Economy & Business news Subcribe to Economy & Business news |
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By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK -- Employers are getting hit with a massive tax hike at a time when they can least afford it. Companies in at least 35 states will have to fork over more in unemployment insurance taxes this year, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.
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By David Kesmodel and William Spain, The Wall Street Journal
States suffering through tough times are reaching for a tonic. Lawmakers in several states with tight control of liquor sales are considering legislation that would shift the job to private industry, saving money and raising revenue.
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Governors talk energy with Obama
By Stateline.org Staff
TODAY'S TAKE: President Obama on Wednesday (Feb. 3) told a group of 11 governors — including those from coal-friendly states — that the United States must move aggressively toward a clean energy economy.
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AK: Juneau may vie for Arctic Games
By Mary Catharine Martin, The Juneau Empire
The 2014 Arctic Winter Games aren't yet officially being held in Alaska, but that isn't stopping more than one Alaska city from organizing a bid.
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AL: Experts say Christian Coalition poll flawed
By Rob Lowry, The Huntsville Times
A poll conducted by the Christian Coalition on electronic bingo may have been flawed because of the way the questions were worded and the order in which they were asked, polling experts say.
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AR: Little Rock-area state offices closed Tuesday
By The Associated Press, The Log Cabin Democrat (Conway)
Gov. Mike Beebe's office says state offices in the Little Rock area will be closed Tuesday. Beebe's office says the decision was made because a hard freeze of slush-covered roads was expected Monday night and temperatures were forecast to remain below freezing until Tuesday afternoon.
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AZ: Valley bankruptcies dropped in January
By Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
Are recession-ravaged residents finally gaining the upper hand on their finances? Metro Phoenix bankruptcy filings in January fell to their lowest level in nearly a year, coinciding with similar improvements at the national level.
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AZ: Scottsdale wants law changed to spur development
By Lynh Bui, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
Scottsdale will seek a change in state law that would allow property owners to tax themselves as part of a development district, a move designed to revitalize the McDowell Road corridor or parts of the Scottsdale Airpark.
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AZ: New Lottery a sure bet with legislative OK
By Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
You can put money on it: Arizona is likely to have a state Lottery for the next 25 years. The state House of Representatives on Monday voted to create a new Lottery that would begin in mid-2012, when the current game expires.
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AZ: Criticism of Cubs bill raises ire of Mesa Mayor Scott Smith
By Jim Walsh and Jahna Berry, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
Mesa Mayor Scott Smith lashed out at parochialism among Cactus League baseball teams Monday, saying their opposition to a ticket surcharge for a new Chicago Cubs training facility could cost them all if the team bolts to Florida.
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CA: Foreign energy firms getting windfall of U.S. stimulus funds
By Brooke Williams, Watchdog Institute, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Of the more than $2 billion the federal government has given out to boost the economy and create green-energy jobs, more than three-quarters has gone to foreign-owned companies that dominate the global wind-power industry. This latest finding by the Investigative Reporting Workshop, a nonprofit at American University in Washington, D.C., is illustrated clearly in San Diego County, where about a dozen commercial wind developers have offices.
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CT: Three investigations launched into power plant explosion
By Rob Varnon, Connecticut Post
A day after a deadly explosion rocked a power plant in Middletown, a state panel and federal and criminal investigators began searching for the cause of the blast and looking at a list of safety issues that could have contributed to the tragedy.
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CT: Will energy plant explosion mean higher electric rates?
By Mara Lee, The Hartford Courant
The idea behind the Kleen Energy plant was straightforward even though getting the project started was complex.
Once the plant and better high-voltage transmission lines to power-hungry Fairfield County were open, the combination would drive old, dirty, expensive-to-run power plants out of business.
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FL: Unemployment to peak this summer, Florida top economist says
By Marcia Heroux Pounds, The Sun-Sentinel (South Florida)
Florida's unemployment is expected to reach an historic peak, 12.3 percent, by this summer, the state's chief economist said on Monday. The forecast is nearly a half percentage point above the record of 11.9 percent set in May 1975.
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FL: Claims of misconduct at FPL prompt investigation
By Mary Ellen Klas, The Miami Herald
State utility regulators and Florida Power & Light's parent company said Monday they would investigate anonymous allegations that FPL managers broke the law and committed fraud by forcing employees to provide inaccurate and misleading information to regulators and shareholders.
