1-9-09

 1-9-09Merced Sun-StarCommission to probe Merced County CEO land purchaseTatum already faced a grand jury investigation over 24 acres in Planada he bought in 2005...JONAH OWEN LAMBhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/629988.htmlIt's the land deal Dee Tatum can't seem to shake.In 2005 Tatum, Merced County's CEO, bought a 24-acre piece of land in Planada for $245,000. Because of a series of questionable transactions involved in the deal, the Merced County civil grand jury opened an investigation.Ultimately, in 2006 the grand jury exonerated Tatum of any conflict of interest in his land purchase.Now another probe into the 2005 deal has reopened the episode.The state's Fair Political Practices Commission, or FPPC, a body that investigates potential political corruption, has begun an investigation into Tatum's Planada land purchase.However, Roman Porter, the commission's executive director, said that an investigation doesn't imply guilt or innocence.An FPPC finding of any wrongdoing on Tatum's part could open the door to civil penalties and civil lawsuits.Speaking on behalf of Tatum, a county spokeswoman said the conflict-of-interest issue had been settled long ago.The complaint that led to the FPPC probe was filed by the Merced County Sheriff Employees Association. The union alleged that Tatum received a $55,000 gift from Pacific Holt Corp. when it sold him the 24 acres in Planada.The association's allegations stated that Pacific Holt gave Tatum a discount, which amounts to a gift, when it sold him the land. The accusation presumes that the sale price to Tatum was lower than the land's actual value -- which is hard to prove, since land prices fluctuate with each sale and transaction.The back story to these events, according to the grand jury's investigation:It all began with a deteriorating migrant labor camp in Planada. Merced County's Housing Authority, an independent governmental body, wanted to build a new facility for farmworkers. So it bought a 24-acre piece of land on Gerard Avenue to build housing for all of Planada's migrant workers.But after local opposition erupted over the proposed location, the Housing Authority decided to look for another site.That's when developer Pacific Holt got involved.Nearby, on Plainsburg Road in Planada, Pacific Holt owned a large piece of property that it hoped to develop.The two parties eventually agreed to trade properties. The Housing Authority would get the 21-acre piece of land on Plainsburg Road, and Pacific Holt would get the 24-acre piece of land on Gerard Avenue.It was cast as a win-win situation. The people opposed to the original site for a labor camp would be appeased. Pacific Holt assumed that it would benefit from having the Housing Authority project near its proposed development on Plainsburg Road.Then events became muddled. It's also when Tatum got involved. According to Tatum's earlier statements to the grand jury, during the time that Pacific Holt and the Housing Authority were negotiating their land deal, Tatum was in the market for land himself. The real estate agent involved in the land swap knew of Tatum's search and told him he might be able to broker a deal. In the end Pacific Holt traded its 21-acre property for the Housing Authority's 24 acres. Then it sold that 24 acres to Tatum. All the transactions happened on the same day, Jan. 6, 2005.The grand jury report pointed out that misunderstandings over the transactions emerged because of incorrect paperwork and incorrect values on the title documents.According to the grand jury, the Housing Authority originally bought its 24 acres for $300,000. Pacific Holt bought its 21 acres, as part of a larger land sale, for $500,000, but when the swap happened, it was considered to be worth $300,000. So the trade was 21 acres for 24 acres of equal value.Tatum then paid $245,000 for the 24-acre property that Pacific Holt had received in the trade.It is this difference in price that the sheriff's union alleged was a gift given to Tatum by Pacific Holt.According to a 2006 grand jury interview with an unnamed manager at Pacific Holt, the land swap and sale in Planada were undertaken to aid the developer's other projects. "He explained that the company had no use for the 24-acre parcel and only agreed to the parcel swap to enhance the chances of having their major development project approved," the grand jury report said of the manager's comments.Katie Albertson, a county spokeswoman, who spoke for Tatum on the matter, said that the land issue already had been cleared up by the grand jury. "The grand jury has investigated this issue in the past and has agreed that no conflict of interest existed," she said.Jeff Miller, the sheriff's union's spokesman, said that Tatum was cleared of conflict of interest, but his organization's claim is another matter. "It would appear by our investigation that Mr. Tatum took a gift from Pacific Holt Corp. in exchange for favors in the future."Any gift of more than $250 received by a government official, according to the Political Reform Act, is a crime.In mid-December the union sent its complaint about Tatum to Merced County's district attorney, Larry Morse II. In the union's letter to the FPPC, the union stated that it had sent its request to Morse's office out of "professional courtesy." The statute of limitations on criminal charges for the allegations expired on Jan. 6, and the union had hoped the district attorney might file charges before that.The district attorney filed no charges.Morse said that usually local investigations go through the sheriff. "We are going to stand down until we hear why the sheriff's department is not conducting an investigation," he said. "Why aren't they (the union) taking it to the sheriff's department to investigate?"Tom MacKenzie, sheriff's spokesman, said it didn't investigate because it never received a criminal complaint. As for Morse's statement, MacKenzie said the district attorney has the authority to prosecute and investigate criminal matters and civil matters alike.The FPPC's Porter said that while the investigation is under way, no status reports will be given.If Tatum's actions broke the law, the penalties vary from a letter of admonition to a $5,000 fine. Ultimately, a civil suit could be filed seeking penalties of up to three times the amount received.Garamendi stirs fervor for UC Merced med schoolLieutenant governor's plan could make UC Merced the fastest fast-track medical school in the country...DANIELLE GAINEShttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/629972.htmlFRESNO -- You don't want to put the availability of health care in the San Joaquin Valley up against most places -- not other areas of California, not even third-world countries, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi said."But let's do it. Let's get angry," he said Thursday evening at an event to unveil his revised plan for a medical education program at UC Merced. "And let's demand that these issues are addressed."San Joaquin Valley residents have the least access to physicians per capita of any region in California. On average, there are 302 physicians per 100,000 people in California. In the Valley, the number of physicians plunges to 173 per 100,000.Garamendi presented the plan in the Fresno High School auditorium to about 100 medical professionals, potential medical students, parents and others intrigued by the idea. Absent an alternative to a higher-cost conventional medical school, Garamendi said, it is likely the Merced medical school will be delayed and perhaps never open at all as the state's budget crisis mounts.His revised plan for the medical school would start freshman students in a medical curriculum right away, eliminate their summer vacations and send graduates into residency programs after just five years at the campus.Similarly quick medical degree programs are not new