The Economy | Halliburton move is nothing to worry about

Thursday, March 22, 2007

I know I should be outraged about Halliburton Co.'s chairman moving his headquarters to Dubai. And I'm trying - I really am.

But I'm afraid my righteous-anger quotient just isn't up to snuff.

Yes, I know that for many people, merely uttering the name of the big Texas conglomerate - with its labyrinthine ties to Iraq, the Pentagon and the White House, via its former chairman, Vice President Cheney - is enough to spark waves of suspicion and indignation.

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The Economy | OPEC and commodity traders aren't only ones feeling the heat

Thursday, March 22, 2007

My snowboard-mad teenager isn't the only one distressed by the absence of snow this year. So are OPEC's oil sheikhs and a flock of commodity traders around the world.

Energy investors from New York to Singapore are grinding their teeth as they watch the Weather Channel, where the forecast could be shaping the end of a chapter in global oil markets.

You may not have realized it, but in addition to being the center of the civilized universe, America's urban northeastern corridor also is the world's biggest market for home heating oil.

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We are being duped by big oil companies

Thursday, March 22, 2007

The gasoline situation's gone from the sublime to the ridiculous.

What was $2.49 per gallon a month ago is now $3.15 a gallon because of the switch to summer gasoline. Summer? This switch was made on Feb. 15, in the dead of winter. I didn't think summer started until June 21.

Here's the way to figure gas prices. The formula's the same for figuring out how many weeks are in a month: 4-1/3 weeks.

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Softer rate stance solidifies market

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Stocks and Treasury securities rallied broadly Wednesday, as traders

cheered a statement by the Federal Reserve that appeared to indicate a looser

stance on interest rates.

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Malcolm Berko column: 401(k) options can be bewildering

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Dear Mr. Berko: I'm a 51-year-old working mother who has, by the grace of luck and God accumulated $146,000 in my 401(k) account. I worked for a public company for the last 27 years and all of this money came from investing in the company's common stock. The plan is being closed down and I am going to move this money to my new employer's 401(k) plan. And I am really confused because there are so many investment alternatives and I haven't a single clue how to select an investment from the huge me...

-- S.H., Columbus, Ohio

Dear S.H.: It's presumptuous, irresponsible and derelict when employers blithely toss complicated and crucial investment options to their employees with a "hurry and fill in the darn blanks so we can finish this and get back to work" attitude. After our 35-minute conversation, I am pleased to give you the following advice.

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Sound the alarm: It's early to bed, sleepy head

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Q. Why are you wide awake when you wake up on the weekend without an alarm clock, but you're groggy and tired when you wake up on a weekday with an alarm clock? -- Joanne Bryla, China Grove

Because on the weekend -- and this has been scientifically proven -- there is a far greater likelihood of pancakes. With a slightly higher statistical incidence of blueberries.

"Waking up to an external stimulus brings you out of sleep before you are ready to spontaneously awaken," says Dr. James Krainson of the South Florida Sleep Diagnostic Center in Miami. "This can occasionally cause confusion and usually doesn't feel as good as awaking on your own, even if you awaken at a similar time."

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BP workers tired from overtime, union leader says

Thursday, March 22, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska- Long hours are the norm at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, but veteran workers for field operator BP PLC said a labor shortage has made conditions ripe for fatigue-related accidents similar to one that killed 15 employees in the company's Texas plant in 2005.

The dearth of highly skilled technicians at well pads and oil collection centers coincided with an uptick in construction and pipeline inspections following two spills at Prudhoe Bay last year.

The company has failed to fill about a dozen vacancies for highly skilled technicians, despite repeated requests from its union since September, said Kris Dye, president of United Steelworkers 4959.

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Inside the writer's mind

Thursday, March 22, 2007

An author delivers nuggets of wisdom to middle-schoolers: Do the research first. Don't expect good writing at first. Don't ever give up.

ADVERTISEMENT

INVERNESS - Fifty years ago, Roland Smith wanted something almost any 5-year-old would want: a bicycle.

