Saturday, December 31, 2011

Mayor Bloomberg Announces All-Time Record Low in Traffic Fatalities in 2011








Mayor Bloomberg, Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today released preliminary statistics showing that New York City will record the fewest annual traffic fatalities since records were first kept in 1910. As of December 27th, there were 237 traffic fatalities in 2011, 40 percent fewer than in 2001. Included in the 2011 numbers were 134 pedestrian fatalities in crashes with vehicles, an all-time record-low and a 31 percent reduction since 2001; 47 senior pedestrian fatalities, a 27 percent reduction since 2001; and a record low of only three child pedestrian fatalities. Bicycle fatalities have held within the same range over the last decade, despite bike ridership quadrupling during that time period.

The new record lows come as the Department of Transportation has undertaken unprecedented safety engineering initiatives and public education efforts and the NYPD has implemented aggressive enforcement programs, all to reduce dangerous speeding, combat drunken driving and calm traffic citywide. The Mayor made the announcement at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, where a new safety redesign was installed in October. The latest improvements at Grand Army Plaza are expected to build on the nearly 40 percent reduction in crashes in the plaza over the last three years due to previous safety upgrades.

"This will be the city?s safest traffic year in the more than 100 years since records were kept," said Mayor Bloomberg. "We?ve made progress in every area of traffic safety due to our willingness to take new, creative approaches to longstanding challenges with safety redesigns and through aggressive traffic enforcement. We?ve focused on making our streets safer for all who use them ? no matter how they decide travel ? and it?s another reason New Yorkers are living longer and another reason our city is safer than ever before."

"The reduction in traffic deaths as a result of our safety engineering means nearly 300 New Yorkers are alive today who would not have been if we had simply sustained the fatality rate of five years ago," said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. "And even as we applaud this accomplishment, the men and women of NYC DOT are working throughout the five boroughs to make our streets even safer."

"NYPD traffic enforcement is aimed at saving lives, and that?s reflected in the million summonses we issue for moving violations annually," said Police Commissioner Kelly. "About a third of the summonses are related to seat belt enforcement and distracted driving, both life and death concerns. It?s also reflected in arrests for DWI. We?ve made 8,500 drunk driving arrests through December 18th, and seized 900 vehicles in the process. On New Year?s Eve, the NYPD will establish check points and have additional roving patrols to enforce laws against drunken driving. Those who drink and drive are at risk of losing their licenses and their cars. Worse, they risk losing their own lives or killing others by driving drunk."

"Nothing is more important than the safety of motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists as they travel on the city?s streets," said Mark Kulewicz, Director of Traffic Engineering and Safety Services at AAA New York. "We?re very pleased with the progress the City has made in reducing the number of travel deaths. It is a remarkable accomplishment given the growth in travel over the past 100 years."

New York City?s traffic fatality rate has dropped from 4.87 fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2001 to 2.8 fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2011.

Traffic calming projects, street redesigns, and safety upgrades installed by the Department of Transportation during the past decade have resulted in improved safety throughout the five boroughs. In the last four years alone, the department has implemented safety improvement projects along 78 corridors and at 72 intersections. In 2011, the department made safety upgrades to 60 miles of streets, including more than 20 miles of street redesigns and implemented the city?s first Neighborhood Slow Zone in the Bronx, creating the first 20 miles per hour speed limit. Additionally, the department introduced new electronic speed boards in all five boroughs that display the speed of passing motorists and expects to bring additional Neighborhood Slow Zones online.

The NYPD continues its aggressive enforcement campaigns with a focus on violations that directly relate to serious injuries and death ? speeding, distracted driving, drunk driving, seat belt use and other dangerous behavior. In 2011, more than one million summonses were issued for moving violations. The NYPD?s focus on drunken drivers resulted in more than 8,500 arrests and the seizure of 900 vehicles.

The Department of Transportation also has installed pedestrian countdown signals at nearly 1,100 intersections citywide this year, which has helped drive pedestrian fatalities down to an all-time low. Locations where countdown signals have been installed include: along Grand Concourse, the Bronx; Queens Boulevard; 4th Avenue, Brooklyn; Delancey Street, Manhattan; and on Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island. The department is on course to install pedestrian countdown signals at an additional 2,000 intersections.

The Department of Transportation continues safety campaigns to implement safety engineering changes around schools and in senior-dense neighborhoods with high numbers of serious traffic crashes. The department continues to pair engineering with education and outreach campaigns, examples include this year?s launch of the ?That?s Why it?s 30? ad campaign, which highlights the extreme safety impact of speeding, and the ?Don?t be a Jerk? campaign, which highlights proper cycling behavior.

This year, the City won a long-fought legislative victory with the passage of State legislation mandating improved truck safety mirrors. The City continues to seek traffic safety legislation in Albany to install speed cameras at locations throughout the city, increase the number of red light cameras and increase work zone safety regulations.

Source: http://www.mikebloomberg.com/index.cfm?objectid=8B5736FE-C29C-7CA2-F0EA3E977334BC17

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Swiss league punishes FC Sion to avoid FIFA ban

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:43 a.m. ET Dec. 30, 2011

GENEVA (AP) -The Swiss Football Association moved to avoid suspension from world football Friday by handing FC Sion a 36-point penalty in a long-running dispute over the club's fielding of ineligible players.

The Swiss FA said its decision to penalize Sion three points for every league game in which ineligible players played was a response to FIFA's threat to suspend all Swiss clubs, including FC Basel and the national side, from taking part in international matches.

Basel is due to meet Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16 on Feb. 22, a rare foray into the upper echelons of international football for a club from Switzerland.

FIFA had given the Swiss Football Association until Jan. 14, 2012, to discipline Sion or face suspension over the saga that began in 2009, when world football's governing body imposed a one-year transfer ban on the club for illegally signing goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary.

Sion, which ignored the transfer embargo and signed six players in the offseason, has doggedly contested FIFA's ruling in the courts despite facing increasingly harsh penalties from football authorities.

"The Swiss Football Association has today demanded from FIFA confirmation that the suspension will not now come into effect," the league said in a statement. "FIFA's answer is still being awaited."

FIFA said in a statement that it took note of the Swiss league's action and would consider it at an Emergency Committee meeting in early January.