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FL: Broward property values fall
By Amy Sherman, The Miami Herald
Broward property values plummeted more dramatically than ever last year, according to a preliminary estimate, a decline sure to force local governments to slash spending or raise taxes. Countywide values dropped about 16 percent, according to figures released Monday by Property Appraiser Lori Parrish.
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HI: Hawaii DHS restructuring may cut 200 jobs, close 50 offices
By Mary Vorsino, The Honolulu Advertiser
More than 200 state workers who process applications for government assistance programs could lose their jobs, their union said, and at least 50 eligibility offices statewide could close under a cost-cutting proposal that advocates are worried will make it harder for the poor to access key social services.
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HI: Furlough bill vote postponed
By Loren Moreno, The Honolulu Advertiser
The state Senate's education committee again postponed a vote on a bill that would eliminate the remaining public school teacher furlough days through use of the state hurricane relief fund and an increase in the general excise tax by 1 percentage point.
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IA: "Prevailing Wage-Lite" passes House Committee
By Jason Clayworth, The Des Moines Register
A new version of a controversial union labor proposal that failed last year was approved today by the House Labor Committee, paving the way for the idea to advance to full House for further consideration.
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IA: Ombudsman concludes lottery safer than in past
By William Petroski, The Des Moines Register
State Ombudsman William Angrick has ended a simmering feud with a top Iowa Lottery official, although he vowed Monday to keep watching whether the lottery is doing enough to protect customers from retailer fraud.
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ID: ID Senate backs bill to kill tax check-off
By The Associated Press, The Times-News (Twin Falls)
A three-decade-old provision that's allowed Idaho residents to chip in a buck of their taxes to their favorite political party is a step closer to falling victim to a tough economy.
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ID: Day care judgment marred by bankruptcy
By Andrea Jackson, The Times-News (Twin Falls)
The family that filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Happy Feet Day Care in Twin Falls may never see their $1.26 million judgment, since Happy Feet's owners lacked insurance and have filed for bankruptcy.
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IL: Caterpillar buys into the FutureGen Alliance
By Herb Meeker, Herald & Review (Decatur)
MATTOON, Ill. -- Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment, plans to join a coalition of companies planning to build an experimental clean-coal power plant known as FutureGen near Mattoon.
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IL: Feds may close locks to stop carp
By Katherine Skiba, Chicago Tribune
At a White House meeting Monday on the Asian carp threat to the Great Lakes, federal officials said they may seek to close navigational locks on Chicago-area waterways for up to three or four days a week, a move that would restrict cargo shipping and recreational boating.
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IN: State agency sets hearings on closure of Cline bridge
By Chelsea Schneider Kirk, Gary Post-Tribune
INDOT will host two public meetings today regarding the Cline Avenue bridge closure. State officials from the Indiana Department of Transportation will make a brief presentation touching on Cline Avenue's history and near-term solutions for the bridge's closure.
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KS: Kansas secretary of state resigns
By David Klepper, Kansas City Star
Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh will leave office a year early to take a private-sector job, giving Democrats a possible leg up ahead of November's election.
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KS: School funding loophole in peril
By David Klepper, Kansas City Star
The Shawnee Mission School District's clever interpretation of state law now has other school districts urging legislators to close a loophole in school finance law.
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KY: Payday lending bill hits snag in House
By Beth Musgrave, Lexington Herald-Leader
A measure that would cap interest rates on all short-term loans at 36 percent might never get a hearing in the Democratic-controlled House, despite the backing of Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear.
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LA: Tourism official wants governor to take control
By Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Shifting the state's tourism office to the Department of Economic Development would give the governor more say in how the state's tourism dollars are spent and underscore the importance of the industry, one of the state's leading tourism officials said Monday.
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MA: Bill looks to streamline economic development
By Patrick Cassidy, Cape Cod Times
Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, and Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Framingham, filed a bill yesterday to streamline economic development statewide. The bill includes a provision that would consolidate oversight of regional economic development organizations within a single office.
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MA: Pols wary of governor's Pike plan
By Hillary Chabot, Boston Herald
Beacon Hill power players warned Gov. Deval Patrick to slow down yesterday on a plan he's considering that would eliminate toll takers and install a high-speed electronic toll system on the Massachusetts Turnpike
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MA: He has state, US funds waiting
By Casey Ross, The Boston Globe
As the top economic official in Massachusetts government, Gregory Bialecki is responsible for giving away hundreds of millions of dollars to revive the state's troubled economy. There's just one problem: He can't find enough good candidates for the money.
