Michael Grebe and the Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee believe America has a serious national identity crisis and U.S. businesses have a moral and civic obligation to be part of the solution. The foundation's new report, "E Pluribus Unum: The Bradley Project on America's National Identity," is stirring a national dialogue. Grebe and the report also are the focus of the cover story of this week's Small Business Times. Other highlights of this week's issue include the Manufacturing Spotlight, a special report on Executive Life and a special supplement on Technology.

SBT China correspondent Einar Tangen reports this week that China's pollution problems could provide opportunities for American companies. "In Europe, the United States and Japan we polluted our way to prosperity and dealt with the environmental consequences after our economies matured. China is trying to follow the same model, but the ecological consequences are catching up with them while their economy is still immature. For the right companies this represents a massive opportunity to do the right thing and make money doing it. The technology we developed to rein in water and air pollution and control our energy consumption is a valuable commodity in China," Tangen writes. Read more in the latest edition of Tangen's Dispatches From China.

The fiscal third quarter over the summer historically is the strongest quarter of the year for Racine-based Johnson Outdoors Inc., but the global outdoor recreation company is not celebrating the quarter this year.
The company announced today that its quarterly net income fell to $7.8 million, or 87 cents per share, from $8.3 million, or 93 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. The firm's net sales for the quarter dropped to $141.2 million from $149.9 million a year earlier.
The company attributed the weaker results to the effects of a soft domestic boat market on the its marine electronic brands.
"Growing economic uncertainty in the U.S. hit a peak just as the warm-weather season for our businesses was getting underway, and it has now impacted distribution channels in every business this quarter, with retailers being cautious and keeping their inventories to a minimum. As a result, we have ramped down production, restructured operations and moved aggressively on all identified cost-reduction initiatives. On the positive side, despite a soft summer retail market, retail reports indicate that, in general, our brands are outperforming the competition as meaningful new-product innovation accounted for more than a third of year-to-date revenues," said Helen Johnson-Leipold, chairman and chief executive officer. "Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in growth and innovation to help ensure we maintain our market-leadership positions when the economy rebounds. At the same time, we are moving forward on supply chain optimization initiatives in every business to drive improved efficiency across operations. Our strong commitment to the future for Johnson Outdoors and to enhanced shareholder value remains constant and unchanged regardless of the economic climate."

The soaring demands for raw materials to meet growing economies such as China and India continue to fuel growth for Bucyrus International Inc., which reported second quarter net earnings of $62.3 million, or 83 cents per share, up from $27.8 million, or 40 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The South Milwaukee-based mining equipment manufacturer's quarterly sales grew to $621.0 million from $374.8 million a year earlier.
The skyrocketing commodity markets are fueling demand for mining equipment, but some Wall Street analysts expressed concerns today that the trend also is artificially inflating Bucyrus International's stock price. The company's stock gained $6.76 to trade at $66.03 per share this morning on the news of another strong quarter.
"Bucyrus International has the look of a stock that has been pumped up by the commodities bubble and that has no long-term means of support. While it's easy to make a buying case for the stock, it's harder - but more important - to recognize why the company is the 'Stupid Investment of the Week,'" wrote Chuck Jaffe is a senior MarketWatch.com columnist whose work appears in dozens of U.S. newspapers.

Racine-based Campus Creations, an internet-based company, announced the official launch of a web site, www.oncampuscreations.com, which offers a user-friendly way for art enthusiasts, collectors, alumni and designers to discover and purchase original works of art online.
Through On Campus Creations, student artists from more than 100 colleges and universities exhibit and sell their creative works online. On Campus Creations donates more than 27 percent of its commission to the artist's school, in support of its art program.
Joe Wiesner, founder and president of the company, said, "Creation of this 'e-gallery' gives the student artist an emerging market to sell their original works of art. By linking the students with their schools, alumni tend to search artwork from their alma mater knowing with each purchase the school will also benefit. There are amazingly talented student-artists who now have a defined market for selling their art. On Campus Creations provides a free forum for student artists to exhibit and sell their artwork, on their own terms."
Art buyers can search On Campus Creations' artwork by school, genre, artist, medium, price, size and new arrivals. Art pieces range from less than $100 to more than $2,000.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle appointed Susan Crane to chair the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board.
A current member of the board, Crane's reappointment is effective immediately and will expire May 1, 2013.
Crane is the business center manager at We Energies. Her career has included experience in the agriculture, business and health care industries.
"She has done a tremendous job in her work with the board, and I am thankful for her leadership in helping the park to grow and thrive. I look forward to continuing to work with her," Crane said.
"The Wisconsin State Fair has always been a part of my life, and I am truly honored and humbled by the Governor's appointment as chair of the board," Crane said. "I will continue to dedicate myself to working with our board and staff to showcase Wisconsin agriculture, maintain financial stability, and continue the tradition of affordability that has allowed both urban and rural fairgoers to build memories while having a great day at the Fair."
The State Fair Park Board manages and supervises the use of the State Fair Park in West Allis. The board consists of members of the legislature; representatives from general business, agriculture and technology; and a resident of West Allis.
The 2008 State Fair will open on Thursday, July 31.

