Gazprom OAO chief executive Alexei Miller will become the company's acting chairman, replacing Dmitry Medvedev who was inaugurated as the country's president on Wednesday, the company said.
The announcement came several hours after Medevedev was sworn in to replace Vladimir Putin.
…
Former Chicago police Officer Joe Sparks wants to take a crack ataccused enemy combatant Jose Padilla.
Sparks arrested Padilla in 1985 after the teenage Maniac LatinDisciples gang member was caught with accomplice Andre Boulrece in arobbery and killing in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Padilla knocked out Miguel Galvino with a baseball bat andBoulrece stole $107 in cash, a Seiko watch and Mexican pesos fromhim.
Galvino's cousin Elio Evangelista chased the attackers andBoulrece stabbed him in the chest with a 5-inch knife, "slicing himright open," Sparks said.
Then Padilla kicked the dying 23-year-old in the head for fun,police records show. Sparks and …
Editor's Note: An article discussing the Army Science Board's contributions to transforming the force appeared in the March-April 2000 issue of Army AL&T.
Introduction
Why does the Army have an Army Science Board (ASB)? What are the ASB's functions? Who are its members? Who do members report to? What contributions have members made to the Army? These may be some of the questions from those unfamiliar with the ASB.
The ASB is one of the Army's most esteemed organizations composed of individuals who continually make significant contributions to the Army. ASB members and consultants are the epitome of one of the Army's core values-selfless service to the Nation. …
Three police officers are dead after a suicide bomber attacked a police chief's convoy in northwestern Pakistan.
Police Chief Akhtar Ali Shah says his convoy was attacked Friday …
The bill passed 42-2 with eight voting present. It now goes to the House. Sen. John Millner (R-Carol Stream), the bill's chief Senate sponsor, said the proposal could have helped mothers such as Dora Larsen, who runs the Illinois group Support for Homicide Survivors. Her daughter Victoria Larsen was murdered in 1979.
"One of our victim family members, Dora Larsen, had her 9-year-old daughter brutally sexually abused …
Two Chicago Democrats are accused in a libel suit of producing abrochure for Republican Cook County Commissioner Carl Hansen thatfalsely called a political challenger a "slumlord," "tax cheat" and"flesh peddler."
The brochure attacking plaintiff Mike Olszewski was drawn up byVictor Santana, a Chicago Democrat who works for the County Tax Boardof Review and is married to the secretary of Hansen, a Mount ProspectRepublican.
Also involved was Gloria Chevere, a Chicago attorney and a hearingofficer for Secretary of State Jesse White. For their work, the twoasked that Hansen's friends donate $2,000 to a political action fundthat aids Democratic Puerto Rican candidates in …
German prosecutors say they have charged a 36-year-old Turkish man with membership in a banned Turkish leftist group that seeks armed struggle against the government in Ankara.
The federal prosecutor's office said Tuesday that Alaattin A. served as a leading member of the Marxist terrorist organization DHKP-C from October 2002 to …
A corporation may spread itself over the whole world, and it may employ a hundred thousand men, but the average person will usually form his judgment of it through his contact with one individual. Union Oil Bulletin, 1923 1
In recent years, business historians have expressed increasing interest in the development and evolution of corporate cultures. This study carries forward this body of scholarship by exploring a fundamental point of tension in the construction of corporate cultures-the meaning and demands of salaried employment. In a period in which the workings of corporations were uncertain and rapidly evolving, leaders sought to define the meaning and duties of corporate …
Taiwan's president inaugurated a runway on a disputed island in the South China Sea, sparking a protest from the Philippines which also claims sovereignty over the isle, officials said.
Chen Shui-bian, the first Taiwanese president to ever visit Taiping island in the Spratlys chain, also met with troops there during his brief visit Saturday, said Lee Nan-yang, the president's spokesman.
"There's no question about Taiwan's sovereignty on Taiping island, and we will continue to build structures there to help beef up patrols and sea security," Chen said in a statement after returning from the island 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) south of Taiwan.
…
Avis Europe has tightened its grip on the continental car hiremarket by acquiring a chunk of rival Budget's global operations.
The group is snapping up Budget's assets in Europe, Africa, Asiaand …
AIChE has added the Costa de Caribe (Colombia) Local Section Mto a growing list of groups established to serve the interests of members internationally. Participating by webconference, AIChE Past President Scott Fogler welcomed the new local section to the Institute on June 17, 2010.
Led by chair …
The sound of Christmas carols will be brought to the streets ofKeynsham and Saltford from this weekend.
The Lions Club of Keynsham will be taking its illuminated sleigharound the community from tomorrow until December 18 to raise moneyfor its charity account.
It will also be stationary at the clock tower in Keynsham HighStreet from 9am to 1pm this Saturday and on December 18, so thatchildren can meet Santa.
President Alan Hale said: "This is a high-profile time of yearfor the club and we are always very well supported by the community."This year the money will be collected for use throughout the yearto help those who need our help.
"This can take many forms and the request can come from manysources.
"What I can promise the community is that every penny of themoney collected will be spent on those approaches or otheridentified humanitarian needs."
The club is being helped by Scouts and all collectors will bewearing yellow Lions tabards after past incidents in which youthshave posed as members of the team to cream off donations.
Mr Hale said the club was keen to provide a non-commercialopportunity for children to meet Father Christmas with the ClockTower events.
"There is no requirement to put money in the tin so people shouldnot be reluctant to make use of our Father Christmas for theirchildren." Routes and more details about the club are on the websitewww.keynshamlions.
org.uk.
A vast array of pharmaceuticals _ including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones _ have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.
To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.
But the presence of so many prescription drugs _ and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen _ in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.
In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas _ from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky.
Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed.
How do the drugs get into the water?
People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.
And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies _ which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public _ have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.
"We recognize it is a growing concern and we're taking it very seriously," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Members of the AP National Investigative Team reviewed hundreds of scientific reports, analyzed federal drinking water databases, visited environmental study sites and treatment plants and interviewed more than 230 officials, academics and scientists. They also surveyed the nation's 50 largest cities and a dozen other major water providers, as well as smaller community water providers in all 50 states.
Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:
_Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds.
_Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.
_Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a Passaic Valley Water Commission drinking water treatment plant, which serves 850,000 people in Northern New Jersey, and found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine in drinking water.
