share. The broader S&P 500 is trading at roughly 17 to 18 times consensus earnings estimates. If investors applied a more modest 15-times-earnings multiple to Bank of America’s earnings, this too might imply a valuation well north of $30 per share.

Given our thesis that interest rates are more likely to go up than down, and the company continues to drive loan growth at a modest but steady clip, earnings should continue to climb in the quarters ahead. None of this anticipates huge benefits that could also be unleashed by modest regulatory reform.

As JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon outlined in his 2017 letter to shareholders, the U.S. financial system is on a much stronger financial footing than it was 10 years ago.

Banks hold more than two times as much capital to protect against future losses.

There are also a host of new rules that would prevent the collapse of a Lehman Brothers today related to

Biz on the Wire

capital requirements, derivative exposures and forced conversion of unsecured debt into equity in the event of solvency concerns.

The vast majority of these rules make 100 percent sense, but there are a few that could be reconsidered. Namely, those tied to operational risk capital.

Some of the rules coming out of the recession are tied to operational risk capital. These rules penalize firms that made stupid decisions in the past. At Bank of America, most of the firm’s operational-risk exposure stems from its purchase of Countrywide Financial.

Those past sins have been atoned, but the bank is still in purgatory on this front.

According to The Wall Street Journal and analysts at Barclays, over $200 billion in capital is tied up in operational-risk buffers at the four biggest U.S. banks. Given the 10-to-1 capital ratios that banks must hold today, if this operational risk capital was freed up to make new loans, over $2 trillion of potential new loans could be made to propel the economy further.

You combine this with a lower corporate tax rate, and this nine-year expansion may still have room to run.

So, what could go wrong?

China’s massive credit bubble

covered from a rough patch in late 2015 and early 2016 caused by cutbacks in the energy industry and a strong dollar, which makes U.S. goods costlier in foreign markets.

The overall U.S. economy grew at a lackluster 0.7 percent annual pace from January through March. But economists expect growth to pick up the rest of the year as consumers ramp up spending.

A healthy job market bolsters consumer confidence.

Employers last month added 211,000 jobs and unemployment fell to 4.4 percent, lowest in a decade.

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We’re Here to HELP You!

TROY GREWING FENCING

DE-1594914-01

WASHINGTON — American industry expanded production last month at the fastest pace in more than three years as manufacturers and mines recovered from a March downturn.

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that industrial production at U.S. factories, mines and utilities shot up 1 percent in April from March, the biggest gain since February 2014 and the third straight monthly gain. The increase was more than twice what economists had expected.

Factory production rose 1 percent after declining 0.4 percent in March. Mine production increased 1.2 percent after falling 0.4 percent in March. And utility output rose 0.7 percent after surging 8.2 percent in March.

Factory production has risen three of four months this year. Manufacturing has re-

JONATHON FITE is a managing partner of KMF Investments, a Texas-based hedge fund. Jonathon is a lecturer with the College of Business at the University of North Texas. This column is provided for general interest only and should not be construed as a solicitation or as personal investment advice.

Comments may be sent to email@KMFInvestments. com.

SHOULDER/ARM PAIN?

Industrial production up most since 2014

By Paul Wiseman | AP

could finally collapse. Eurozone instability could reemerge. Back home, mounting pressures tied to massive student loan debt or subprime auto loans may create economic waves. The Federal Reserve may have waited too long and additional rate hikes will not come to fruition.

There are a lot of scenarios that can unfold, but big-bank valuations do not seem expensive at these levels. They are not the screaming-cheap bargains they were a year ago, but we don’t own as much today as a result. Even so, many of the big banks are linked to the investing theme of rising rates, so focus on the ones with good management teams that are executing share buybacks, growing their dividends and running their business to exploit the prospects in front of them.

Troy Grewing 940-902-1480 troygruin@gmail.com

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Enterprising Voices

SBA helps people with disabilities I

t feels good to be in charge of your own future.

Many entrepreneurs tell me, “I love being my own boss,” and describe benefits such as flexibility and freedom to make a living while choosing when, where and how they want to work.

These perks can be especially beneficial to persons with disabilities. The U.S. Small Business Administration provides resources, tools and mentoring to make sure persons with disabilities have the opportunity to live the dream of entrepreneurship.

SBA’s online learning center is packed with self-paced training on a wide variety of topics such as “How to Develop a Business Plan,” “How to Bid on Government Contracts,” “How to Buy a Franchise” and “How to Buy a Business,” as well as training on market research, strategic planning and taking your business global.

Find an SBA mentor to lean on for expert advice

We rely on SBA’s trustworthy resource partners to provide one-on-one counseling, mentoring and group classes to train small business owners and entrepreneurs for free or at a low cost. Don’t skip this process. Stats show that small business owners who receive three or more hours of mentoring achieve higher revenues and increase

business growth. Visit www.sba.gov/tools/ local-assistance to enter your ZIP code and locate mentors close by.

government to increase workplace success for people with disabilities.

ODEP encourages and supports self-employment and entrepreneurship among individuals with disabilities and has helped foster an array of partnerships at the federal, state and local levels to encourage access to funding and resources to assist individuals with disabilities interested in alternatives to traditional employment. To learn more, visit www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ SelfEmploymentEntrepreneur ship.htm.

SBA can ‘LINC’ you to lenders for financing

Help in hiring people with disabilities

Herbert AUSTIN | COMMENTARY

Federal and state government agencies do not provide grants to people with disabilities for starting a business.

However, there are a number of low-interest loan programs that help disabled people obtain startup financing. SBA LINC is one simple way for you to connect with prospective lenders based on your business needs. To get started, simply register and fill out the online form at www.sba.gov/ tools/linc.

Become familiar with ODEP

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is the only non-regulatory federal agency that promotes policies and coordinates with employers and all levels of

Small businesses employ people with disabilities at a much lower rate than large businesses — often because they don’t have the practical knowledge to ensure their workplace is inclusive and accessible.

To help address this issue, ODEP helped develop “Small Business & Disability Employment: Steps to Success,” a web-based tool kit that provides practical guidance for small businesses on how to recruit and retain qualified people with disabilities.

It also describes approaches that business associations — including but not limited to chambers of commerce and business leadership networks — can use to educate their members about the value that

Tim Cook/AP

Heather Telgarsky, right, works with supervisor Chantalle Picard in the kitchen at Puffins on May 4 in Groton, Conn. The restaurant employs people with physical and intellectual disabilities. disability diversity adds to their workplaces.

In some cases, there are tax advantages for hiring people with disabilities. Learn more at www.dol.gov/odep/topics/ SmallBusiness.htm.

It’s about the jobs

About 56.7 million people — 19 percent of the population — had a disability in 2010, according to a broad definition of disability, accord-

ing to a comprehensive report released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report shows that 41 percent of those 21 to 64 with any disability were employed, compared with 79 percent of those with no disability.

There is nonetheless substantial potential for job growth among people with disabilities in well-paying occupations.

At SBA, we know that

about two out of three net new jobs are created by small businesses. Visit www.sba.gov to find out how you can be a part of this success.

HERBERT AUSTIN serves as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Dallas-Fort Worth District director and oversees the agency’s programs and services in 72 Texas counties, including Denton, Tarrant and Dallas.

Five website best practices for small businesses Y

our website is the digital front door to your business. Think of your website as part of your holistic marketing plan. It’s crucial to make sure you follow website best practices to be found in searches, tell the story of your business and capture leads.

This month, learn about the top five website best practices for small businesses in 2017 and how to apply these tips to your own business:

Website goals

What is the main goal of your website? If you can’t answer this question, it’s time to sit down with key leaders of your company and decide what those goals are. Whether it’s to increase brand awareness, generate leads or be found in searches, everyone should be on the same page when it comes to the goals of the website.

Tell your story

Your website may be the first and only impression you have with a potential customer. Does your website tell the amazing story of your business? By looking at your homepage, does a user know exactly who you are and what you do?

Some website builders focus on the latest flashy widget. However, if it’s not clear who you are and what you do, then what’s the point? Great photos of you, your business and products and services go a long way to tell your story, and video is even better.

Mobile-friendly and responsive

Having a responsive website is an absolute must. Today, over 50 percent of users search and browse the internet on a mobile device. Don’t miss crucial leads by not having a responsive website.

Not having a responsive website can negatively impact your search engine optimization and cause your website to have poor user experience.

Check if your website is mobile-friendly by using Google’s free mobile-friendly test tool.

Affordable and easy to maintain

We’ve all heard horror stories of small businesses paying an arm and a leg for a website that they can’t even

Your website may be the first and only impression you have with a potential customer. Does your website tell the amazing story of your business?

Daryl HIVELY | COMMENTARY

maintain. Or they find out the website was hard-coded and even a simple change can cost hundreds of dollars for a developer.

Your website should be affordable and easy to maintain. You shouldn’t need to pay a developer for simple updates. If you’re working with someone who is asking for thousands of dollars, you can consider other options.

Your business’s needs and focus will change, so you should be able to quickly make updates to help your business achieve different goals.

After making a few key website updates, you’ll be able to engage with users on your

You hope lots of people are seeing your website, but make sure they are by having a marketing budget for search engine marketing (SEM), social ads and banner ads.

