The Department of Energy (DOE) is working tirelessly to address the oil spill in the Gulf. At the request of President Obama, Secretary Chu traveled down to Houston to work closely with a team of top scientists from academia and the U.S. government, with support from more than 200 personnel from DOE's national laboratories, to analyze the response efforts and recommend additional options for stopping the leaking oil.

DOE would like you to share your ideas on how to stop or contain the oil spill and mitigate its impact on the environment. The Deepwater Horizon Response has an online form available to collect your suggestions here: http://www.horizonedocs.com/artform.php

As small business owners, you know that innovation comes from many sources. We need to tap into the spirit of American entrepreneurship to learn as much as possible. So far over 20,000 ideas have been sent to BP since the Gulf of Mexico incident from oil industry experts, small businesses, and everyday Americans.

The online form, entitled "Alternative Technology Response," collects detailed information about your idea, including the materials, equipment and resources required to put your idea into action. Your idea, once you fill out the form, will go to a team of 30 technical and operational BP personnel for evaluation

Submit your ideas here.

We encourage you to be part of the solution and submit any ideas you have to the Deepwater Horizon Response, and to share this message with others who might be able to help. For more information on the Deepwater Horizon Response suggestion form, visit this link.

Thank you,

Bill Valdez, Acting Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization

THE Business-to-Government Event of the year, "GSA Opening Doors 2010", will be held in Los Angeles, California on August 9th through August 11th 2010.  

The sixth annual conference will connect small businesses in all categories with multiple agencies at all levels of government for big opportunities in a recovering economy.

Through networking and buyer/seller matchmaking, workshops and exhibits, engaged participants will make lasting connections leading to more business and stronger partnerships in the pursuit of the billions of dollars of government contracts awarded.

For more information, click here: http://www.gsaopeningdoors.com/default.shtm

White House Interagency Task Force on Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses

June 10, 2010- The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (DOT/OSDBU) is pleased to announce that DOT has joined the Executive Committee of the White House Interagency Task Force on Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses.  OSDBU has been tapped to represent DOT.  The Task Force was created as a result of the President’s Memorandum dated April 26, 2010, and whose mission is to coordinate the efforts of Federal agencies to improve capital, business development opportunities, and pre-established Federal contracting goals for small business concerns.

This announcement is part of an ongoing effort to improve coordination between Federal agencies that provide contracting opportunities and technical assistance to small businesses.  President Obama and Secretary LaHood have made small businesses the cornerstone of the nation’s economic recovery, and DOT continues to take the lead in promoting the opportunities and necessary resources to get the job done. 

The initial meeting was held in the Roosevelt Room of the White House and was  Chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke; Administrator Karen Mills of the Small Business Administration; and Peter Orszak, Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

OSDBU Director Brandon Neal will co-chair, along with Ginger Lew of the White House National Economic Council, a working group entitled “Enabling Small Business Contracting through Training, Outreach, Bonding, Access to Capital.”  The working group will move forward to ensure that small businesses, including firms owned by women, minorities, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and service-disabled veterans, have fair access to Federal contracting.  The group will also take on challenges that include building small businesses capacity though better outreach and training. 

“This Task Force will allow small business issues to command the attention they deserve and reach the key decision makers in each agency.  We are very excited to be part of the Executive Committee as well as the working group responsible for making sure social and economically disadvantaged individuals receive their fair share of contracting dollars,” remarked Director Neal.

For the full content of the presidential memorandum, please visit: http://osdbu.dot.gov/documents/2010-10174.pdf

New York, NY, June 17, 2010 - Arcadia Aviation has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire certain of the assets and operations of Wayfarer Aviation subject to the execution of a definitive asset purchase agreement by both parties.

Ending speculation about the future of Wayfarer, on Friday, June 11, Arcadia Aviation provided bridge financing to Wayfarer to ensure the continuation of uninterrupted service in advance of the signing of the purchase agreement. Existing clients have been contacted and informed that Wayfarer’s industry leading operations team remains in place and that the new company seeks to preserve and enhance that operation through the combination of the two ARG/US Platinum and IS-BAO registered companies.

“We have closely followed the Wayfarer operation for years harkening back to its TAG Aviation roots,” said Robert Garrett, Jr., President of Arcadia Aviation. “Many of our employees have worked side by side with the Wayfarer team in previous jobs. We view the acquisition as an extraordinary opportunity both for our company to grow but more importantly to preserve one of the industry’s great companies that over the years has come to define the standard of operational excellence and a commitment to safety beyond all else.”

The combined company will be headquartered in New York City, with an operations center in Weymouth, MA, FBO operations outside of New York and Washington DC, and a sales force in New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles. Its fleet of light to ultra long-range aircraft and 24/7 operating platform provide its managed aircraft owners and charter clients with worldwide operational capabilities.