_A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water.
_The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.
_Three medications, including an antibiotic, were found in drinking water supplied to Tucson, Ariz.
The situation is undoubtedly worse than suggested by the positive test results in the major population centers documented by the AP.
The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested. Among the 34 that haven't: Houston, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Boston and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.
Some providers screen only for one or two pharmaceuticals, leaving open the possibility that others are present.
The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated. Tests were conducted in the watersheds of 35 of the 62 major providers surveyed by the AP, and pharmaceuticals were detected in 28.
Yet officials in six of those 28 metropolitan areas said they did not go on to test their drinking water _ Fairfax, Va.; Montgomery County in Maryland; Omaha, Neb.; Oklahoma City; Santa Clara, Calif., and New York City.
The New York state health department and the USGS tested the source of the city's water, upstate. They found trace concentrations of heart medicine, infection fighters, estrogen, anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer.
City water officials declined repeated requests for an interview. In a statement, they insisted that "New York City's drinking water continues to meet all federal and state regulations regarding drinking water quality in the watershed and the distribution system" _ regulations that do not address trace pharmaceuticals.
In several cases, officials at municipal or regional water providers told the AP that pharmaceuticals had not been detected, but the AP obtained the results of tests conducted by independent researchers that showed otherwise. For example, water department officials in New Orleans said their water had not been tested for pharmaceuticals, but a Tulane University researcher and his students have published a study that found the pain reliever naproxen, the sex hormone estrone and the anti-cholesterol drug byproduct clofibric acid in treated drinking water.
Of the 28 major metropolitan areas where tests were performed on drinking water supplies, only Albuquerque; Austin, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Va.; said tests were negative. The drinking water in Dallas has been tested, but officials are awaiting results. Arlington, Texas, acknowledged that traces of a pharmaceutical were detected in its drinking water but cited post-9/11 security concerns in refusing to identify the drug.
The AP also contacted 52 small water providers _ one in each state, and two each in Missouri and Texas _ that serve communities with populations around 25,000. All but one said their drinking water had not been screened for pharmaceuticals; officials in Emporia, Kan., refused to answer AP's questions, also citing post-9/11 issues.
Rural consumers who draw water from their own wells aren't in the clear either, experts say.
The Stroud Water Research Center, in Avondale, Pa., has measured water samples from New York City's upstate watershed for caffeine, a common contaminant that scientists often look for as a possible signal for the presence of other pharmaceuticals. Though more caffeine was detected at suburban sites, researcher Anthony Aufdenkampe was struck by the relatively high levels even in less populated areas.
He suspects it escapes from failed septic tanks, maybe with other drugs. "Septic systems are essentially small treatment plants that are essentially unmanaged and therefore tend to fail," Aufdenkampe said.
Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems.
Contamination is not confined to the United States. More than 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. Studies have detected pharmaceuticals in waters throughout Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe _ even in Swiss lakes and the North Sea.
For example, in Canada, a study of 20 Ontario drinking water treatment plants by a national research institute found nine different drugs in water samples. Japanese health officials in December called for human health impact studies after detecting prescription drugs in drinking water at seven different sites.
In the United States, the problem isn't confined to surface waters. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.
Perhaps it's because Americans have been taking drugs _ and flushing them unmetabolized or unused _ in growing amounts. Over the past five years, the number of U.S. prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while nonprescription drug purchases held steady around 3.3 billion, according to IMS Health and The Nielsen Co.
"People think that if they take a medication, their body absorbs it and it disappears, but of course that's not the case," said EPA scientist Christian Daughton, one of the first to draw attention to the issue of pharmaceuticals in water in the United States.
Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. Plus, the EPA says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals.
One technology, reverse osmosis, removes virtually all pharmaceutical contaminants but is very expensive for large-scale use and leaves several gallons of polluted water for every one that is made drinkable.
Another issue: There's evidence that adding chlorine, a common process in conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some pharmaceuticals more toxic.
Human waste isn't the only source of contamination. Cattle, for example, are given ear implants that provide a slow release of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by some bodybuilders, which causes cattle to bulk up. But not all the trenbolone circulating in a steer is metabolized. A German study showed 10 percent of the steroid passed right through the animals.
Water sampled downstream of a Nebraska feedlot had steroid levels four times as high as the water taken upstream. Male fathead minnows living in that downstream area had low testosterone levels and small heads.
Other veterinary drugs also play a role. Pets are now treated for arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, dementia, and even obesity _ sometimes with the same drugs as humans. The inflation-adjusted value of veterinary drugs rose by 8 percent, to $5.2 billion, over the past five years, according to an analysis of data from the Animal Health Institute.
Ask the pharmaceutical industry whether the contamination of water supplies is a problem, and officials will tell you no. "Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health," said microbiologist Thomas White, a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
But at a conference last summer, Mary Buzby _ director of environmental technology for drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. _ said: "There's no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they're at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms."
Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.
Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females. Pharmaceuticals also are affecting sentinel species at the foundation of the pyramid of life _ such as earth worms in the wild and zooplankton in the laboratory, studies show.
Some scientists stress that the research is extremely limited, and there are too many unknowns. They say, though, that the documented health problems in wildlife are disconcerting.
"It brings a question to people's minds that if the fish were affected ... might there be a potential problem for humans?" EPA research biologist Vickie Wilson told the AP. "It could be that the fish are just exquisitely sensitive because of their physiology or something. We haven't gotten far enough along."
With limited research funds, said Shane Snyder, research and development project manager at the Southern Nevada Water Authority, a greater emphasis should be put on studying the effects of drugs in water.
"I think it's a shame that so much money is going into monitoring to figure out if these things are out there, and so little is being spent on human health," said Snyder. "They need to just accept that these things are everywhere _ every chemical and pharmaceutical could be there. It's time for the EPA to step up to the plate and make a statement about the need to study effects, both human and environmental."
To the degree that the EPA is focused on the issue, it appears to be looking at detection. Grumbles acknowledged that just late last year the agency developed three new methods to "detect and quantify pharmaceuticals" in wastewater. "We realize that we have a limited amount of data on the concentrations," he said. "We're going to be able to learn a lot more."