We strive to build affordable websites so that businesses can set aside marketing dollars to market their website after it’s built.

Getty Images/Thinkstock

Your website is the digital front door to your business. It’s crucial to make sure you follow best practices to be found in searches, tell the story of your business and capture leads. website and nurture that lead into a conversion. Posting blogs or fresh content should be easy and convenient!

Online marketing

There should always be a budget for marketing your website after it’s built. Think of

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Enterprising Voices

Internships vital for students, employers I

t’s hard to find anyone who disagrees that student internships are important, essential and no longer optional. Every student should be an intern, and every employer should have one.

Right?

The answer is a resounding “yes!” Yet, it is worth thinking about why this is so.

Before figuring out the answer to that question, let’s start by defining what an internship is — and what it is not.

For anyone who has watched Grey’s Anatomy or similar TV series, we are very familiar with medical interns who work incredibly long hours and deal with highstress situations, including matters of life and death.

For the rest of the student population, however, internships only feel that way. At the end of the day, the hours typically range from 15 to 30 hours per week, stress and drama are relative terms and few lives are truly at stake.

Generally, internships are real-world experiences that help students, both undergraduate and graduate, put into practice the knowledge they’ve learned in the classroom. For many employers, an intern can provide muchneeded help on tasks and projects.

Internships can vary greatly. They can be part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid,

Kurt KRAUSE | COMMENTARY

summer only or year-round.

All good internships, however, share two things in common: They relate to a student’s major or area of interest and there is an effort on the part of the employer to help a student learn as well as work.

So, getting back to why internships are important. For employers, interns provide an extra pair of helping hands to solve problems. Over the last several years, employees have been asked to do more with less. As workloads have increased, certain projects — typically those that are important but not urgent — tend to get put on the back burner.

With the right intern, employees can start checking off tasks on their to-do list.

Additionally, many companies prefer to hire their interns upon graduation. During the internship, supervisors get to see how the student shows up on time, works well with others, takes initiative and meets deadlines. In the internship world, it’s called the “four-

month interview.” Upon graduation, the intern can seamlessly transition into a fulltime team member.

For students, there are countless benefits. The most important benefit is the realworld experience. Lots of learning happens in the classroom, but that knowledge becomes a skill and an ability during an internship.

Another benefit is career clarity, which can come in two forms. Either the student loves what he is doing and comes back to school with a higher energy level and enthusiasm, or the internship allows the student to realize it’s time to change majors. Although no one likes finding out their chosen career isn’t going to work out for them, it’s better to find this out sooner rather than later. Often, changing majors is not as painful as it might first appear.

Finally, internships provide a great way to begin networking professionally. The old saying “It’s not what you know but who you know” has been updated to “It’s both what you know and who you know that counts.”

Even if an intern is not hired by the company after graduation, the contacts he or she develops can be helpful down the line. With networking applications such as LinkedIn, it’s never been easier to stay in touch with colleagues over time, even in these times

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Center for Severe Weather Research intern Hunter Anderson climbs a sign en route to a tornado research mission May 9 north of Dalhart. of greater worker mobility.

In closing, it’s worth mentioning the benefits of having paid internships whenever possible. Employers who pay their interns have much better response rates in most cases, and there is an increased level of accountability when an intern is not working for free.

For those industries where pay is not economically feasi-

ble — like nonprofits — or not customary, such as in entertainment, media, health care or social sciences, it becomes even more important that the work experience provides real value to the student, to prepare them for that full-time job upon graduation.

Because in the end, that is the best benefit of all — providing qualified, competent

Biz on the Wire Some Starbucks customers drink free

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Some Starbucks customers are posting on social media that they were getting their drinks for free because of a payment system outage.

Starbucks Corp. spokesman Reggie Borges says a “limited number” of stores in the U.S. and Canada were temporarily offline as a result of an overnight technology update. As of Tuesday afternoon, he said “virtually” all the stores were back up and running again, with the few remaining stores scheduled to be back up shortly.

On Starbucks’ Twitter account, the company was apologizing to customers, including one who said her store was unable to sell her a latte.

Starbucks also suffered an outage in 2015 that prompted stores to close early.

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Enterprising Voices

Chamber-sponsored publications in works T

Courtesy photo

Destination Denton is the Denton Chamber of Commerce’s relocation guide and community resource magazine.

he Denton Chamber of Commerce office serves not only as the organization’s headquarters, but also as the “front door� to the community, with staff responding to hundreds of residential relocation and visitor inquiries each year, as well as providing information to prospective new businesses.

To supplement this service, we contract with Community Matters Inc. to produce three essential publications: our city map, all-purpose relocation guide and an events and attractions maga-

Chuck CARPENTER | COMMENTARY

zine. All three are supported by exclusive chamber member advertising.

In order to maintain accuracy, the relocation guide is

published every 18 months, with 10,000 magazines available to distribute through the chamber office and our Discover Denton Welcome Center on the south side of the downtown Square.

Advertising is now being accepted for Destination Denton, which is the relocation guide and community resource magazine.

Destination Denton also is available as a digital flipbook on the chamber’s website, and contains information on local education opportunities, municipal services, utilities and

demographics. Local products and services are highlighted by participating chamber members who place advertising.

Opportunities also are available for our members to bundle promotions through the chamber’s map, as well as Denton Live, the events and attractions magazine, which is a sister publication of our Denton Convention & Visitors Bureau.

All facets of our community are covered through one or all three of these publications.

Our board has endorsed

Community Matters Inc. and recommends the 2017-18 edition of Destination Denton as an excellent way for our members to showcase their businesses.

To schedule an appointment with a Community Matters Inc. representative, please call 940-435-1948 or send an email to bburton@ communitymattersinc.com.

CHUCK CARPENTER is president of the Denton Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at dcoc@ denton-chamber.org.

Biz on the Wire

Tribes unite against Keystone XL

Digital Copy Center

Direct Mail Merge

By Blake Nicholson | AP

BISMARCK, N.D. — Tribes representing tens of thousands of indigenous people in the U.S. and Canada will be signing a declaration against the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Leaders of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Canada and the Great Sioux Nation and Ponca tribe in the U.S. plan to sign their declaration at a ceremony Wednesday at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, the city where pipeline developer TransCanada Corp. is based. “There is a historic union between first Americans in Canada and Native Americans in the United States,� said Casey Camp-Horinek, a councilwoman with the Ponca tribe in Oklahoma. “Long before a border ever existed on a map — a fictitious line on a map — we were a united peoples in our approach to care of Mother Earth.�

The 16-page declaration highlights the tribes’ treaty rights and their opposition to the proposed $8 billion pipeline, which would move Canadian crude south to Nebraska, where the pipeline would connect with an existing Keystone pipeline network that would take the oil to Texas Gulf Coast refineries. “Greed knows no limits, and those in the way are simply collateral damage to corporate profits,� said Brandon Sazue, chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux in South Dakota and one of the leaders of the event.

TransCanada, which has both a Native American Relations Policy and an Aboriginal Relations Policy, maintains the pipeline will be environmentally safe and will create jobs and boost the economy. “We understand and respect that there are some who might have different views about this project,� spokeswoman Jacquelynn Benson said. “TransCanada is always interested in the views of our stakeholders along the right of way.�

Former President Barack Obama rejected the project in 2015, but President Donald Trump overturned that decision this year.

The project faces hurdles.

A coalition of environmental groups has challenged the federal permit in court, saying more environmental study is needed. Nebraska regulators also haven’t decided whether to approve the proposed route through that state.

Tribes plan to use Wednesday’s document to draw attention to their cause while they also consider other opposition, including protest camps along the pipeline route, CampHorinek said.

Months of demonstrations against the recently completed Dakota Access oil pipeline drew hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters to a North Dakota camp. “There will be that kind of resistance� to Keystone XL, Camp-Horinek said. “Those thoughts are in place, where those camps will be best suited.�

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Business Spotlight

Where to sell your stuff online

By Stephen Layton | NerdWallet

It’s simple enough to earn extra money selling stuff online, but you’ll want to determine the ideal venue for your goods. Selling grandma’s vintage tea cozies is a different endeavor from offloading your old stereo system. We’ve rounded up some of the major online marketplaces along with tips about their audience, style and fees.

Online sales and auctions

There’s a handful of major online auction and sales sites, and as you’ll see, some charge much lower fees than others.

The major players, Amazon and eBay, have higher fees, but they’re also some of the most highly trafficked sites on the internet. If speed of sale is your goal, these sites are the way to go. If you’re trying to maximize your profit, you might take some more time to find a buyer on a smaller site.

■ Amazon — You can sell pretty much anything on Amazon, although selling in some specialized categories requires Amazon approval and an upgraded selling plan.

Amazon charges several kinds of fees on items sold, depending on what kind of selling plan you have.

If you opt for the standard Individual selling plan, you’ll pay Amazon 99 cents per item sold, plus a referral fee. The referral fee is a percentage of the item’s total sale price, including shipping costs but not taxes, and generally ranges from 8 percent to 20 percent.

If you’re selling any media items, including books, movies and video games, you pay a $1.80 closing fee as well.

