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Archive of Economy & Business on Tuesday December 13, 2005
States divide over greenhouse gasses
WASHINGTON - While the Bush administration resists binding international rules on climate change, about a dozen U.S. states are considering steps to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases. Read More
Chrysler will invest $1 billion at Fenton
Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG will transform its South assembly plant in Fenton into one of its most modern, flexible facilities, allowing workers to assemble as many as four different models there. And Missouri appears to have clinched the major investment with a modest $32 million in state incentives. Read More
Florida business lobbyists push for oil drilling off state's Gulf Coast
Florida's big business lobby added its voice Monday to the debate over oil and gas drilling off the state's coast, arguing energy costs are too high to leave resources untapped. Read More
No consensus on recycling electronic junk
California, Maine and Maryland are taking diverse paths to dealing with the digital-age toxic waste posed by mountains of junked electronic equipment. But there is debate about whether a state-by-state approach is the best solution. Read More
'Morning-after pill' splits states
While the Food and Drug Administration delays a decision on whether to allow the "morning-after pill" to be sold over the counter, officials in several states are mounting efforts to make the emergency contraceptive easier to get. Read More
Pa. leads push for new coal plants
The hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast this fall temporarily cut off critical pipelines of oil and natural gas, but they have given a boost to technologies that make greater use of coal. With energy prices spiking, the governors of coal-rich states such as Montana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming are promoting new projects that would help diversify U.S. energy sources and grow jobs in their states. Read More
State AGs fight teen smoking -- onscreen
More than 30 attorneys general are mounting a campaign to add anti-smoking ads to the beginning of films in which actors light up onscreen. The bid to fight teen smoking was prompted by a study that showed a marked increase in smoking among children who watch movie characters puffing away. Read More
Pesticide company levied highest fine in Alaska's history
A New York pesticide manufacturer has agreed to pay a record fine for distributing and selling unregistered pesticides in Alaska. Read More
Entry cost for Alaska fishing fleet high
PETERSBURG, Alaska - For what it's going to cost Justin Peeler to elbow his way into Southeast Alaska's fishing fleet, he could have gone to Harvard Medical School - twice. Read More
Siegelman, Scrushy face new charges
Federal prosecutors on Monday added a conspiracy count to their case against former Gov. Don Siegelman and ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, accusing the pair of trying to stack a state panel in HealthSouth's favor. Read More
Minimum wage needs to be raised group says
A coalition of churches and community and nonprofit organizations pushing to put an initiative to raise the state minimum wage on next year's general election ballot submitted a proposed ballot title to attorney general's office for review Monday. Read More
Groups back raise in wages
Representatives of labor unions, religious organizations, and community groups said Monday they have proposed a constitutional amendment which would raise the state?s minimum wage by $1 to $6.15 an hour. Read More
Work about to start on biotech center
Arizona's quest to become a biotech research powerhouse will take a big step forward next week when construction begins on a long-awaited biosciences building in downtown Phoenix. Read More
States seek ways to stretch water
PHOENIX - The seven states that rely on the Colorado River for drinking water are looking beyond traditional approaches as they try to further stretch a supply already stressed by population growth and an ongoing drought. In a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, representatives of the seven states -- Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and California -- outlined proposals for dealing with or averting shortages. Read More
Wasted Colo. River water at issue
No matter how many pipelines, pumps and dams Western states build along the Colorado River, billions of gallons of water will never make it to the farms and growing cities that need it. That water instead seeps into the ground through unlined canals and ditches, escapes downstream when users can't take it as planned or is sucked up by trees, bushes and other vegetation along the river's 1,450-mile course. Read More
Study- Wage gap grew in Bay Area
The gap between the haves and have-nots widened more quickly in the Bay Area than elsewhere in the state during the past quarter century, and especially during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, according to a report released today by the California Budget Project. Read More
Report- San Jose, Calif., tops list of cities with best savers