The penalty for Sion falls short of FIFA's demand to also forfeit most of the club's results this season, as this would automatically have resulted in opposing sides gaining the points deducted from Sion, the league said.

The Swiss Football Association said Sion now stands last in the league table, with minus five points, but can continue to play in the country's cup competition. The points deduction may be challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Lebanon rallying around team

Ali al-Saadi gave Lebanon a 1-0 lead against South Korea and the sectarian chants echoing across Cite Sportive stadium suddenly gave way to a more hopeful cheer.

Off-field woes

Football in 2011 was dominated by events off the field rather than on it.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45824406/ns/sports-soccer/

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Verizon users hit with third data outage in December (Digital Trends)

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According to a report out of Reuters, Verizon is investigating yet another outage of the data network. Noted as the third network outage during the month of December, some customers have reported an inability to connect to the?4G LTE network in a smattering of major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and San?Francisco. ?Marquett Smith, vice president of?corporate communications for Verizon Wireless, released a statement that the company is currently working to resolve the new issue with the?4G LTE network. He stated ?The network continues to operate and all customers continue to be able to make calls, send text messages and utilize data services. 3G devices are operating normally.?

Samsung-Galaxy-Nexus-625x527With the other problems causing issues for Verizon customers earlier this month, the cellular company has yet to release a statement on the cause of these outages. Verizon has been heavily promoting the?4G LTE network as a benefit over other cellular providers in national advertising campaigns on television, radio and the Web. According to Verizon, the?4G LTE network is supposed to offer speeds approximately ten times faster than the average speed of a 3G connection across various cellular providers. With approximately 3.7 million Android devices activated over the holiday weekend, the amount of new subscribers utilizing Verizon?s?4G LTE network may be too much of a burden on the data network in large?metropolitan?areas.?

While Verizon claims that all 3G devices are operating properly, customers have also been complaining of 3G outages as well. Customers have indicated that the 4G network is completely unavailable and their new device only connects to the 3G network?intermittently. These issues during December have gone against Verizon?s advertising slogan that claims the 4G LTE network is the??nation?s fastest, most?reliable?4G network.?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

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Verizon?s 4G network goes down, cripples Thunderbolts; [UPDATE] VZW identifies outage source

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20111228/tc_digitaltrends/verizonusershitwiththirddataoutageindecember

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PostChristmas-they-got-a-Facebook-update-son-shot-in-race-attack - Indian Express

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

rondaracha: @kenyanbyrd i wrote abt the wire for black voices for my column and what made the wire so good was the mayor, the police chief was blk so

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Resident Evil, Doom y RAGE entre las ofertas navide?as para iPhone y iPad

Siguen las promociones navide?as en iTunes. En esta ocasi?n, son los grandes cl?sicos (y no tan cl?sicos) los que se apuntan a las atractivas rebajas que la tienda de Apple ofrece para sus iPhones y iPads. Shooter, survival horror y grandes estrenos de firmas como Capcom o id Software se unen a estas fechas de precios especiales.

Pas? la Nochebuena y pas? la Navidad, pero no por ello se acabaron el periodo de fiestas. A?n nos quedan los festejos de despedida y bienvenida de a?o, y los preciados regalos de reyes. Por ello, las ofertas de las grandes compa??as sobre sus productos no se terminan ese 25 de Navidad, y todav?a tenemos tiempo para pens?rnoslo bien y aprovechar alguna de dichas ofertas.

Y entre ellas, las que ofrece mayor cantidad de rebajas es iTunes, la tienda oficial de Apple para sus diferentes dispositivos, gracias a las ofertas lanzadas por las diferentes compa??as que colaboran a la hora de elaborar la lista de juegos para su sistema operativo, iOS.

Ya hemos ido comentado algunas de dichas ofertas, como la de Electronic Arts o Sega. Ahora toca hablar de otras dos compa??as cl?sicas en el mundo de los videojuegos, Capcom y id Software, que si bien su oferta en iPhone y iPad no es muy amplia, s? que est?n presentes en su lista algunos de sus juegos m?s cl?sicos, no s?lo dentro de cada compa??a, sino que constituyen algunos de los t?tulos que m?s huella han dejado en la historia de los videojuegos.

Empezamos con Capcom y su buque insignia, Resident Evil, que lleg? a los smartphones y tabletas de Apple con RE: Mercenaries VS, t?tulo que te ofrece la experiencia online m?s terror?fica que actualmente puedes ver en el mercado, con varios modos multijugador con equipos de uno contra uno o 2vs2, adem?s de una peque?a campa?a individual. Disfruta con Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine y Albert Wesker por tan s?lo 0,79 euros, para iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch de tercera y cuarta generaci?n, y ambos iPad con iOS 4.2 o superior.

Pero si hablamos de Capcom tambi?n hablamos de Street Figther, que ha hecho igualmente su aparici?n en iPhone y iPad con Street Figther IV Volt, donde recoge la esencia de la renovada serie, aunque esta vez, el precio se sit?a en los 2,39 euros. No obstante, merece mucho la pena.

Los otros dos t?tulos que ofrece Capcom a precios reducidos para iPhone y iPad son Devil May Cry 4 Refrain, y Munster Hunter Dynamic Hunting, ambos por s?lo 0,79 euros cada uno.

Hablemos ahora de id Software cuya oferta es ligeramente superior en cuanto a n?mero que la de Capcom, y al igual que ?sta guarda incunables, como DOOM, del que puedes disfrutar hasta con tres entregas diferentes, incluida la original y m?s cl?sica. Todas ellas por el mentado precio de 0,79 euros. Pero si hay otro nombre m?tico ligado a id Software ?se es, sin duda, Wolfenstein, que llega a iPhone y iPad manteniendo la esencia de aqu?l, tambi?n por menos de 1 euro.

Pero de cl?sicos no s?lo vive la compa??a. Y claro ejemplo es el espectacular RAGE, que tambi?n llega a los dispositivos de Apple con todo el potencial gr?fico posible, en dos versiones, ambas por 0?79 euros.

M?s t?tulos y m?s ofertas que hacen casi imposible no hacerse con algunos de los grandes t?tulos que App Store ofrece a precios m?s que atractivos.

