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Samsung motions to add iPhone 5 to patent case

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Published on 10/02/2012 - 2:04 pm
Written by Associated Press
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Apple Inc.'s iPhone5Apple Inc.'s iPhone5(AP) — South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. says it has filed a motion with a U.S. court to add Apple's iPhone 5 to their ongoing patent battle.

 

Samsung says it filed the motion Monday with the California court, alleging that Apple's new phone infringes on eight of its patents.

The two companies are locked in a struggle for supremacy in the global smartphone market, leading to legal cases in courts across the globe.

Samsung released a statement Tuesday saying, "We have always preferred to compete in the marketplace with our innovative products, rather than in courtrooms. However, Apple continues to take aggressive legal measures that will limit market competition."

It said it had "little choice but to take the steps necessary to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights."

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Latest Local News

Stocks fall on news Fed weighed cutting...

Written on 05/22/2013, 1:41 pm by Associated Press
(AP) — Stocks are closing lower on news that several Federal Reserve policymakers favored cutting back on stimulus programs as early as June if the...
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Kaweah Delta to break ground on medical...

Written on 05/22/2013, 1:27 pm by Business Journal staff
Kaweah Delta Health Care District breaks ground on its 52,000 square-foot Sequoia Medical Center office building on the west side of its Visalia campus on Thursday. The groundbreaking ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and the building, located at 820 S. Akers St., is expected to be completed by July 1, 2014. Specialty medical groups such as Orthopaedic Associates Medical Clinic, Inc., South Valley Vascular Associates, Inc., Sequoia Prompt Care (second site), Therapy Specialists, a division of Kaweah Delta Health Care District and Hand Therapy Specialists, a division of Kaweah Delta Health Care District will occupy the building. State Center Properties is developing the project and the architect is Anthony Pings and Associates and the general contractor is Quiring General, LLC.
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Visalia school district embarks on solar...

Written on 05/22/2013, 1:24 pm by Business Journal staff
Visalia Unified School District is set to break ground on a $4-million project that will fully power 12 school sites. Working with SolarCity of San Mateo, Calif., the district expects to begin construction in June using funding from its Measure E bond passed in November. Most of the panels will be installed on top of shade structures over parking lots and play areas for a combined energy generating capacity of almost 2.5 megawatts. Producing around 3.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, the project is estimated to save the district more than $700,000 on energy costs during the first year of operation and $15 million of electricity over the next 25 years. The panels are also expected to result in an annual reduction of more than 2.6 million gallons of water that would have been used to cool traditional power plants. Helping recoup some of the cost, Southern California Edison will pay the district more than $2.3 million in rebates for the electricity over the next five years. According to the Visalia Unified School District, the $60 million from Measure E has the potential to bring $120 million when combined with anticipated state matching funds. The first series of Measure E bonds was issued in April, generating $33.99 million for projects ranging from new construction to paint and roofing district-wide. Visalia Unified is among many schools throughout the San Joaquin Valley turning to solar energy to save money. Earlier this month, the Clovis Unified School District broke ground on the first phase of its 5.9-megawatt solar project that will install photovoltaic panels at 19 school sites to save the district $2.7 million annually on energy costs. Last June, Cupertino Electric finished up a project that put solar systems totaling 1.12 megawatts on several schools in the Golden Valley School District in Madera, saving up to $9 million over the next 25 years. The Porterville Unified School District will be able to save $44 million over the same time period thanks to solar panels totaling 3.7 megawatts installed by San Jose-based SunPower at six of its school sites. The Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District also expects to save $9 million through solar panels installed last year at three of its five schools, while the Selma Unified School District is completing a $13.5-million solar energy project at eight campuses to save $34 million over 25 years. Fresno Unified School District has solar panels installed at Roosevelt High School and also plans to install some on top of its new 27-classroom building at Edison High.
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Incorrect labeling prompts Foster Farms...

Written on 05/22/2013, 1:21 pm by Business Journal staff
Foster Farms has issued a voluntary recall of its Grilled Chicken Breast Strips after receiving complaints that they contained soy and wheat allergens not labeled on the package. The breast strips, accounting for one day's production at Foster Farms' main Porterville facility, are part of a Class II precautionary recall, meaning they have not been associated with any reports of illness. A total of 1,370 cases, or 6,165 pounds of the breast strips, were distributed to retailers in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The affected products were shipped in six-ounce tray packages and have a "best if used by date" of June 22. Retailers have been notified to remove these products from store shelves. For more information, retailers can call 800-338-0374. Consumers can also contact the company's Consumer Affairs hotline at 800-255-7227.
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Report: Distressed sales still falling in...

Written on 05/22/2013, 11:54 am by Business Journal staff
Distressed home sales were still fading in April, making way for a more stable market in the San Joaquin Valley. According to the California Association of Realtors, distressed sales, which include short sales, sales of bank-owned properties and other foreclosure sales, were down to 38 percent of all home sales in Fresno County in April. That compares to 41 percent in March and 62 percent in April 2012. In Tulare County, distressed sales fell to 34 percent in the month from 38 percent the prior month and 60 percent last year. Kings County saw its distressed sales plummet to 40 percent compared to 54 percent in March. April 2012 percentages weren't available. Distressed sales actually rose in Madera County, but not my much, going from 46 percent in March to 47 percent in April. Both are a significant improvement from 67 percent last year. The statewide average was even lower than the San Joaquin Valley, with 24 percent of home sales considered distressed. That's down from 28 percent in March and 46 percent a year ago. Of California's home sales, the share of short sales was 14.8 percent in April, down from 17.3 percent the prior month and 21.1 percent last year. The share of real estate-owned sales, including bank-owned homes, dropped into single digits for the first time since late 2007, going from 10.2 percent in March and 24.3 percent last year to 9.2 percent in April. Equity sales, or non-distressed property sales, climbed to 75.6 percent in the month compared to 72.1 percent in March and 54.2 percent in April 2012. The available supply of homes remained tight. In April the unsold inventory index for real estate-owned homes, or number of months to deplete the supply of homes at the current sales rate, dipped from 1.8 months in March to 1.7 months in April. The index for short sales stayed the same at 2.7 months, while equity sales dropped from three months to 2.9 months.
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Fresno State provost picked to lead CSU Los...

