UA to use part of gift for retail tech lab
The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville will use part of a $1 million gift from Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon to build a retail innovation and technology laboratory for the Sam Walton College of Business.
The McMillon Family Retail Innovation and Technology Lab will be built inside a space previously occupied by a retail store in the Harmon Parking Garage. Work in the lab will focus on retail technology, in-store and online shopping, and customer insights.
McMillon, a UA graduate, said in a news release that he hopes the "lab will spark great ideas, create a community around retail innovation and demonstrate the incredible possibilities of a career in the industry."
McMillon and his wife, Shelley, gave the gift in 2014. It was previously earmarked for establishing a new School of Global Retail Operations and Innovation. The lab is being described by the university as "the first interactive, open-to-the-public university retail lab created to test technologies expected to change the future of retail."
Initial testing will focus on lighting, music and store aesthetics, drone and scooter deliveries of online orders and augmented reality technology.
-- Chris Bahn
Hillshire to put $28M into N.C. bakery
Hillshire Brands Co., a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc., is spending more than $28 million on its Tarboro, N.C., bakery plant to meet growing demand for its project.
The project will create about 100 jobs in Tarboro. The plant produces baked goods, including croissants, biscuits and cakes. The project also will add a gluten-free and non-GMO waffle line. GMO is an acronym for genetically modified organism.
"We're glad to invest in our Tarboro plant, which will mean more jobs for the city," said Wes Morris, president of prepared foods for Tyson Foods. "The existing infrastructure, location and availability of a qualified workforce make the plant ideal for expansion."
To help fund the project, the North Carolina Department of Commerce is providing a performance-based grant from the One North Carolina Fund, which gives companies funds when they meet job-creation standards, Edgecombe County and the town of Tarboro.
-- Claire Williams
N.M. 1st state to sue VW over scandal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico is suing Volkswagen and other German automakers over an emissions cheating scandal that involves millions of cars worldwide, the first state to do so.
Attorney General Hector Balderas filed the lawsuit in state district court in Santa Fe late Tuesday. He alleges Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and their U.S. subsidiaries violated New Mexico's air-quality standards and engaged in deceptive marketing to pass off certain diesel models as clean and efficient.
"Supported by a massive advertising campaign, defendants claimed that superior engineering allowed their cars to perform better, consume less fuel and emit fewer harmful pollutants than diesel cars of the past, making them a great fit for eco-conscious consumers. In fact, the complete opposite was true," the lawsuit states.
New Mexico's case is likely just the first among states. Dozens of attorneys general have teamed up for a civil investigation of VW. Others are conducting separate inquiries, and earlier this month the U.S. Justice Department sued on behalf of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
-- The Associated Press
Orders for GE wind turbines put at $1.5B
General Electric Co. received wind-turbine orders in December totaling 1.4 gigawatts for more than 20 projects in seven countries as the manufacturer expands its push into renewable energy.
Roughly half the orders are for wind-farm developments in the U.S., and the others are for projects in Brazil, India, France, Germany, Turkey and the U.K., Fairfield, Conn.-based GE said in a statement Wednesday.
GE didn't disclose terms of the deals. Amy Grace, a North American wind analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, estimated that the value of 1.4 gigawatts in turbine sales was roughly $1.5 billion.
The orders follow the debut of GE Renewable Energy, a unit created in November after GE completed the $9.3 billion acquisition of Alstom SA's energy business. The move expanded GE's wind-energy business, growing its global portfolio to more than 30,000 turbines worldwide, the company said.
-- Bloomberg News
N.D. regulators OK oil-pipeline permit
BISMARCK, N.D. -- North Dakota regulators have approved the biggest-capacity pipeline proposed to date to move crude from the state's oil patch.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved the permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline on Wednesday.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners wants to build the $3.8 billion, 1,130-mile pipeline to move up to 600,000 barrels of crude daily from North Dakota to Illinois.
The North Dakota portion is the longest leg of the pipeline. The company says regulators in South Dakota and Illinois already have approved permits for the project.
The company says it expects regulators in Iowa to make a decision on the pipeline next month.
-- The Associated Press
Judge to decide on raises for river pilots
BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana's chemical industry and two groups of Mississippi River ship pilots will wait to find out what happens to raises that would lift the pilots' pay more than $50,000 by 2019 to $473,692.
After a two-hour hearing, Louisiana District Court Judge Janice Clark said she plans a thorough review of the filings and did not set a date for her decision, according to a story Wednesday in The Advocate. "Several things are at play here. This is an important and serious matter, and the court is loath to give it short attention," Clark said.
In September, the Louisiana Chemical Association asked Clark to block the raises for the Crescent River Port Pilots Association and the Associated Branch Pilots of New Orleans.
The Crescent pilots navigate ships between New Orleans and Pilottown; the Branch Pilots from Pilottown to the mouth of the river.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 01/21/2016