in the United States, but UC Merced would become the fastest fast-track medical school in the country. (A traditional medical education requires a four-year bachelor's degree, at least three years in med school, and a three-to-six year residency.) Garamendi said that the need for care in the Valley has long been overlooked."My first act of legislation, in '76, was the Rural Health Act of California," Garamendi said. "After all these many, many years, we still have a profound problem in the Central Valley."And now, support for a medical school at the 2,700-student campus is dwindling as well, another lawmaker said."There is a general concern that the UC is wavering in its commitment -- not at the regent level, but it has been seen by many of us working on this project in the past several weeks," Rep. Dennis Cardoza said. "We have been very disappointed. No official action has been taken by the regents, but the back-channel communication is less supportive than it should have been."Cardoza has been a staunch advocate of the school since its conception, setting up an advocacy group to bring the medical school to UC Merced and talking to legislators as much as possible about the effort, he said.UC Merced has already invested significant time and money in the planning of the medical school. The university has authored a 96-page program proposal and business plan, named Maria Pallavicini vice provost for health sciences and commissioned a feasibility report from the Washington Advisory Group, a consulting firm. (The lieutenant governor's son, John Garamendi Jr., works as the vice chancellor for University Relations at UC Merced.)"There are a lot of health problems in the San Joaquin Valley, and they are not going away," said UC spokeswoman Brandy Nikaido, who was present at the event. "In these economic times, we need to think of creative approaches to provide a medical education. The lieutenant governor's proposal is one of many creative approaches and we look forward to hearing more details."There is still overwhelming support for a medical school in Merced from all sectors of the community. Doctors say more care is needed and they will help in the quest. Lawmakers from the city to the national level regularly speak about the planning process for the school. Some residents are even looking forward to applying to the program.Oscar Sabian, a doctor who has practiced in Firebaugh for 25 years, came to the meeting in Fresno to express his support for the school."We deserve to have it," he said of the medical school. "It is about time the state pays attention to the Central Valley."Sabian said his own two sons attended school out of state and could have spared themselves a significant debt if they had studied locally. One of his sons has more than $150,000 in debt, he said.Under the Garamendi plan, the school would use existing local resources to further reduce costs to students.The new Mercy Medical Center Merced across the street from campus would be treating patients in early 2010. A new allied health sciences building at Merced College is slated to open for instruction next fall. Both are within shouting distance of UC Merced.Merced College President Ben Duran said a resource-sharing plan hadn't yet been created, but he remained open to the idea."We have always indicated to the university that we would work closely with them to do whatever it takes to get a medical school up and running," Duran said. "I am not sure how this new plan would work, but I am eager to see the specifics."Garamendi said he will continue to seek support for his plan and asked the attendees at the meeting to do the same."My task, all of our tasks is to make this a reality," he said. "Not a possibility. A reality."Garamendi is a UC regent and plans to run for governor of California in 2010.Modesto BeeDiablo Grande fixing water problems, looking to rename itself...Tim Moranhttp://www.modbee.com/local/v-print/story/557842.htmlThe new owners of Diablo Grande are working on several fronts to get the troubled development moving forward, according to a report from Laurus Corp., partners with World International LLC, an investment group that owns the property.World International bought the 28,500-acre residential and golf resort development in the hills west of Patterson out of bankruptcy court three months ago. In response to a request from The Bee, Laurus representatives report that they are in final contract negotiations with Sierra Golf Management to continue operating the golf courses.Sierra Golf took over course management last spring after the courses were temporarily closed because of financial problems encountered by the previous owners. Club members say they have been pleased with the new management.Laurus also has been working to resolve water quality problems at the resort. The development is served by Western Hills Water District, formed by the original developers. The state Department of Public Health has cited the development for high levels of trihalomethanes, a chemical byproduct of disinfecting processes. Trihalomethanes are believed to increase the risk of cancer in drinking water. Stanislaus County has stopped issuing building permits at the resort until the water problem is resolved.The new owners have installed a carbon filtering system as a short-term solution. They have agreed to install a chloramine system, which mixes chlorine and ammonia to disinfect the water, as a long-term fix. The carbon filtering system is undergoing testing, according to the Laurus Corp. report. Bids on the chloramine system are due Thursday. Installation should take up to six months.World International has hired an architectural firm to redesign the Diablo Grande master plan. The owners plan to work with the county on review and approval.County officials said last week that they had not been contacted by the new Diablo Grande owners.Laurus and World International are looking for joint ventures with luxury home developers to get new construction under way. The development has about 400 homes built; the master plan includes 2,200 to 2,300 homes.The collapse of the housing market in the past two years led to the bankruptcy filing by the original owners last year.The new owners also are contacting upscale wineries about expanding the winery at the resort.The new owners are market-testing new names for the development and expect to announce a name in the coming weeks."This has been a fresh start for Diablo Grande, and we intend to keep the upswing momentum going," said Frederique Szita of the Laurus Corp., in a statement.KB Home's 4Q loss narrows, home demand stays weak...last updated: January 09, 2009 06:18:47 AMhttp://www.modbee.com/2020/v-print/story/558188.htmlLOS ANGELES -- KB Home, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, reported a sharply narrower fourth-quarter loss on Friday, but home demand weakened significantly and the company expects the industry will continue to struggle in 2009.For the quarter ended Nov. 30, losses shrank to $307.3 million, or $3.96 per share, from a year-ago loss of $772.7 million, or $9.99 per share, a year ago. Latest-quarter results included pretax charges of $266 million to write down inventory, among other charges.Lower housing revenue drove sales down 56 percent to $919 million from $2.07 billion in the 2007 fourth quarter. The average sale price of its homes slipped 6 percent to $232,200 in the fourth quarter, from $247,800 in the prior year.Homes delivered totaled 3,912 in the quarter, well less than half the 8,132 delivered a year earlier as foreclosures mounted and mortgage lending dried up. KB Home also noted it made "strategic reductions" in active selling during the period.