ST. LOUIS - When it comes to personal savings and investment, people in San Jose, Calif. top all other Americans for putting money away for safekeeping, according to a new ranking by the investment firm A.G. Edwards. Read More
Owens ally takes Xcel post
One of the governor's longtime allies resigned Monday to take a job with Xcel Energy. Mike Beasley served as Gov. Bill Owens' legislative lobbyist for five years before taking his current assignment as director of the Department of Local Affairs. Read More
Lesson on illegal immigration
Five percent of the American work force is in the country illegally, and that's why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants comprehensive immigration reform, legislators were told Monday. Having 7 million undocumented workers in a pool of 140 million doesn't provide the stability needed for economic growth, the chamber's immigration expert, Angelo Amador, told lawmakers from four states meeting in Colorado's Capitol. Read More
Lawmakers convene regional conference on immigration in Colorado
DENVER - Lawmakers from Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona convened a regional conference on immigration Monday, saying they need to find solutions to the problems they share. Read More
Immigrants focus of panel
State legislators from several Southwestern states gathered Monday in Denver to learn more about immigration and to strategize on how to deal with undocumented immigrants. The bipartisan panel of legislators from Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and Utah say immigration - particularly the flow of undocumented workers - has become one of the public's top concerns, and the group hopes to influence federal solutions. Read More
Audit shows land panel's mistakes
The state Board of Land Commissioners is using outdated information and fails to do required studies when selling, swapping and leasing public lands, according to a state audit released Monday. Read More
A hearty, if frugal, farewell
BYOB -- Bring Your Own Bagel. That's what friends and colleagues are being told when they honor Ed Dombroskas, the state's top tourism official, upon his retirement this month. Read More
City school wins CBIA award for effective teaching
The Connecticut Business and Industry Association is so serious about seeing education improve in this state that its giving out cash awards to schools with the most effective teaching strategies. Read More
DNREC reconsidering home-septic rules
State officials have agreed to reconsider a cap on the size of new developments that rely entirely on private septic systems, potentially reigniting a battle over home septics, suburban sprawl and water pollution. Read More
Scripps proposes split campus
In a last-minute about-face, officials from The Scripps Research Institute on Monday suggested county commissioners endorse a split campus proposal that would allow its Florida headquarters to rise on two competing sites ? about 12 miles apart. Read More
Mobile home owners rally
VENICE, Fla. - With Florida's real estate boom gobbling up mobile home parks across the state, 500 angry and fearful mobile home owners rallied here Monday to find ways to protect their homes. Read More
Knapp's land deal offer stirs interest
An offer by businessman Bill Knapp to release the state from a controversial Ankeny land deal has caught the interest of several Iowa lawmakers ? although legislative leaders say they don't expect the state to change course. Read More
Great Lakes overhaul plan approved
Although he pledged no funding for a new Great Lakes restoration plan, President Bush's environment chief and regional leaders -- one of them, Mayor Daley, insisting "This is not a publicity stunt" -- signed off on the $20 billion blueprint Monday in celebratory fashion. Read More
IL Supreme Court to rule on Philip Morris case Thursday
The Illinois Supreme Court expects to rule on Thursday on a $10.1 billion verdict against Philip Morris USA in a case in which the largest U.S. cigarette maker was found to have fooled smokers into thinking "light" cigarettes were healthier than regular smokes. Read More
States OK stopper for the Great Lakes
The governors of the Great Lakes states and Ontario officials have agreed to all but ban pumping water out of the Great Lakes basin, home to a fifth of the world's fresh water, a resource expected to grow more precious in coming decades. Read More
Oberweis blasts governor's new plan as a way to help illegal immigrants
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis, who was widely criticized for his tough stand on illegal immigration when he ran for the U.S. Senate last year, suggested Monday he was ahead of the curve on the issue and voters now might agree with him. Read More
Blagojevich seeks plan to widen kids insurance
WASHINGTON -- Less than a month after signing a state law offering low-cost medical coverage for most uninsured children in Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich flew to Washington on Monday to press for broader health insurance coverage for children around the nation. Read More
Bradley exec quits state post
Gov. Mitch Daniels lost his first Cabinet member Monday when he announced that Fort Wayne businesswoman Pat Miller has resigned her post as Indiana's first secretary of commerce. Read More
State's rural population continues to shrink