Art?culos relacionados

  1. Batman Arkham Asylum a 4,95 euros entre las grandes ofertas en Steam
  2. The Bard?s Tale, otro RPG redondo llega a iPhone y iPad
  3. As? luce Mega Man X en iPhone y iPad
  4. Resident Evil Revelation : La versi?n para Nintendo 3DS ser? una continuaci?n de Resident Evil 5
  5. EA baja el precio de gran parte de sus juegos para iPhone y iPad por Navidad

Source: http://www.gamerzona.com/2011/12/27/resident-evil-doom-y-rage-entre-las-ofertas-navidenas-para-iphone-y-ipad/

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Union opposes eastern NY transmission route to pipe Montreal power to NYC

Dec 24 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Nancy Madsen Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.

A proposal from a Canadian company to build a transmission line from Quebec to New York City is opposed by union officials who believe it would hurt job prospects in upstate New York and keep transmission system improvements on the back burner.

"We are opposed to importing power from Canada," said Philip G. Wilcox, business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97, Orchard Park. "We want the commitment to invest in New York sources."

The union represents 14,000 electrical generation facility workers, and other IBEW unions in the state represent those who run and maintain transmission lines.

Mr. Wilcox said the union began voicing opposition to the project in the fall, nearly two years after it became public, because generation facilities where its members work are at risk due to the state grid system's congestion. Facilities such as AES Somerset in Niagara County are losing money because its power can't reach the higher-priced market in New York City.

And the delivery of 1,000 megawatts through two high-voltage, direct-current lines under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River would lower prices in the city, making it harder to finance projects to improve and upgrade other congested lines, he said.

Transmission Developers Inc., Toronto, designed the Champlain Hudson Power Express, a 330-mile link between hydroelectric facilities in Montreal. The $2 billion project is funded entirely by private investors, led by the Blackstone Group, New York City.

London Economics, London, said the project would save ratepayers in New York City $500 million to $800 million.

"It makes the state more efficient and productive," Transmission Developers President and CEO Donald Jessome said. "It has its own spinoff benefits."

The cable's construction would take four years and employ 200 people each year.

But if state investor-owned utilities, the New York Power Authority, the Public Service Commission and the New York Independent System Operator followed through on $4 billion in potential transmission upgrades around the state, that could employ 17,100 jobs directly and up to 52,000 directly and indirectly, said a May 2011 report by the Working Group for Investment in Reliable and Economic Electrical Systems and The Brattle Group.

And those grid improvements would allow existing facilities to ramp back up and new facilities, including new wind power projects, to sell on the wholesale market.

"Moreover, deficiencies in the State's electrical grid played a role in the decision not to site an additional nuclear power facility in Oswego County," wrote state Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, in a Nov. 21 letter to the governor's office. She wrote that both east-west connections and north-south lines need upgrades. "The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is well positioned to make strategic investments along these lines to relieve current pressures in the marketplace. I have spoken directly with NYPA officials in regards to my support of such investments."

Mrs. Ritchie, who is a member of the Energy and Telecommunications Committee, supports the cost of the upgrades being borne by downstate electricity users, who are paying a premium for electricity because of tight supply anyway.

New York Independent System Operator's State Transmission Assessment and Reliability Study found which improvements would be economically beneficial. They include transmission lines that run from the New York Power Authority's St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power project south to Marcy. The two 230-kilovolt lines that are more than 50 years old are known as the Moses-Adirondack lines. They run parallel to each other and to a 765-kilovolt line.

"The New York Power Authority is evaluating all options related to the replacement of its Moses-Adirondack lines due to the asset age which is consistent with the findings published in the STARS report," spokeswoman Connie M. Cullen said in an email. "NYPA is continually assessing its statewide transmission system to ensure the continued reliability of its system for decades to come. NYPA recognizes the importance of its transmission system for the delivery of economical electric supplies to businesses and residences, and to also incorporate more electricity from renewable sources into the state's power grid."

A second report through NYISO, the Congestion Assessment and Resource Integration Study, will allow developers to propose specific projects to address congestion.

TDI's CEO said the need for power in the city won't be overcome with just the Champlain Hudson project.

"It allows delivery of 1,000 megawatts in a 40,000 megawatt system," Mr. Jessome said. "There is lots of room for many projects to be built in the New York system and ours is just one of many solutions that are going to be required over a number of years for the existing needs and future needs of New York state."

The underwater route was chosen to avoid as much environmental and aesthetic harm as possible. Other similar projects include the Cross Sound Cable from Long Island to Connecticut and the Neptune Cable from New Jersey to Long Island. The project has support letters, filed in the state Public Service Commission process, from those in New York City, the League of Conservation Voters and 20 members of Congress.

A few environmental groups have raised objections to the project. Those groups, including the Adirondack Council, are involved in private negotiations on an undisclosed issue with the developer, PSC and other state and local agencies. The issue may be resolved by Jan. 10 and if private stakes are successful, the project will avoid a longer review.

In a letter Thursday, IBEW raised its objections to the PSC.

"The CHP project will be deleterious of New York State energy jobs, as well as the ability to finance investment into our transmission system, negatively impacting system reliability, energy independence, renewable energy development, and further threatening already struggling NYS-based power generators, especially in upstate New York," Local 97 President, Business Manager and Financial Secretary Theodore J. Skerpon wrote.

But Mr. Jessome said the project is an environmentally friendly approach to connecting to a market that is one of the most highly congested in North America and a difficult interconnection.

"That has been the real emphasis of the project -- to ensure the benefits are there for the state of New York," he said.

? All Grid Operations News

Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5666106755

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Dan Walters: California Democrats didn't cheat on redistricting, but they played politics well

California political junkies are all atwitter about an article on the website ProPublica about a clandestine campaign by Democratic apparatchiks to influence the state's redistricting commission congressional map-drawing.

Republicans are crying foul, while Democrats say it's pure fiction.

Republican state chairman Tom Del Beccaro claims that the article "systematically lays out the Democrats' manipulation of what should have been an open and transparent process. It also demonstrated exactly how the redistricting maps were corrupted by partisan activists working in cooperation with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee."

Call The Bee's Dan Walters, (916) 321-1195. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/walters. Follow him on Twitter @WaltersBee.

But his Democratic counterpart, John Burton, insists, "The article charging California Democrats with manipulating California's Redistricting Commission is pure fantasy," adding, "Sadly, ProPublica chose to recycle talking points from the Republican-funded Rose Institute without checking with the Democratic Party."