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected Los Angeles-based KB Home to post a loss of $1.23 per share on revenue of $792.8 million.Excluding write downs of land values, President and Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger said KB Home achieved positive operating income for the first time in five quarters.The company's selling, general and administrative expenses dropped 47 percent to $121.1 million as KB Home exited some markets, consolidated operating divisions, cut jobs and reduced overhead."Housing market and general economic conditions in 2009 are expected to remain difficult or possibly worsen as the timing of any meaningful recovery for the homebuilding industry remains uncertain," Mezger warned in a statement. He said KB Home is "not counting on" federal stimulus to support the housing market, although the company would "welcome" a package.For the full fiscal year, the company's losses widened to $976.1 million, or $12.59 per share, from $929.4 million, or $12.04 per share, in 2007. The company's prior-year loss included income of $485.4 million, or $6.29 per share, from its discontinued operations in France.Full-year revenue dropped 53 percent to $3.03 billion, from $6.42 billion in fiscal 2007.Analysts had forecast fiscal 2008 losses of $9.47 per share on revenue of $2.9 billion.KB Home delivered 12,438 homes in fiscal 2008 at an average price of $236,400, down from 23,743 homes delivered at an average of about $261,600 in fiscal 2007.Fresno BeeUC Merced medical plan laid out'Fast-track' school to turn out doctors could ease Valley's shortage...Jim Guy http://www.fresnobee.com/local/v-print/story/1117896.htmlA program that turns out UC Merced-trained physicians in just five years would go a long way to cutting the Central Valley's shortage of doctors. That was the message Lt. Gov. John Garamendi heard Thursday night as he introduced a plan for a "fast-track" medical school at the University of California's newest campus.Garamendi, a UC regent, presented the plan in the Fresno High School auditorium to about 100 medical professionals, potential medical students, parents and others intrigued by the idea. Absent an alternative to a higher-cost conventional medical school, Garamendi said, it is likely the Merced medical school will be delayed and perhaps never open at all as the state's budget crisis mounts.Under the plan, students would be recruited from area high schools and would earn a bachelor's degree in science in as little as three years by going to school year-round. They would then do rotations at Valley medical facilities for two years before earning a medical degree and starting residencies. "UC has not expanded the number of doctors it has produced in 20 years by very much," Garamendi said. At the same time, he said, the demand has increased several fold.The "fast-track" plan would differ greatly from the traditional UC medical school, Garamendi said, but it is an approach that has had success at other universities across the nation.Fresno High senior Minal Patel is sold on the idea. She said many potential doctors find the financial and emotional cost of leaving the Valley for medical training daunting. She said such a program will encourage those who graduate in the Valley to stay and start practices here.David Quackenbush of the Central Valley Health Network said the need for primary care physicians is so great that he could immediately hire 10 -- if he could find them.Alex Sherriffs, a physician in Fowler, worries about who will replace him when he retires. He said a recent survey of medical school students indicated only 2% are thinking about focusing on primary care. He said Garamendi's plan could help the Valley get a bigger share of them.One reason many students choose to specialize rather than open a primary practice is because of the cost of medical school, Firebaugh physician Oscar Sablan told Garamendi. He said it costs about $150,000 to go to medical school."You cannot pay that back in a reasonable time" as a primary care physician, he said. The "fast-track" approach would greatly cut costs, he added.However, Roger Mortimer, interim chief of family and community medicine at UCSF-Fresno, was concerned that the program would have its share of failures because students fresh out of high school may not have had the time to make a career decision.Garamendi didn't believe that issue was an obstacle."Some will change [their minds] along the way," he said. "Others will fill that spot." Garamendi plan worth a lookProposal would fast-track med school planned for UC Merced...Editorialhttp://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/v-print/story/1118490.htmlLt. Gov. John Garamendi has offered an intriguing proposal to fast-track the medical school planned for the University of California at Merced. Garamendi's option may make sense because the UC administration is considering a slowdown of the planning for the medical school because of the economic downturn.Garamendi, a member of the UC Board of Regents, thinks his plan will gain support because it's less expensive, and would turn out doctors much more quickly than the current medical proposal. He unveiled the revised plan this week, and was in Fresno Thursday to discuss it with local leaders. Garamendi will ask that it be discussed at the regents' meeting next week.We have been longtime supporters of a medical school in the San Joaquin Valley, and we are concerned about UC's reported decision to pull back on the plan. A medical school will still be needed here long after the current economic troubles have passed. Delaying it will only make it more costly to build. UC has long neglected the Valley and regents built a campus in Merced only after intense pressure from those living in the region. But a partially built campus is not enough, and UC leaders must make a stronger commitment to funding ongoing operations and enhancing programs, including a medical school.It is not acceptable for UC to create roadblocks to building out the Merced campus. We are very troubled by the prospect of the Valley getting more broken promises from the UC administration and regents about their support of programs at the Merced campus.While we aren't ready to sign onto the Garamendi medical school plan, we think it's deserving of serious consideration. We'd like to hear more details, especially a firm commitment that the latest proposal would be of the highest quality. Garamendi wants to save money by eliminating the research portion of the medical school. He wants the university to develop a "fast-track" curriculum in which high school graduates could earn medical degrees in as little as five years. He said the program could be ready to go by the fall of 2010, which is three years sooner than the current plan.The Valley already faces critical shortages of doctors, particularly in specialty areas. Many Valley residents who need specialized care must travel to the Bay Area or Southern California to find it. Having a medical school in the Valley would help alleviate that costly and sometimes dangerous situation.There would also be an economic benefit to getting more doctors to serve the region. A UC study says the Valley has lost more than $845 million because insured patients living here were forced to go outside the area for medical care they couldn't get locally.If the Garamendi plan is the best one available, let's take a serious look at it. Toxic coal ash piling up in ponds in 32 statesToxic coal ash piling up in ponds in 32 states...DINA CAPPIELLO - Associated Press Writerhttp://www.fresnobee.com/news/national-politics/v-print/story/1117974.htmlWASHINGTON Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated.An Associated Press analysis of the most recent Energy Department data found that 156 coal-fired power plants store ash in surface ponds similar to the one that collapsed last month in Tennessee.Records indicate that states storing the most coal ash in ponds are Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama. The man-made lagoons hold a mixture of the