To upgrade to the Professional selling plan, you pay a

$39.99 monthly subscription fee but not the 99 cents per item fee from the Individual plan. So the Professional plan makes sense only if you plan to sell more than 40 items per month.

■ eBay — EBay lets you auction and sell a wide range of goods and has a slightly simpler fee structure than Amazon. For most items, you pay eBay 10 percent of the final sale price of the item, which includes shipping costs but not taxes. If you post more than 50 items in a month, eBay starts charging you 30 cents per listing over 50, though it may refund the 30 cents if your item sells.

You can also upgrade and promote your eBay listing in various ways for extra fees. For instance, you might want to set a reserve price so that your item is auctioned off for at least that minimum amount.

It’s a $3 fee to set a reserve price below $75; the fee for anything above $75 is 4 percent of the reserve price.

■ Bonanza — Bonanza sells a similar range of products to Amazon and eBay. It charges fees based on the sale price of your item, plus any amount of the shipping cost over $10. So if you sold an item for $20 and shipped it for $13, your fee would be based on a price of $23. Bonanza charges you 3.5 percent of this price; in our example, you’d pay about 80 cents.

There’s a minimum fee of 50 cents per item.

For items that sell for $500 or more, you pay 3.5 percent on the first $500 and then 1.5 percent on the amount over $500.

Bonanza also offers to advertise your listing across the web in exchange for a

File photo

If you have a Cheeto shaped like Texas-born gorilla Harambe, you can sell it on eBay or by using various other sites or apps. higher percentage fee.

■ eBid — EBid is an eBay competitor out of the United Kingdom. The basic fee at eBid is 3 percent of the final price of your item, sans shipping costs. You can also upgrade your seller account and eliminate fees on the items you sell; instead, you pay a recurring subscription price, anywhere from weekly to annually.

Local sales

■ Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Letgo — These websites and apps don’t take a cut of your sales, but you’re responsible for connecting with your buyer, meeting up in person and making the exchange. It’s definitely a different style than the online auctions and sales. If you’re not comfortable handling all

the logistics yourself and then meeting up with a stranger, you should probably stick to online only.

Depending on what you’re selling, you can arrange to meet your buyer in a public place (many local police stations offer a “safe haven” for such sales) or have a friend hang around while you make the sale. The simplicity here is the key: no packing, shipping or fees, just cash in your hand.

But unlike many online-only sales sites, these marketplaces don’t have any guarantees or protections if your buyer turns out to be a flake.

The bigger online sites are good for getting rid of miscellaneous stuff, but for specialty items like antiques and vintage clothes, you might want

to sell to a more intentional audience.

■ Poshmark — Poshmark is an online sales and social network hybrid specifically for women’s clothing. Its fee structure is simple: For any clothing item you sell for under $15, you’ll be charged a $2.95 fee; for anything over $15, the fee is 20 percent.

Poshmark charges your buyer $6.49 for shipping, so you just print out a prepaid shipping label, box up your clothing and send it off.

■ Ruby Lane — As you’ll see from the pricing, Ruby Lane is more for serious antique and vintage sellers. If you’re just trying to clean out the closet, the setup and maintenance fees will probably prove too steep.

First of all, you have to pay $100 to set up your store.

turned home and continued to ask for it.

Last week in the criminal case in San Francisco, Bumble Bee Foods said it would plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to fix the prices of canned and pouched tuna,

and pay a $25 million fine.

The announcement came after two Bumble Bee executives, senior vice presidents Ken Worsham and Walter Scott Cameron, also pleaded guilty. They agreed to cooperate with authorities in the

Clothes, vintage and crafts

Then you’ll pay 19 cents per item you list, plus a monthly maintenance fee based on the number of items in your store when the first of the month rolls around.

You can have up to 80 items in your store for a monthly fee of $69. For each item over 80, you’re charged a small, variable fee. You can see a more detailed fee schedule here.

You’ll want to have a good idea that you can recoup an initial investment of $169 on Ruby Lane before diving in.

■ Etsy — If you’re interested in selling your handmade arts and crafts or vintage collectibles, Etsy is where it’s at. You pay 20 cents to list an item and then a 3.5 percent fee on the sale price of the item, not including shipping.

If you use Etsy to process your payments — you don’t have to — it charges an additional 3 percent plus 25 cents.

Electronics

■ Swappa, Glyde, Gazelle — These sites aren’t so much marketplaces as resellers. They give you a quote on your smartphone, laptop or tablet and then ship you a box so you can send it in.

The sites are pretty similar in essence, so you can compare quotes from each one and find the best offer. You’ll likely get a lower price for your electronics than if you sold them yourself somewhere like eBay. The draw here is how easy these sites make it to get quick bucks for your electronics rather than having them gather dust in your drawer.

STEPHEN LAYTON is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website.

Biz on the Wire TUNA | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Together the companies supply about 80 percent of the $1.7 billion of canned tuna sold annually in the United States, according to the court records.

Following up, Walmart and other top retailers filed civil lawsuits.

Those cases were updated this week with an appendix first reported by Undercurrent News that singles out dozens of tuna executives, roping in some of the wealthiest businessmen in Thailand, where Chicken of the Sea’s parent company, Thai Union, is based.

“Thai Union does not comment on ongoing legal matters,” the company said in a statement. The other firms did not respond immediately for requests for comment.

The litigation describes

Jack in the Box could spin off Qdoba

By The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. — Jack in the Box’s stock surged after the fast-food chain said it would consider spinning off its Qdoba Mexican restaurant chain.

The San Diego company said Tuesday that Morgan Stanley will help it evaluate options for Qdoba. Chairman and CEO Lenny Comma says owning restaurant chains with different business models is hurting the value of Jack in the Box’s stock.

The company also said Tuesday that it earned $1.06 per share in its latest quarter.

Without one-time gains, earnings came to 98 cents per share.

regular telephone calls and meetings where “executives agreed that all three companies” would collectively “raise prices.” They also agreed to “limit promotions and packaged tuna that undercut their published pricing,” according to court records.

Thai Union president and CEO Thiraphong Chansiri, father Kraisorn Chansiri and dozens of other Thai and American executives are now identified specifically in the ongoing case.

Thai Union owns Chicken of the Sea, Red Lobster and U.S. Pet Nutrition, among other companies.

In-Gu Park, acting president of South Korea-based Dongwon Enterprise, which owns StarKist, and Chris Lischewski, president and CEO of San Diego-based BumbleBee, also were named in the court records.

Although fewer Americans eat tuna every year, it’s still a mainstay in most kitchens and the country’s favorite type of fish. Canned tuna was popularized during World War I, when it was a convenient protein for troops who re-

ongoing investigation, and face jail time and fines.

The FBI and Justice Department said their investigation into packaged seafood is aimed at protecting consumers who deserve competitive prices.

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Unemployment Update National numbers

By Paul Wiseman | AP WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought jobless benefits in the most recent week of data available, and the number of people collecting unemployment checks felt to the lowest level since 1988 — more evidence the U.S. job market remains strong.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for jobless aid fell by 2,000 to 236,000 the week prior. The less volatile fourweek average blipped up by 500 to 243,500. The overall number of Americans collecting unemployment checks dropped to 1.92 million, lowest since November 1988.

Applications for unemployment benefits are a proxy for layoffs. They have now come in below 300,000 for 114 straight weeks, longest such streak since 1970.

The numbers reflect the strength of the job market and show that most American workers enjoy job security.

The government reported two weeks ago that the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent last month, lowest since 2007.

The job market looks healthier than the overall economy so far this year. The U.S. economy grew at an annual pace of 0.7 percent from January through March.

Biz on the Wire Thailand backs off threat to block Facebook, instead targets illegal content

By Kaweewit Kaewjinda | AP

BANGKOK — Thailand backed off a threat to block Facebook on Tuesday, instead providing the social media site with court orders to remove content that the government deems illegal.

Thailand made the threat last week as it wanted Facebook to block more than 130 posts it considers a threat to national security or in violation of the country’s lese majeste law, which makes insults to the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Thailand’s military government has made prosecuting royal insults a priority since seizing power in a coup three years ago.

Takorn Tantasith, secretary general of Thailand’s broadcast regulator, said Facebook had requested the court orders before it would take action but he expected the social media giant would comply with the government’s demands.

“Facebook has already responded that it will comply when we have court orders,” Takorn told reporters.

Emails and calls seeking confirmation from Facebook were not immediately returned.

Last week, the regulator demanded that Facebook remove more than 130 posts

by Tuesday or face legal action that could shut down the site.

In a change of tactic, Takorn said that Thailand had forwarded 34 court orders to Facebook so far.

“The websites that need to be taken down are not only those that are a threat to stability but they also include other illegal websites such as porn and websites that support human-trafficking which take time to legally determine,” Takorn said.

Reports about the Facebook restrictions were blocked on BBC World News in Thailand on Tuesday.

Thai authorities try to take pre-emptive actions against material they consider illegal, having local internet service providers block access or reaching agreements with some online services such as YouTube to bar access to certain material in Thailand.