Both party leaders are blowing smoke.

The article offers too much documentation to be "pure fantasy." The Democrats had opposed an independent commission to replace a Democratic-dominated Legislature in redrawing legislative and congressional districts, while most Republicans supported it.

However, once it was done, via two voter- approved initiatives, Democrats looked for ways to influence the line-drawing. In other words, they practiced politics.

Del Beccaro denounces it as "manipulation," but it was just heads-up, professional politics, and he should be castigating those in his own party for falling asleep at the switch.

That said, the authors miss, or gloss over, a couple of salient points.

While they concentrate on a couple of Democrats whose seats were protected by intervention of some clandestine front groups and, perhaps, the gullibility of commission members, they don't mention the plan's adverse effects on other Democrats, such as forcing a high-octane shootout looming between Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman in Los Angeles County.

More importantly, the article doesn't mention that the Democrats' creation of "community of interest" front groups could be effective only because the 14-member commission, as chosen by a convoluted process, was hypersensitive to that approach.

The Democratic members of the commission tended to be partisans, its Republicans tended to be of the go-along variety, and the supposed independents turned out to be mostly liberals inclined to draw districts that favor ethnic and cultural enclaves.

That tendency ? coupled with underlying demographic and voter registration trends ? had the combined effect of not only protecting most incumbent Democrats but giving them a chance to make congressional gains.

Source: http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/23/1998464/dan-walters-california-democrats.html

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Kindle Fire A Legit Sales Threat To iPad

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Source: networks.org --- Monday, December 26, 2011
(18:59 UTC) TECHWEB : Kindle Fire A Legit Sales Threat To IPad ...

Source: http://networks.org/?src=techweb:232200633

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The_NHL_Arena: Few Returnees But Canada Is A Force As Always http://t.co/IWMf2ieT #nhl #hockey

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The NHL Arena

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Multinational crew blasts off for space station

Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:28pm EST

(Reuters) - A trio of astronauts blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on Wednesday on a mission to bring the International Space Station back up to full manpower after an August cargo launch accident disrupted flights.

The rocket carrying Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Don Pettit and the European Space Agency's Andre Kuipers lifted off at 8:16 a.m. EST under freezing conditions at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, a NASA Television broadcast showed.

The all-veteran crew was scheduled to reach the orbital outpost at 10:22 a.m. EST on Friday. They will join station commander Dan Burbank and two Russian cosmonauts who arrived last month, bringing the complex back to its full live-aboard staff of six.

Soyuz flights to the station were disrupted by the failure of a Russian Progress cargo ship in August. The Progress' upper-stage engine is virtually identical to the one used to fly crews to the station, prompting a suspension of flights until the cause of the accident could be found and fixed.

Russian engineers traced the problem to contamination in a fuel line, which prevented the rocket engine from firing. The capsule broke apart as it fell back through the atmosphere, scattering debris over parts of Siberia.

After detailed inspections and new procedures to tighten quality control, Russia resumed station cargo flights on October 30 and crew transports on November 14.

In addition to ramping up science experiments aboard the station, the astronauts and cosmonauts are expected to oversee the start of commercial cargo resupply flights.

Space Exploration Technologies, one of two firms hired by NASA to deliver cargo to the station following the space shuttles' retirement this summer, plans a trial run in February.

"I view these vehicles like wagon trains supplying some government-run fort out West," Pettit said in a prelaunch interview. "We have commercial entities that are lining up to take supplies to and from space station."

NASA eventually wants to buy rides to fly astronauts to the station commercially as well and is contributing to four firm's efforts. The U.S. space agency has $406 million to spend on space taxi development for the fiscal year that began on October 1 and plans to issue its next solicitation in mid-February, program managers said on Tuesday at an industry briefing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

With the space shuttles' retirement, NASA is dependent on Russia to fly crews to the station, a service that currently costs the United States about $350 million a year.

The station, a $100 billion project of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada, is a multi-purpose research laboratory for biology, physics, astronomy and other studies that orbits about 240 miles above Earth.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/cN6oqy7A9ao/us-space-soyuz-idUSTRE7BK0UY20111223

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Guns in the House (Balloon Juice)

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

eFax (for Android)


One would think that e-mail, FTP, instant messaging, and other methods of transferring files would have killed the fax machine, but the antiquated tool is still alive and kicking, especially in the business sector. Fortunately, you no longer need a dedicated fax machine (and the associated phone line and ink) to send and receive paperwork. eFax (Various prices 4 stars), an Internet-based fax service available in over 3,500 cities and 46 countries worldwide, gives you a real fax number that you can use to send and receive faxes?using your smartphone. The electronic faxing service's new Android app keeps most of the desktop version's functionality by letting the business-minded send messages from their Google-powered smartphones. ?You may not be able to apply digital signatures as you can with the desktop version, but it's a competent and capable business-friendly mobile app.

Simple Setup
eFax' Android app has a simple set up process for those who are new to the service. You simply input your name, email address, area code, phone number, check the Customer Agreement box, and tap Start Faxing. I inputted it into the app so that I could log in after receiving the fax number and pin in an email. I then arrived at the home screen that featured four main sections: "View Inbox," "View Folders," "Search Faxes," and "Send A Fax." Each section's function is self-explanatory. Naturally, existing eFax users can simply log in with their credentials.

Cost
There are three different types of eFax accounts: Free, Plus, and Pro. The free account lets you receive (not send) just 10 faxes per month, so it's a good match for those who very rarely fax. Next up the ladder is eFax Plus ($16.95 per month), which includes 130 pages of incoming faxes, and a 15-cent per page coverage fee (there's also a $10 one-time set up charge). eFax also offers a Pro model ($19.95 per month, $220 per year) designed for large businesses and individuals with heavy faxing needs. There's a $19.95 one-time set up fee, but with the higher cost comes 200 pages of incoming faxes and a cool voicemail feature that sends left messages to your inbox. There's also a 10-cent per page overage charge, which is five cents cheaper than the basic plan.

The Plus and Pro accounts are relatively expensive compared to Send2Fax' Home Office and Small Business plans which are $8.95 per month and $12.95 per month, respectively. MyFax has three plans, one of which starts of $10 per month for 100 faxes sent and 200 received.