noncombustible ingredients of coal and the ash trapped by equipment designed to reduce air pollution from the power plants.Over the years, the volume of waste has grown as demand for electricity increased and the federal government clamped down on emissions from power plants.The AP's analysis found that in 2005, the most recent year data is available, 721 power plants generating at least 100 megawatts of electricity produced 95.8 million tons of coal ash. About 20 percent - or nearly 20 million tons - ended up in surface ponds. The remainder ends up in landfills, or is sold for use in concrete, among other uses.The Environmental Protection Agency eight years ago said it wanted to set a national standard for ponds or landfills used to dispose of wastes produced from burning coal.The agency has yet to act.As a result, coal ash ponds are subject to less regulation than landfills accepting household trash. The EPA estimates that about 300 ponds for coal ash exist nationwide. And the power industry estimates that the ponds contain tens of thousands of pounds of toxic heavy metals.Without federal guidelines, regulations of the ash ponds vary by state. Most lack liners and have no monitors to ensure that ash and its contents don't seep into underground aquifers."There has been zero done by the EPA," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W. Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. Rahall pushed through legislation in 1980 directing the EPA to study how wastes generated at the nation's coal-fired power plants should be treated under federal law.In both 1988 and 1993, the EPA decided that coal ash should not be regulated as a hazardous waste. The agency has declined to take other steps to control how it is stored or used.Rahall plans to introduce legislation this Congress to compel the EPA to act. "Coal ash impoundments like the one in Tennessee have to be subject to federal regulations to ensure a basic level of safety for communities," Rahall said.At a hearing held Thursday on the Tennessee spill, Senate Democrats called for stricter regulations."The federal government has the power to regulate these wastes, and inaction has allowed this enormous volume of toxic material to go largely unregulated," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs Senate committee that oversees the EPA.The agency says it is working toward a national standard and that there has been no "conscious or clear slowdown" by Bush administration officials who have run the agency since 2001 and often sided with the energy industry on environmental controls."It has been an issue of resources and a range of pressing things we are working on," said Matthew Hale, who heads the agency's Office of Solid Waste.Over the years, the government has found increasing evidence that coal ash ponds and landfills taint the environment and pose risks to humans and wildlife. In 2000, when the EPA first floated the idea of a national standard, the agency knew of 11 cases of water pollution linked to ash ponds or landfills. In 2007, that list grew to 24 cases in 13 states with another 43 cases where coal ash was the likely cause of pollution.The leaks and spills are blamed for abnormalities in tadpoles. The heads and fins of certain fish species were deformed after exposure to the chemicals. In 2006, the EPA concluded that disposal of coal waste in ponds elevates cancer risk when metals leach into drinking water sources.Among the facilities listed by the EPA as potentially causing environmental damage were three run by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the same utility that operates the pond in Tennessee that failed last month.Hale said the national standard would require monitoring for leaks at older, unlined sites and require the company to respond when they occur.The industry already runs a voluntary program encouraging energy companies to install groundwater monitors. Industry officials argue that a federal regulation will do little to prevent pollution at older dump sites."Having federal regulations isn't going to solve those problems," said Jim Roewer, executive director of the Utility Solid Waste Activity Group, a consortium of electricity producers based in Washington. "What you have to look at is what the current state regulatory programs are. The state programs continue to evolve."Despite improvements in state programs, many states have little regulation other than requiring permits for discharging into waterways - as required by the federal Clean Water Act.In North Carolina, where 14 power plants disposed of 1.3 million tons in ponds in 2005, state officials do not require operators to line their ponds or monitor groundwater, safety measures that help protect water supplies from contamination.Similar safety measures are not required in Kentucky, Alabama, and Indiana.And while other states like Ohio have regulations to protect groundwater, those often don't apply to many of the older dumps built before the state rules were imposed.Government enforcement has been spotty, leaving citizens who suffered from the contamination to file lawsuits against power companies.In May, the owners of a Montana power plant - storing more ash in ponds than any other facility in the country - agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 57 plant workers and nearby residents. The plant's ponds were blamed for contaminating water supplies in subdivisions and a trailer park.Many of the ponds at the Colstrip, Mont., plant were in place before regulation. State environmental officials say the operator, PPL Montana, is working to fix leaks.Just last week, a judge in Baltimore approved a $54 million lawsuit settlement against a subsidiary of Constellation Energy. The company was accused of tainting water supplies with coal ash it dumped into a sand and gravel quarry.Neither of these made the EPA's 2007 list of 67 cases of known or possible contamination stemming from power plant landfills or holding ponds."The solution is readily available to the EPA," said Lisa Evans, an attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental advocacy group. "We wouldn't like it, but they could say that municipal solid waste rules apply to coal ash. They could have done that, but instead they chose to do absolutely nothing." Boxer: EPA should regulate coal-fired power plant waste...HALIMAH ABDULLAH AND RENEE SCHOOF - McClatchy Newspapers. (Cassondra Kirby Mullins and Andy Mead of the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader contributed to this report.)  http://www.fresnobee.com/news/national-politics/v-print/story/1117608.htmlWASHINGTON Federal regulations are needed to make sure that ash from coal-fired power plants is stored safely, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said on Thursday as the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the spill of 1 billion gallons of toxic sludge in East Tennessee.Republican and Democratic lawmakers promised to make sure that the Tennessee Valley Authority helps the region recover from one of the nation's worst spills and looks for ways to prevent other spills and leaks.TVA president and chief executive Tom Kilgore told the committee that his agency would do a first-rate cleanup. "We'll start with the people first, and the environment comes right after that," he said. He also said the TVA wanted to work with the environmental committee to become a leader in better ash disposal methods.It's not entirely clear how much ash is stored around the country or where. The Environmental Protection Agency doesn't track the number or have a breakdown for the states, said spokeswoman Tisha Petteway.According to the American Coal Ash Association's latest survey, in 2007, coal-fired plants generated 131 million tons of coal ash.The nation's hundreds of coal ash dumps contain millions of pounds of toxic metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium, which