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Thursday's Letters

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Re "Global warming swindle": Thomas Sowell should apply for a position in the Bush White House. President Bush welcomes any intellectual with his head in the sand. We could certainly use another voice from the administration denying global warming and its causes. Maybe Mr. Sowell could also deny that things are not going so well in Iraq. Maybe he should declare himself as a candidate for the presidency of the United States, assuming he can pull his head out of the sand long enough to find the White House.

Denis C. Leeds

Thomas Sowell accused environmentalists of lying and "swindling" America about global warming in order to further some political agenda. I can't quite figure out what political agenda such a lie might serve. However, there is a motive for Sowell and other Republicans to deny global warming: Global warming is bad for business, therefore there is no global warming. Monday's Yahoo News broadcast a story which included the following:

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Union says BP workers tired from overtime

Thursday, March 22, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska- Long hours are the norm at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, but veteran workers for field operator BP PLC said a labor shortage has made conditions ripe for fatigue-related accidents similar to one that killed 15 employees in the company's Texas plant in 2005.

The dearth of highly skilled technicians at well pads and oil collection centers coincided with an uptick in construction and pipeline inspections following two spills at Prudhoe Bay last year.

The company has failed to fill about a dozen vacancies for highly skilled technicians, despite repeated requests from its union since September, said Kris Dye, president of United Steelworkers 4959.

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Markets register a broad advance

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Stocks continued to rebound Tuesday in another day of moderate trading.

Prices were boosted once again by merger-and-acquisition optimism, as well as

a modest rally in Treasury bonds.

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Panel releases documents showing climate reports were edited

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

WASHINGTON — A House committee released documents Monday that showed hundreds of instances in which a White House official edited government climate reports to play up uncertainty or play down evidence of a human role in global warming.

In a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the official, Philip Cooney, who left his government post in 2005, defended the changes he made in reports over several years, saying the editing was part of the normal White House review process and reflected findings in a climate report written for President George W. Bush by the National Academy of Sciences in 2001.

They were the first public statements on the issue by Cooney, the former chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Before joining the White House, Cooney was the "climate team leader" for the American Petroleum Institute, the main oil industry lobby in Washington.

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Police say mother, girl may be dead

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

SPRINGFIELD This weekend marks three years since family and friends have seen Jennifer and Adrianna Wix, a mother and daughter who simply disappeared from a Robertson County gas station March 24, 2004.As the grim anniversary approaches without a fruitful lead, investigators say they are now handling the case as a homicide.

"It has been a missing persons case. We are now looking at it as a missing person and presumed dead case," said Lt. Don Bennett of the Robertson County Sheriff's Office who has worked the case since the beginning. "With all these sighting and nothing concrete, we have to presume they are dead."

Boyfriend saw them go

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Stocks Rise AgainAs Market AwaitsComments From Fed

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Stocks rallied for a second straight day to more than recover last week's losses, as traders awaited comments today from the Federal Reserve.

As the Fed's rate-setting committee began its two-day meeting yesterday, the market digested data from the Commerce Department showing a stronger-than-expected rise in new-home construction in February. The rise seemed to suggest that economy is still on solid footing but didn't seem to strike fears of renewed inflation. Investors bid stock and bond prices higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 61.93 points, or 0.5%, to 12288.10, still down 1.4% on the year. Exxon Mobil and Wal-Mart Stores were the blue-chip average's strongest components in percentage terms, each rallying more than 1.2%.

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Time running out for lottery winner to claim million-dollar prize

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A million dollars could pay for a four-bedroom home on the Traditions golf course, about 4,000 Nintendo Wii game systems or 25 loaded Ford F-150 trucks. It also could buy more than 411,000 gallons of gas at the Exxon Express Mart in Bryan, which is where the prize for a winning Texas Two Step lottery ticket has gone unclaimed for almost six months.

Enlarge photo

Buy this photo

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Wall Street rebounds after slipping below 12,000

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Wall Street gyrated and then steadied itself Wednesday, closing with a respectable advance although the Dow Jones industrials fell as much as 136 points and briefly dropped below the 12,000 mark before recovering.

Stocks bounced back and forth a day after concerns about faltering subprime mortgage lenders sparked a broad selloff.

