Heard on the Street

GET ON IT. If you do nothing else this week, do this: Go out and get an Internet-ready computer, sign up with a service provider, plug it in and turn the thing on. (If you're already computerized and connected to the Internet, this directive will be considerably easier.) Point your Web browser to

thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/gis.htm

and marvel at the wonders of the Information Age. On this site you will find an enhancement to the Geographic Information System map server written about in these pages previously. Now, in addition to the topographic maps of Greene County previously available, property information is now online as well. Data on real estate in the county may be searched by the owner's name, street address and parcel identification number. Zooming in on maps and locating a piece of property by identifying a nearby intersection is also possible. Once you choose a parcel, information included in the database is its parcel number, property address, the owner's name and address, the date the property was acquired, a description of the property, its school and fire district. Another feature is the ability to view or download a list of property owners and their addresses within a specified radius of a given spot. The data is current as of April 29 and will be updated periodically. All this information has been available in county records. Searching on the Web, however, makes it accessible 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world. If the limit of your Internet use has heretofore been checking the Cardinals score or participating in a Grateful Dead chat room, here you have the quintessential example of what all the digital hullabaloo is about.

M-O-N-E-Y. The Springfield Business and Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, will hold a Venture Capital Forum at 7:30 a.m. June 18. Three area businesses seeking investment capital will make presentations to potential investors at a breakfast at the chamber's office, 202 S. John Q. Hammons Pkwy. A release from the chamber said it is seeking investors to hear the presentations. More information is available from Greg Williams at the chamber, 862-5567.

VOTE. Missouri voters will have a presidential primary March 7, 2000, as a result of legislation passed during the General Assembly's just-concluded session. The state held a primary back in 1988 (the only time Missouri's electorate at least those taking a Democrat ballot has had a chance to cast a vote for Jesse Jackson), but reverted to its traditional party caucuses thereafter. The March date is a month earlier than first proposed and will probably heat up the attention paid to the Show-Me State. Missouri is certain to have plenty of candidate fly-ins in 2000. The state is among 10 swing states that haven't gone decidedly Republican or Democrat in the last three presidential elections.

HEAR ME ROHR. Former SBJ columnist Ellen Rohr has published her latest book, "How Much Should I Charge? Pricing Basics for Making Money Doing What You Love." The book is the second in a series that began with "Where Did the Money Go?" In addition to consulting and writing, Rohr and her husband have a home-based contracting business. "Once I put the pencil to paper and started adding up our costs of doing business, I learned that we were charging less than half of what it was costing us to create our services. Sheeesh," Rohr said in a release. The 112-page book addresses the techniques to do the same. The book is available at

www.maxrohr.com or

www.barnesandnoble.com

on the World Wide Web.

AMY NICOLE. The Springfield Business Journal is pleased to announce the birth of Amy Nicole Snow, daughter of SBJ Account Executive Sharon Snow and Mark Snow. Amy was born at 2 a.m. June 2, weighing in at 6 pounds, 14 ounces and 20 inches tall. Mother, daughter, father and sister Haley are all doing fine.

SLICE OF NICE. The Branson-Hollister Rotary Club will sponsor Flavor of the Ozarks, a program to raise money for the Lives Under Construction Boys Ranch, operated by Ken Ortman, his wife and a small staff. The event will be at 6 p.m. June 15 at the Radisson Hotel in Branson. Tickets are $25 and ticket holders receive dinner, which includes specialty foods from local restaurants and wines and non-alcoholic drinks from Stone Hill Winery. The event also includes a silent auction. Lives Under Construction Boys Ranch's goal is to help teenage boys who need guidance. Tickets are available at Stone Hill Winery, Ozark Mountain Bank in downtown Branson or by calling Sandy Bruns at 336-6310.

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