Say good-bye to small-town Kansas. It?s fading. Three-fourths of the state's 105 counties -- all of them rural -- lost population between 2000 and 2004. Read More
Entergy chief's remarks irk PSC
The state's utility regulators said Monday they were not consulted before Entergy Corp.'s top executive told Wall Street that they support increasing electric bills for Louisiana consumers. Read More
Baker hopes to push recovery bill through
U.S. Rep. Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, said Monday that he expects the vast majority of property owners who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina to take advantage of legislation he is sponsoring to create a federal corporation to buy and refurbish storm-damaged homes. Read More
Energy bills soaring
Consumers across the Bay State are getting blasted by holiday sticker shock as they rip open their latest electric and natural-gas bills to find record-high energy costs. Read More
State's highest court to hear Sojourner Douglass dispute
The state's highest court has agreed to settle the question of whether Sojourner Douglass College illegally built its Edgewater campus. Read More
Meth law restricts cold pill sales
CHARLOTTE, Mich. - Cold medicine joins the ranks of alcohol and cigarettes on Thursday. You can be carded for it. Read More
Officials agree on plan to save Great Lakes
WASHINGTON -- Western states would have to look somewhere other than the Great Lakes to satisfy their thirst, under to a regional pact unveiled today that prohibits out-of-basin diversions. Read More
$20B in doubt for Great Lakes fix
WASHINGTON-- A presidential task force Monday released a historic $20 billion, 15-year blueprint to restore the ailing Great Lakes -- but without promises from the White House or Congress to fund it. Read More
DaimlerChrysler to invest $1 billion in St. Louis plants
FENTON, Mo. - DaimlerChrysler AG said Monday it will invest up to $1 billion in its suburban St. Louis auto plants ... The announcement comes after Gov. Matt Blunt's office finalized an incentive package with the company's Chrysler division to secure the new investment. Read More
Suburban runoff damages streams
ST. LOUIS - The stormwater that runs off of all the driveways, streets and parking lots in new suburbs is killing off neighborhood streams and the things that live in them, several biologists say. For example, Kevin Meneau, a biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, said two of the 17 streams he's studied in St. Louis and Jefferson counties had more than 40 species in them. Read More
Nixon's handling of sewage concern draws criticism
ST. LOUIS - A federal agency has ordered a utility company with ties to Attorney General Jay Nixon's father to remove sewage from a creek. Read More
House Democrats outline economic plan
House Democrats proposed Monday to strengthen the preference given to Missouri companies bidding on state contracts as one way to help boost the state's economy. Read More
State sues to block fighter unit's closure
Missouri is suing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a bid to block the closure of the Missouri Air National Guard F-15 fighter unit at Lambert Field. Read More
State wins case on workers' comp cutoff
The state won a key workers' compensation ruling Monday, as a judge said insurers don't have to pay lifetime benefits to injured workers who are permanently disabled on the job. Read More
Montana beef back in Japan
Montana beef will soon find its way onto Japanese dinner plates after a two-year absence, but the fight to keep a foothold in international markets continues. Ranchers on Monday praised the decision to resume some beef shipments from the United States to Japan. Read More
Panel proposes workers' compensation overhaul
It's time to ditch some facets of the state workers' compensation system and overhaul others, according to a report released Monday by a panel Gov. Mark Sanford appointed to address soaring workers' comp rates. Read More
Nebraskans welcome return of beef trade
After nearly two years of Nebraska beef being banned in Japan, state ag organizations and officials welcomed Monday's news that Japan has partially reopened its market to U.S. beef exports. Read More
Lifting of ban to have minimal impact
Now that Japan has partially reopened its markets to U.S. beef, Darrell Mark, beef marketing specialist for the University of Nebraska, said it will take a while before cattle markets will feel the full impact of the decision. Read More
Tax receipts report for November positive
The good economic news for Nebraska continued in November, with a report issued Monday showing that state taxes collected that month exceeded predictions. Read More
Agency warns seniors about 'senior specialists'
CONCORD, N.H. - The state is warning New Hampshire's older residents to be wary of individuals who claim to be "senior specialists" in advising seniors on investments. Read More
Bid to limit chemical rules fails
Congressional negotiators have killed a proposal that could have blocked New Jersey from imposing new security rules on chemical plants. Read More
Assembly OKs birth control mandate
Birth control for women would be covered under most health insurance plans under a bill approved yesterday by the Assembly, a vote that clears the bill for the governor's signature. Read More