can cause cancer or damage the nervous system and lungs and other organs if people ingest them. The EPA has left regulation up to the states, but it's been debating whether to set national standards."For nearly three decades, EPA has been looking the issue of how to regulate combustion waste," Boxer said. "The federal government has the power to regulate these wastes, and inaction has allowed this enormous volume of toxic material to go largely unregulated."However, she said she hoped the EPA would decide to regulate coal ash soon. Boxer said she planned to ask Lisa Jackson, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to head the EPA, whether she agrees on the need for federal regulation at her confirmation hearings.The EPA decided in 2000, in the Clinton administration, not to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste. It noted, however, that there was a "lack of controls, such as liners and groundwater monitoring, at many sites" and "gaps in state oversight existed."Boxer said the ash shouldn't be held in ponds, where it can contaminate water supplies. Coal ash also has been placed in abandoned mines and quarries. In other cases, dry ash is held in lined landfills.Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said that Georgia has 10 coal ash storage sites. He expressed interest in setting standards that would prevent spills.Stephen Smith, the director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, called for federal regulation of coal combustion waste, saying that voluntary industry practices and state rules haven't prevented the contamination of land and water near disposal sites."We absolutely need to keep ash out of the water," Smith said. "Storing it wet is unacceptable."Smith said TVA should be held accountable for the disaster and urged a review of the company's emergency preparedness procedures.William Rose, the director of the Roane County, Tenn., office of emergency services, told the committee that his office had problems working with TVA after the spill because TVA doesn't use the same emergency preparedness program for ponds and dikes that it uses at the region's nuclear and hydroelectric facilities.The spill occurred at about 1 a.m. on Dec. 22, about 40 miles west of Knoxville. No one was killed.TVA, the nation's largest public power company, is likely to pass part of the cleanup cost on to its 9 million customers in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.There are about 300 coal ash ponds around the country, and EPA data show that some contain larger amounts of toxic metals than the Kingston one did.Kilgore estimated that TVA has about 20 ash ponds. They're unlined, and that raises concerns that the toxic material could leach through the bottom, he said. There also are "one or two other places" at TVA ash ponds with a "wet spot on the dike," he said.Ash stored in dry conditions, with just enough dampness to prevent dust, can be sold for use in concrete, wallboard and other products, Kilgore said. TVA recycles about half its ash, he said.Kilgore said that EPA tests showed that drinking water and the air near the spill was safe, but Boxer said that some tests of river water showed problems.Five people who live near the Kingston Fossil Plant who traveled to Washington for the hearing said outside the hearing room that they're worried about their health."My biggest concern is my 11-year-old son" who loves to ride his dirt bike, go boating and swim, said Bridget Daughterty, a nurse."We will not know the effects for many years. This might affect a lot more people," she said.Teresa Riggs said she wanted the EPA to tell the community what's in the sludge."If it's not hazardous, why are they telling us, 'Don't walk it in and bring it back in your house?' " she said. " 'We're going to wash it off the tires of the trucks. Don't let your animals drink the water.' If it's not hazardous, why are they telling us to be careful?"Riggs said that her father and her husband's father helped build the Kingston plant in the 1950s, and that the community appreciates the power it provides. She said that she came to Washington to ask lawmakers for more oversight, including a look into whether changes are needed in how the waste is stored.Texas doesn't require permits for coal ash disposal if it takes place on the property of the company that produces it, isn't mingled with wastes from other companies, and if the disposal site is within 50 miles of the plant.Kentucky doesn't require emergency plans for its coal company impoundments or at nearly 400 water dams in the state that are rated as high or moderate hazards. Environmentalists and Kentucky lawmakers began pushing to develop a monitoring and public alert system in 2000, when a spill in Martin County dumped 300 million gallons of slurry into creeks, rivers and bottomland in Eastern Kentucky.Sacramento BeeFederal draft report: Delta system imperils fish...Matt Weiserhttp://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/v-print/story/1528201.htmlSalmon, steelhead and sturgeon in the Central Valley are being driven to extinction by Delta pumping systems and upstream reservoir operations, according to a draft federal report.The National Marine Fisheries Service has not yet released the report, but it was discussed at a meeting of scientists in Sacramento on Thursday.The impacts are so significant that the agency is also studying whether killer whales in the ocean could be imperiled by declining Central Valley salmon, their primary prey. The grave findings suggest that California's efforts to serve thirsty farms and cities while sustaining healthy fisheries will only get more difficult.A final version of the report, called a biological opinion, is expected by March 2. The Endangered Species Act empowers the fisheries service to impose new rules on state and federal water systems to protect the fish.The state and federal governments operate separate reservoir and canal systems that collect Northern California's snowmelt and distribute it to cities, suburbs and farms statewide. These systems have dammed off hundreds of miles of fish habitat and altered the timing and temperature of river flows.Given the findings, the fisheries service could require the California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to change reservoir operations, improve river habitat and divert less water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California. Hatchery practices might have to be changed to protect wild fish.The details of these forthcoming rules were not revealed Thursday. Officials at both water agencies have seen the full draft but declined to comment on the specifics."To take additional hits (in water supply) will be very problematic for us," said Jerry Johns, deputy director of the state Department of Water Resources. "Our goal is to protect these fish species, and we've got to make sure we do that effectively. But we've got to do it in a reasonable way."The biological opinion has a long and troubled history.A version completed in 2004 reached similar findings. But a regional director at the National Marine Fisheries Service, a political appointee, altered the final report to show, instead, that the species would not be imperiled by water operations.Conservation groups sued, and last year federal district Judge Oliver Wanger ruled the agency's actions were "arbitrary and capricious" and violated the Endangered Species Act. He ordered a new report prepared by March of this year, but allowed water operations to continue unaltered until then.Under current rules, the state Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation coordinate their operations to boost water pumped through the Delta to farms and cities south. One of their tools is to manipulate the timing of water releases from reservoirs, including Shasta, Oroville and Folsom.Fisheries