While Grumbles said the EPA had analyzed 287 pharmaceuticals for possible inclusion on a draft list of candidates for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, he said only one, nitroglycerin, was on the list. Nitroglycerin can be used as a drug for heart problems, but the key reason it's being considered is its widespread use in making explosives.
So much is unknown. Many independent scientists are skeptical that trace concentrations will ultimately prove to be harmful to humans. Confidence about human safety is based largely on studies that poison lab animals with much higher amounts.
There's growing concern in the scientific community, meanwhile, that certain drugs _ or combinations of drugs _ may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.
Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. Pregnant women, the elderly and the very ill might be more sensitive.
Many concerns about chronic low-level exposure focus on certain drug classes: chemotherapy that can act as a powerful poison; hormones that can hamper reproduction or development; medicines for depression and epilepsy that can damage the brain or change behavior; antibiotics that can allow human germs to mutate into more dangerous forms; pain relievers and blood-pressure diuretics.
For several decades, federal environmental officials and nonprofit watchdog environmental groups have focused on regulated contaminants _ pesticides, lead, PCBs _ which are present in higher concentrations and clearly pose a health risk.
However, some experts say medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body.
"These are chemicals that are designed to have very specific effects at very low concentrations. That's what pharmaceuticals do. So when they get out to the environment, it should not be a shock to people that they have effects," says zoologist John Sumpter at Brunel University in London, who has studied trace hormones, heart medicine and other drugs.
And while drugs are tested to be safe for humans, the timeframe is usually over a matter of months, not a lifetime. Pharmaceuticals also can produce side effects and interact with other drugs at normal medical doses. That's why _ aside from therapeutic doses of fluoride injected into potable water supplies _ pharmaceuticals are prescribed to people who need them, not delivered to everyone in their drinking water.
"We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good," says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.
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The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate (at) ap.org
Hurricane Katrina has left the Gulf region with environmental wreckage that is unprecedented in its severity and scope. On behalf of the more than 40,000 members worldwide, AIChE extends its condolences to the victims of the hurricane, and to our 2,500 members who were directly impacted.
The work of recovery and reconstruction is moving forward steadily, and news is unfolding faster than we at AIChE can print it. At press time, electricity has been restored to nearly all of Mississippi. More than 73% of affected drinking water systems in Louisiana have been restored and 78% are restored in Mississippi. Major gasoline pipelines are now in operation, the breaks in the levees have been closed, the pumps are running, and the water in New Orleans is receding by the hour. However, challenges will continue to emerge as the months pass.
"The breakdown in communications took everybody by surprise," said Anthony Fregosi, current Chair of the New Orleans Local section of AIChE. "With mobile phones and landlines not operating, e-mail has been the only form of telecommunication for many of the local section members," he said. Since Tulane Univ., which has been hosting AlChE's New Orleans section website, is still out of commission, Fregosi is hoping to secure a webpage on the Baton Rouge local section's site through which he can disseminate information (e-newsletters, meeting information) to the 350 or so section members who have dispersed since hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on their lives.
"Several members' homes are completely inundated with water, and in many cases, spouses and children have relocated to other cities or states, while members work in yet another location," he explained. "Some members have not been allowed to return to salvage what is left of their property."
Against this backdrop, several chemical companies on the Gulf Coast are providing a broad range of resources.services, as well as onsite temporary housing for displaced employees. Many of these firms, including refineries, are up and running at or near full capacity.
"Adequate housing is a foreseeable problem," said Fregosi. "With so many folks coming to New Orleans to lend a hand, or mobilize reconstructive efforts, along with returning citizens who may have lost their home, this dilemma will only worsen." Near New Orleans, Biloxi, and other cities, police and firefighters, and the other workers who are rebuilding these cities, are sleeping on ships brought into the Port of New Orleans - and more ships are on their way to the region.
Fregosi surmises that several members are involved in recovery efforts beyond their own facilities, but it could be weeks or months before the New Orleans section is able to coordinate efforts of its own.
Universities open their doors
Engineering universities joined hundreds of others across the country and overseas in offering help to more than 100,000 university students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Tulane University was among those hit hardest. President Scott Cowen announced at the beginning of the Labor Day weekend that its 13,000 students would not be able to return this fall. Georgia Tech has led the way in terms of offering assistance on several fronts. When all of the shelters from New Orleans to Atlanta were filled to capacity, Georgia Tech allowed the American Red Cross to take several hundred evacuees to its Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The university is also offering admissions to some Tulane students.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is accepting up to 100 students who were enrolled at Tulane and Xavier Universities. In addition, RPI is waiving the entire semester's tuition, fees, and room and board for students enrolling in its new Gulf Coast Visiting Scholars program and has established a website, www.rpi.edu/Katrina, for those who are interested.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported that it has about 90 students from Gulf Coast areas affected by the hurricane. Further, more than two dozen universities in the United Kingdom have offered to accept American students from the hurricane zone. They have posted the openings on a British Council website www.britishcouncil.org/usa-hurricane-katrina.htm.
Making it personal
While the response to hurricane Katrina has uncovered some communication breakdowns, it has also revealed the amazing generosity and effectiveness of America's corporate and private charitable efforts (Box). Within two weeks of the disaster, Americans had already contributed more than $600 million to the relief initiatives. Others have opened their homes to the survivors, donated blood, and organized groups of volunteers to implement wireless communication systems, offer expertise, or deliver supplies. Professional scientific and engineering societies are providing many forms of assistance to help the Gulf Coast regain eguilibrium. Visit Argonne National Laboratory's website, www.anl.gov/special/katrina_relief.html for a comprehensive list of such organizations.
Individuals who do not belong to a professional organization, but wish to put their technical expertise to good use can contact their local chapter of The American Red Cross via www.redcross.org/donate/volunteer. This charity has an ongoing need for engineers who are trained in disaster response and ready for deployment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA; www.fema.gov) also needs engineers, but only those who have pre-registered and trained with the agency will be included in the disaster response teams.
In a similar vein, the USA Freedom Corps has created an information clearinghouse, available at www.usafreedomcorps.gov, through which it is working with partners in the non-profit and national service community to inform Americans how they can help in the Katrina relief effort. The Corps also ensures that all aid, including volunteers and private giving, is collected and delivered in an effective manner.