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MD: Study boosts notion of offshore wind production
By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Sun (Baltimore)
Offshore wind energy can furnish Marylanders with as much as two-thirds of the electricity they currently use, and if aggressively developed, could turn the state into a net exporter of power, a new report by the Abell Foundation says.
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ME: Madawaska union accepts 8.5% pay cut
By Nick Sambides Jr., Bangor Daily News
MADAWASKA, Maine — The United Steelworkers union will take an immediate 8½ percent wage cut in accepting a new three-year contract Monday that Fraser Papers Inc. management calls critical to keeping the town paper mill going.
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ME: FairPoint plan would cut debt sharply
By The Associated Press, Bangor Daily News
PORTLAND, Maine — The telecommunications company FairPoint Communications Inc.'s debt would be cut by nearly two-thirds under its bankruptcy reorganization plan filed Monday, but the company said the reorganization won't prevent it from expanding broadband Internet in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
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MI: Auto suppliers hiring up to 525
By Barbara Wieland, Lansing State Journal
DELTA TWP., Mich. -- Local auto suppliers will hire hundreds of people in mid-Michigan in the coming weeks as they prepare to support a third shift at a General Motors Co. assembly plant in Delta Township.
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MN: Redesign' sought to shore up Minnesota's finances
By Jason Hoppin, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Facing a $1.2 billion state deficit and future deficits of up to $5.4 billion, lawmakers in the Minnesota House unveiled proposals they hope lead to a government "redesign." It is being pitched as a bipartisan effort that focuses on results rather than whether to adjust the levers of government by raising taxes or cutting spending.
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MN: DFLers hope tax breaks put jobless back to work
By Bill Salisbury, St. Paul Pioneer Press
In an attempt to spark building construction, Minnesota Senate President Jim Metzen and other Democratic senators Monday introduced a "jobs bill" that would provide tax credits for investments in small businesses, start-up technology companies and the rehabilitation of historic buildings.
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MS: House approves ban on nitrous oxide
By PhIl West, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
House members overwhelmingly approved legislation Monday that bars nitrous oxide, which one legislator called "like a vehicle on steroids," in memory of a state trooper killed last May while chasing a Pontiac Trans Am equipped with the gas.
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NH: Evergreen 'pay plan' irks towns
By Tom Fahey, The Union Leader (Manchester)
A two-year-old law that guarantees municipal and school workers raises even when their contracts expire is just now starting to make itself felt at town and school district meetings.
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NJ: N.J. cleaning up one snow, preparing for more
By The Associated Press, The Record of Bergen County
CHERRY HILL, N.J. — Snowed-in southern New Jersey on Monday was still dealing with the aftermath of one major snowstorm as it prepared for another big one expected to arrive late Tuesday.
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NJ: N.J. probes Passaic County deer kill
By Richard Cowen, The Record of Bergen County
The state is investigating whether all of the deer killed during the culling on Garret Mountain have been properly accounted for — and why so many of the harvested animals were sent to an uncertified butcher.
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NJ: N.J. lawmakers tout jobs bill
By Hugh R. Morley, The Record of Bergen County
Saying small businesses desperately need credit but banks refuse to lend, two New Jersey congressmen touted a bill Monday that would give the job to the Small Business Administration (SBA).
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NM: State law stalls decision in Block case
By Jason Auslander, Santa Fe New Mexican
Lawyers in the criminal case against state Public Regulation Commission member Jerome Block Jr. argued the finer points of an unusual state law during a hearing Monday, including the meanings of "shall" and "or."
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NM: Senate takes rare vote to override gov.'s veto
By Barry Massey, The Associated Press, Santa Fe New Mexican
Simmering disagreements between lawmakers and the administration of Gov. Bill Richardson boiled over Monday, as the Senate sought to force state agencies to provide the Legislature with confidential information about contracts and programs.
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NY: Departure gives boost to racino bid
By James M. Odato, Times Union (Albany)
The winning bidder in the competition to build a huge racino at Aqueduct Racetrack cut ties with a partner whose criminal record appeared to be a deterrent to consummating the deal.