Much of that is content deemed in violation of the country’s lese majeste law, the harshest in the world. The military government has charged more than 100 people with such offenses since the coup and handed down record

sentences. Many of those cases have been based on internet postings or even private messages exchanged on Facebook.

Last month, Thai author-

ities declared it illegal to exchange information on the internet with three prominent government critics who often write about the country’s

monarchy.

Facebook, which is blocked in a number of authoritarian countries such as North Korea, has said it relies on local

governments to notify the site of information it deems illegal.

“If, after careful legal review, we find that the content is illegal under local law we

restrict it as appropriate and report the restriction in our Government Request Report,” Facebook has said in past statements outlining its policy.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prenuptial Agreements: “To Do” before “I Do”?

The minute you get engaged is the minute you begin realistically thinking about the “to do” list for your wedding. “Where are we going to have it? Should we have it inside or outside?

Spring or summer? What lawyers should we choose?”

Wait... what?

That’s right. Picking the lawyers may need to be on the “to do” list. Something to think about: a prenuptial agreement is not just for marriages that end in divorce. The unfortunate reality is that while many marriages do end in divorce, those that don’t will end in death. In fact, 100 percent of marriages that don’t end in divorce end in death. And in either case, there are assets to be distributed. While it is certainly unromantic to discuss and negotiate a prenuptial agreement, it can save a lot of heartache and money when it comes time to distribute those assets on divorce or death.

What Is a Prenuptial Agreement?

A prenuptial agreement is a contract between two future spouses and it becomes valid on the date of marriage. A prenuptial agreement is presumed valid and it is very difficult to set aside such an agreement. Furthermore, just because a prenuptial agreement may be perceived as “unfair” upon death or divorce does not mean it can be set aside. In addition, the prenuptial agreement survives the death of the spouses, so it is wise to be done in coordination with estate planning.

will be each person’s separate property.

Separate property cannot be divided in a divorce and is protected upon death.

• To prevent claims against a party’s separate property in the case of divorce or death.

• To provide for the division of property in the case of divorce.

• To provide for property upon death.

• To make provisions with regard to income and assets acquired during the marriage.

• To provide for (or eliminate) spousal support or spousal maintenance (a/k/a alimony) in the case of divorce.

• To provide for income taxes and income tax filings.

• To make provisions for the use and ownership of real estate upon divorce or death.

• To provide for business interests. For example, if one spouse has an interest in a business(es) at the time of marriage, or acquires additional interests in businesses during the marriage.

Without a premarital agreement in place, determining the community and separate portions of the business(es), and the value of these business(es),

can be time-consuming, emotional and expensive.

• Prenuptial agreements can provide for numerous other things, but not for child support, visitation, parental rights or custody.

Most prenuptial agreements contain a list of each person’s assets and liabilities so that they are each informed about the property of the other person. However, property changes over time, so identifying what is separate and what is community property may still be difficult if proper bookkeeping is not followed.

Another purpose of a prenuptial agreement is to prevent costly court battles upon divorce or death; however, this depends on how well the prenuptial agreement is drafted. In layman’s terms: a poorly drafted prenuptial agreement can actually cause litigation to occur and therefore increase costs. So this poorly drafted agreement must then be litigated before the case can proceed... a problem that could have been prevented from the start by a well drafted prenuptial agreement.

How Is a Prenuptial Agreement Negotiated?

A prenuptial agreement can be created in a back-and-forth negotiation process by each future spouse’s attorney on his or her behalf.

Another option, if the attorneys cannot reach an agreement, is to utilize mediation.

Yet another premier option for creating a prenuptial agreement these days is to utilize collaborative law with two collaboratively trained attorneys. Instead of a back-and-forth process, collaborative law brings the parties and their attorneys together to create the prenuptial agreement.

How Do I Know if I Need a Prenuptial Agreement?

Those who may not need a prenup: young couples getting married for the first time, with little or no assets, and without the expectation of large inheritances or trusts from their families.

Those who may need a prenup: couples coming into a marriage with assets of their own or the expectation of assets from a trust or inheritance. In this case, a prenuptial agreement could be a must-have. It would provide certainty for both parties and protections that can go beyond the laws governing the division of assets upon divorce or death.

Those who didn’t at first, but are rethinking the decision: couples that didn’t enter into a prenuptial agreement always have the option of entering into a postnuptial agreement (a marital agreement made after marriage). These are largely the same as prenuptial agreements.

Texas is a community property state. This means that upon the date of marriage, all property is presumed to be community property. The Texas Constitution (Article 16, Section 15) provides for prenuptial agreements.

What Does a Agreement Do?

Prenuptial

The most common reasons for a prenuptial agreement are as follows: • To designate which property, if any, will be community property.

• To designate which property

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Once the wedding dress is purchased, the flowers ordered, and the RSVP’s sent, the timing to discuss a prenuptial agreement is probably not optimal. The further the distance in time from the wedding, the better the chance of negotiating a prenuptial agreement more peacefully. So if you think you need, or simply want a prenuptial agreement, it’s best to start early by putting “consult with a family law attorney” on the wedding “to do” list.

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Cover Story

Courtesy photo

Heather Steele’s 6-year-old son, Travis, attends the University of North Texas’ Kristin Farmer Autism Center.

Jeff Woo

Heather Steele poses for a photo Friday at Stoke. Steele has started instructing local businesses and organizations about how to provide better customer service to people with autism.

AUTISM | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Solutions, works out of Stoke.

In those figures from 2014, she saw an opportunity to expand autism awareness and acceptance, and proposed the city could eventually be proud of achieving this long-term goal.

Better business

That goal starts with teaching local businesses how to best cater to their clientele.

Steele says that if positive practices become commonplace in the city’s service industry, the right kind of service and educated approach will trickle down into the community.

A family with a loved one who has autism should be given fundamentally excellent customer service, which Steele said might include special seating and whatever accommodations guests with behavioral disabilities might need.

Many families like hers avoid going out to eat and enjoying public spaces to avoid judgment, she said.

A current lack of employee training has left out of the picture many potential patrons businesses could benefit from.

“There’s this huge untapped market of families who should be out being good consumers in our city, but they’re more kept away because the businesses just don’t really understand how to accept them and provide good service,” Steele said.

The first business workshop was conducted in early May at City Hall as part of Denton’s first participation in National Small Business Week. Those who attended learned the proper behavior and tone that should be used when a person with a behavioral disability has a meltdown in their business.

“It’s really the basis of good customer service,” Steele said.

“We want to have them back up and expose them to these scenarios so they’ll know how to respond and continue the interaction.”

Jeanna Dunlap, administrative assistant at Maid in America, said the session had her reconsider how she and her employees could better serve families with individuals who have autism.

A particularly salient talking point came when Steele discussed how most people feel pity for her when she mentions her son has autism.

“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ and that just takes [Steele] back every time somebody says that to her,” Dunlap said. “It’s just how they are; it’s not a disease. It’s not something that’s going away, and for somebody to say that is actually hurtful.

“That really stuck with me, because I feel my response

would be to say that I’m sorry.”

Maid services are intimate, in that workers go inside somebody’s home, seeing where they dwell each day. For that reason, Dunlap intends to implement more sensitivity training so her staff will not be caught unaware.

Community awareness

Jessica Bermea, the mother of Ethan, a 5-year-old boy with autism, shares the same hope that anybody will know how to appropriately respond in the event of a meltdown.

That includes potential encounters with law enforcement.

Bermea and Ethan have attended the Kristin Farmer Autism Center at the Uni-

versity of North Texas for about three years. There, she met Steele, who would share her ideas for improving Denton’s readiness for interacting with individuals with behavioral disabilities.

“It’s personal for me in that I have a child but also because I want to improve the vibe of Denton,” Bermea said. “It’s imperative because some people don’t understand, sometimes they think they don’t always understand how it’s different. A lot of families have people with autism, and if we improve their lives, we’ll all be better members of society.”

Stickers on vehicles indicating the presence of somebody with a behavioral disabil-

ity are one initiative she thinks would help officer-civilian interactions.

A more comprehensive, universal database of locals with a disability, and how to respond to them, is also something Bermea and others want law enforcement to have.

For that reason, a “safety day” in tandem with the city’s 911 dispatch is in the works in addition to the business workshops. Steele said organizers are shooting for late September or early October at Stoke.

Families would be able to register their loved ones with behavioral disabilities with 911 dispatch so that if officers ever have to interact with them,

Michael Clements/UNT

Smita Mehta, a special education professor at the University of North Texas, poses for a photo at the Kristin Farmer Autism Center.

DRC file photo

UNT’s Kristin Farmer Autism Center opened in 2012. they will have prior knowledge of the individual and their condition.

Hypothetical situations that involve law enforcement are a common concern among parents, Steele said.

“What would happen if our children were in a car wreck, when we’re completely unable to take care of our children?” she asked. “Will the first responder know that if they take them out of a car seat he’s going to take off running? They [normally] would have no idea that would be coming. We want to know how to prepare our first responders what to do in those situations.”

Not only will individuals who attend be able to benefit from the safety day, Steele said, but officers and firefighters will be given a firsthand opportunity to interact with people who have disabilities and learn how best to communicate with them.