The eFax Experience
Firing off a fax required that I tap "Send A Fax," key a phone number into the address field, and optionally fill in cover letter information. At the moment, eFax for Android only allows you to send photos snapped with the phone's camera or stored within the image gallery?no other file types. So, if you want to send a document, you'd have to shoot it with your phone's camera and then send it (which is what I did to test the service). You can, however, use eFax' email-to-fax capabilities (outside of the mobile app) to send files of any type.

The recipient contacted me stating that he received the fax five minutes after it was sent. When he responded with a fax of his own, it arrived in my inbox seven minutes later?not bad considering the money I saved on a dedicated machine, ink, and paper. Faxes can be tagged and archived, or forwarded as faxes or email messages, but you can?t add digital signatures as you can with the desktop version. Note: Fax quality may vary depending on your phone's camera.

Should You Subscribe to eFax?
eFax for Android works because it makes the fax process simple?you don't need to own a machine or visit Kinkos. All that's needed is a Web connection, which means you can fax from nearly any location. eFax for Android may only let you fax photos , and it doesn't support digital signatures, but there's an extremely high convenience factor. All in all, eFax is a solid companion for the for business customers who want to save on paper and ink.

More Android Apps Reviews:
??? eFax (for Android)
??? McAfee Family Protection Android Edition
??? OnLive (for Android)
??? LogMeIn Ignition (for Android)
??? Google Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ciuNnaHSAiQ/0,2817,2397975,00.asp

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Tintin?s Father, Nobody?s Son

Although Remi eventually gave Tintin?s age as 17, the same as Remi?s when he left school, the character is truly ageless. He?s old enough to hold a job as a journalist, although he does little actual reporting after the first few books, but his interests?treasure, adventure, gadgetry?are uniformly those of a boy, and that went for his creator as well. For all the attention Remi paid to the design of automobiles and the details of place, exquisitely rendered in the clear-line style, his characters are two-dimensional, as simple as the flat planes of color that fill their ?clear-line? outlines. It?s not hard to see the appeal of Tintin?s world to Steven Spielberg, a child of divorce forever exploring the aesthetics of adolescence.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=18e405c2c86cb702b908d4d90d469e59

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Friday, December 23, 2011

10,000 US troops leave Afghanistan

President Barack Obama's order to withdraw 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan this year has been accomplished, a little more than a week before the end-of-year deadline, military officials said.

The drawdown is the first step in the plan to wind down the war, transfer security to Afghan forces and end the combat role for international troops by the end of 2014.

It also gives the Obama administration a second war-related accomplishment to tout this month - coming just a week after US officials marked the end of the war in Iraq as the last convoy of American soldiers rumbled out of that country into Kuwait.

Officials say there are now 91,000 US troops in Afghanistan - down from the peak of 101,000 in June.

In December 2009, Mr Obama announced he was sending an additional 33,000 US troops to Afghanistan in a bid to beat back the escalating Taliban insurgency and change the course of the war.

Six months ago, declaring that the "tide of war is receding", Mr Obama said he would withdraw 10,000 troops by the end of this year, and another 23,000 by the end of next summer.

The decision was met with initial opposition from military leaders, who thought the withdrawal was too much, too soon, particularly since it would pull troops out before the end of next year's fighting season, which can last well into October and even November.

Last week, however, during a trip to Afghanistan, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta repeatedly told troops that the US had reached a turning point in the war.

At one point, he said: "I really think that for all the sacrifices that you're doing, the reality is that it is paying off and that we're moving in the right direction. We're winning this very tough conflict here in Afghanistan."

Contrasting with that assessment is the continuing violence in Afghanistan's east, along the Pakistan border, and the high-profile attacks and assassinations that continue to wreak havoc in and around Kabul. The violence is compounded by worries about government corruption, the fragile economy, and fears that Afghan forces will not be ready to take over security of the country as American and Nato troops leave.

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/845/f/464365/s/1b314a8a/l/0L0Sbelfasttelegraph0O0Cnews0Cworld0Enews0C10A0A0A0A0Eus0Etroops0Eleave0Eafghanistan0E160A945670Bhtml0Dr0FRSS/story01.htm

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For now, an oil pipeline is the best option

Published: December 14, 2011 6:00 AM

The opposition to proposed Alberta-based oil and gas projects is really a proxy war against Canada?s oil sands resources. Despite the miniscule role oil sands contribute to global CO2 emissions, they are an easy target for environmentalists.

Opponents have scored a victory of sorts now that the U.S. State Department will delay project approval of the Keystone XL pipeline until at least 2013.

Environmentalists oppose the Keystone XL and the Northern Gateway projects, and in Northern Gateway?s case, First Nation communities vowed to obstruct pipelines crossing traditional territories. ?Opponents in Nebraska are concerned Keystone will run through the Ogallala Aquifer.

Oil sands opponents use fear surrounding catastrophic oil and gas spills or leaks to advance their claims. Such threat is real but small, and is dwarfed by risks that modes of transportation like rail pose. Given recent expressions of interest from Canadian Pacific?over opportunities in transporting oil and gas and given pipeline construction delays, this is not a theoretical issue.

When it comes to frequency of accidents, data from the Transportation? Safety Board of Canada, the government agency responsible for federally-regulated oil and gas pipelines as well as railways ? reveals an interesting picture. Regarding annual frequency of accidents, pipelines are safer. These data does not cover provincially-regulated railways or pipelines. To provide an apple-to-apples comparison, the data focus on pipeline versus railway accidents that involve leaks or involve dangerous goods.

In terms of ?Reportable Pipeline Accidents? as opposed to ?Reportable Railway Accident?, pipelines come out on top. For pipelines, it means an accident that sustains damage affecting the safe operation of the pipeline, causes or sustains an explosion or a fire or ignition that is not associated with normal operating circumstances, or sustains damage resulting in a leak.

In contrast, ?Reportable Railways Accidents? refer to accidents resulting directly from the operation of rolling stock (rolling stock comprises all of the vehicles that move on a railway), where the rolling stock is involved in a collision or derailment and is carrying dangerous goods or is known to have last contained residue from dangerous goods.

