Pikes Peak Workforce Center April workshops

The Pikes Peak Workforce Center offes free workshops and networking opportunities. All are held at 2306 E. Pikes Peak Ave. Registration is requested at www.ppwfc.org (job seeker icon, then workshops).

Job Shop: Guided Job Search, Tuesday, April 3 or April 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., full-day program of job search guidance, resume development, job application process, interviewing and negotiating.

Resume 'Righting' -- Drop-in resume workshop, Thursdays, April 5, 12, 19 or 26, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Self Employment: The Driver's Seat, Tuesday, April 10 or April 24, 10 to 11 a.m., explore resources on starting a business, including legal issues and other facets of entrepreneurialism

Networking Groups, job trends, shared leads, job search support
Executive Group, Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to nooon
Professional Group, Wendesdays, 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Over 55 Job Seekers, Tuesdays, 10 a.m.
Veterans, first, second and fourth Wednesdays, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Can you hear me -- a little faster now

Verizon Wireless said this week it expanded its next generation of its wireless high-speed Internet network along the Front Range as well ski resorts and other cities along Interstate 70 in western Colorado.
The newest generation boosts upload speeds by nine times to between 500 and 800 kilobits per second and download speeds by double to between 600 kilobits and 1.4 megabits per second, said Bob Kelley, a Verizon Wireless spokesman in Denver.

Verizon launched its wireless high-speed Internet network last November in Colorado Springs.
The bad news: existing users will have to pay between $149.99 and $179.99 (after a $50 rebate) for a new wireless card. The service costs $59.99 a month for customers who also have Verizon Wireless cell phone service and $79.99 for stand-alone service.

For more information, go to http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/index.html.

Meet Tony Mand, local franchisee

Looking for tips on how to become a franchise owner? Tony Mand, owner of a dozen Domino’s pizza stores in southern Colorado, will be at the grand reopening of the Domino’s at 6870 Galley Road, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. If that’s not enough incentive to drop by, Giggles the clown will be there making balloon animals from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Managing small projects seminar

A fast-paced, one-day seminar about managing small projects will be held Wednesday, April 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Comfort Suites and Inn, 1055 Kelley Johnson Blvd. The cost is $195.

Dan Price, a Manitou Springs author of "Takeoff -- An Introduction to Project Management," will discuss the differences in managing small versus large projects. Attendees will receive a copy of Price's book.

Price is a Project Management Institute certified project manager and has been an adjunct professor of management at Colorado Technical University.

Registration deadline is April 6. See www.winning-ways.com or call 685-2474.

Tips for small businesses

There’s a new Internet tool available to local small-business owners, courtesy of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Postal Service. The two have teamed up for Delivering Success, which offers online video interviews with successful entrepreneurs. The videos, at www.sba.gov/deliveringsuccess, are intended to provide information on the ingredients of small business success, including an overview of business basics, friendly financing, business promotion and planning and research.

More free coffee

Hey, wait a minute, says Darin Clark, owner of the Pikes Perk

at 1616 S. 8th St. Why does Starbucks get an article about its free coffee giveaway for a paltry two hours on March 15 (Business section, March 14)

For the past year since he bought the business, Clark has been giving away free coffee EVERY DAY. That's right. Stop by Pikes Perk if you want a complimentary cup of brewed coffee between 5:30 and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 3:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 to 2 p.m. Sunday.

And, customers can choose a 12-, 16- or 20-ounce cup.

The reason for his generosity is simple, Clark says. "It's the half hour before I close, and it's either give it away or throw it away."

Ent celebrates anniversary with CD bonus

Ent Federal Credit Union, southern Colorado's largest financial institution, is celebrating its 50th anniversary by paying 50 basis points (0.50 percent) more on any certificate of deposit opened by April 19.
Rates for certificates with a $500 minimum deposit vary from 5.6 percent to 5.8 percent with the anniversary bonus included. Go to http://www.ent.com/services/certificates.asp for more information.

Planning underway for HBA's Parade of Homes

The 2007 Parade of Homes isn't scheduled until Aug. 17-Sept. 2, but the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs is gearing up for the event now. An information session for builders and developers who might want to participate will take place at 3 p.m. March 27 at the Silverwood Hotel and Conference Center, 505 Popes Bluff Trail, northwest of Interstate 25 and Garden of the Gods Road in northwest Colorado Springs. The HBA has a Parade of Homes site planned for the Black Forest Reserve, in unincorporated Black Forest north of the Springs, with at least three builders and five custom homes; another 15 builders are considering individual Parade of Home sites. To attend the March 27 meeting, RSVP to the HBA's Trish Sorvald at 592-1800, extension 16, or trish@cshba.com. For more information about the 2007 Parade of Homes, contact Jim Stiltner at MasterBilt Homes at 481-1129 or jimstiltner@msn.com.