Business briefs, July 25

Rocky staff and wire reports

Published July 25, 2007 at midnight

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NATIONAL

GM to curtail pickup production; layoffs set

General Motors Corp. will cut the number of pickup trucks it produces at its Pontiac, Mich., assembly plant and lay off an unspecified number of workers because of a slowing pickup truck market.

The move will take place starting in early September at the plant, which employs about 2,800 hourly workers.

AMERICA ONLINE Continuing its bid to rely more on advertising as Internet access subscriptions plummet, AOL said Tuesday it is buying a company that delivers targeted ads based on a visitor's browsing habits.

AOL, the online unit of Time Warner Inc., said the acquisition of Tacoda Inc. would help advertisers run more relevant pitches.

MOBILE PHONE DEAL Nokia Corp. said Tuesday it had bought the Redmond, Wash.-based multimedia company Twango Inc. to help mobile phone users better organize wireless downloads and ease connections between handsets and desktop computers.

Twango, a privately owned company founded by former Microsoft employees, provides a platform for organizing, sharing, and re-publishing media such as photos, videos and audio clips.

LOCAL

Ball promoted to CFO at Newmont Mining

Newmont Mining Corp. promoted Russell Ball to chief financial officer, filling a vacancy created by Richard T. O'Brien's elevation to chief executive officer on July 1.

Ball, 39, had been the gold producer's chief accounting officer since April, Denver-based Newmont said. Ball's base salary was increased to $420,000 a year from $370,000, and O'Brien's base salary rose to $900,000 from $700,000, Newmont said.

MARATHON PACT ING said it signed a multiyear sponsorship pact with the Denver Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 14. It will not be the title sponsor. The financial services company said it has partnerships with several running events in the United States.

NEW FLIGHT Frontier Airlines will add service between Denver and West Palm Beach, Fla., marking its sixth destination in the Sunshine State.

The daily service starts Nov. 15 and involves a red-eye flight that leaves Denver at 11:55 p.m. Frontier will fly an Airbus A319 on the route.

Denver-based Frontier also serves Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

DRILLING PROPOSAL The newly formed Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, in its first meeting Monday, called for a hearing Oct. 1 and 2 in Grand Junction to gather more information on a Rulison drilling proposal.

The proposal, submitted by area residents, seeks to stop drilling within a 3-mile radius of a 1969 nonmilitary nuclear blast until further scientific studies prove it is safe to drill there.

THIS JUST IN . . .

• The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing appointed medical services board members to four- year terms, led by Joan M. Johnson, president, and Richard D. Markley, vice president. Also: Jeffrey Cain, Kathleen Chitty, Byron Geer, Paul Melinkovich, Wendell Phillips, Julie Reiskin, Ginny Riley, Marguerite Salazar and Sally Schaefer.

• JohnstonWells Public Relations appointed Darby Doll as director of JohnstonWells Emerging Media.

• CH2M HILL, a global engineering, construction and operations firm headquartered in Douglas County, was awarded the Gold Seal by the American Heart Association and the Start! Fit-Friendly Companies program for promoting the health of its employees.

• Centennial-based Shane Co. will open a store in Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 1.

• Attorneys Kieran Lasater and Teresa Baird have joined Fairfield and Woods PC.

• Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman PC, a Colorado-based accounting and business advisory firm, opened an office in Boulder at 1155 Canyon Blvd.

• Metrolist Inc., a real estate multiple listing service serving the Denver area, appointed Frank Mayfield to account representative.

• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck added Raul Abad, Lori Baker and Albert Z. Kovacs as associates.

• Arizona-based Mountainside Fitness Centers is opening its first Colorado center Aug. 3 at the Country Club Village, at 120th Avenue and Federal Parkway in Westminster.

• Steele Street State Bank, based in Denver, received approval from the Colorado State Banking Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to provide trust and fiduciary services beginning Aug. 1.

• Camp Bow Wow, a Boulder-based dog day-care franchise, opened a facility at 2125 S. Jasmine St. in Denver.

• Broomfield-based Lively Marketing! added Alison Jaffe, who will be in charge of business development, and Talissa Koziol as a project coordinator.

• Colorado Springs-based Managed Business Solutions, a global information and technology outsourcing and consulting firm, named Walter Porter as director of managed services.

• Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver named Philip "Chuck" Watkins as director of operations.

• Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Vail, named Paige Prill as vice president of development and communications.

• SHiFT, a Longmont-based advertising, marketing and public relations firm, added LeeAnn Vranjes as public relations manager, and Tara Pederson as senior graphic designer.

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