In 2010, there were 141 rail accidents involving dangerous goods, but there was only one pipeline accident.? Unfortunately, Transportation Safety Board reporting does not include discharge data, making it difficult to know or evaluate proportions.?What is important is the toxicity of the discharge would be the same if the product was transported by rail or pipeline and that pipeline incidents are much less frequent.

Any accidents or incidents involving release of any substance is of concern and needs to be dealt with, but they need to be put into perspective. Even more so given that??the alternative is transporting to other oil markets mainly via tankers to China and Japan which carry their own safety risks. Stronger measures are needed to prevent accidents and minimize damage, but it is impossible to make all risk disappear.

Energy needs must be met from somewhere. At this time, pipeline is actually one the safest and efficient means available to us.

Joseph Quesnel is a policy analyst with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy where he writes mainly about Aboriginal and property rights issues.

?

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Source: http://www.ldnews.net/opinion/135538398.html

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Monday, December 19, 2011

House easily passes spending bill (Politico)

Moving with surprising speed, the House gave final approval Friday to a more than $1 trillion budget bill that fills in the blank spaces of the August debt accords and sets a new template for government spending through the 2012 elections.

The strong 296-121 bipartisan vote removes any remaining threat of a shutdown this weekend and Senate passage is now expected Saturday afternoon. As added insurance ?and to allow time for the Capitol?s enrollment clerks to complete the processing of the bill? a stopgap resolution to keep agencies funded through Dec. 23 was also approved and sent onto the Senate.

Continue Reading

Filling over 1,200 pages, the appropriations giant is remarkable for its reach, covering the heart of President Barack Obama?s domestic priorities, the Pentagon, and foreign aid plus tens of billions more related to the war in Afghanistan.

The final details were not released until early Thursday morning and even after that, changes were still being made for the White House less than 24 hours before the Friday?s House vote. But Republicans?who had long complained of Democrats doing the same thing?shrugged off any inconsistency, and the floor debate was remarkably compressed and the outcome never in serious doubt.

?There ought to be a portion of humility for all of us to understand that the legislative process is difficult,? said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), gently reminding the GOP of its past rage at him when Democrats were in power. ?I rise in strong support of this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation. None of them have read it. Not one of us has read every page of this bill.?

But for history, reading may be required. Indeed, after the burst of stimulus spending at the beginning of Obama?s first year, Washington is now very much a government retrenching after a year of real cuts that have rolled back domestic appropriations to Bush-era levels when adjusted for inflation.

That translates into a roughly 10 percent cut from spending levels last January when Republicans took over the House, and under the August debt agreement, this will become a new plateau stretching into the future with annual growth pegged below the rate of inflation.

Conservatives remain unhappy that the change has not been greater, and the new $1.043 trillion cap for 2012 is truly a retreat from the much deeper cuts proposed by the House Republicans? budge resolution last April. Then again, just a year ago Democrats were proposing their own omnibus bill, complete with parochial earmarks and spending $73 billion higher for non-defense programs.

The change now is a real victory for the House GOP with at least two caveats.

First, to a surprising degree the leadership has replaced spending earmarks with often special interest policy riders that are earmarks themselves in many respects. Coal, oil, paper and pulp companies, timber and Wall Street all were players behind the scene.

Second, the party is still struggling and prone to shortcuts as it copes with the caps set in August for security funding and defense.

Overseas contingency funds, ostensibly for military operations in Afghanistan and other theaters, have become a safety valve to pay for an ever larger share of core Pentagon costs. And much as Republicans have criticized Obama?s decision to bring more American forces home, the resulting savings have helped the GOP sustain what has become a very costly military ? amid spending cuts elsewhere.

The same war savings have also helped the GOP leadership steer around the problem of explaining the extra disaster aid money allowed under the August accords?outside the budget caps.

Prior to Friday, Congress had already approved about $2.4 billion in such assistance, and on a separate 351-67 vote Friday, the House approved an additional $8.1 billion for FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to deal with the aftermath of flooding and storms this past year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1211_70569_html/43929707/SIG=11mggnaf0/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70569.html

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Document: Perry double dips state salary, pension (tbo)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/175667942?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Summary Box: Hovnanian Enterprises 4Q loss narrows (AP)

HOMING IN: Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. reported a smaller loss in the fiscal fourth quarter, aided by lower expenses and charges. The homebuilder lost 90 cents a share on revenue of $341.6 million.

MORE SIGNINGS: New home contracts rose 3 percent, while home deliveries fell 3 percent. Its backlog of homes under contract increased 19 percent.

OUTLOOK: Management says it isn't projecting any improvement in the housing market for the next two years, but believes it can boost its revenue and move toward profitability by selling homes from newer communities, which it plans to add next year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_hovnanian_summary_box

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Three Real Estate Investing Mistakes To Avoid: BiggerPockets ...

Calculator wide Three Real Estate Investing Mistakes To Avoid: BiggerPockets Investors CornerquestionsRealtor.com is working with BiggerPockets.com, to bring beginning real estate investors helpful advice and tips for getting started in real estate. Join us here each Wednesday morning for wisdom directly from the BiggerPockets team:

When I first started investing in real estate, there was an expression that the seasoned investors at the local real estate investors club used for investors like me. It wasn?t that I was a ?newbie.??They didn?t say that I was ?green? at investing.?None of the usual monickers that get attached to those that are new at something. No, I was referred to as ?young and dumb.? Young as in brand new to investing and dumb as in I thought I had it figured out.?I had read the Carlton Sheets real estate investing program cover to cover and lucked into my first deal.?Even after stumbling through it, I was convinced that real estate investing was my ticket to riches and was bound and determined to show everyone watching how to ?Just Do It.?

Needless to say, the seasoned investors at the?real estate club were seasoned for a reason!?I would have been much better served as a beginning investor to listen to their advice and soak up some of the wisdom that comes from having blazed the trail before me. I am still friends with several investors from that original real estate club in Denver, CO. and although we don?t speak as often any more, the lessons they taught me still resonate today.? Even though I had to learn from my own mistakes; the simple fact that they tried to help me early on drives me to do the same.

With that in mind, I looked back this past week at some of my mistakes through the years and there are definitely three that stand out.? These three mistakes have literally cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars and many sleepless nights so I don?t write them without having gone through a very thoughtful process.? Take heart though?at least I am telling you how?NOT to make the same mistakes I made!