Generous Corporate Gestures
The chemical community response to Hurricane Katrina was quick and generous. There are many who have given money, supplies and services, and continue to help the impacted communities as the need arises. A tew of the many donations made include those of the GE family, which is contributing more than $22 million in cash, products and services; and ExxonMobil Corp., which has pledged $500,000 each to the Red Cross Houston Area Chapter and the new United Way Katrina Relief Fund. This $1 million grant is part of the $7 million ExxonMobil has committed to Hurricane Katrina. Moreover, Johnson & Johnson has announced an initial cash contribution of $5 million, Merck has donated more than $7.2 million in medicines and vaccines, and Amgen announced it is providing an initial cash contribution of $2.5 million. Additional corporate contributions are listed at www.aiche.org/Katrina.
At present, AIChE is seeking opportunities for our members to donate their technical expertise when communities and organizations are ready for this assistance. If you know of any opportunities for such volunteers, please contact Sarah Fewster [saraf@aiche.org and (212) 591-7257] so we can share this news with our members.
As CEP goes to press, Hurricane Rita, currently a category five storm, is moving towards the coast of Texas. On behalf of our 40,000 members, AIChE offers its care and concern to all those in the affected regions.
By loosening its currency's peg to the dollar, China is seeking to defuse complaints that it keeps its exports artificially cheap, strengthen its hand against inflation and ensure its economy can keep growing at a healthy pace.
The Chinese yuan surged to a record high Monday as Beijing delivered on its central bank's weekend promise of greater flexibility in its exchange rates. World shares rallied as investors took heart from the signal of confidence in China's resilience.
Analysts said the move was not a major shift in foreign policy. They described it instead as a maneuver aimed mainly at countering criticism of Beijing's currency policies before this weekend's summit of the Group of 20 leading economies. Beijing's trading partners have been frustrated by their perennial trade imbalances with China.
"This is a type of 'diplomatese' before the G-20," said Yi Xianrong, a prominent economist at the Institute of Finance in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think-tank.
But Beijing's decision to give up the dollar link it imposed two years ago to help its exporters during the recession also shows it recognizes the need for flexibility in its own economic policies.
China's large trade surpluses oblige the central bank to intervene in the exchange market: It buys up excess foreign exchange earnings to keep the yuan's value from rising. Greater flexibility will allow more leeway in China's monetary policies, helping it counter inflation.
"Chinese policymakers are attempting to engineer a scenario that maximizes political goodwill while at the same time minimizes any negative economic impact," said Alaistair Chan, an economist at Moody's Analytics in Sydney.
The shift away from the dollar peg pushed the yuan to 6.7971 on Monday from 6.8272 yuan on Friday. It was a shift of 0.4 percent and an abrupt break from the narrow range around 6.83 yuan to $1 that had held since mid-2008.
The central bank still sets the exchange rate each day before the start of trading and limits daily fluctuations to 0.5-percent. Its announcement late Saturday stressed China's commitment to keeping the currency stable.
Allowing greater flexibility suits China's own needs. Apart from helping Beijing fight inflation, it should encourage manufacturers to improve efficiency and reduce the country's reliance on exports as a driver for growth, the central bank said.
By ruling out any one-time major revaluations, the People's Bank of China also doused speculation over such moves and removed a source of uncertainty for investors. China's share market responded by jumping nearly 3 percent Monday.
"China has to keep the currency stable under the current circumstances and will certainly take any consequences of the yuan's appreciation very seriously," Yi said.
The decision to revert to a basket of currencies including the U.S. dollar, rather than the dollar alone, to set the exchange rate restores policies in place before the global downturn walloped Chinese manufacturers in 2008. Millions lost their jobs.
China had set up the basket-linked exchange rate system in July 2005, allowing the yuan to gradually gain nearly 20 percent until the financial crisis hit.
China's economy surged 11.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, and exports jumped by nearly 50 percent over a year earlier in May. That was despite expectations that Europe's debt crisis would hit demand in the 27-nation European Union, China's biggest trading partner.
Such trends raised expectations that China would adjust policies that critics say keep the yuan undervalued, unfairly holding down prices of Chinese products overseas and making them impossible to compete with. Beijing's gradual approach to currency reform is a perennial bugaboo in relations with Washington.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's immediate praise for the central bank's announcement suggests the move was coordinated to allow him to release a report on China's currency, postponed for more than two months, without having to accuse Beijing of manipulating its currency, Qian Wang, an economist at J.P.Morgan, said in a note to clients.
Geithner delayed the release of the report to allow more time for talks with the Chinese, and the shift in policy is viewed by many as a concession by Beijing.
But President Barack Obama's administration still faces pressure from Congress to name China a currency manipulator, a designation that could potentially lead to U.S. trade sanctions.
"The window was closing for China to act before China-U.S. relations get even more politically charged heading into the U.S. midterm election," Wang said, referring to November's congressional elections.
Though Chinese exporters already operating on razor-thin margins will have to find new ways to stay competitive, the central bank _ echoing many economists _ noted that such changes are crucial for more balanced, sustainable growth that is less reliant on exports.
"The exchange rate problem is one we would have to face sooner or later," said Bai Ming, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Mingfeng Car Accesories Co., which exports car covers to the Americas, Europe and South Korea.
"What we are trying to do is to raise productivity and save costs. We cannot just sit back," he said.
But while it has prescribed a small dose of currency flexibility for its own economic health, China still rejects accusations that its currency regime is a major cause of huge trade imbalances that contributed to the global crisis.
G-20 leaders should focus on more urgent global reforms, said a commentary Monday by the official Xinhua News Agency.
"If they cannot make good use of the coming G-20 summit to press ahead with the much-needed overhaul of the global financial system, the international community will soon find to its disappointment that its leaders look only for red herrings, rather than real solutions, at a time when true leadership is badly needed," it said.
___
Associated Press researchers Bonnie Cao in Beijing and Ji Chen in Shanghai contributed to this report.
The death of Marian Anderson, born near the end of the lastcentury, removes one the most distinguished vocal artists of thiswaning century.
Her velvety contralto thrilled music lovers around the world,while her quiet dignity and grace, equally inspiring, prompted thefirst stirrings of the modern civil rights movement.
Her 1939 concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, afterbeing denied use of a Washington concert hall because she was black,was an early milestone in race relations.