Service biologists said Thursday that the current system, with its emphasis on water for people, does not provide adequate cold water for spawning habitat in the Sacramento River. This will worsen as climate change and population growth take hold, the scientists said."There's not much chance here for spring-run (salmon) in the mainstem Sacramento River," said biologist Bruce Oppenheim. "We just don't have as much water available in Shasta in the future."The discussion took place before an independent panel of scientists conducting a peer review of the findings for the CalFed Bay-Delta Authority, a joint state-federal agency charged with improving the Delta.The meeting was highly technical but offered warnings about four protected species: winter- and spring-run salmon, Central Valley steelhead and green sturgeon.Similar conditions exist in the American River: not enough cold water or habitat for steelhead spawning."By the time May comes around, it's really not a suitable place for egg incubation," said biologist Brian Ellrott.Providing more cold water for fish would mean saving water behind dams for spawning season. This could mean less water for farms and cities in summer and fall.Under the current system, risks to the fish are numerous. The Bureau of Reclamation, for instance, operates giant gates on the Sacramento River near Walnut Grove to divert freshwater into the interior Delta to freshen supplies available to diversion pumps.When these gates are open, young salmon migrating to sea stray into waters teeming with predators, including foreign species such as striped bass.Federal biologist Jeff Stuart said closing the gates almost doubles salmon survival rates.Other threats include herbicides to control aquatic weeds, entrapment in the suction effect of the water diversion pumps, and rough handling at fish screens near the pumps."Basically, if you enter the interior Delta, you're not going to survive," Stuart said.The biological opinion does not directly consider effects on fall-run chinook salmon, because this species is not yet protected by the Endangered Species Act. But it is declining steeply and affected by the same threats.The fall-run remains the largest salmon population on the West Coast, vital as ocean-going adults to the commercial fishing industry. It's also a primary food for the southern resident population of killer whale, or orca, an endangered species that ranges from Puget Sound to Monterey. Fewer salmon spawning in Central Valley rivers, then growing into adults in the ocean, could mean hard times for the orca.Maria Rea, Sacramento supervisor for the Fisheries Service, said her team has not finished evaluating whether California water operations threaten the orca. Home builders suffer in grim '08...Jim Wassermanhttp://www.sacbee.com/business/v-print/story/1528051.htmlCould it get any worse for Sacramento's home builders?Publicly traded home-building giants and family builders alike endured their harshest year in possibly a generation in 2008, according to statistics being released today by the Folsom-based Gregory Group.Area home builders sold just 4,695 houses last year in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties as an historic real estate collapse diverted thousands of buyers to steeply discounted bank repos, the report shows. The survey provides the newest evidence of how banks, desperate to unload their foreclosed properties, have pushed area builders to the sidelines and into grim battles for their own survival. Several builders filed for bankruptcy protection as repos climbed to two-thirds of Sacramento County sales, and the median sales price fell to $175,000."There's a lot of good-quality bank-repossessed properties, good, clean homes that would be in direct competition with the builders," said Warren Adams of Security Pacific Real Estate in Fair Oaks. Many are nearly new, he said. "I've had several listings where they're still selling the models in there."During the fourth quarter, average new home prices fell 10 percent from 2007, to $384,347, reported the Gregory Group, a consulting firm that tracks new home sales. It's the lowest average since mid-2003. The capital region's new home average peaked just shy of $500,000 in the second quarter of 2006, statistics show.In 2008, area builders sold 2,712 fewer homes than in 2007 – itself one of the worst years in recent memory. According to Gregory Group statistics, 2008 area sales compared to:•   7,407 in 2007.•   9,588 in 2006.• 14,094 in 2005.• 17,155 sales in 2004, the peak year of the capital region's housing boom.While the entire year was difficult, fourth-quarter sales fell to 705, the lowest since the Folsom firm began keeping track in 1999. Builders have said customers became frightened by warnings from Washington, D.C., of potential economic collapse. The quarter also followed major Wall Street bank implosions and featured a plunge in the stock market to lows last seen in the 1990s."We're in a situation where people aren't buying anything," said Gregory Group President Greg Paquin. "It's not just homes. It's cars. It's retail. … It's the economy."Atlanta-based Beazer Homes finished 2008 as the region's top-selling builder, outpacing Texas builders Centex Homes, which ranked first in 2007, and D.R. Horton, which led the region in 2006.The region's top five builders – all publicly traded – accounted for 38 percent of the year's sales. The leading local builder, Roseville-based JMC Homes, ranked seventh with 226 sales, a 4.8 percent market share, the Gregory Group statistics show.Beazer's 432 sales represented nearly one in every 10 homes sold in 2008. Beazer was also one of the few firms to beat its 2007 numbers. Last year, it had 386 sales. Arizona-based Taylor Morrison Homes also bettered its 2007 performance. It sold 259 homes last year, eight more than in 2007, statistics show.Michael Penbera, Beazer's Sacramento division sales manager, attributed the rise to prices beginning at $179,900 in Rancho Cordova's Capital Village and even lower at its Natomas Field project north of downtown Sacramento.Penbera acknowledged that many buyers come to model homes to compare against foreclosure prices. But he said, "There's some peace in purchasing a new home with a warranty, with a lot of the energy-efficient features that older ones aren't required to have."Rancho Cordova, indeed, was the only part of the region to see higher fourth-quarter sales in 2008 than 2007.Paquin attributed that to Beazer sales at Capital Village and sales by building giants Centex Homes and Lennar Corp. at Kavala Ranch in the Sunrise-Douglas area. Pacific Ethanol halts production at Madera plant...Dale Kaslerhttp://www.sacbee.com/latest/v-print/story/1529390.htmlSacramento's Pacific Ethanol Inc. said today it is temporarily closing its Madera production plant because of "unfavorable market conditions."The move is another setback for the troubled company, whose profits have been eroded over the past year by low ethanol prices and high production costs.The Madera plant was Pacific Ethanol's first. It owns three others, including one in Stockton, as well as a 42 percent stake in a fourth plant. Company officials weren't immediately available for comment.Pacific Ethanol's stock fell 2 cents a share, to 58 cents, on morning trading. Capital PressCalifornia salmon deal fishy...Don Curleehttp://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=84&SubSectionID=777&ArticleID=47675&TM=63421.29The fishermen and hunters I know don't always get their game, but they seem to know where to find it. Oregon and Alaska are popular destinations to find salmon. Makes me wonder why some folks propose spending millions to bring salmon to the fishermen of the San Joaquin Valley.What kind of convoluted reasoning supports spending hundreds of millions in federal tax money and stealing millions of acre feet of agricultural