That’s a standard Steele thinks Denton should capital-

ize on once it puts the pieces of the puzzle together.

She and a team of other mothers, including Bermea, hope to eventually reach out to the Denton Convention & Visitors Bureau, proposing a marketing campaign that advertises Denton’s autism friendliness.

“It’s something that can really differentiate Denton.

We’ve got a great water park, soon we’ll have an accessible playground and the convention center is on the way,” Steele said. “We’ve got all of these little pieces that make Denton a destination for people with loved ones who are on the spectrum. Once we’ve done all the training and have a good foundation, then that should be how we market the city.”

Visit www.autismfriendly denton.com for more information and to get involved with the initiative.

MATT PAYNE can be reached at 940-566-6845.

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Area Chamber Roundup Aubrey 380 Area Chamber of Commerce

Spring activities are in full swing, and the Aubrey 380 area is no exception. This upcoming weekend will be a busy one.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, May 20, the Aubrey Historical Society invites you to the dedication of its Veterans Monument in Aubrey Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Aubrey.

That evening, enjoy Keep Aubrey Beautiful’s Music in the Park series with Texas music star Zane Williams, also at Veterans Memorial Park.

Western Son Distillery in Pilot Point has a musical event on Saturday featuring Austinbased Americana singer Parker McCollum.

For a more upscale evening, check out the 10th anniversary edition of Silver Dollar at the Ranch, at the XO Ranch in Aubrey, benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities.

Proceeds will benefit pediatric cancer initiatives in four Dallas-Fort Worth counties. Silver Dollar at the Ranch concludes with a concert by country superstar Neal McCoy. The Aubrey 380 Area Chamber of Commerce board and the Casino Night committee would like to thank the sponsors, auction item donors,

Casino games were a hit at the Aubrey 380 Area Chamber of Commerce’s Casino Night.

Courtesy photos

The Aubrey 380 Area Chamber of Commerce has declared Casino Night 2017 a huge success. The event included a huge boot. volunteers and, of course, all our guests for making Casino Night 2017 a huge success!

A special thank-you to Diamond T. Arena for sharing your wonderful facility, Raphael’s Restaurante Mexicano for providing the delicious food and staff for the evening, and World Famous Mom’s for the desserts.

Guests had a great time playing casino games, visiting

the Picture This! photo booth and dancing to the music of DJ Manny B from www. countrynonstop.com. A special treat was a line dance performance by volunteers from Born 2 Be Therapeutic Equestrian Center, accompanied by Sandi Holt riding Bella.

As always, please join us at our monthly networking luncheons, held the third Wednesday of each month at Prairie House Restaurant. For questions or membership information, visit www.aubrey coc.org or call at 940-3659781.

Lake Cities Chamber of Commerce

The Lake Cities Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting at Bone Daddy’s House of Smoke in Denton.

The Lake Cities Chamber of Commerce celebrated new ownership for Chicken Express on Swisher Road with a ribbon-cutting April 11. On April 13, the monthly mixer was held at Bone Daddy’s House of Smoke in Denton, complete with great food and

a band.

The monthly luncheon was held April 18 at Oakmont Country Club. The luncheon was sponsored by Lowell Johnson, who gave an overview of Keep Texas Beautiful.

Jordan Dunnington of i5 Netwoho was the featured speaker at the event, talking about “Using Videos to Market Your Business.”

Another ribbon-cutting was held April 19 at Lake Dallas Church of Christ.

The May mixer was hosted

by Steve Holtzwarth of Kevin Lewis Properties and Robyn Arbogast of Pure Synergy Wellness.

The May luncheon was held Tuesday at Oakmont, sponsored by David Gilmore of Edward Jones and the speaker was Keith Martino.

You are invited to come and be a part of all the great things happening at the Lake Cities chamber.

On May 18, we will celebrate a ribbon-cutting at

Farmers Insurance’s Reese Agency in Corinth. The June luncheon is set for June 20.

Please visit our website at www.lakecitieschamber.com for information on any events, or email Tina Henderson, executive director, at director @lakecitieschamber.com

Sanger Area Chamber of Commerce

The Sanger Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Spring Fling was a huge success, all because of our wonderful sponsors. A huge thank-you goes out to Wash N Go Laundry, Sanger Insurance Agency, D&L Farm and Home, Bolivar St. BBQ, Dinner with Debbie, Kelsi Bannahan, Sanger Bank, Gypsy Cowgirl, Team Avery LLC, Acton Septic Inc., Stars Massage Clinic, Nortex Communication, Cops 4 Cops TX Police, Neighborhood Autos, Sugar Ridge Winery and BNB Stone.

In addition to financial support, several area businesses attended and helped in other ways. Camp Gladiator provided a wonderful and challenging obstacle course for guests to try. Sanger Ace Hardware, thanks for the PVC utilized for the noodle games.

Blake’s Snow Shack set up shop at the event, and the snow cones were delicious as always.

Special thanks to DATCU for providing the “Chalk in the Park” judge. And nobody cooks hot dogs like Clay Akers of First United Bank. Stitchin’ and More Custom Graphics provided the business signs.

To Sanger Parks & Recreation: The coordination you provided was instrumental in the success of this event.

Thanks to Grace Bible Church for opening up its doors for restrooms, providing the music and having scrumptious popcorn for the movie.

This was a free annual event that is family-oriented with fun games and festivities at the Sanger downtown square park. To conclude the evening, we added a “Movie in the Park” showing of the Disney movie Brave. Fun was had by all.

To any and all who came and participated, we thank you and look forward to seeing you again next year the Sanger Area Chamber of Commerce Spring Fling, which will be held on the second Saturday in May. Mark your calendars!

Business Spotlight

It’s not too late to plan a summer vacation

By Courtney Jespersen | NerdWallet The school year is winding down and temperatures are warming up. That can only mean one thing: summer vacation. But as you glance between browser tabs -- from the beach picture you bookmarked on that travel site to your bank balance -- a summer getaway suddenly begins to feel worlds away.

Your dreams of sunshine don’t have to be dashed, though. If you’re willing to be flexible, it’s not too late to plan a summer getaway that’s within your family’s budget.

Base your destination on your budget

Sure, you probably won’t be able to save up enough between now and August to book a two-week stay at a five-star hotel for your family of four, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on a trip altogether.

You’ll just have to make some adjustments. For instance, stay closer to home instead of leaving the state. Or, if you have your heart set on traveling abroad, consider a destination where your money will be more valuable.

It’s important to keep exchange rates in mind when traveling internationally, according to Andrew Marshall, an independent financial planner and principal of Andrew Marshall Financial in California.

“That’s the way I do it,” he says. “I look and see where my dollars will go the furthest, and then from the top countries, I would narrow it down to places I really want to go to.”

It’s better to research the rate before you book instead of vice versa. Websites and apps such as XE Currency provide exchange rates so you know how much your money will be worth overseas. And see if your bank offers currency exchange so you can

avoid potentially high fees at airport kiosks.

Make short-term sacrifices

Regardless of where you go, you’ll need the means to get there. But even if your vacation savings aren’t fully funded right now, you can build them up quickly. You already know what your goal is; now you just have to put in the work to make it happen.

“If you’d like to set aside a little more for your vacation, consider your spending in other areas of the budget and see if there are places to cut back slightly over the next three months,” Theresa C. Wan, certified financial planner, chartered financial analyst, and the principal of Treesa Financial Planning LLC in New Jersey, says in an email.

“For example, eating out once a week instead of twice a week, buying $1 coffees instead of $4 lattes.”

For family vacations, Wan says last-minute sacrifices can function as an educational tool to help children learn how to delay gratification.

They might give up ice cream tonight if it means going to Disneyland in a few months.

Splurge on priorities, save on the rest

Finally, keep in mind that there’s no right or wrong way to take a trip. Splurge on what you care about most and cut back on everything else. If you can’t afford room service every night, that’s OK. The little deli down the street from your hotel will suffice.

Another way to save is to rent a home, as opposed to booking several hotel rooms.

“Especially with group travel, having a kitchen and dining area can make a big difference to your trip’s budget,” says Laurel Greatrix, a spokesperson for TripAdvisor Rentals.

And remember that some-

Tommy Martino/AP

This photo from The Missoulian shows a bike trail about 45 minutes from Missoula, Mont., in the Blackfoot River corridor. times cheap travel comes to those who wait. This can apply to hotels as well as airfare. Wan recommends checking travel sites often for last-

minute deals. She recalls one client who jumped on a deal to Vietnam for the following week. She says the family of four had a great time at an

“unbeatable price.”

Need an extra push to get to your beachside goal? Check out our tips for how to save money to put away some extra

dollars between now and then.

COURTNEY JESPERSEN is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website.

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Biz on the Wire

Housing starts fall 2.6 percent

By Martin Crutsinger | AP WASHINGTON — Construction of new homes fell for a second straight month in April, pushing activity to the lowest point in five months.

Housing starts fell 2.6 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

That followed a 6.6 percent decline in March and left home building at its lowest point since last November. The weakness was led by a big drop in construction of apartments, a volatile sector.

Nevertheless, housing construction has been one of the bright spots for the economy.