H&R Block Inc. had added to Wall Street's uneasiness by announcing after the closing bell Tuesday its fiscal third-quarter losses would rise because of a $29 million writedown at its mortgage arm.

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Keisterville man sentenced in robberies

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A Keisterville man who acted as the getaway driver in three Fayette County armed robberies was sentenced to 2 1/2 to five years in prison and must provide truthful testimony against his accomplice.

Mario Zitz, 19, was the driver in robberies at the Exxon gas station in Uniontown and the Pizza Hut in South Union Township on June 22, 2006, and the Kwik Fill in Menallen Township the following day. His alleged accomplice, Junior Guthrie, went into the stores, brandishing a shotgun.

In the Pizza Hut robbery, Guthrie, 19, of Keisterville allegedly fired a shot at a clerk.

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Letters to the Editor - March 21

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Here is just a short report on how good Wal-Mart is for its employees. This report came out of the Boulder Weekly newspaper:

"Executives from Wal-Mart announced Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007, that they are joining with the union leaders in an effort to provide 'quality, affordable' health care for their workers by 2012. Apparently, the company needed some good press after losing a court ruling that clears the way for a massive sexual discrimination lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart by female employees. If the multi-billion dollar retailer wanted to give its employees decent health care, it wouldn't need five years to get the job done."

Why is it that now the Wal-Mart executives have decided to associate with the unions? They have never before wanted to do this.

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Government scientists protest to panel on climate

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

WASHINGTON — Government scientists, armed with copies of heavily edited reports, charged Monday that the Bush administration and its political appointees had soft-pedaled their findings on climate change.

The accusations led Democrats and Republicans at the congressional hearing to accuse each other of censorship, smear tactics and McCarthyism.

To underscore the administration’s oil-friendly stance, Democrats grilled an oil lobbyist who was hired by the White House to review government climate change documents and who made hundreds of edits that the lawmakers said minimized the impact of global warming.

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PASADENA POLICE BRIEFS

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

MAN'S CAR BURGLARIZED - A man's car was broken into over night in the 3900 block of Burke between 10 p.m. March 15 and 6 a.m. the following morning. When Pasadena police officers contacted the victim, he told them that he had parked his vehicle in the parking lot the night before and when he came outside to check the vehicle that morning , he noticed the rear passenger side window broken out, causing $150 damage. His Motorola blue tooth ear piece was stolen from inside his console, which cost ...

BURGLAR ENTERS VACANT BUILDING - On March 16 at 4:41 a.m., Pasadena police officials were dispatched to a bar at 5626 Red Bluff Rd in response to an alarm call. When the officer arrived at the location, he noticed the roof access panel hanging open. The officer then called additional units for assistance. The K-9 unit later arrived and inspected the entire premises of the building, but was unable to find anything damaged or missing from the property. Officers were able to detect footprints that...

MAN ARRESTED

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BP workers exhausted from too much overtime, union leader says

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska Veteran workers for field management company B-P P-L-C are exhausted from too much overtime and are concerned about the potential for fatigue-related accidents.That's according to a union leader for workers at Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska.The president of United Steelworkers 4959 also says the company has failed to fill about a dozen empty positions for highly skilled technicians, despite repeated requests from the union since September.B-P officials said at least nine new t...

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Nowadays, Angola Is Oil’s Topic A

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

VIENNA, March 16 — Angola, which shared the stage with the world’s most powerful oil-producing nations at its first OPEC meeting here Thursday, is an unlikely candidate to be the darling of the global oil industry.

A corrupt, underdeveloped and war-scarred country, Angola is one of the poorest lands on earth. But ask any energy executive these days and another picture emerges: a place of immense riches, solicitous of foreign investors and among the three fastest-growing oil exporters in the world today.

In the capital, Luanda, hotel rooms cost more than $200 a night and are booked two months in advance by the oil companies; three times a week, nonstop charter flights known as the Houston Express ferry workers to and from Texas; offshore, dozens of oil fields have been discovered and given names like Cola and Canela.

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Stock watch

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Stocks advanced in moderate trading Monday, as big money chased merger

deals, and other investors struggled not to be left behind.

