Thursday, April 10, 2008

Annual balloon festival postponed until 2009

Annual balloon festival postponed until 2009: "JACKSON, Mich. (AP) -- The annual Hot Air Jubilee in Jackson has been canceled this year.
Chairman Dean Anderson tells the Jackson Citizen Patriot that the committee wants to reorganize the event following years of financial problems and poor weather.
It was scheduled for July 18-20. Anderson says the event will return in 2009"

Department of Crop and Soil Sciences - Michigan State University

Department of Crop and Soil Sciences - Michigan State University: "Why doesn't the regular MSU soil test include nitrogen analysis?
Soil nitrate levels are the best indicator of nitrogen availability. Because these levels fluctuate widely depending on rainfall and soil temperature, the best time to take soil nitrate samples in while the crop is growing. within two weeks of supplemental nitrogen applications.
A soil sample taken months ahead of this time will not provide an accurate measure of the nitrogen available to the plants."

U.N. Official Calls for Study Of Neocons' Role in 9/11 | The New York Sun

U.N. Official Calls for Study Of Neocons' Role in 9/11 The New York Sun: "Mr. Falk said, 'It is possibly true that especially the neoconservatives thought there was a situation in the country and in the world where something had to happen to wake up the American people. ......... All we can say is there is a lot of grounds for suspicion, there should be an official investigation of the sort the 9/11 commission did not engage in and that the failure to do these things is cheating the American people and in some sense the people of the world of a greater confidence in what really happened than they presently possess.'"

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Muskegon could fix 'missing link' on Lakeshore Trail - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com

Muskegon could fix 'missing link' on Lakeshore Trail - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com: "Al-Shatel said the job could be done using less than $100,000 of Major Street funds, and could begin this summer, if the commission approves."

Insiders: Confessions Of A Hedge Fund Manager Redux

Insiders: Confessions Of A Hedge Fund Manager Redux: "So can you tell me what happened with Bear Stearns? What were the steps?"

New FEMA map for Grand Rapids could cost residents big time

New FEMA map for Grand Rapids could cost residents big time: "If FEMA gets its way, roughly 6,000 homes and businesses would be added to the floodplain on both sides of the river.

'A lot of residential properties, a lot of commercial properties in this area both north and south of I-196 and west of 131 would be affected,' said DeLong.

Michael Smith bought his house in Walker years ago. At that time, he made sure his house was not in a floodplain.

'Ten years down the road, they're suddenly changing the ball game on me and it doesn't make me happy at all,” says Michael.

Thousands of homeowners may have to purchase flood insurance.

Angie Rinock of State Farm Insurance says, 'The average cost of flood insurance is about $400 a year, about $35 to $40 extra dollars a month.'

But that's just the average, some estimates put the number between $1000 and $4000 dollars a year."

Michigan State Police Suffering Through Trooper Shortage

Michigan State Police Suffering Through Trooper Shortage: "Scott Wilber is a trooper and a representative for the Trooper's Association. He says the Michigan State Police hasn't trained any new recruits in six years.

As a result, the department is down about 400 people statewide."

Teacher breaks wall of silence at state's Muslim public school

Teacher breaks wall of silence at state's Muslim public school: "Why does the Minnesota Department of Education allow this sort of religious activity at a public school? According to Zaman, the department inspects TIZA regularly -- and has done so 'numerous times' -- to ensure that it is not a religious school."

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

My Way News - NY Union Members Charged With Extortion

My Way News - NY Union Members Charged With Extortion: "A dozen leaders and members of a construction union were arrested Tuesday and charged with a decade of attacks against nonunion workers and their families, and prosecutors said some of the crimes were aided by the local's access to state motor vehicle records"

GAO: Millions Wasted on Gov't Cards

GAO: Millions Wasted on Gov't Cards: "Federal employees charged millions of dollars for Internet dating, tailor-made suits, lingerie, lavish dinners and other questionable expenses to their government credit cards over a 15-month period, congressional auditors say."

Obama Delegate Resigns After Remark

Obama Delegate Resigns After Remark: "'I calmly said the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys.'
The mother of one boy called police.
Cmdr. Michael Kilbourne said Tuesday a ticket was issued because the ordinance bans conduct that disturbs or alarms people. One of the boys told police he was scared by her comment and a mother said she was disturbed, he said."

Monday, April 07, 2008

JS Online: Pension twist costs county millions

JS Online: Pension twist costs county millions: "Hundreds of Milwaukee County workers have pumped up their pensions by a total of at least $50 million through an obscure program that skirted county laws and federal tax rules, a Journal Sentinel investigation found."

Chicago Boyz » Blog Archive » Britain and Electricity

Britain and Electricity: "There is a looming electricity crisis that is about to overtake the United States. While our demand for electricity continues to increase due to construction, computers (data centers take up a significant portion of electricity demand), and potentially even electric cars, essentially no new “base load” supply of electrical generation is being added to the market."