Avoid these Three Mistakes I Made as a Real Estate Investor

Experience Counts

There is a reason that many organizations are set up in a hierarchy with the longest serving members in the leadership roles.?There is a reason that many corporations have formal organizational charts which show a natural flow for advancement to leadership positions that favor time served and results earned. Experience counts!

When I started investing in real estate, I was surrounded by many investors who had invested in all types of markets.?They had invested when money was tight, when money was loose, when interest rates were high, when interest rates were low, when mortgages were assumable, when buyers were desperate, when sellers were desperate, etc, etc.?They had been through multiple real estate cycles and had experienced nearly every scenario imaginable. These were investors who had failed and succeeded and would gladly tell you why for both!??

My first biggest mistake was not leaning on them for their advice!

I had read books and attended seminars and thought that my learning through osmosis would protect me from failure.? I was wrong.? What would have protected me from failure would have been surrounding myself very early on with knowledgeable investors who would answer my questions.?They were all around me both in Colorado and in Tennessee, but I had a mentality that I could study my way to success.?Sometimes, success finds those who know where to look!?Every major city in America has groups of investors ? whether they are formal or informal ? that gather to discuss real estate investing.?We?ll save the debate on the usefulness of individual REIA? s for another day, but this is where you are going to find mentors.?Investors who feel they have an almost fiduciary duty to try and help new investors.?With the advent of the internet, sites like BiggerPockets have become online gatherings of some very experienced real estate investors who freely dispense advice and knowledge all gleaned from experience. Investors are literally surrounded by opportunity for both success and failure.?Yet, the days of having to blaze your own path should be left behind.?Lean on others who have ascended to the position of being able to give advice on real estate investing through their years of experience.

Being Inquisitive Is the Sharpest Tool in an Investors Tool Belt

Sorry for the whole ?Tool Belt? cliche, but I needed to remind investors that there are many ways to increase your chances of success in real estate investing.?One of the best ways is to develop a natural sense of simply asking lots of questions.?Too often, investors are presented numbers from their partners or agents, appraisers, inspectors, wholesalers, renovators and, heck, even Tturnkey companies, and they fail to ask even basic questions.?Even when you know the answers, it is good to ask questions.?It keeps you and those presenting you with opportunities or analysis sharp and on their game as well.

I entered into a fix and flip real estate deal with a partner at one point who was a Realtor.?He was a friend of mine who I had known for many years, and I knew that he was a damn good person. I knew that he would never cheat me and would rather cheat himself before ever intentionally hurting someone else financially. I trusted him implicitly and it cost both of us.?He and I had done many business deals together, but had never partnered in real estate.?He was looking to branch out and develop a second active income stream and tested for his real estate license. He owned several rental properties and was able to keep them occupied but could not make them cash flow positive.?When he and I decided to partner on real estate deals, he brought two opportunities to me to review and sign off on.?He had compiled all of the data and his analysis and this is where I made my mistake.??

My second biggest mistake was failing to question the numbers!

In hindsight, I should have questioned the numbers right off the bat, knowing that he had never turned a profit as a landlord and that he had only recently earned his real estate license.?But I relied on him to do the analysis and I put up the money.? The first deal worked smoothly and we were able to eke out a small profit to split.?He estimated $20,000 in renovations and a resale of $185,000.?Factoring in all costs, we were set to split a profit of around $50,000.?We sold the property inside 90 days after spending $32,000 in renovations for $173,000 after concessions.?We split roughly $30,000 which wasn?t bad, but was a whopping 40% below projections.

On the second deal, we anticipated spending $60,000 on renovations and a resale of approximately $450,000 within 6 months for what would have been an incredible six-figure pay day!?I will keep this brief!?After spending over $90,000 on renovations and waiting two years, the property could not be sold for $295,000.?These two deals were done simultaneously which only compounded the problems.?Whatever we made on the first deal was eaten up on the second. I do not blame my partner for one dollar lost by either of us.? I blame myself. Had I questioned his numbers more and dug through his analysis, I would have found the glaring errors he made in renovation costs and would have been able to point out the mistakes he was making in using comps.? Had I not found them, one of the experienced investors who I should have been turning to for advice surely would have found them.?See how these mistakes kind of compound on each other!

Just Because You Can, Does Not Mean You Should

When I finally started coming around to the notion that long-term buy & hold and passive income streams were a better suited fit for my investing style, I still hadn?t figured out how to avoid the first two mistakes on my list.?I owned and operated a very successful business and had spent years at this point learning from others including learning how to plan, execute and stay on task. Unfortunately, I did not apply those lessons to my buy & hold strategy.

As a successful entrepreneur, I had my own capital to use for real estate investing, but I also had easy access to credit.?I had banks lining up to give me credit and to fund my real estate transactions.?I was being approached by wholesalers and agents who had seen my name in the County Deed registration lists and who knew I was purchasing property.?They in turn put me in touch with more banks who wanted to do business.? For anyone who has been in real estate for longer than 10 years, you can probably see where this is heading.?I had laid out a clear plan with my wife to purchase 15-20 investment properties which we would allow tenants to pay off for us over a set period of time.?When they were paid off, those 15-20 investment properties would provide us with opportunity to pay for our kids college funds, give our kids an amazing wedding gift (deed to a free & clear property) and provide for our retirement.

My third biggest mistake was failure to stay on MY plan!

I allowed myself to get sidetracked. I grew starry-eyed and began to have bigger aspirations that had nothing to do with the original plan my wife and I had set out.? Before I knew it, I had more than tripled our original investment plan and had done it using a completely different strategy.?We were not purchasing the style of house that we knew made a good investment and instead started purchasing spreadsheet numbers.? No longer was I using our funds from the successful business.?Instead I was borrowing from every lender who offered easy access. I was buying simply because I could, not because I should.?Our investment properties took on a life of their own and soon we were not only swallowed by the sheer massive amount of time it took to manage the paperwork and keep the books, but we were swallowed by the debt on those properties.? It affected the time we were able to devote to our business, our family and the portfolio itself.

