| If budget is broken, work now to repair it
So you've blown your budget buying Christmas gifts for family, friends and even the neighbor's dog. That's little surprise. It's the American way to spend and spend. In an October survey by BIGresearch and the National Retail Federation, consumers said they planned to shell out an average of $923.36 during the holidays, a modest 4 percent increase over last year but up a steep
24 percent since 2003. .
Short session, basic issues
OLYMPIA � After a banner year in which they broke deadlocks on long-stalled bills, launched new programs and enjoyed a treasury flush with cash, Statehouse Democrats are looking at a more modest 2008 legislative session when it opens Monday. "I think the goal will be to make it as boring as possible," state Rep. Bill Fromhold, D-Vancouver, joked to a crowded Greater Spokane Inc. legislative forum last month. "And we're pretty good at that." After all, it's a short-session year: just 60 days. It's also an off year between two-year budget cycles, so there's not a lot of money to fight over. .
A lackluster report card for Bush's Middle East junket
The Bush administration believes that a Palestinian state can be born by the end of 2008 if the two parties now engage seriously in negotiating the thorny issues of future borders, Jewish settlements, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees." But the "reality on the ground, in places the presidential cortège will not be visiting, is very different. The Palestinian lands, which would form the future state, are divided by Jewish settlements and the Israeli security wall. Their inhabitants are trapped in a no-man's-land that can barely support a poor rural economy, let alone become the foundation for a thriving sovereign state." Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip "is now completely in the hands of the Islamic militant movement Hamas, whose fighters are engaged in daily rocket duels with the Israeli military.
State schools going ‘green’
If the school saves more than the company's fee, WVU gets to pocket the difference.The first phase of the project is complete on WVU's Evansdale campus. The entire campus will be covered in about five years.Fisher hopes a universal policy will be completed this spring that addresses sustainability efforts campus-wide. The movement has created demand for a new job at WVU: sustainability coordinator.The position is currently vacant, but Fisher says he's looking for someone to oversee the school's various green projects. The coordinator would create a framework for the campus' environmental impact, with a hand in academic areas, student affairs, facilities, transportation and parking.And there are ways that WVU has been ahead of the game. The university's PRT system transports more than 2 million students a year between the university's two campuses."We don't even have a bus fleet," Fisher said.
Iggle Piggle co-star 'fired over suit complaint'
The trained dancer, from Cardiff, began working on the show in March 2005 and had his contract terminated in July 2006. At the tribunal in Birmingham, Mr Blake said production company Ragdoll Limited ignored his concerns about the faulty camera inside his suit, which allowed him to see out while wearing a mask. On one occasion in November 2005, Mr Blake says he was told to jump up and down on a chair but feared for his safety when the camera cut out. Mr Blake said: "When the camera failed I had no way of seeing where I was going. I was concerned at the difficulty of acting in the suit when I couldn't see anything. .
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