Despite the taint of the subprime mortgage woes, bank stocks rallied after

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THINK ABOUT IT: The Mystery of Sleep

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Everyone sleeps. No matter how much we may not want it, most of us spend one third of our lives sleeping. It is just one of those funny things about being human...we must do it.

In fact, all reptiles, birds and mammals sleep. Some prefer sleeping at night; others prefer sleeping in the day. Some, like humans, prefer sleeping in one long session; others, like dogs, prefer sleeping in bursts. Horses, sheep and cows can even sleep standing up.

We live in a world that tempts us not to sleep. Drive-through restaurants, convenience stores and even grocery stores are open 24/7. New York City is the "city that never sleeps." Technology allows us to interact with anyone in the world in spite of their time zone.

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Trial under way in Wilkinsburg double slaying

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Charlotte Tillman said she and her friends were heading home to Virginia after an overnight road trip to a Wilkinsburg party when a young man they'd just met came running toward them, at a nearby gas station, shouting that two of their hosts had been shot.

James Bernard asked to borrow the 16-year-old Ms. Tillman's cell phone and yelled for someone to call 911, she testified yesterday, but then Mr. Bernard -- on trial this week for two homicides -- kept running.

"When he ran across the street we didn't believe him," she told Allegheny County Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski. The four girls left the Exxon station and continued their journey home on a drizzly Easter day, March 27, 2005.

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Nowadays, Angola Is Oil’s Topic A JAD MOUAWAD

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

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Official defends editing climate reports

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Washington- A former White House official accused of improperly editing reports on global warming defended his editing changes Monday, saying they reflected views in a 2001 report by the National Academy of Sciences.

House Democrats said the 181 changes made in three climate reports reflected a consistent attempt to emphasize the uncertainties surrounding the science of climate change and undercut the broad conclusions that man-made emissions are warming the Earth.

Philip Cooney, former chief of staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, acknowledged at a hearing of the House Government Reform Committee that some of the changes he made were "to align these communications with the administration's stated policy" on climate change.

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Bank of America CEOIs Paid $27.9 Million

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Bank of America Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth D. Lewis received a pay package valued at $27.9 million in 2006 and realized a gain of $77 million by exercising stock options in a year when the company's shares surged more than 13%.

Mr. Lewis, whose bank briefly surpassed Citigroup Inc. last year as the biggest U.S. bank by market value, was paid more than Citigroup Chairman and CEO Charles Prince's $26 million compensation. Mr. Lewis's compensation also exceeded the $23.8 million package of G. Kennedy Thompson, chairman and CEO of Charlotte, N.C., rival Wachovia Corp. Mr. Lewis earned slightly less than Wells Fargo & Co.'s Richard Kovacevich, whose reported compensation was $29.8 million.

Mr. Lewis's package included restricted stock awards valued at $11.7 million, option awards valued at $5 million, incentive compensation valued at $6.5 million, a $3 million increase in his pension's value and $1.5 million in salary, according to a proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Fatigue study sure to open eyes

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

COLUMBIA, Mo. Daniel Vinson wants you to play it safe and ignore what you are about to read.

They are the findings of his latest study, and they are so controversial they have the researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia feeling uneasy.

"I think this is a potentially dangerous study," Vinson said. "It's almost like saying that smoking is good for you."

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Nation Briefly - World & Nation

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' hold on his job grew more uncertain Monday as the Senate debated removing his authority to unilaterally name U.S. attorneys and the White House said it merely hoped he would survive the tumult.

Asked if Gonzales had contained the political damage from the firing of eight federal prosecutors, White House spokesman Tony Snow said, "I don't know."

Snow declined to predict how long Gonzales would stay in his job but reiterated President Bush's support of him.

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Official defends editing climate papers

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A former White House official accused of improperly editing reports on global warming defended his editing changes Monday, saying they reflected views in a 2001 report by the National Academy of Sciences. House Democrats said the 181 changes made in three climate reports reflected a consistent attempt to emphasize the uncertainties surrounding the science of climate change and undercut the broad conclusions that man-made emissions are warming the earth. Philip Cooney, form...

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Tax increase would be U.S.' largest in a decade: study

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

(Crains) Gov. Rod Blagojevichs proposed $7-billion tax on business would dwarf the biggest tax increases enacted in other states over the past decade, a new study says.

