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GrowGeneration Purchases All the Assets of Central Coast Garden and Farm Supply

GrowGeneration Corp. (OTCQX: GRWG), GrowGeneration (“GrowGen” or the “Company”), one of the largest specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores, currently with 18 locations serving both commercial and home growers, today announced that it has purchased all of the assets of Central Coast Garden and Farm Supply (CCG) located in Salinas, CA. CCG generated approximately $1.7 Million in revenue in 2017 and will serve as a retail and warehouse location servicing the growing number of commercial cultivators in the Central Coast California market. Central Coast Garden and Farm Supply adds the 5th store to the GrowGen portfolio of stores in California.
GrowGeneration Focused On Aggressive California Expansion
The Central Coast of California, from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara, has 1,065 cultivation licenses compared to 1,159 in the Emerald Triangle, which is made up of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties and is about the same size as the Central Coast.
The two regions account for more than two-thirds of all the cultivation licenses in the state, with Los Angeles, Sacramento and other urban counties taking up most of the other licenses for indoor growers.
Hezekiah Allen, a former Humboldt County cannabis farmer who heads the California Growers Association industry group, says Monterey County is attracting growers of “commercial grade marijuana” in a business model akin to major breweries of beer. Under Monterey County rules, marijuana cultivators only can grow in greenhouses in certain areas by converting existing structures or building new ones where old ones used to stand. They can’t plant outdoor farms or otherwise upset the county’s signature $5 billion agriculture economy for leaf lettuce, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, artichokes and wine grapes.
GrowGen continues the execution of its acquisition plans to acquire the leading hydroponic stores, throughout the United States. California continues to present significant growth opportunities for GrowGen, particularly with the adult-use laws going into effect on Jan. 1, 2018. According to New Frontier Data, the California market projects to grow at a compounded annual rate of 18.5%, from $2.76 billion in 2015 to $6.5 billion by 2020.
GrowGen CEO Comments
Commenting on GrowGen’s purchase of Central Coast Garden and Farm Supply, Darren Lampert, Co-Founder and CEO, said, “Central Coast Garden and Farm Supply strongly positions GrowGen in the Central Coast region of CA., which is abundant with cultivators. Increasing our warehouse and retail showroom space, will allow us to stock at inventory levels and sizes to attract the large commercial growers. With over 1,000 cultivation licenses already issued, GrowGen is well positioned to service the Central Coast region. California is a major marketplace that the Company is developing and plans to add several locations in the coming months.” “Further, the company reiterates its revenue forecast for 2018 to $37M. We have a strong acquisition pipeline in development for 2018.”
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Bitcoin, ether hit fresh highs

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Bitcoin hit a fresh high in Asian trading on Saturday, extending a two-month rally that saw its market capitalisation cross $1 trillion a day earlier.
The world’s most popular cryptocurrency rose to an record $56,620, taking its weekly gain to 18%. It has surged more than 92% this year.
Bitcoin’s gains have been fuelled by evidence it is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies, such as Tesla Inc, Mastercard Inc and BNY Mellon.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and daily volume, hit a record $2,040.62, for a weekly gain of about 12%.
Ether is the digital currency or token that facilitates transactions on the ethereum blockchain. In the crypto world, the terms ether and ethereum have become interchangeable.
Ether futures contracts launched on derivatives exchange CME earlier this month.
(Reporting by Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by William Mallard)
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World Bank pushing for standard vaccine contracts, more disclosure from makers

By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The World Bank is working to standardize COVID-19 vaccine contracts that countries are signing with drug makers, and is pushing manufacturers to be more open about where doses are headed, as it races to get more vaccines to poor countries, the bank’s president said on Friday.
World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters he expected the bank’s board to have approved $1.6 billion in vaccine funding for 12 countries, including the Philippines, Bangladesh, Tunisia and Ethiopia, by the end of March, with 30 more to follow shortly thereafter.
The bank is working with local governments to identify and fill gaps in distribution capacity, after they purchase vaccines under a $12 billion World Bank program, and also to standardize the contracts they are signing with manufacturers, he said.
The bank’s International Finance Corp, its private financing arm, has $4 billion to invest in expanding existing production plants or building new ones, including in developed countries, but needs more data on where current production is headed, he said.
“We are eager to be investing in new capacity, but it’s hard to do because you don’t know how much of the existing capacity is already committed to the various off-takers,” Malpass said in an interview with Reuters. New or expanded plants could be used to produce other types of vaccinations in the future, he said.
The bank’s funds could be used to expand plants in advanced economies, if the production was earmarked for developing nations, he said.
Malpass welcomed Friday’s pledge by the Group of Seven rich countries to intensify cooperation on the pandemic, saying it could help jump-start deliveries of vaccines to poorer countries, which are lagging far behind rich countries in getting shots in arms.
Data compiled by Our World In Data, a scientific online publication, showed Israel was leading the world in COVID-19 vaccinations, with nearly 82 of 100 people vaccinated, while India and Bangladesh reported less than one person per 100, Many African countries have not started at all.
Malpass said he was heartened by news about new vaccines coming down the road, and about Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE seeking permission to store their vaccine at higher temperatures, which would ease another obstacle to deliveries in lower-income countries.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Heather Timmons and Leslie Adler)
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Google to evaluate executive performance on diversity, inclusion

By Paresh Dave
(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google will evaluate the performance of its vice presidents and above on team diversity and inclusion starting this year, the company said on Friday in one of several responses to concerns about its treatment of a Black scientist.
Timnit Gebru, co-leader of Google’s ethical artificial intelligence research team, said in December that Google abruptly fired her after she criticized its diversity efforts and threatened to resign.
Alphabet and Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai ordered a review of the situation. While Google declined to share specific findings, the company announced on Friday it will engage human resources specialists during sensitive employee departures.
Pichai in June said that by 2025, Google aims to have 30% more of its leaders come from underrepresented groups, with a focus on Black, Latinx and Native American leaders in the United States and female technical leaders globally. About 96% of Google’s U.S. leaders at the time were white or Asian, and 73% globally were men.
As a result of the investigation, the company also expanded a commitment announced in June to devote more resources to retaining and promoting existing employees, including by expanding a team addressing disputes among workers and their managers.
The diversity component of executive performance reviews was not previously announced, and the company did not immediately share details about what would be measured and how pay would be affected.
Alphabet for years had rejected proposals from shareholders and employees to set diversity goals and tie executive pay to them.
Irene Knapp, a former Google employee who advocated for one such proposal at a 2018 shareholder meeting, said on Friday, “I am pleased that they met our demand from 2018, which was a bare minimum that should have been easy to do immediately.”
Evaluating managers on diversity goals is becoming more commonplace. McDonald’s Corp on Thursday tied executive bonuses to diversity.
(Reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)