There were other milestones, both personal and historic. Shewas the first black to sing with the New York Philharmonic. She wasthe first black to sing at the White House. And she was the firstblack to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
Initially accorded higher acclaim in the concert halls of Europethan in America, Anderson's faith in her own country never wavered."I was - and am - an American," she said.
America is ever proud to claim her as its own.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Matt Dickey had 16 points and six steals as North Carolina-Asheville defeated Virginia Intermont 116-58 on Saturday.
It was the biggest margin of victory for the Bulldogs (2-1) since a 102-44 win over Voorhees in the 1988-89 season.
UNC Asheville scored 40 points off 28 turnovers and had a school record 20 steals.
Chris Stephenson and J.P. Primm had 16 points and seven assists each as seven Bulldogs scored in double figures and 11 had at least two points.
Jarone Lane added 15 points, D.J. Cunningham 14, Jon Nwannunu 12 and John Williams 11 for UNC Asheville.
The Bulldogs led 26-17 early, and went on a 27-5 run to lead by 31, 53-22, on Lane's free throw with 3:51 left in the first half. UNC Asheville led by as many as 60, 116-56, with 13 seconds left in the game.
Daniel Ross led the NAIA Cobras (2-7) with 13 points.
"Dad," the child said, "I have a problem. We're studying similes and metaphors in English class. I know they are both comparisons, and that similes use 'as' or 'like,' but I can't think of an example."
"Well," said the dad, "Let's just look at this Sun-Times and see if we can find . . . ah, right here on the front page: The governor wants cameras on the highways and wants to use all the revenue from the speeding tickets to fund crime fighting. That's like creating a state lottery to use all the revenue to fund education."
Jeff Levens, Wicker Park
Disapointing turnout mars showcase, but new ideas still captivate show-goers.
The SAE International Exposition and Conference expanded to fill more space than ever this year, but the shows impact seemed diluted. The opening of an additional hall at Detroit's Cobo Convention Center allowed suppliers to showcase their wares at the most spacious, comfortable and elaborate stands in the shows history, but a shortfall of visitors and potential customers disappointed many companies
Many European enineers and executives passed on the show entirely because they feared a U.S. bombing campaign against Iraq would make their commercial flights to Detroit the targets of terrorists. Show-floor traffic also suffered from the SAE's refusal to provide exhibitors with free tickets for their customers. In the past, exhibitors mailed free pass es to their OE contacts.
"We'd send out 600 and get 100 topflight prospects, which made for a very good show," says one disgruntled exective. "The SAE thought that was too much paperwork, so they only gave us 50%off coupons to cut down on the response rate."
The strategy appeared to work, to the chagrin of many exhibitors. Some OE engineers and purchasing execs faced with a non-expensable $25 entry fee stayed away in droves. The disappointing turnout even extended to the SAE's gala banquet. The event moved from a 4,000 seat hall to a room accommodating just 1,800, but insiders say the SAE had to make desperation calls to reluctant suppli ers to fill the seats.
Despite those glitches, supplier creativity provided the usual array of promising new applications and technologies.
"A hand-held bidding device frees people from standing around tables and writing down bids on clipboard paper," said David Goodman, president and founder of Chicago-based Auction Results, and a professional fund-raising auctioneer. "People can bid from anywhere in the room."
The latest product to be introduced at auction and other events this fall is the IML Connector, a hand-held device the size of a BlackBerry with a QWERTY keyboard, a color screen, high-resolution graphics and the ability to run Flash movies and sponsorship logos.
"It's creating advanced audience response," said Melanie Burns, director of business development for the East Coast division of IML, a 10-year-old British company whose silent-auction software and equipment Goodman recommends.
The Connector also will alter a portion of IML's business model, since IML will rent the devices to auction sponsors to run themselves. Until now, IML charged rental fees for voting devices that its representatives monitor.
IML, which employs software developers overseas and in the United States to write software unique to each event, started by developing a keypad that instantly counted audience votes at corporate events and presentations. The company started developing silent-auction software and hardware after the Prince's Trust, one of Prince Charles' charities, asked it to come up with a way to enhance security by keeping people in their seats instead of roaming around the room.
The resulting keypads create a bidding "frenzy" similar to the last 15 minutes of a live auction by allowing votes to be projected on a large screen so bidders can see who is the top bidder, how much he or she is bidding, and how much time is left to bid.
"The process taps in to people's competitive nature," Burns said. "The mind-set changes from 'How much can I afford?' to 'I've got to get it. I just want to win.'"
Another company, Auction & Event Solutions, which is based in Denver but recently opened a Chicago office, develops software that enables bidders to bid on touch-screen computers and speeds up the processes of giving people bidding numbers, collecting information about bidders, and printing bid receipts.
"Two to three people often gather around one of the computers, which function like kiosks, and people start talking. People start touching the pictures on the screen [or using a stylus] and browsing through categories of bid items. It's very simple to use," said Jon Doehling, the company's owner.
Goodman said the express-pay software is especially important at high-end charity events, since bidders who have spent "$10,000 or $15,000 or $60,000 on individual items don't want to wait in line at the end of the night to get their card swiped and get an invoice."
Goodman said he has worked at events in which bidders show up to bid on a single item that they had spotted on a charity's Web site or learned about via Facebook or Twitter chatter.
Even the tablet computers common in specialized events are becoming mainstream now that Apple has introduced the iPad. Companies ranging from Dell to Lenovo to Notion Ink are starting to produce multimedia tablet computers, said Jeff Orr, senior analyst for mobile devices at ABI Research. The number of these media tablets to be shipped in the first half of this year is expected to reach 4 million -- a far cry from 100,000 in the same period last year.
Goodman, whose North Shore family ran Sales Results, a retail liquidation business, discovered that he would rather focus on raising money for hospitals, museums, schools and other worthy causes than selling off goods left over from bankruptcies, divorces and business failures. He isn't shy about saying he has raised more than $100 million for charities in the last 20 years.
"I realized that, if nonprofits would apply a bit of psychology, strategy and business planning to their charity auctions, I could significantly impact the return on the night of the event," said Goodman, who went to auction school in Missouri.
No one will give away Goodman's auction secrets, but they do reveal that he does magic tricks and uses old-fashioned charm, entertainment and crowd knowledge to get bidders to aim high.