The new taxes, including a $6-billion gross-receipts tax and a $1-billion payroll tax, would consume almost 1.3% of the states economic output, nearly three times more than a tax increase enacted by Indiana in 2003, according to the Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C.

Gov. Blagojevichs tax proposal would increase state revenue by nearly 27%, almost twice the 14% increase in revenue Nevada saw from a hike that state enacted in 2004. Four of the top 10 state tax hikes in the past decade increased revenues by only single-digit percentages.

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Angola's stature grows as the petroleum flows

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

VIENNA, AUSTRIA Angola, which shared the stage with the world's most powerful oil-producing nations at its first OPEC meeting here last week, is an unlikely candidate to be the global oil industry's darling.

An underdeveloped, war-scarred country that has suffered for decades because of corrupt leadership, Angola is one of the poorest lands on the planet. But ask any energy executive these days and another picture emerges: a place of immense riches, solicitous of foreign investors, and among the three fastest-growing oil exporters in the world today.

Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and others have poured billions into Angola in the last decade to unlock oil resources in the nation's deep waters, and the payoffs are finally coming in.

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Bush Throttles Warming Debate

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Bush administration and its friends in the fossil-fuel industry have taken several tacks to counter scientific consensus that the planet's atmosphere is warming because of man-made emissions.

Exxon Mobil and other energy companies have financed groups that cast doubt on the prevailing research. They've challenged the motives of climate scientists, and exaggerated the economic impacts of possible solutions to global warming.

The Bush administration has done its part by stifling and intimidating federal scientists who are studying the impacts and causes of climate change.

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Demos whoop it up for presidential hopefuls

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

      WASHINGTON — John Edwards aimed for their tear ducts, Hillary Clinton appealed to their fighting spirit and Barack Obama asked them to join him in pursuit of a thing called "hope."

      The hundreds of Democrats — a focus group of the faithful — gathered for the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee weren't in a mood to choose candidates on Friday, it being almost a full year before the first primary and caucus votes will be cast in the 2008 presidential primary.

      They wept, let out whoops and rose to their feet in agreement mostly as a unified group, with even those clutching one candidate's signs responding enthusiastically to the other five presidential hopefuls — including a woman with a "Hillary" placard who pronounced herself "ready to swoon" for Obama.

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Slant on warming defended

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Ex-official says changes in reports made to align views with Bush policy

11:25 PM CDT on Monday, March 19, 2007

Associated Press

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Times Writers Group: Saving Earth is smart thing to do

Monday, March 19, 2007

Since the release of the latest findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations reaffirming global warming theory, many letters to the editor have appeared in the St. Cloud Times on the subject.

On Feb. 11, Thomas Mueller cited examples of past scientific errors, asked us not to accept consensus without questioning, and then urged us to investigate the consensus of 19,000 "scientists" who agree with the Oregon project, a counter to global warming theory.

Clayton Gearhart suggested on Feb. 14 that we think for ourselves, explore and study, and mentioned also that of those 19,000 who signed the Oregon project, many do not have scientific expertise in the field.

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401(k) options can be bewildering

Monday, March 19, 2007

Dear Mr. Berko: I'm a 51-year-old working mother who has, by the grace of luck and God accumulated $146,000 in my 401(k) account. I worked for a public company for the last 27 years and all of this money came from investing in the company's common stock.

The plan is being closed down and I am going to move this money to my new employer's 401(k) plan. And I am really confused because there are so many investment alternatives and I haven't a single clue how to select an investment from the huge menu of choices. Would you please look over these 20 or so alternatives and tell me which would be the best for me?

|S.H., Columbus, Ohio

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Company closes stretch of Andrews County road; Gas leak reported

Monday, March 19, 2007

ANDREWS, TEXAS - A possible gas leak in Andrews County was keeping oilfield workers busy Sunday, and closing off a portion of the county where the incident was reported.

NewsWest 9 got some calls about an incident out in the Andrews area, along NE County Road 2001. When we arrived on the scene, we were stopped by Exxon employees, who told us area was blocked off. NewsWest 9 learned the company was blocking off a 2-mile radius surrounding the area we were investigating.