Confederate Yankee: MSNBC Games McCain Speech with Irrelevant "Breaking News"

MSNBC Games McCain Speech with Irrelevant "Breaking News": "MSNBC needs to justify this 'breaking news' event by proving that they have broken into other live events on their network to cover minor Green Zone mortar attacks during the campaign season.
Somehow, I doubt they can."

College Isn’t Worth a Million Dollars

College Isn’t Worth a Million Dollars
"the shocking conclusions that American higher education today has gotten too expensive for what it produces; that it has become too costly for the typical student ... that education (a college degree) does not pay!”"

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Cattle feeders feel effects of ethanol's need for corn

Cattle feeders feel effects of ethanol's need for corn
"Ask John Van Pelt his thoughts on ethanol, and he's likely to pull out his adding machine and let the numbers speak for themselves.
Van Pelt, the manager of a cattle feedlot in this town 50 miles south of Amarillo, is now paying $215 a ton for cattle feed — double what he spent just three years ago. With 20,000 cattle in his yard, that works out to about $25,000 per day, just in feed, and what could become several million dollars in added costs this year."

VA employees rack up $2.6 billion in credit card charges

VA employees rack up $2.6 billion in credit card charges
"Veterans Affairs employees last year racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in government credit-card bills at casino and luxury hotels, movie theaters and high-end retailers such as Sharper Image and Franklin Covey — and government auditors are investigating, citing past spending abuses.
All told, VA staff charged $2.6 billion to their government credit cards."

Saturday, April 05, 2008

The Climate Project

The Climate Project

Feeling the bite of food prices

Feeling the bite of food prices: "High oil prices, the push for alternative fuels and global demand for food are driving the trend.
'I've just started to think about using coupons,' said Taryn Reed, a Minneapolis mother and sometimes Kowalski's shopper, who says she has already begun shopping at supercenters more often and buying store brands.
Faced with $8-a-gallon organic milk and more than $2 for a dozen large eggs, consumers are changing their behavior"

Drink Absolut Vodka-- Bring Back Mythical Aztlan


Drink Absolut Vodka-- Bring Back Mythical Aztlan: "'In an Absolut World anything can happen including getting the US-Mexico border straight once and for all.'

...You may become so drunk you might even imagine you're in Aztlan.
*Hic*"

Fast-tracking climate policies

Fast-tracking climate policies : "The new report probes the edges of executive orders and lays out the authority the next president could use to introduce global-warming policies without waiting for legislation to wind its way through the notoriously slow congressional machine"

Backpack snags on fence; man strangled | Seattle Times Newspaper

Backpack snags on fence; man strangled Seattle Times Newspaper: "In the backpack, an officer found about a dozen 40-ounce bottles full of beer, the report said."

Friday, April 04, 2008

BeldarBlog: Is Obama still smoking while hiding and denying it?

BeldarBlog: Is Obama still smoking while hiding and denying it?: "Is Obama still smoking while hiding and denying it?"

Obama and King - WSJ.com

Obama and King - WSJ.com: "Martin Luther King Jr. died at age 39; today, the 40th anniversary of his death, is the first time he has been gone longer than he lived.
Figures such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have tried to claim his place on the American stage. But at most they have achieved fame and wealth. What separated King from any would-be successor was his moral authority. He towered above the high walls of racial suspicion by speaking truth to all sides."

Church sues city of Muskegon over denied permit

Church sues city of Muskegon over denied permit
"Planning commissioners cited those comments and also mentioned possible future commercial uses for the former dealership, which they said would be preferable to taking the building off the tax rolls for use as a church.
Acording to the lawsuit, the latter reason for denial is not allowed under a federal law called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act. 'This is a case where the church is being discriminated against in part because of its tax-exempt status -- a clear violation of (the act),' said Dan Dalton, the church's Royal Oak attorney, in a news release."

Muskegon, Ottawa counties receive $1 million (almost) teaching grant - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com

Muskegon, Ottawa counties receive $1 million (almost) teaching grant - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com: "It's really to prepare teachers to be able to better teach traditional American history,' said Jo Ann Webb, spokeswoman for the Department of Education. 'When they can teach it better, then kids can learn it better.'"

Thursday, April 03, 2008

My Way News - States May Free Inmates to Save Millions

My Way News - States May Free Inmates to Save Millions: "Lawmakers from California to Kentucky are trying to save money with a drastic and potentially dangerous budget-cutting proposal: releasing tens of thousands of convicts from prison, including drug addicts, thieves and even violent criminals."

Sense of Events: The soft side of Simon Cowell

Sense of Events: The soft side of Simon Cowell: "The soft side of Simon Cowell

Gerard Van Der Leun says that this is the best five minutes you'll spend today. Righto, that."

DNC stance surprises campaigns

DNC stance surprises campaigns
"But the mere presence of Florida and Michigan on the credentials committee raises the prospect of vote-trading or last-minute maneuvering, creating potential confusion for a convention already shadowed by procedural controversies."

live dangerously be a conservative

live dangerously be a conservative

New Muskegon blog!