At a recent Saturday night auction in the Latin School's auditorium, Goodman raised more than $250,000 in less than 15 minutes.
Comment at suntimes.com.
| EASTERN CONFERENCE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| Boston | 38 | 14 | .731 | — |
| New York | 26 | 25 | .510 | 11 1/2 |
| Philadelphia | 24 | 28 | .462 | 14 |
| New Jersey | 16 | 37 | .302 | 22 1/2 |
| Toronto | 14 | 39 | .264 | 24 1/2 |
| Southeast Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| Miami | 38 | 14 | .731 | — |
| Atlanta | 33 | 19 | .635 | 5 |
| Orlando | 34 | 20 | .630 | 5 |
| Charlotte | 22 | 30 | .423 | 16 |
| Washington | 14 | 37 | .275 | 23 1/2 |
| Central Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| Chicago | 35 | 16 | .686 | — |
| Indiana | 22 | 28 | .440 | 12 1/2 |
| Milwaukee | 20 | 31 | .392 | 15 |
| Detroit | 20 | 33 | .377 | 16 |
| Cleveland | 8 | 45 | .151 | 28 |
| WESTERN CONFERENCE | ||||
| Southwest Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| San Antonio | 44 | 8 | .846 | — |
| Dallas | 37 | 16 | .698 | 7 1/2 |
| New Orleans | 32 | 22 | .593 | 13 |
| Memphis | 28 | 26 | .519 | 17 |
| Houston | 25 | 29 | .463 | 20 |
| Northwest Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| Oklahoma City | 33 | 18 | .647 | — |
| Denver | 31 | 23 | .574 | 3 1/2 |
| Utah | 31 | 23 | .574 | 3 1/2 |
| Portland | 28 | 24 | .538 | 5 1/2 |
| Minnesota | 13 | 39 | .250 | 20 1/2 |
| Pacific Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| L.A. Lakers | 37 | 16 | .698 | — |
| Phoenix | 25 | 25 | .500 | 10 1/2 |
| Golden State | 23 | 29 | .442 | 13 1/2 |
| L.A. Clippers | 20 | 32 | .385 | 16 1/2 |
| Sacramento | 12 | 37 | .245 | 23 |
___
| Thursday's Games |
|---|
L.A. Lakers 92, Boston 86
Phoenix 112, Golden State 88
Denver 121, Dallas 120
| Friday's Games |
|---|
New Jersey at Charlotte
Minnesota at Indiana
New Orleans at Orlando
San Antonio at Philadelphia
Portland at Toronto
L.A. Clippers at Cleveland
Miami at Detroit
Milwaukee at Memphis
L.A. Lakers at New York
Phoenix at Utah
Ukrainian lawmakers have passed a law that would ban all gambling until special zones for casinos are set up.
The bill was initially adopted last month after a gambling-hall fire killed nine people. It called on the government to set up special areas where gambling could take place.
Lawmakers overrode a presidential veto Thursday and said the law would help fight widespread gambling addiction.
President Viktor Yushchenko vetoed the law last week after it sparked protests from the gambling business, whose representatives said 200,000 people would be put out of work.
Yushchenko must now sign the bill into law within 10 days.
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told President Bush in a telephone call Monday that now is the time to resume Mideast peace talks, a spokesman said.
The call focused on the ongoing situation following the takeover of the Gaza Strip last week by the Islamic militant Hamas group, aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
"President Abbas told Mr. Bush that this is the time to resume the political negotiations and to revive the hope of the Palestinian people," Abu Rdeneh said.
He said Bush affirmed his support for Abbas' policies and the measures he's taken.
The White House said Bush called Abbas "to express support for him and the Palestinian moderates."
Bush welcomed Abbas' suggestions and ideas "and said clearly these are areas for a lot of discussion the rest of this week," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in Washington. Bush will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday.
"He (Bush) will raise these issues with Prime Minister Olmert so all parties involved can discuss them and can discuss the best way forward to what everyone wants, which is a Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel," Johndroe said.
Since the Islamic group seized control of Gaza, Abbas has dismantled the coalition government of his Fatah movement and Hamas, and installed a new government led by a political independent, Salam Fayyad.
The Bush administration is poised to lift its economic and diplomatic embargo against a new Palestinian government in the West Bank since it no longer includes the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The European Union said Monday it would lift punishing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, imposed after Hamas swept Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006. The U.S. and Israel have indicated they might follow suit.
"We still have a ways to go," declared Henry S. Webber, vice president for Community and Governmental Affairs at the University of Chicago. "I would like us to be recognized as a leader. I want us to be the vendor/employer/customer of choice," Webber said as he released 2003 statistics on the university's business diversity aims.
Webber said the university and its hospitals, located in the Hyde Park/Woodlawn neighborhoods on the South Side, is in the midst of a $600 million campus expansion and renovation plan and so far $132.6 million (35.4 percent) of the funds have been allocated to minority and women owned business.
"Of this amount," Webber said, $63.8 million has been committed to African-American owned firms. Several years ago, we set this as a major priority for both institutions. It was an area, that I want to be quite clear, we have not done, traditionally, as well as we might have done."
Webber said the institution, recognized as the largest private employer on the South Side, received a lot of criticism, leading it to proclaim the institution would do something about it.
"We expressed our commitment to diversity. It's important to helping to develop entrepreneurship, strength of our communities, the city of Chicago and particularly the South Side.
"It's in our interest and in the broader community's interest. And it's the right thing to do," Webber said.
Webber said the university's economic opportunity program:
Creates major contracting opportunities for M/WBE's;
Facilitates workforce hiring on construction sites to include minorities, women and local residents;
Includes an apprenticeship program to create long-term career options for local residents.
Since the program, under Webber's direction began, awarded contractors have sponsored more than 54 apprentices now working on the university's and hospital's projects. Of the apprentices, 47 are minorities, according to Webber.
In the near future, Webber said the goal is to hire at least 47 more apprentices, bringing the total to 101.
The university also has expanded its efforts to procurement. The economic opportunity program designed for construction projects has evolved over the last few years into a major supplier diversity initiative utilized throughout the various procurement departments.
Webber said minority-owned, community-based businesses are being utilized for: Architectural Design and Consulting; Auditing and other financial services; Human resources consulting; Legal; New, maintenance and renovation construction; Marketing/communications, project management, special events; Office and Furniture Supplies; and Medical/surgical supplies.