Analysts expect that the number of Americans seeking homes will rebound in the coming months, driven by strong employment gains and low unemployment.

Applications for building permits, an indicator of future activity, fell 2.5 percent in April, the second decline out of the past three months. But some analysts noted that previous weakness in permit applications has proven to be temporary.

"We should keep in mind that several other housing indicators have been upbeat lately and also that we previously have seen some temporary soft patches in the permits data that did not derail the housing recovery," said Daniel Silver, an economist with JPMorgan.

In April, construction of single-family homes edged up a slight 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 835,000 units.

Construction of multi-family units dropped a sharp 9.2 percent to a rate of 337,000 units.

The weakness was led by a 37.3 percent plunge in activity in the Northeast and a 9.1 percent drop in the South.

Those gains offset a 41.1 percent rise in the Midwest and a 5.4 percent increase in the West.

While the overall economy grew at a lackluster 0.7 per-

Mobile unit slaughters for ranchers

By The Associated Press HILO, Hawaii — A business that slaughters livestock for Hawaii ranchers has opened a mobile slaughterhouse.

The slaughterhouse opened April 20, the Hawaii TribuneHerald reported. It is operated by the Hawaii Island Meat Cooperative.

The mobile business is an important part of the longterm goal to achieve food stability on the Big Island, said Teresa Young, Kohala Center business development specialist. It will increase the amount of meat produced on the island and will specifically benefit smaller family farms, she said.

The unit can process cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. It is based at Hokukano Ranch in Kealakekua and has a processing backlog of about four weeks.

There are two existing slaughterhouses on the Big Island, but their production is oriented toward larger farms.

“It shows the versatility of a unit like this: We can actually do things that other processing facilities on the island simply can’t,” cooperative president Mike Amado said.

The mobile unit is one of about 25 in the country. It is the first in Hawaii.

“The idea is really to develop [a market] on the Big Island, and see if that works, and then start moving to the other islands,” Young said.

cent rate in the first quarter, the housing sector stood out with a solid 13.7 percent growth rate. Economists are looking for housing to continue to support overall growth for the rest of the year.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder index rose to 70 this month, up two points from an April reading of 68.

Readings above 50 in-

dicate builders view sales conditions as good. The index has been above 60 since September and the reading hit 71 in March, the highest level since June 2005 during the height of the last housing boom.

Even with construction running ahead of last year's pace, the supply of new and existing homes across much of the United States remains tight.

Chuck Burton/AP

A worker carries lumber at an apartment building under construction April 27 in Charlotte, N.C.

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Vital Statistics SALES TAX

Texas Sunset Family Chiropractic LLC, Texas Sunset Family Chiropractic LLC, 324 Sunset St., Suite 200, Denton

The following sales permits were issued by the state comptroller’s office for April. The list includes the owner, name of business and address within ZIP codes 75065, 75068, 76201, 76205, 76207, 76208, 76209, 76210, 76226, 76227, 76234, 76249, 76258, 76259 and 76266.

75065 Alicia Christenson, Beatitudes Tea Room, 211 Main St., Suite 100, Lake Dallas Celesta E. Douglas, Noles General Store, 726 Thousand Oaks Drive, Lake Dallas Juan A. Dominguez, J.D Jeweler’s 223, Pembrook St., Lake Dallas Slone Enterprises LLC, Slone Enterprises LLC, 111 Strait Lane, Hickory Creek 75068 Alexandria Whitson, Awhits&Co, 2320 Eppright Drive, Little Elm Angel Briseno, Mechanical Design Works, 2696 Costa Mesa Drive, Little Elm Aroma Kitchen LLC, Aroma Kitchen LLC, 2617 Salt Maker Way, Little Elm Audrie Sue Dollins, Sweet Memory Photography, 2104 Jasmine Valley Drive, Little Elm Customer Delight LLC, Customer Delight LLC, 2629 Timberhollow Drive, Little Elm Go Pro Stump Removal Inc., Go Pro Stump Removal Inc., 10969 Rolling Hills Drive, Little Elm Jessica McElreath, Jessica McElreath, 1716 Zebra Finch Drive, Little Elm Joseph R. Wood, The Woods Weddings, 2213 Sun Creek Drive, Little Elm Maria Salud Gonzalez Juarez, M & M Wood Supplies, 1212 Redbud St., Little Elm

Remtech Solutions Inc., Remtech Solutions Inc., 608 Lake Point Drive, Little Elm Ron Skinner, Skinner Electronics, 2156 Kiowa Court, Little Elm Royal Sage LLC, Soi Brow Threading Salon, 2701 Little Elm Parkway, Suite 135, Little Elm Silijal LLC, Silijal LLC, 2429 Chestnut Drive, Little Elm The Image Talks LLC, The Image Talks LLC, 2608 Deer Hollow Drive, Little Elm Water’s Edge Cafe LLC, Water’s Edge Café, 800 W. Eldorado Parkway, Suite 126, Little Elm 76201 Cekeytra Chambers, The Writing Chamber, 2527 Louise St., Apt. 101, Denton Courtney A. Friedemann, The Container Garden, 908 S. Locust St., Denton Daxton Kline and Stephen Dillenburg, Cross Timbers NTX, 2038 W. University Drive, Suite 104, Denton Everyday Nectar LLC, Everyday Nectar, 515 S. Locust St., Denton Hugo’s Auto Sales LLC, Hugo’s Auto Sales LLC, 525 S. Elm St., Denton Ik Boon Eum, Donut Inc., 830 W. University Drive, Denton Nature’s Remedy LLC, Nature’s Remedy LLC, 1213 Primrose Lane, Suite 101, Denton Ron T. Hammer, Koko’s Hair, 121 Piner St., Denton Sarah Yael Partin, Denton Downtown Mini Mall II, 118 N. Locust St., Denton

76205 Alexandra Yost, Mooie And Co., 1420 Knight St., Denton Eric Fry Inc., Eric Fry Inc. Global Pawn, 115 N. Woodrow Lane, Denton Stephen Dillenberg and Daxton Kline, Cross Timbers NTX Residential Construction, 2434 Lillian Miller Parkway, Denton Texas Taco Cabana LP, Taco Cabana 20370, 2220 S. Loop 288, Denton The Sherwin-Williams Co., The Sherwin-Williams Co. No. 3573, 2315 Colorado Blvd., Denton Wesley Ugochukwu, David 2eazy Motors, 1308 Teasley Lane, Suite 110, Denton 76207 ERC Forms & Seminars LLC, ERC Forms & Seminars, 9500 Freeport Drive, Denton 76208 Calvin T. Dial, Speedy Janitorial Service, 7200 Silktree Court, Denton Erin E. Clark, Erin Clark Consulting, 6016 Photinia Ave., Denton, 76208 Jcombs Enterprises LLC, Combs Coffee, 1402 N. Corinth St., Suite 216, Corinth Lone Star Mobile Welding LLC, Lone Star Mobile Welding, 3615 Fritz Lane, Corinth Raider Cheer Booster Club, Raider Cheer Booster Club, 5101 E. McKinney St., Denton Stolz Telecom Inc., Stolz Telecom Inc., 3741 Mingo Road, Suite 201, Denton

The following liens were posted in April at the Denton County Clerk’s office.

RELEASE OF STATE TAX LIENS

STATE TAX LIENS

NAME/ADDRESS Eagle and Wheeler LLC, 1121 Dallas Drive, Suite 5, Denton L.A. Business Corp, 1124 Springcreek Drive, Denton SSJ Acquisitions Inc., 603 Sunset St., Denton LDB Holdings LLC, 520 N. Loop 288, Denton Edy Lemus, 3608 Big Horn Trail, Denton Omar Alejandro Renteria, 2401 Worthington Drive, Suite 130, Denton Little Frilly’s Tex Mex LLC, 2713

AMOUNT $2,089.58

REC. DATE 4/27/2017

TYPE Limited sales excise and use tax Limited sales excise and use tax Limited sales excise and use tax Limited sales excise and use tax Limited sales excise and use tax Limited sales excise and use tax Limited sales excise and use tax

AMOUNT $6,515.09 $1,686.78 $1,014.22 $3,844.86 $1,111.84 $1,023.36 $1,022.00

REC. DATE 4/7/2017 4/7/2017 4/7/2017 4/13/2017 4/13/2017 4/13/2017 4/20/2017

TYPE 1040 1040 1040 1040 941 1040 CIVP 941

AMOUNT $36,066.79 $16,946.95 $8,088.03 $98,760.67 $57,156.04 $119,588.74 $28,786.68 $17,356.75

REC. DATE 4/5/2017 4/5/2017 4/5/2017 4/5/2017 4/5/2017 4/11/2017 4/11/2017 4/11/2017

1040 1040 1040 1040 1065, 940, 941

$67,860.14 $20,278.30 $19,469.75 $34,141.27 $7,756.13

4/12/2017 4/15/2017 4/19/2017 4/19/2017 4/25/2016

FEDERAL TAX LIENS

BUILDING PERMITS

COMMERCIAL ALTERATION 33 Degrees, 919 Eagle Drive Antrim Properties, 1800 Westminster St., No. 10 City of Denton, 901 Texas St. Denton Affordable Housing, 2118 Bolivar St. Faith United Methodist, 6060 Teasley Lane First State Bank, 400 W. Oak St., No. 210 J-Med Ltd., 2509 Scripture St. Journey’s, 2201 S. Interstate 35E Luxary Nail Bar, 2219 S. Loop 288, No. 108 Metro PCS, 2317 W. University Drive, No. 137 Pristyn RX LLC, 3303 Unicorn Lake Blvd., No. 200 Rooser, 113 Industrial St. Sam’s Club No. 4905, 2850 University Drive SKR Investments LLC, 4210 Mesa Drive, No. 110 Taco Cabana, 2220 S. Loop 288 Tires For Less, 821 E. McKinney St. White Box Only, 2317 W. University Drive, No. 173