Understand that I am not saying the large portfolio was the problem.?Many investors plan for larger portfolios and take all the necessary steps along the way. For us, we wanted 15-20 and ended up with over 50. I committed all three of my biggest mistakes at the same time. I didn?t listen to those around me who told me I was moving way too fast.? After all, they knew from experience.?I failed to question the numbers on the houses, the locations of the houses and even the method I was going to purchase and began to take actions that were not consistent with the plan my wife and I had set out.

To borrow another cliche?do as I say and not as I did!? If you can avoid these three mistakes as a real estate investor, you can absolutely control your future and point your real estate investments in a successful direction.?Just make one commitment when you find that success. Share your biggest mistakes with the new ?young and dumb? investors you come across and do your best to guide them to success.

This post by?Chris Clothier was originally posted on BiggerPockets.com.

Related posts:

  1. Staying Positive as a Real Estate Investor: BiggerPockets? Investor?s Corner
  2. Passively Investing in Real Estate is Critical for Retirement: BiggerPockets Investor?s Corner
  3. What Would You do if You Were Starting to Invest in Real Estate Today? BiggerPockets Investor?s Corner
  4. Real Estate Investing At The Speed of Opportunity: BiggerPockets Investor?s Corner
  5. 3 Important Factors When Considering A Market for Real Estate Investment: BiggerPockets Investor?s Corner

Source: http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2011/12/14/three-real-estate-investing-mistakes-to-avoid-biggerpockets-investors-corner/

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Enviros, locals, tribes spar over Wis. mine bill (AP)

WEST ALLIS, Wis. ? Conservationists, business leaders and tribal leaders squared off Wednesday at the first public hearing on a Republican bill designed to kick-start an iron mine in far northwestern Wisconsin.

The battle lines over Gogebic Taconite's plans for an iron mine in the Penokee Hills just south of Lake Superior have been clear for months. Supporters insist the mine will be an economic god-send, creating hundreds of good-paying jobs that will re-energize the impoverished region. Environmentalists and tribal leaders, though, worry the mine will contaminate one of the most pristine regions in the state.

The dispute has grown into one of the most contentious environmental debates Wisconsin has seen in years. Assembly Republicans opened another front in the fight last week when they introduced sweeping legislation that would ease the state's rigorous mining permit process for Gogebic Taconite.

Scores of people on both sides spent hours waiting for a chance to sound off in front of the Assembly jobs committee Wednesday inside a state fair park pavilion. Committee aides said 150 people had registered to speak by mid-afternoon.

One of the first was Shirl LaBarre, who runs a plumbing business with her husband in Hayward. She pleaded with the committee to pass the bill, saying people in northern Wisconsin are desperate for work.

"I respect the earth. I respect the water. (But) we've got to have jobs. There's nothing now," she said. "It's relatively simple. It seems like you guys are making it more difficult."

John Senda, chairman of the Iron County Republican Party, called northwestern Wisconsin's economy "dysfunctional." He said the area is totally reliant on tourism, and those jobs pay next to nothing. He said the region has seen mining in the past and the environment hasn't suffered. Conservationists are resorting to scare tactics, he said.

"We still have trout and they don't glow," he said.

Marvin DeFoe is vice chairman of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior, whose reservation lies about 75 miles north of the proposed mine site. He told the committee he was speaking for the fish and the trees.

"My people would rather have clean water than a job," he said. "If we just focus on one element ? jobs ? we're going to miss the harm we cause."

Glenn Stoddard, an attorney for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior, ripped the bill, too, saying it was written specifically for one company. He warned the committee that even if the bill passes the Legislature jobs won't materialize for years because Gogebic Taconite still must obtain federal permits.

"It's a cruel hoax to say this is about jobs," Stoddard said.

The Penokee Hills run from Michigan's Upper Peninsula through Wisconsin's Iron and Ashland counties, where the unemployment rate is about 10 percent, more than 2 percentage points higher than the state rate.

The first phase of Gogebic Taconite's plans calls for mining a 4-1/2 mile stretch of the hills near Mellen, a city of about 900 people just south of the Bad River's reservation. Company officials say that phase likely will last at least 35 years, generating about $1.4 billion in state and local tax revenue, creating 700 jobs for people in the area and 2,000 ancillary jobs for the region's service and transportation industries.

Conservationists say the mine would pollute one of the state's most pristine areas. The Bad River in particular fear the mine would contaminate the sensitive sloughs where they hold their traditional rice harvests.

Company officials have suspended their plans, though, saying they want assurances from legislators of a definite end point in the state Department of Natural Resources mine permitting process, which can take years to complete. Republican lawmakers, who see the mine as a tangible way to deliver on campaign promises to create jobs, spent most of the last year working on a bill.

The 183-page legislation released last week would require the DNR to approve or deny an iron mine application within 360 days, eliminate challenges to DNR permitting decisions along the way and limit who can sue over permit violations. It also would ease standards for water withdrawals and redirect half of a state tax on ore sales that currently is earmarked for municipalities near mines back to the state.

Gogebic Taconite president Bill Williams said after that hearing that he appreciates Republicans' efforts to put "common sense" into the permitting process.

"Those are the things that get the project off the ground," he said. Williams said people should realize the approval process will be based on scientific merit, not on "emotional heartache."

It's unclear what will become of the bill. The jobs committee wasn't expected to vote on the measure Wednesday, although Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald has promised a full Assembly vote early next year. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have created their own committee to consider changes to the mine permit process.

Rep. Mary Williams, R-Medford, took heat for scheduling the hearing in West Allis, a Milwaukee suburb some 300 miles from the Penokee Hills. Mine opponents and supporters alike complained they had to drive hours to be heard.

Republicans have said the location made sense because heavy equipment manufacturers that would benefit from the mine are based in the Milwaukee area. Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Tim Sheehy echoed that stance in written remarks to the committee, saying the mine will have a huge impact on those businesses.

"This is an opportunity the entire state cannot afford to pass up," Sheehy said.

Williams told the crowd that the committee held an information hearing on mining in Hurley, a town near the proposed site, in October ? although the bill hadn't been released yet ? and state senators who represent the mine area can call for a hearing up north if they choose.

Fitzgerald issued a statement Wednesday afternoon praising Williams for holding the hearing in West Allis.

"... It is clear from the testimony today," Fitzgerald said, "that this bill will not only lead to thousands of jobs in northern Wisconsin but southeastern Wisconsin as well."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wisconsin_jobs_mining

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