Gift card protections pass the Assembly
The Assembly yesterday unanimously approved legislation that would provide protections for people holding gift cards, including a provision that would prohibit the expiration or reduction in value until two years after purchase. Read More
Sierra Pacific given OK to build new power plant
Sierra Pacific Power Co. has received permission from the Nevada Public Utilities Commission to build a 514-megawatt power plant at its Tracy Generating Station 17 miles east of Reno. Read More
Attorney will give ethical opinion on V&T commissioner's business plan
The attorney for the Virginia & Truckee Railway commission will issue an opinion on whether it's ethical for a commissioner to operate a private luxury rail car business while acting on the state board entrusted with reconstructing the tourist line. Read More
Walters land deal - Outside firm to investigate
A $265,000 contract for an outside legal firm to look into Las Vegas and its dealings with the Royal Links Golf Club was approved Monday by the Board of Examiners, which includes Gov. Kenny Guinn. Read More
Pollution trading plan targets carbon dioxide
Governors in at least eight states this week are poised to approve a regional greenhouse gas emissions trading plan, a sort of market for pollution that aims to reduce the release of carbon dioxide by power plants. Read More
Great Lakes group wants $300M soon
CHICAGO - A partnership of government agencies and private groups yesterday announced a request for $300 million next fiscal year from Washington to start cleaning up the Great Lakes, the source of drinking water for 30 million people. Read More
Budget-limit group leads in donations
The group formed to place state government spending restrictions before Oklahoma voters is outraising an opposition group by a more than 125-to-1 pace, new Ethics Commission reports show. Read More
Oregon adds 3,600 jobs in November
Oregon continued to add jobs in November, a month in which the state typically loses 4,000 positions. Read More
Economist says state economy expanding
PORTLAND, Ore. - After recovering the 64,000 jobs lost during the recession, the Oregon economy has become the sixth-fastest growing state economy in the nation as a steady yearlong expansion continued in November with the latest unemployment numbers still falling. Read More
State panel agrees to hike minimum wage
The state House Labor Relations Committee voted yesterday to increase the state's minimum wage to $5.70 an hour as of Jan. 1, and then to $6.25 an hour on Jan. 1, 2007. The minimum wage has been $5.15 an hour since 1996. Read More
EPA says state has leeway on emissions
A top U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator said Pennsylvania is unlikely to be penalized if new cars sold here do not meet California's toughest-in-the-nation emissions standards. Read More
S.D. lawmakers seek balance in lending
It's a question with no clear answer. In a free-market society, if a person is willing to pay $7.50 a week for a $100 loan, should he or she be allowed to? Read More
Holidays stretched for state workers
Extra holidays weren't on the mind of Denise Schrock a year ago when she left the merchandising industry for a clerk position at Old Stone Fort State Historic Park in Manchester. Read More
Wind farm proposal stirs storm in Kenedy
SARITA, Texas - What could be the first large wind energy project to be built on the Texas Gulf Coast ran into some local squalls in Kenedy County at a three-hour public hearing Monday. Read More
Business group issues good grades to lawmakers
The Texas Legislature improved its pro-business voting record during the past year, the state's largest business association announced Monday in scoring individual lawmakers for their votes. Read More
Background checks split matchmaking sites
A debate among online dating companies over whether their websites should be required to say whether they do criminal background checks on clients has spilled over into state legislatures, a reflection of the websites' rising competitiveness. Read More
Inquiry clears decision to give SOL contract to higher bidder
The Virginia Department of Education followed all the rules in choosing a more expensive company to provide the state's standardized tests, a legislative commission reported on Monday. Read More
Plan would let Medicaid money spill into savings
Indigent and elderly Virginians could use Medicaid funds to create private health savings accounts under a proposal House Republican leaders made Monday. Read More
New Bank Saves Wetlands Instead of Cash
Wetlands present environmental headaches for real estate developers across the Pacific Northwest. A new ?wetland bank? program in Washington State will lower regulatory hurdles. Read More
Switch creates state?s biggest union
Thousands of secretaries, bus drivers and other school workers have joined the Service Employees International Union, creating the state's largest labor union, officials said Monday. Read More
Asbestos overseer received good pay, OT
The West Virginia Division of General Services employee responsible for asbestos removal raked in more than $47,000 in overtime in the last two years, according to the state Auditor's office. Read More |
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