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NY: Summary of the New York state of the state address
Gov. David Paterson (D), facing what could be a difficult primary campaign this year, proposed a plan Jan. 6 that he said would fix New York’s shattered finances, rejuvenate its slumping economy and restore trust in government through a series of major ethics reforms.
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OH: State to fund 350 home fix-ups
By Staff Reports, The Cincinnati Enquirer
The state approved spending $510,000 to fix up homes for needy Hamilton County families, state Rep. Denise Driehaus said Monday.
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OH: More green-energy stimulus aid sought
By Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch
Federal stimulus dollars are helping Ohio companies make components for wind, solar and other energy production, but some "clean energy" advocates say that more assistance is needed to continue creating green manufacturing jobs.
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OR: Recovery will be slow, state economist says
By Peter Wong, Statesman Journal (Salem)
Monday's economic forecast, the seventh in a row to show declining tax collections, will prompt lawmakers to find more than $100 million in spending cuts, reserve shifts or reduced tax breaks to balance the state budget.
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PA: Jack Wagner's strong state committee showing a surprise to some
By Mike Wereschagin, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Elections are won at the ballot box, not the bank teller's window, and Auditor General Jack Wagner's majority support from the state Democratic Committee over the weekend served as a reminder that the governor's race is just getting started, observers said Monday.
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SD: Study -- Standard would aid wind industry
By Thom Gabrukiewicz, Argus Leader (Sioux Falls)
South Dakota's wind industry is beginning to shift from a gale to a gentle breeze, but a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) would allow for a burst of new investments, according to a study released last week.
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SD: PUC chief criticizes cap-and-trade costs
By Thom Gabrukiewicz, Argus Leader (Sioux Falls)
A comprehensive energy policy that retasks America's thirst for carbon-emitting power is possible, Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson said, but two bills before Congress largely are political behemoths that would harm South Dakota consumers.
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TN: Tennessee State Fair closure stirs council, citizens
By Michael Cass, The Tennessean (Nashville)
Mayor Karl Dean's administration and the leadership of the Tennessee State Fair faced tough questions from Metro Council members and the public Monday over their decision to shut down the fair and redevelop the fairgrounds.
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TX: Bius charges conflict, Ogden fires back
By Mike Ward, The Austin American-Statesman
Texas Senate wannabe Ben Bius charged today that veteran Sen. Steve Ogden has been hiding "a glaring conflict of interest" for years: That Ogden's daughter, Kristen, is a lobbyist for a road-builders' trade group.
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TX: A fact check of the Democratic governor debate
By James Drew and Terrence Stutz, The Dallas Morning News
THE CLAIM: Farouk Shami said that over the past few years, the state has executed a few people who were innocent. He then added, "We have killed lots of innocent people in the state of Texas."
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UT: Lawmakers discuss early high school graduation
By Lisa Schencker, The Salt Lake Tribune
Sen. Chris Buttars isn't talking about dropping 12th grade any more. Now, he's talking about making 12th grade optional for those students who finish their required credits early -- and some lawmakers are listening to the idea with interest.
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UT: State scholarships face another shortfall
By Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune
Higher education officials cautioned lawmakers Monday that they will have to substantially shrink the state's two popular merit-based scholarships next year absent an increase in funding beyond what the Legislature currently envisions.
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VT: Burlington claims Morgan Stanley mishandled pension fund
By John Briggs, Burlington Free Press
The administration of Mayor Bob Kiss asked the City Council on Monday for authority to file a claim against Morgan Stanley with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for the company's alleged mishandling of the city's pension investments from 1991 to 2006.
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WV: Lottery chief predicts revenue will level off
By Phil Kabler, Charleston Gazette
After three consecutive years of declining revenues, West Virginia Lottery Director John Musgrave said he believes state Lottery revenues will level off in future years -- despite a weak economy and increased competition from neighboring states.
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WY: 'Take your cue from the private sector'
By Joan Barron, Casper Star-Tribune
Gov. Dave Freudenthal pushed for his wind energy package, called for more money for school capital construction and repeated his admonition to leave the state's reserve funds alone during his message to the Legislature on Monday.
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WY: Restrictions slow state government hiring
By Ben Neary, The Associated Press, Casper Star-Tribune
The rate of state government hiring has slowed significantly since falling energy revenues prompted Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal to impose restrictions last spring, state records show.
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