NewsWest made calls to law enforcement, and they weren't available to comment on why the area was closed off. But we did make contact with Exxon field superintendent Lyndal Trout, who told us there was, in fact, an incident out along NE County Road 2001 Saturday night.

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Gov. Jim Doyle column: Transportation means new jobs

Monday, March 19, 2007

Next year, construction crews will begin work on replacing the College Avenue bridge in Appleton that crosses the Fox River.

The $9 million project which will create jobs and make a significant contribution to the local economy is just one example of the kinds of investments we're making around the state under my budget proposal for the next two years.

I believe that investments in our transportation infrastructure are vital to building a strong, growing economy.

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Man accused of selling fake flu shots awaits sentence

Monday, March 19, 2007

(3/19/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - A man who sold thousands of fake flu vaccinations to people in the Houston area is expected to be sentenced today.

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Texas could follow New Jersey's lead in filing big damage claims

Monday, March 19, 2007

For decades, businesses have treated liability for damage to natural resources as something of as a sleeping giant.

Even wake-up calls such as the $900 million natural resource settlement following the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster were largely ignored. This attitude changed abruptly in 2003, when New Jersey announced the implementation of a comprehensive, aggressive state program for the recovery of natural resource damages.

This article is for Paid Print Subscribers ONLY.

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What's fueling gas prices?

Monday, March 19, 2007

Found at nearly every intersection, gas prices are omnipresent and yet still a mystery.

Around water coolers and kitchen tables, people ask: Who's getting rich from the prices at the pump? Is there a better day to buy? Why are we paying so much?

Gas prices this week are more than a quarter higher than a month ago; they have been on a steady climb for years. Drivers this month are paying at least $1 more per gallon than they did five years ago.

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Houston firm buys tower at 1301 Fannin

Monday, March 19, 2007

The Shidler Group of San Diego sold its downtown office tower at 1301 Fannin Street to Houston-based Griffin Partners for $114.5 million

Shidler purchased the 25-story building nearly nine years ago from the Octagon Group for $60 million and put in $5.6 million in renovations designed by Morris Architects.

The building contains 786,400 square feet and is 87 percent occupied, with major tenants including Exxon Mobil, AIM Management Group and JPMorgan Chase Bank.

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Oil spill rescue rule keeps sinking Planning drags on for 17 years after Valdez

Monday, March 19, 2007

After the Exxon Valdez gushed 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, Congress vowed that the next time a tanker got into trouble in U.S. waters, two things would happen: Help would arrive soon to prevent spills. And if oil did get loose, it could be cleaned up.

A lot has been done to assure that oil-spill cleanups can be launched. But the idea of ensuring that a rescue ship will show up to keep spills from happening in the first place still has not been made into a rule -- more than 17 years after the Valdez disaster.

And now the Coast Guard has booted its deadline for taking action -- for the fifth time. The agency's excuse? Its heavy workload guarding against terrorism in the post-9/11 era. The new deadline: February 2009, just weeks shy of the Valdez spill's 20th anniversary.

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This week's roadwork

Monday, March 19, 2007

Main items of constructions on Interstate 45 from FM 1488 to south Loop 336 include retaining walls; embankment work; forming bridge substructure and decks; installing concrete pavement on main lanes; traffic signal installation at the River Plantation underpass; and storm sewer installation.

There will alternate lane closures on FM 1314 from Fatheree Road to Loop 494 Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., for dirt work, storm sewer work and base work.

There will be bridge foundation construction, storm sewer installation and dirt work on the main lanes of U.S. 59 from Community Drive to Roman Forest.

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Blinded by science

Sunday, March 18, 2007

This is the first of three reports on the way we are manipulated through the mispresentation of science, rewriting of history and abuse of language.

Next month: History.

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Your Money: For novices, DRIPs are worth a look

Sunday, March 18, 2007

DRIPs ?- or corporate dividend reinvestment plans ?- allow shareholders to purchase stock directly from a company, bypassing the stockbroker and brokerage commissions. They became popular in the 1980s and '90s among investors looking for a low-cost way to invest. But the trend toward low-cost investing overall and a recent increase in fees some companies charge their DRIP investors have eroded their popularity.