Written on 05/22/2013, 11:04 am by Business Journal staff
Dr. William Covino, Fresno State's provost and vice president for academic affairs, was appointed president of his alma mater, California State University, Los Angeles. The California State University Board of Trustees selected Covino to replace current president James M. Rosser, who retires in the fall after 34 years on the job. "I am honored to join a university as outstanding as Cal State L.A. and look forward to engaging with students, faculty, alumni and the community to build on its strengths and create opportunities for the future," said Covino, in a release. "The university is uniquely positioned in a global center for the arts, technology and the economy and it boasts a student population as diverse as the city it serves. Cal State L.A. truly reflects the changing face of California in the 21st century." Covino has served in his current position since 2009, overseeing academic goals and educational policy at Fresno State's eight schools and colleges. Prior to that, he held the same post at CSU Stanislaus from 2006 to 2009. He also served as chair of the english department and dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University and held faculty positions at the University of Illinois in Chicago and San Diego State University. Covino earned his bachelor's degree in English from UCLA and master's degrees from CSU Northridge and the University of Southern Califronia. He also earned a Ph.D. in English from USC in 1981. Covino is expected to begin his new position on Sept. 1.
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Reyes appointed new Tulare Co. judge

Written on 05/21/2013, 4:31 pm by Business Journal staff
Governor Jerry Brown appointed Visalia attorney Antonio Reyes as the newest judge for the Tulare County Superior Court. Reyes, 60, has been in his own private practice since 1990. Formerly, he was a partner at various firms dating back to 1983, including Duarte and Reyes, Orduno and Reyes and Valdez Silva Orduno Candeleria and Reyes. Before that, Reyes was an attorney at Nunez Silva and Orduno and at the Legal Services Program for San Gabriel Valley. Reyes earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary's College of California. Reyes fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Gerald F. Sevier last September. He will be paid an annual salary of $178,789. With his appointment, the Tulare County Superior Court now has 19 judges.
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Valley lodges see more improvement in...

Written on 05/21/2013, 3:32 pm by Business Journal staff
April looked better for Valley lodges as occupancy rates and revenues continued climbing toward a promising summer. According to a monthly lodging report by Smith Travel Research, the average occupancy rate in the Fresno area stood at 58.2 percent in the month. That's up from 56.1 percent in March and 54.7 percent in April 2012. At $83.71, the average daily rate in the area was an improvement from $79.91 the prior month and $82.49 a year ago. With a supply of 317,250 rooms in the month, Fresno area lodges reported combined revenues of nearly $15.46 million compared to $14.7 million the month before and $14.24 the year before. Tulare/Visalia area lodges saw the average occupancy rate inch up to 62.5 percent in April from 55.8 percent in March and 57.8 percent a year ago. The area's average daily rate stood at $79.50 in the month, up from $75.82 the prior month and $78.34 last year. With a supply of 161,040 rooms, lodges in the area reported revenues of $8 million in April compared to $7.42 in March and $7.29 million in April 2012. Statewide, the average occupancy rate stood at 71.4 percent in the month, up from 70.4 percent the month before and 68.4 percent a year ago. The average daily rate picked up to $129.28 over $124.62 in March and $119.54 last year. With a combined supply of just more than 15 million rooms, lodges in the state reported revenues of $1.39 billion in March compared to $1.36 billion the prior month and $1.22 billion a year ago.
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Fresno investment manager sentenced

Written on 05/21/2013, 1:24 pm by Business Journal Staff
Joseph Randall Medcalf, 56, formerly an investment manager in Fresno, was sentenced by United States District Judge Anthony Ishii to 6 ½ years in prison, and pay $6.6 million in fines for a scheme to defraud investors, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. According to court documents, Medcalf carried out a scheme to defraud investors from at least May 2002 through October 2007 by offering investment “opportunities” in entities that he controlled, such as All Valley Holdings LLC, CenCal Value Investments LLC, and other ventures. Medcalf failed to register these investments with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other governmental entities. Medcalf convinced some investors to move their investments from secure IRAs and other legitimate investments to him. In some cases, Medcalf’s investments were nonexistent; in other cases, they were failing and worthless. Medcalf frequently did not even invest the funds, but either paid other investors “returns” on their investments or spent it for his own personal use. Medcalf marketed the investment opportunities as safe investments for a set time period, usually with a guaranteed interest rate. He stated that the principal and interest would be returned at the end of the term. In some cases, Medcalf executed promissory notes and subscription agreements that stated the investment’s time period and guaranteed rate of return. In order to lull investors into believing that the investments were secure, Medcalf sent out financial statements showing substantial returns. Medcalf also encouraged his investors to rollover their investments for another term so he could avoid paying out on the investments and to forestall the investors’ discovery of the fraud scheme. Medcalf also filed a bankruptcy petition in which he fraudulently failed to disclose his connection with All Valley Holdings and CenCal Value Investments, in an effort to avoid disclosure of his scheme to defraud. Medcalf was ordered to pay restitution of more than $3.3 million to victims of his fraud scheme and was also ordered to forfeit an equivalent amount to the United States. Medcalf has been in custody since December 2011 when the FBI arrested him at the Atlanta airport as he flew back into the United States from overseas. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kirk Sherriff and Christopher Baker prosecuted Medcalf.
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