Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon Inc. changes brand name
After 62 years of shaping communities through its engineering and architectural projects, Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon, Inc., said Monday it has rebranded as Barge Design Solutions.
The Nashville-based engineering firm has about 20 employees at its Chattanooga office in Warehouse Row.
“Over the past few years, we have set a vision to be the premier provider of engineering, architectural and planning services,” said Bob Higgins, president and CEO of the employee-owned firm. “It makes sense for us to rebrand with a name that reflects our position in the marketplace and speaks to what we do every day.”
As part of a comprehensive rebranding, the name change will be accompanied by a new website, launching in January 2018, new logo and updated signage for each office. The Barge Design Solutions has more than 370 employees in 14 offices across five states.
Nissan undaunted by tax credit change
The head of Nissan Motor Co.’s operations in North America said the Japanese automaker is undaunted by congressional efforts to do away with a tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles.
Nissan on Monday celebrated the production of the first new Leaf electric car at its massive plant on the outskirts of Nashville.
Boasting a 40 percent increase in battery range to 150 miles, the 2018 Leaf will hit dealerships early in the new year with a sticker price of just under $30,000. That’s before the $7,500 federal tax credit that would remain in effect under the Senate version of a tax overhaul bill, but disappear in the House version.
Nissan North America Chairman Jose Munoz said there is “strong natural demand” for electric vehicles even without the incentives.
McDonald’s brings back $1, $2, $3 Dollar Menu
McDonald’s said Tuesday it is reviving the name of the once-popular value menu next month after a two-year absence, but this time the items will cost $1, $2 or $3.
Offering cheap eats has become a winning strategy for the world’s largest hamburger chain, and a way to fight off other low-priced chains. In October, it attributed a rise in a key sales figure during the third quarter to its $1 sodas and a two-for-$5 promotion called McPick 2. And as more people visited its restaurants for deals, McDonald’s said some also bought pricier burgers stuffed with crispy onions or guacamole, which helped sales.
McDonald’s dumped the original Dollar Menu, with items costing $1, about four years ago as franchisees complained their profits were squeezed by a rise in ingredient costs. But the move hurt sales as customers went elsewhere for low-priced fast food. In 2013, it launched the Dollar Menu & More, with items costing as much as $5, but discontinued it about two years ago and replaced it with the McPick 2.
The “$1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu” will become a permanent part of the McDonald’s nationwide menu starting Jan. 4, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said. It tested other names, but customers liked the Dollar Menu one best, said Chris Kempczinski, who oversees McDonald’s Corp.’s U.S. business.
Forever 21 investigates restroom video origin
Retailer Forever 21 said it’s investigating who’s responsible for secretly filming one of its workers in an employee restroom and how the footage ended up on pornographic websites.
The Los Angeles-based company said Monday it can’t comment on a lawsuit the former employee filed last week in federal court in New York. But it said Forever 21 takes its workers’ privacy “extremely seriously” and has “zero tolerance for any type of inappropriate behavior.”
The woman worked at a Forever 21 store in Providence, R.I., in 2011 and said she was made aware last December that the video showing her partially undressed had been disseminated to “thousands of online viewers.”
Her lawsuit accuses Forever 21 of negligence and invasion of privacy and seeks $4 million in damages.
13 states challenge California egg law
More than a dozen states banded together Monday to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block a California law requiring any eggs sold there to come from hens that have space to stretch out in their cages.
In a lawsuit filed directly to the high court, the states allege California’s law has cost consumers nationwide up to $350 million annually because of higher egg prices since it took effect in 2015. The lawsuit argues California’s requirements violate the U.S. Constitution’s interstate commerce clause and are pre-empted by federal law.
A federal appeals court panel rejected similar claims last year in a separate case brought by six states, ruling they failed to show California’s law would affect more than just individual farmers. The latest lawsuit seeks to address that by citing an economic analysis of the California law. It also asks the Supreme Court to take up the case directly instead of requiring that it first move through the lower courts.
California produced about 5 billion eggs and imported an additional 4 billion from other states in 2012, according to the lawsuit.