Phase 2 of the redevelopment project at Hilldale Shopping Center in Madison is about ready to begin. Developer Joseph Freed & Associates said construction of a Whole Foods grocery store, 65,000 square feet of retail space and a 675-stall parking structure will begin in August. Construction of the 125-room Hotel Indigo is scheduled to begin in late September. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

The annual Pabst Farms Golf Outing was held recently at Chenequa Country Club in Hartland. View a photographic slideshow of the event in the latest edition of SBT Around Town. Companies and organizations can have their outings, galas, receptions and other celebrations featured in SBT Around Town. For more information, send an e-mail to steve.jagler@biztimes.com.

Another glorious Wisconsin summer weekend is upon us, with Milwaukee Brewers' tickets in scarce supply, with The Police and Elvis Costello presenting a pricey show at the Marcus Amphitheater and with German Fest and Gallery Night in full stride. Read more in the OnMilwaukee.com Weekend Preview. OnMilwaukee.com is a media partner of Small Business Times.

The BizTimes Stock Index lost 3.45 points to close at 137.79 Thursday, but local stocks bounced back with a strong rally this morning. The largest local gainers this morning were Bucyrus International Inc. (up $6.76 to $66.03 per share), Joy Global Inc. (up $3.05 to $69.49) and Twin Disc Inc. (up $1.17 to $22.12). The largest local decliners this morning were Snap-on Inc. (down 76 cents to $56.00) and Wisconsin Energy Corp. (down 45 cents to $43.25). The BizTimes Stock Index was created by Small Business Times and is monitored by North Shore Bank. The index, which measures the stock values of publicly held companies based in southeastern Wisconsin, is updated daily and can be viewed at www.biztimes.com.

Public officials in Wisconsin are making all the wrong moves and are lining up behind policies that will only add to growing economic miseries, according to Dennis Ellmaurer, author of today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.

As a public service, BizTimes Daily is warning readers not to open any e-mails with the subject line of "UPS Packet," because such e-mails are bogus and include attachments that are infected with a computer virus.

The e-mail with the viral attachment has been circulating this week and is causing many computers in the Milwaukee area to crash, according to Ariel Donahue, remote team leader for Stamm Business Technologies in Milwaukee.

"We have had at least 10 computers come in from our clients just this week," Donahue said. "For a single virus, that is pretty high, so it has spread pretty fast, and a lot of people have been hit by this."

The e-mail leads the recipient to believe that a United Parcel Service package could not be delivered because of an incorrect address.

According to Donahue, once opened, the attachment unleashes a virus that opens a "door" on the computer and proceeds to download other viruses.

"The virus really just makes your computer more vulnerable to infection from other viruses," Donahue said. "The good news is that it is pretty easy to remove once the computer comes in to the shop, but it can't be removed with a simple scan."

Anybody who receives such an e-mail should delete it immediately and then empty the computer's trash bin.

UPS has issued a warning about the computer virus. The warning states:

Attention: Virus Warning
Service Update 
We have become aware there is a fraudulent e-mail being sent that says it is coming from UPS and leads the reader to believe that a UPS shipment could not be delivered. The reader is advised to open an attachment reportedly containing a waybill for the shipment to be picked up.
This e-mail attachment contains a virus. We recommend that you do not open the attachment, but delete the e-mail immediately.
UPS may send official notification messages on occasion, but they rarely include attachments. If you receive a notification message that includes an attachment and are in doubt about its authenticity, please contact customerservice@ups.com.
Please note that UPS takes its customer relationships very seriously, but cannot take responsibility for the unauthorized actions of third parties.
Thank you for your attention.