Still, DRIPs are worth considering, especially for the novice investor who has only a small amount to invest every month.

"I've had pretty good luck with them," said Dallas investor Hall Martin, who has 10 to 12 DRIPs. "It gives me a chance to keep up with the market."

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Fewer CEOs as directors:

Sunday, March 18, 2007

The number of active chief executives on corporate boards has declined

dramatically since 1990 as board service has become far more time-consuming

and risky in a post-Enron world of heightened scrutiny, a new study reports.

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Oil shale and water mixing it up again

Sunday, March 18, 2007

While boosters view oil shale development as a savior for the nation's energy woes and environmentalists fear its scars, others worry that extracting oil shale could deplete that other precious Colorado resource -- water.

Amid extravagant predictions about the scale of oil shale production in the deserts north of Rifle -- and a city's worth of new workers -- water watchers fear what it could mean for the states' rivers, already being tapped for a growing Front Range and for booming cities downstream.

"We all speculate," said Paul von Guerard, western Colorado office chief for the U.S. Geologic Survey's Colorado Water Science Center in Grand Junction, "but until we have the information, we really don't know. And the challenge can be, do we get the right information in time to prevent problems?"

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Tried to tell you; science is not priority

Sunday, March 18, 2007

I have been screaming and having a fit about this since my stint in fourth grade 41/2 years ago. Science is not being taught until fifth grade because it is not on the test.

I teach continuation high school; my students are clueless as to why/how plants reproduce (i.e. seeds, spores). Teachers are not at fault. The sanctions of No Child Left Behind leave no choice but to teach "to the test." Teachers are not allowed to "teach"; they must follow a specific "script." How engaging is that?

When I started teaching, 18 years ago (third grade), we did our planning "through" science; the foundation and all lessons evolved from science.

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Two Shot at Gas Station

Sunday, March 18, 2007

The shooting happened closed to 7 p.m. Saturday at an Exxon station on Sahara and San Pedro on the north side, officials said.

?Something happened, either with words or something was exchanged,? Sgt. John Carey with San Antonio Police said.

A man was pumping gas when a green car drove up, and the man said that driver flashed a gun, police said.

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My Work: Anthony Thompson Shumate

Sunday, March 18, 2007

What: The Pump That Jack Built: An Observation by Anthony Thompson Shumate

Where: Art League Houston, 1953 Montrose; 713-523-930

When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays. Through April 27.

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North Palm Beach County business briefs: March 7

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Florida Atlantic University will host The Enterprise Development Corp. of South Florida's sixth annual bioscience conference April 4 in the University Center on the Boca Raton campus. The theme of BioTech 2007 is "New Frontiers in South Florida Bioscience." The event will focus on industry, clinical and academic collaborations and the region's 60-year life science history. For information, visit www.edc-tech.org.

Martin chamber seeks

exhibitors for Expo

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Oil and Gas Report: 03.06.07

Sunday, March 18, 2007

There were no new drilling permit applications for Aransas, Brooks, McMullen, Refugio or San Patricio counties.

BEE COUNTY

United Resources, LP, of Austin has filed for a permit to drill the No. 1 Goree to a depth of 12,000 feet in the Mineral, West (11000) field. The well will be 3.1 miles southwest of Mineral in the Heirs of T. B. Barton Survey A-83.

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Mobil 1 Extends Sebring Partnership Through 2010

Sunday, March 18, 2007

This years Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring marked the 12th consecutive year Exxon/Mobil has been the title sponsor of the legendary race.

Mobil 1 and Sebring are eager to extend this very successful marketing partnership well into the future, Sebring president and general manager Tres Stephenson said. We are proud of our association with Exxon/Mobil and look forward to future races with the prestigious Mobil 1 brand sponsoring Americas premier sports car racing event.

MAZDA COMMITTED TO NEXT LEVEL: Up-and-coming race drivers have two major challenges: winning on the track, and finding the resources to move up to the next level.

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Oil sector and CPI hit stocks as rate-cut hopes ebb

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Oil sector and CPI hit stocks as rate-cut hopes ebb

2007-03-16

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