"We've been successful in working with minority suppliers that are now competing," said Maye Foster-Thompson, who works in the Business Diversity Program office.
To implement the university's commitment, the university has developed a series of steps that include an Economic Opportunity Fair to be held April 29 at the Ida Noyes Hall, in the vicinity of 59th and Woodlawn.
Article copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.
Photograph (Harry S. Weber)
BLUEFIELD - A federal appeals court has upheld a $161 millionjudgment against a financier whose loan scheme contributed to the1999 collapse of First National Bank of Keystone, the most expensivebank failure since the Great Depression.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week rejected the lateHarald Bakkebo's appeal of the December 2004 judgment. A U.S.District Court jury in Bluefield awarded the damages in a lawsuitfiled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as part of its bid torecover some of the $660 million the agency paid out as a result ofthe bank's collapse.
Bakkebo, 63, was fatally shot in April 2006 in his native Norway,where he had fled after being indicted in Louisiana in 1992 onunrelated federal fraud charges.
Bakkebo's appeal claimed that U.S. District Court Judge David A.Faber made several errors during the six-day trial, includingallowing the Louisiana charges to be admitted as evidence. Theappeal also said Bakkebo was responsible for only a small portion ofthe damages. Those claims were rejected by the appeals court inRichmond, Va.
The FDIC had alleged that Bakkebo took advantage ofunsophisticated bank officers who were themselves out to loot thebank.
Bakkebo and several coconspirators persuaded bank officials toinvest hundreds of millions of dollars in loan securitization, inwhich Keystone bought thousands of subprime home loans and thenresold the rights to most of the proceeds to investors, the appealscourt's ruling said.
The loans were mostly made to people who were at high risk fornot repaying their debts and the securitization program eventuallycollapsed.
It Suddenly dawned on me that I have now lived in the North-eastfor more than a decade.
This realisation came about when I became incensed at thenonsensical idea of teaching our police officers to speak "properEnglish" instead of Doric.
"How dare they interfere with the way we talk, how dare this PC(pardon the pun) brigade tamper with our linguistic culture.
"Calling Doric slang, why you little ..."
Changed days from when I first arrived in this quiet corner ofScotland and couldn't understand a word some folk said to me.
I used to smile and nod, hoping I was laughing at the right bit when someone was telling me a joke in what sounded like Klingon.
Those of you who spoken to me will know that I have an Edinburghaccent that's a touch of Morningside, blended with a hint of SeanConnery.
But that hasn't stopped me starting to call people quine and loonand even, heaven forfend, saying "fit like" and "chavin' awa'" onoccasion.
I think I'm starting to alarm my family and loved ones down theroad.
But here I am, embracing the Doric - if not actually going asfar as speaking it - and enjoying its richness and variety.
I read and quite like the odd bit of Doric poetry - and thinkthe Flying Pigs are hilarious.
Robbie Shepherd is still a bit beyond me, but I'm working on it.Because living and working here has changed my perception about notjust the North-east, but the whole of Scotland.
The Edinburgh snob who arrived a decade ago was firmly of thebelief that the universe turned around the Capital, that Glasgow wasgood only for shopping and everywhere else was the darkhinterland of teuchterdom.
I now know that one of our country's greatest strengths is that itis made up of individual and unique strands, with each bit of theland bringing something to the party that makes us all the richer,stronger and better.
We'd be a poorer place without Doric, an inferior place if weaccept the belief that the way one part of country speaks is betterthan the other.
We have to protect our heritage and our culture, no matter whichpart of Scotland it is from.
We don't need to speak with the same accent as long as we arespeaking with the one voice.
Yemen's government has presented northern rebels with a detailed cease-fire agreement, a senior official said Saturday, in a bid to end the six-year conflict.
After years of sporadic fighting with the militants, Yemen has come under international pressure to quickly draw a close to the conflict and free up resources to confront a separate threat from an al-Qaida offshoot that has set up operations there over the past year.
Last week, the Shiite northern rebels accepted a conditional cease-fire first issued by the government in September. That plan called on the militants to disarm, free hostages and clear mountain hideouts.
The government dismissed the rebel offer, and said it would halt military operations against the militants only "under a certain framework." It also added a fresh demand that the rebels vow not to attack Saudi Arabia.
But on Saturday, presidential adviser Abdel-Karim al-Iryani said a go-between had delivered the rebels with what he called a "timetable" for a truce.
He said if rebel leader Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi "signs this document and accepts its mechanisms, the war will stop immediately."
The proposal calls for the formation of five committees _ made up of rebel and government representatives _ that would implement the cease-fire, al-Iryani said. The committee on border security would also include Saudi officials.
Neighboring Saudi Arabia was drawn into the conflict in November after rebels crossed the border and killed two Saudi border guards. Some 133 Saudi soldiers have died in the fighting.
The rebels announced a unilateral cease-fire with Saudi Arabia in late January. However, the Saudis responded cautiously to the rebel announcement, and demanded militants pullback from border positions and return five missing soldiers.
Several earlier cease-fires quickly disintegrated, mainly because the rebels said their demands were not addressed.
The militants say their community of Shiite Muslims from the Zaydi sect suffer discrimination and neglect and that the government has allowed ultraconservative Sunni extremists too strong a voice in the country. Hard-line Sunnis consider Shiites heretics.
In San'a on Saturday, a security court sentenced the northern rebel leader's brother, Yehia al-Hawthi, in abstentia to 15 years in prison on charges of supporting the rebellion. Yehia al-Hawthi has been living in Germany for the past three years.
HATTERAS, N.C. — Tourists began evacuating from Ocracoke Island, a tiny island off North Carolina, Wednesday as Hurricane Irene strengthened to a Category 3 storm over the Bahamas with the East Coast in its sights. Irene is expected to get stronger over warm ocean waters and could become a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 131 mph by Thursday.