NAME — DBA/ADDRESS

NAME — DBA/ADDRESS

Brennan Dowling, Apache Offroad, 1112 Stuart Road, Denton Brennan Dowling, The Dresser Shoppe, 1112 Stuart Road, Denton Brian E. Johnson, Hope Trans, 2518 Laney Road, Denton Carissa Acker and James Acker, Real Estate by Design, 2434 Lillian Miller Parkway, Denton Earl Goldsmith, Levelupbulls, 605 Chambers St., Denton

Furn Daniel Halsell IV, Halsell Drafting and Design, 1621 Egan St., Denton Jennifer Morales, Morales Object Design, 3010 Carmel St., Denton John Wiggins, Easy Tee’s, 3730 E. McKinney St., Suite 106, Denton Jonathan Lobato Sr. and Lauren Lobato, The Potter’s House, 1408 Teasley Lane, Apt. 2712, Denton

76249 Full Plate LLC, Extreme Cuisine Catering, 202 W. McCart St., Suite 120, Krum Julie Ann Dellaughter, Tex’s Rock Shop, 1615 Appaloosa Drive, Krum Keestrack America LLC, Keestrack America LLC, 15066 U.S. Highway 380, Krum 76258 Donna T. Stephens, Too Cute, 10492 Strittmatter Road, Pilot Point D’s Lil Ass Farm LLC, D’s Lil Ass Farm LLC, 10387 McKinney Bridge Road, Pilot Point Your Town Ice Houses LLC, Your Town Ice Houses LLC, 100 PW 4137, Pilot Point 76259 Daniella Fontana, Danella Fontana, 13630 N. County Line Road, Ponder Ponder IPM LLC, Ponder IPM LLC, 11569 FM2449, Ponder Rebecca A. Styles, RS Gems & Jewelry, 209 King George Road, Ponder 76266 Looptech Geothermal LLC, Looptech Geotherman LLC, 6556 Indian Trail, Sanger S. Gaines Bishop, Trekme Enterprises, 601 Denton St., Sanger Thunderbird Collective LLC, Thunderbird Collective, 9719 FM2450, Sanger

NAME — DBA/ADDRESS Marcus J. Bryant, Flekshn, 2100 Spencer Road, Apt. 2120, Denton Milestone Events LLC, Lakeside Craft Co., 3350 Unicorn Lake Blvd., Denton Sam A. Engelberg, Certified Auto Hail Repair, 730 Wainwright St., Denton Silvia Segovia, Transformando Vidas, 1617 White Dove Lane, Denton Smart Steel Structures LLC, North Texas Roofing, 207 W. Hickory St., Suite 103-A, Denton Wynonia Montgomery, At Self Storage, 2105 Leatherwood Lane, Denton Xin Li Fu, Asian Spa Limited Partnership, 1622 W. University Drive, Denton

Biz on the Wire

COMMERCIAL Bill and Dee Builders LLC, 300 Wind River Lane Bloomfield Homes LP., 9101 John Paine Road City of Denton, 4111 Vintage Blvd.

Crawford Hospital Partners, 7218 Crawford Road, R701138 Denton Med. Trans. LLC, 2200 Westcourt Road DR Horton, 2217 Skysail Lane, Denton Harrier Denton Properties LLC, 3120 N. Interstate 35 LO Denton Bonnie Brae Ltd., 2200 W. University Drive RESIDENTIAL Bloomfield Homes 9425 Lake Fork Trail 5012 Stillhouse Hollow Lane 9405 Lake Fork Trail 4812 Stillhouse Hollow Lane 9413 Lake Fork Trail 9501 Athens Drive 9413 Athens Drive 9705 Athens Drive 5020 Marble Falls Drive

History Maker Homes 5416 Las Lomas Lane 5604 Dolores 5709 Del Rey Drive 3413 San Lucas Lane 5408 Las Lomas Lane 3425 San Lucas Lane 3405 San Lucas Lane Lennar Homes 2204 Ringtail Drive 1901 Nob Hill Court 1917 Hollister Lane 1900 Hollister Lane 4109 Bonita Ave. 4117 Bonita Ave. 3901 Roxbury St. 4001 Bonita Ave. Megatel Homes Inc., 4213 Roxbury St. Pulte Homes 6425 Roaring Creek 6501 Roaring Creek 6505 Roaring Creek Robson Denton Dev. LP 10500 Goodland Road 12109 Brant Way 8205 Willet Court 12104 Gadwell Drive 8004 Osprey Lane 11708 Cinnamon Drive 11825 Willet Way 11913 Willet Way 9612 Rivercrest Drive 11917 Willet Way 11905 Willet Way 8109 Osprey Lane 9805 Blackwood Drive

DR Horton Texas Ltd. 4013 Crosstrees Drive 2101 Skysail Lane 4117 Ranchman Blvd.

3921 Crosstrees Drive 2104 Skysail Lane 2113 Corsair Lane 2117 Corsair Lane 2109 Corsair Lane Dunhill Homes DFW LLC 3704 Juniperio St. 5601 Del Rey Circle 5605 Del Rey Circle 3700 Harbour Mist Trail 3801 Harbour Mist Trail 3809 Juniperio St. 5609 Del Rey Circle

Wyndham Custom Homes, 3500 Meadow Trail Lane

Open/Closed

Jewel Samad/Getty Images

The United Nations Security Council meets April 28 in New York. The United Nations predicted Tuesday that the global economy will expand in the next two years.

UN predicts expanding global economic growth

By Edith M. Lederer | AP

DUNCAN | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The newsroom’s official cupcake shop, NV Cupcakes, has closed its last storefront, in Corinth. Luckily, we can still get their treats through custom orders and catering, plus at Combs Coffee at North Central Texas College in Corinth.

Another sweet place is gone: The Candy Store is officially closed. Renovations are underway to transform the space on the north side of the downtown Square into Denton Vapor Parlor.

There will now be a second location to get your massage on with Soma Massage Therapy. The business has expanded into the Spinal Decompression Center for massages three days a week, available by appointment only.

We’ve got a few new food trucks cruising around downtown: Rachel’s Riding Lawn Mower, where everything is served over french fries; and Say Cheese, with an almostall-grilled-cheese menu (OK, there’s also tomato soup.)

Denton’s second brewery is now open: Denton County Brewing Co. is open and will have its own creations on tap

76234 Catfish O’Harlies Ltd., Catfish O’harlies Ltd., 2019 N. U.S. Highway 287, Decatur Certified Storage LLC, Certified Storage LLC, 2321 County Roads 2360, Decatur Dubchap LLC, Velocity Sports Center, 4348 U.S. Highway 380, Decatur Miraline Petroleum Inc., Miraline Petroleum Inc., 2105 S. College Ave., Decatur

Terry Wayne Hartley, Fancy Feet Etc., 2703 S. James St., Decatur V1 Auto Collision LLC, V1 Auto Collision LLC, 2215 County Road 4371, Decatur

Gehan Homes, 9612 Creekmere Drive

The following building permits were issued by the Denton Planning and Development department in April.

Commericial alterations and commercial permits reflect the owner or tenant and the address of the business.

CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPATION 525 North Locust LLC, 525 N. Locust St. 717 Stemmons Partners, 723 S. Interstate 35E, No. 241 Carroll Park Pl. Ltd., 501 S. Carroll Blvd., Suite 101 Collins-Leverett, 400 N. Loop 288, No. 110 Denton Market St., 3821 Market St., No. 123, 131,133 Donald R. White Sr., 1014 Dallas Drive, No. 104-108, 112 Eri-Elk Springs Ranch LP, 3801 N. Interstate 35, No. 226 H2K Enterprises LLC, 2600 Virginia Circle, No. 140 Hickory Creek Plaza LLC, 5017 Teasley Lane, No. 155 Kikahi Corporate Solutions, 627 S. Mayhill Road, No. 109 Lessek Properties LLC, 721 S. Elm St. Lisa Fong Leung, 3730 E. McKinney St., No. 101-102 Mayhill Crossing Ltd., 3606 S. Interstate 35E National Mills Plaza, 227 W. University Drive Southridge Lot 1D, 2420 S. Interstate 35E Stingware Ltd., 300 Dallas Drive, No. 300 Village Operating LLC, 513 S. Locust St. Youseph Hijazi, 1600 Teasley Lane ZDIN Fortune Group LLC, 3450 E. McKinney St.

