Doris Carson Williams, president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania said at least one city of Pittsburgh department is limiting access to contracts for Minority- Women- and Disabled-Business Enterprises by bundling contracts.

DORIS CARSON WILLIAMS

“Bundling several contracts into a package and awarding it to one large firm retards economic development, job creation and retention,” she said. “It all but eliminates small firms, not to mention MBE firms.”

More than 200 people in the Pittsburgh area joined thousands of people throughout the world in celebration of the key role that networking plays in the development and success of businesses. Events were held globally to celebrate International Networking Week.

Sponsored by BNI Western PA, the city’s Fourth International Networking Day featured keynote speaker networking guru, Debby Peters, a Certified Networker and contributing author of the bestseller Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales, and Founder of Sales. Peters showed participants how to transition “From Network Dating to Network Dollars.”

MAKING CONNECTIONS— Deborah Lanier and Tracy Baulding network with Roosevelt Dalton, one of many vendors during the area’s Fourth Annual International Networking Day.

Joined by several local state representatives at Borders Books in East Liberty, Gov. Edward G. Rendell put forth five proposals he said would head off the bulk of a looming budget crisis that could leave the state with a $5.6 billion deficit in two years.

“There is a storm coming,” he said. “Only about $5 billion in the $26 billion budget is discretionary spending. The rest, including Medicaid, pensions and corrections cost, we’re mandated to pay. In 2012, we’re going to have another $2 billion in pension costs and another 62,000 people eligible for Medicaid.”

NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL—Joined by state Rep. Joe Preston, D-East Liberty, Governor Edward G. Rendell pushes for lower business and sales tax rates and fewer tax exemptions to head of a projected $5 billion deficit in 2012.

When defining a banker Mark Twain said, “A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” New Edition posed a thought provoking question in one of their hit records “Sunny days—everybody loves them but can you stand the rain?”

An emergency savings is known by many names—emergency fund, god only knows fund, hard times fund, in case something happens fund. The most popular name used to describe emergency savings is a raining day fund. An emergency savings is money set aside to help cover you and your family during unexpected events that result in a reduction or loss of income such as unemployment, disability, death, or divorce.