Budget deficit shrinks, but we're still in the red
WASHINGTON — After months of unrelieved gloom and discord, Congress and President Barack Obama are starting to make a dent in the federal budget deficit. It's projected to shrink slightly to $1.28 trillion this year, and bigger savings …
The hurricanes of 2004 -- one of the worst hurricane seasons ever-- did more than $20 billion in damage but took only 59 lives.That's a mercifully small toll by comparison with the 6,000 who diedin the Galveston hurricane of 1900, the more than 1,800 who died insouthern Florida in 1928 or the 600 who died in New England and LongIsland in 1938. Before weather forecasting became as sophisticatedas it is now, advance warning of major storms was almostnonexistent, with calamitous consequences.
Cherie Burns' vivid account of a 1938 hurricane demonstrates thatall too painfully. It was one of the fiercest storms ever to hit theUnited States. Striking on Sept. 21, when tides …
Summary: United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq on Tuesday in an unannounced visit to discuss security issues and arms sales as the two nations look toward the gradual withdrawal of all
United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq on Tuesday in an unannounced visit to discuss security issues and arms sales as the two nations look toward the gradual withdrawal of all U.S. forces by the end of 2011.
Gates also will try to help bridge a deep divide between Iraq's ethnic Kurds and majority Arabs that many fear may undermine security gains, a senior U.S. defense official said.
"We're saying to all the parties involved …
Byline: -- Staff report
ALBANY -- The Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce received a $4,000 grant from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Friday that will be used to enhance a Web site that promotes ``Tech Valley.'' The grant comes from the Wal-Mart/Sam's Club industrial dvelopment fund, which annually allocates $3 million to organizations that encourage growth and development.
The chamber operates a Web site, …
2003 DEC 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antares Pharma, Inc., (ANTR) announced that two new members have joined its Board of Directors effective October 31, 2003.
Anton Gueth was elected to a 3-year term at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on October 31, 2003, and Thomas J. Garrity was appointed to a 3-year term, effective October 31, 2003, to fill a vacant position on the Board.
Garrity was executive VP and chief financial officer for PCS Health Systems, a provider of managed pharmaceutical care, from 1994 to 2000. He played a key role during its subsequent integration with Advance Paradigm, Inc., and became executive VP of financial operations for …
Malaysian exports increased by 10.7% during January-October 2005 from the year before to 440,808 million ringgit. Of …
Clarey, Cynthia, black American mezzo-soprano; b. Smithfield, Va., April 25, 1949. She studied at Howard Univ. in Washington, D.C. (B.Mus.) and at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (postgraduate diploma). She began her career with the Tri-Cities Opera Co. in Binghamton, N.Y. In 1977 she appeared in Musgrave's The Voice of Ariadne at the N.Y.C. Opera, and then in the U.S. premiere of Tippett's The Ice Break in Boston in 1979. She made her British debut as Monteverdi's Octavia at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1984, returning there in 1986 as …
(ADPnews) - Oct 19, 2009 - Today's extraordinary shareholders' meeting of Spanish engineering company Abengoa (MCE:ABG) decided to allow the company's board of directors to issue fixed rate debt securities or similar debt instruments for up to EUR 5 billion (USD 7.46bn), the company said on Monday.
The issues can …
Byline: Tom Precious Business writer
Talk about post-election blues.
Some 1,700 New York farmers delinquent on their federal Farmers Home Administration loan repayments will soon be getting "past due" notices from Uncle Sam.
The "Dear Farmer Jones" notices are part of a stepped-up national campaign to collect about $8.8 billion in delinquent loans, an estimated $128 million of which are owed by New York farmers.
The FmHA loans, given to those farmers unable to qualify for a bank loan, are used to finance equipment purchases, operate a farm, or cope with a farm disaster, such as a crop loss. The average loan amount is about $35,000, said …
Sales up 5% in third quarter
Profits swing upward at Big B
BESSEMER, Ala.--With its recovery still in flight, Big B scored a $1.35 million swing in profitability during its fiscal third quarter, which ended October 26.
The Southeastern chain recorded net earnings of $393,000 over the 12 weeks, versus a $959,000 loss last year. Sales increased by 5% to $108.4 million from $103.2 million a year ago, when the chain was operating seven additional stores. Big B did not disclose same-store sales.
For the year to date the chain, which began its rebound during the fourth quarter of 1990, registered net profits of $3.28 million. That total …
Millions turned out Thursday for Kenya's closest-ever presidential race, in relatively peaceful balloting after a campaign marked by violence and vote-rigging allegations.
The contest pits President Mwai Kibaki against his former ally, flamboyant opposition candidate Raila Odinga. Lines at polling stations stretched for miles in some areas, a sign Kenyans are increasingly confident their votes count as the continent swings firmly toward democracy.
"This time around, Kenyans are not the same," said Harun Owade, a 30-year-old mechanic who had been in line since 3:30 a.m. in the Kibera slum. "We cannot be tricked. We will put the politicians to …
Buffalo general manager Bill Polian on whom the Bears will pickin the first round: "We hear Mark Ingram (WR Michigan State). Butwhen you get down in that area so many things change. You put fivenames on a board and throw a dart at it and you'll probably be asright as anybody." Missouri offensive lineman John Clay, a certain first-rounder, hasreportedly ballooned to 331 pounds. Giant GM George Young calls hima "monster." The Raiders sent scouts to Clay's Missouri home lastweekend …
RAVENA -- A citizens group formed to cut pollution from the Lafarge cement plant said a proposed first-ever state limit on mercury should be cut by more than half.
Comments filed with the state Department of Environmental Conservation by the group Community Advocates for Safe Emissions also called for continuous mercury emissions testing on the plant's smokestack, which is along Route 9W across from the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk middle and high schools.
Under a proposed air pollution permit being considered by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Lafarge could emit up to 176 pounds of mercury a year.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that …
Byline: ERIN DUGGAN Staff writer
A section of a tough city neighborhood with high crime rates and low owner-occupancy could be demolished under one plan being considered by the city, neighborhood leaders say.
The plan to raze several blocks of Park South has not been discussed publicly, but concerned community leaders and neighbors plan to meet tonight with top city officials to find out more about what might happen to their neighborhood.
``The consensus is that there needs to be new investment in the neighborhood,'' said Development and Planning Commissioner Lori Harris, who said the city won't present a plan tonight but will solicit ideas and …
Chivas Regal formally launched its Chivas Regal 18-Year-Old Gold Signature Scotch Whisky. A smooth blend of rare aged malts and grain whiskies, this superpremium Scotch was crafted by Colin Scott, master blender for …