water to restore a river that has been dry for 60 years just so salmon can frolic in it?This is the scenario on the table in a bill before Congress. The version omits the $500 million in federal funding proposed originally, putting even more of a burden on farmers and private enterprise.At one point the proposal included an even exchange of new water for the amount released down the San Joaquin River. That suggestion also has been withdrawn.People who discuss the issue point to the decision by Fresno Judge Oliver Wanger ordering implementation of the plan. The judgment was based on environmental law and precedents. Water purveyors who disburse water for farm use saw the congressional proposal as the least intrusive of several proposals.The predicament underscores the awesome power that environmentalists and fish worshipers have achieved. They seem to dictate the costliest, most unreasonable actions based on the flimsiest evidence. They've been doing it for 50 years, and they seem to gain momentum with each decision made by helpless judges and intimidated legislators. Much of what passes for environmental law began with noisy and possibly baseless demonstrations by environmentalists with nothing better to do. A study of the progression of environmental law is likely to reveal that many cases made by the environmentalists have been hollow and misdirected, even destructive.The San Joaquin River fiasco might be another of those off-center actions. The 319-foot-tall Friant Dam near Fresno prevents the salmon from swimming farther upstream to spawn. To be attractive to the fish, major refurbishing of the area below the dam will be required.Reports have indicated that the water behind the dam is too warm to encourage the envisioned salmon migration from the Delta. Environmentalist support for the plan ignores or discounts this scientific finding.Isn't it time to recognize that radical environmentalism has run amok? Isn't it gaining control of every aspect of our lives? Perhaps the environmental movement didn't begin with that goal. Perhaps the movement has been hijacked by political manipulators seeking change at all cost.From an agricultural perspective it is obvious that each new environmentally inspired regulation or proclamation tightens the vise on opportunity. Do we want water for fish to find their way to the base of Friant Dam, or do we want water for the production of food to feed ourselves and others? What hunters, fishermen and society in general need to find is some reality. While the search might take them beyond the banks of the San Joaquin River, they can bring reality home for dinner without buying a hunting or fishing license. Such a deal.Stockton RecordCardoza proposal could aid housing crisis...Bruce Spencehttp://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090109/A_NEWS/901090325/-1/A_NEWSRep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, has a plan to reverse the housing crisis and boost the economy: a 4 percent interest rate on fixed-rate, 30-year loans for all current homeowners and qualified buyers of foreclosure properties.Under his newly proposed legislation, federal mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would allow homeowners to refinance their mortgages at 4 percent interest on 30-year, fixed-rate loans.That would benefit not only homeowners struggling to make monthly payments but also those who have faithfully paid their bills each month but have been unable to refinance because of lost equity.Qualified borrowers also would be able to get 4 percent loans, which would cut the supply of vacant foreclosure properties in communities, Cardoza said.Outside economists have estimated that such a program would cost about $100 billion, he said, and would be funded with part of the remaining $350 billion of the $700 billion federal housing bailout approved in August.Cardoza said getting at the heart of the economic downturn means taking far-reaching action to reverse the housing crisis.Carol Ornelas, CEO of Visionary Home Builders, which builds housing for low-income families and also provides mortgage counseling, said the plan wouldn't help many people in the Central Valley, though, because they still would have too-high mortgage costs even at such a low interest rate.Cardoza's plan doesn't call for a reduction in the size of principal.At 4 percent, for example, a $400,000 mortgage, a family would need to make an annual income of at least $75,000 to be able to afford a $1,900 monthly payment plus at least $500 for property taxes and insurance, Ornelas said. Families who get foreclosure counseling at her nonprofit group have an average annual income of less than $50,000, she said."Part of the problem is a lot of people bought something they didn't qualify for," she said. "For some people, it's a good deal. For people in the Central Valley, I'm not so sure it will help."Cardoza said the program is aimed at allowing creditworthy homeowners to refinance their homes when they otherwise couldn't because home valuations have dropped so much."People who can't afford to pay a mortgage, we can't help those folks," he said. "They never should have had this mortgage. The government isn't in the business of making people's mortgage payments."Most of those who got into foreclosure trouble initially got into homes they could never afford with exotic mortgages, he said. The coming second wave of foreclosures over the next 18 months involves those who will be in trouble because of adjustable-rate mortgages that they got into with low introductory rates, he said.The plan also would reward "Joe Citizen" who has faithfully paid the mortgage and has maybe 10 percent equity but still can't refinance, he said."Why should only the people in trouble get relief?" Cardoza said. "I want to also reward Americans who have done everything right."Here's an example of how a refinance would affect a longtime homeowner: A homeowner with a $250,000, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 7.5 percent would have a monthly principal and interest payment of $1,748. Under the Cardoza plan, the payment on that mortgage refinanced to 4 percent fixed rate would drop to $1,194 a month.San Francisco ChronicleTVA waste pond ruptures in Ala.; spill contained...BILL POOVEY, Associated Press Writerhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/09/national/a090643S73.DTL&type=printableStevenson, Ala. (AP) -- A waste pond at a coal-burning power plant in northeast Alabama ruptured Friday, but the spill was quickly contained, utility officials said. It was the second breach at a Tennessee Valley Authority facility in less than a month.The leak was discovered at about 6 a.m. Friday at the plant near Stevenson, said TVA spokesman John Moulton. Most of the material from the leak flowed into a settling pond at the plant site, but some spilled into nearby Widows Creek, he said.The leak had stopped by late morning and TVA was conducting temporary repairs on the pond, Moulton said. State emergency management officials are trying to determine if any drinking water systems might be affected by the spill into the creek, which flows into the Tennessee River, said Scott Hughes, a spokesman for Alabama Department of Environmental Management.The spill, about 30 miles southwest of Chattanooga, Tenn., comes just after a dike burst at a plant near Kingston, Tenn. on Dec. 22, releasing more than 1 billion gallons of toxic-laden ash into a neighborhood. The spill has renewed a debate about whether states or federal regulators should oversee the materials, and whether stricter regulations are needed to govern them.The federal utility said the pond that leaked Friday contained gypsum, a material that is captured in air pollution control devices at the plant and is different than the type of sludge that spilled in Tennessee. Gypsum is a naturally occurring mineral that contains calcium