76226 7-Eleven Beverage Co. Inc., 7-Eleven Convenience Store No. 35000K, 2652 E. FM407, Suite 100, Bartonville Argyle Veterinary Hospital P.A., Argyle Veterinary Hospital P.A., 410 E. FM407, Argyle

76227 Braswell Football Booster Club Inc., Braswell Football Booster Club, 26750 E. University Drive, Little Elm Colleen G. Bryan, Henna, 418 De Moye St., Apt. 8, Aubrey Kimberly Ferguson, Crosses For Recovery, 4200 Keyes Lane, Cross Roads Tim Cashion, Bac Modeling Agency, 1014 Karen St., Aubrey Tracy James Jackson, Cross Roads Mattress, 9920 U.S. Highway 380, Cross Roads

The following names (followed by DBA and address) were posted in April at the Denton County Clerk’s office.

TYPE Limited sales excise and use tax

NAME/ADDRESS Luis O. Bermudez Nieves, 3400 Joyce Lane, Apt. 262, Denton Tamika T. and Joel T. Moore, 2216 Windsor Farms Drive, Denton Tamika Moore, 2216 Windsor Farms Drive, Denton Miles R. Bustamante, 3411 Friesian Court, Denton 380 Roadhouse LLC, 1405 Trinity Road, Denton James B. Mathews, 3002 Hidden Springs Drive, Denton Deana M. Dixon, 924 Stanley St., Denton Hasley Engineering and Manufacturing Inc., 209 S. Mayhill Road, Denton James C. and Shannon K. Johnson, 2301 Great Bear Lane, Denton Michael W. Peterson, 1125 Wintercreek Drive, Denton Pedro M. Cardenas and Ana P. Torres, 2000 Lake Fork Circle, Denton Richard Neff, 5301 E. McKinney St., Trailer 403, Denton Health Care Center of Mineola, 1714 Teasley Lane, Denton

76210 Angela Kay Bennett, Angela’s Magical Lips Senegence, 1802 Regent Court, Corinth Bishop Food Company Ltd. Co., Aaron Michael’s Concessions, 1001 Wintercreek Drive, Denton Brandi Farrington, 360 Cleaning, 3939 Teasley Lane, Lot 400, Denton E.T.B. Inc., CVS Pharmacy No. 10642, 1101 FM2181, Corinth Leslie Harold Cox, Leslie H. Cox, 3512 Butler Drive, Denton Mg Pools LLC, Mg Pools, 2504 Whetstone Drive, Corinth Milestone Events LLC, Laskeside Craft Co., 3350 Unicorn Lake Blvd., Denton Oak View Animal Hospital, P.C. Denton Veterinary Clinic, 1901 Wind River Lane, Suite 100, Denton Phillip Rohwedder, Classic Pool Care, 2604 Forestview Drive, Corinth Tony Martin, Furr Covert Tactical, 1701 Osprey Court, Corinth

Dana C. Michaelis, Angel Baby Designs, 626 Woods Drive, Argyle Mimi’s Boutique LLC, Mimi’s Boutique LLC, 3220 Tamarack Lane, Denton Palomino Residential Rentals LLC, Palomino Residential Rentals, 2652 E. FM407, Suite 215, Bartonville Shanna Bogdan, Shanna Ashley’s Salon, 2024 E. Hickory Hill Road, Suite 100, Argyle Smooth Transition Menopause Solutions LLC, Smooth Transition Menopause Solutions LLC, 1486 Rolling Acres Drive, Argyle Stephen R. Thompson, First Aid Texas, 5900 Meadowglen Drive, Denton The Oaks Boutique LLC, The Oaks Boutique LLC, 1400 Country Club Road, Argyle

ASSUMED NAMES

LIENS

NAME/ADDRESS Lepanto Restaurants LLC, 7600 Nightfall Drive, Denton

76209 Cuington Building and Remodeling LLC, Cuington Building and Remodeling LLC, 2809 Joshua St., Denton Denton Event Center LLC, Denton Event Center LLC, 2600 Virginia Circle, Denton Sally Ellen Bailey, Ella Paige Designs, 1910 Williamsburg Row, Denton Sweets R’ Us LLC, Sweets R’ Us LLC, 1410 E. University Drive, Suite 107, Denton

Jeff Woo

Owner Seth Morgan poses for a photo at Denton County Brewing Co. on April 27 in Denton. next month. Located at 200 E. McKinney St., the brewpub is currently serving up its curation of beers and wine — which can also be ordered to go.

After just three months in business, Green Foods Nu-

trition on Fort Worth Drive has closed.

Ten Below, a Thai-style ice cream shop that serves rolled ice cream, is now open at 2215 S. Loop 288, next to Chiloso Mexican Bistro.

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations predicted on Tuesday that the global economy will expand in the next two years, spurred by stronger growth in the last six months and a modest recovery in trade and investment.

In a mid-year update from its January forecast, the U.N. said the acceleration is underpinned by firm economic growth in many developed countries and strengthened prospects in countries in transition, with east and south Asia remaining the world’s most dynamic regions.

But the U.N. report said “the outlook for some developing regions has deteriorated since January” and “prospects for Africa, in particular, raise concerns.” It forecast negligible per capita growth in central, southern and west Africa as well as in South America in 2017-2018.

Overall, the U.N. forecast global economic growth of 2.7 percent this year and 2.9 percent in 2018 compared with a revised figure of 2.3 percent in 2016.

“The report confirms that at the global level economic growth has strengthened in recent months in line with the forecasts presented in Janu-

ary,” Diana Alarcon, chief of the U.N.’s Global Economic Monitoring Unit, told a news conference launching the report.

“Industrial production has picked up, world trade is reviving and economic sentiment has generally improved,” she said. “However, the modest strengthening of economic activity has not been evenly spread across countries.”

Alarcon said economic prospects for some of the world’s poorest countries are especially worrying.

According to the report, average GDP growth projections for many of the 48 least developed countries have been revised downward to growth of just 4.7 percent in 2017 and 5.3 percent in 2018 — figures significantly below the U.N. target of at least 7 percent annually to eradicate extreme poverty everywhere by 2030.

Under the current growth trajectory, and assuming no decline in income inequality, the report forecasts that nearly 35 percent of the population in the least developed countries will remain in extreme poverty by 2030. Over half these countries are in Africa.

Alarcon said “ending poverty in all its forms will require countries to tackle inequality issues more rigorously

including commitments to share prosperity both within and across national borders.”

As for the United States, the world’s largest economy, the U.N. forecast economic growth of 2.1 percent in both 2017 and 2018, compared with 1.6 percent in 2016. In China, the second-largest economy, the U.N. forecast 6.5 percent growth in both 2017 and 2018, compared with 6.7 percent in 2016.

The report also highlights “the high degree of uncertainty” on international economic policy which Alarcon said “continues to cloud the outlook and heightens uncertainty around prospects for world trade, development aid and climate targets.”

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is one source of policy uncertainty, the report said, along with a resurgence of trade protectionism and the U.S. announcement of a sweeping review of its trade relationships.

The U.N. also noted that businesses in many emerging economies are vulnerable to sudden changes in financial conditions and destabilizing capital outflows which could be triggered by faster-thanexpected interest rate hikes in the United States.

MAY 2017

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Denton Record-Chronicle

CHAMBER SPOTLIGHT #DentonMeansBusiness UPCOMING EVENTS

Friday June 2nd 7:45am

RIBBON CUTTING

Rockin Rita’s May 1, 2017

Penny’s Playtown May 3, 2017

NEW MEMBERS Coventry Apartment Homes 500 S. I-35E, Denton coventry-apts.com

Cross Church

1100 Dallas Drive #106, Denton crosschurchdenton.org

Lofty Oaks Association/Treegivers 1144 Oakhurst Street, Denton treegivers.com

Cadillac Art & Frame

850 W. Eldorado Parkway #200, Little Elm cadillacartandframe.com

Born 2 Be Therapeutic Equestrian Center 3575 Sauls Road, Aubrey born2betec.org

Born2BFree, Inc

1980 E. University Drive, Denton born2bfree.com

Murray Media Group

101 Surrey Lane Blg 100 #101, Flower Mound murray-media.com

414 W. Parkway Denton, TX 76201 940.382.9693 Denton-chamber.org

In Denton!

America’s Drive-In Daily ur Happy Ho m p 4 2pm -

Crown Chase Inn & Suites

DE-1609829-01

2450 Brinker Road (940) 387-1000 bwdenton.com

Denton • Crossroads • Paloma Creek Aubrey • Pilot Point • Sanger • Krum

Welcome to The Premier Life.®

www.sonicdrivein.com/denton

Verizon Wireless

2818 W. University Drive, Denton verizonwireless.com

Mulkey-Bowles Montgomery Funeral Home 705 N. Locust, Denton MulkeyBowlesMontgomery.com

Dodson Legal Group

109 S. Woodrow Lane #300, Denton dodsonlegal.com

Staffelbach

2525 McKinnon Street #800, Dallas staffelbach.com

S&J Scripture Street Pharmacy

1612 Scripture Street, Denton sandjdenton.com

Interested in Membership?

Call 940.382.9693