sulfate, which is used to make wall board, cement and fertilizer.TVA didn't immediately have an estimate on how much material spilled and the cause of the failure is under investigation. In 2005, the utility reported depositing 445,200 tons of gypsum in ponds at the Widows Creek plant.Two plants remained in operation and two smokestacks that tower over the plant were still putting out a plume of emissions in the hours after the accident.Victor Manning, the emergency management agency director in Jackson County, where the plant is located, said he didn't learn about the leak until several hours later. He said there are no homes nearby that might be endangered by the spill.TVA inspected all its retaining ponds, including the ones at the Widows Creek Fossil Plant, after the rupture in Tennessee. Moulton said on Dec. 31 that the ponds were "all in good shape."TVA initially speculated that bitterly cold temperatures and flooding could have been a factor in the Tennessee failure. But the cause of the Tennessee accident is still under investigation, and TVA officials said this week the flood may have destroyed much of the evidence that could help determine why the dike broke.Santa Cruz SentinelCemex will shut down for six months, lay off more than 100...Shanna McCordhttp://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_11412245DAVENPORT -- Cemex, the largest cement manufacturer in the nation, plans to pull the plug on the Davenport plant and lay off the bulk of its local work force, about 125 employees, for a minimum of six months beginning March 9, company officials announced Thursday.The temporary closure of the 102-year-old North Coast factory comes in the midst of a severe economic downturn, which has translated into a drastic drop in demand for cement across California -- especially in the housing industry, Cemex spokeswoman Jennifer Borgen said. "Demand does not exist right now in California," she said. "This closure is purely the market. If you don't have demand, you can't continue to produce cement."A skeleton crew of Cemex employees, based on seniority and skills, will be kept at the plant to maintain the equipment and ensure the factory is ready to run again when the economy bounces back, Borgen said.This is the first time the company has called for a temporary halt in operations with layoffs since 1992, Borgen said. That closure lasted three weeks, she said.The Davenport plant, which was previously owned by RMC Pacific Materials until Cemex bought it in 2005, has closed for short periods on several occasions since 1992 due to weak demand, but had avoided letting workers go. Cemex Vice President Satish Sheth, who also oversees the company's plant in Victorville, said the company had no choice but to pause production."The economic downturn is so severe," he said. "The company is dealing with the same downturn we're seeing everywhere else. We just have no place to go." The Monterrey, Mexico-based company, with operations in more than 50 countries across five continents, is facing financial troubles as the company attempts to refinance more than a third of its $16.4 billion net debt, according to Bloomberg financial news. It also faces derivative losses of $711 million while profits plummet on weak cement demand in the U.S., Mexico, Spain and U.K. In its latest quarterly financial report, Cemex reported a 5 percent year-over-year decline in sales, causing net income to fall 74 percent to $200 million.Borgen said the company's global financial struggles did not play into the decision to temporarily shut the Davenport plant.Cemex came under scrutiny by the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District this past summer for emitting the cancer-causing chromium 6 in cement dust blown from the plant. The company intermittently stopped operations while officials corrected the problem.Company officials say chromium 6 was not a factor in calling for the temporary closure.The only other Cemex plant in California, in Victorville, will continue to operate with its full staff of 250, Borgen said. The company operates a network of terminals in Sacramento, West Sacramento, Redwood City and Richmond, which will allow customers of Davenport's cement to continue receiving product made in Victorville.Davenport's core customer base is in the San Francisco Bay Area, but the plant distributes cement from Sacramento to Bakersfield.The two-year forecast for construction industries nationwide is "significantly weak," according to the Portland Cement Association, an organization based in Illinois that conducts research and market development for the cement industry.A weak economy and tight credit conditions, coupled with job losses and a decline in state revenues, have led to reduced cement demand, said the association's spokeswoman, Patti Flesher.The association reported a 12.8 percent decline in cement demand in 2008 and predicts an 11.9 percent decline in 2009 and a 2.1 percent drop in 2010.Public construction accounts for nearly half of all cement use in the country, and states like California suffering poor fiscal conditions are cutting back on such spending, Flesher said.The association said cement use fell 31.7 percent nationwide in the residential market, and expects to see a 16.9 percent reduction in 2009.A rebound is expected in the second half of 2010, Flesher said.Meanwhile, Cemex employees Thursday expressed fear about personal finances, the ability to find other jobs while the plant is closed and the possibility of the plant never starting again.Dave Sher, 55, an electronics electrician at Cemex for 10 years, plans to file for unemployment."This came right out of the blue. But at the same time, we knew they couldn't keep the plant open when they're not making any cement and not selling any cement," Sher said. "They say the intention is to hire us all back when the economy improves. We hope."Cindy Escobar, a Cemex employee of 18 years, is an officer with the United Cement, Lime and Gypsum Workers union.The question she heard the most on Thursday from colleagues was "if and when there's a date for returning.""There's not," Escobar said. "Of course, people are scared maybe the plant won't start again."Cemex plans to continue seeking permits to expand its quarry in Bonny Doon, which Borgen says is "a clear indication" that the company doesn't plan to make the temporary closure permanent."Expanding the quarry is key to our future there," Borgen said.Company officials say they are one of the highest paying blue-collar job providers in Santa Cruz County, with hourly pay ranging from $17 to more than $30.Employees will continue to receive health benefits for at least a year, she said.Some members of the management team in Davenport will be offered relocation or transfers to different plants, Borgen said.Los Angeles TimesU.S. unemployment hits 16-year high: 7.2%The Labor Department says 524,000 jobs were lost in December, bringing the total for 2008 to 2.6 million. 'The jobs market is still in a free-fall,' one economist says...Maura Reynoldshttp://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-jobs10-2009jan10,0,4858914,print.storyReporting from Washington — The nation's unemployment rate soared to its highest level in 16 years last month, reaching an eye-popping 7.2% as businesses slashed their payrolls by 524,000 jobs in December, the government reported today.All together, 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008 -- 75% of them in the last four months -- and 11.1 million workers are now unemployed, the Labor Department said. And that's not counting millions more who have reluctantly taken part-time work instead of full-time jobs or have become so discouraged they stopped looking for a new job.Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, said that the decline in employment is the largest since 1945."The jobs market is still in a free-fall," Behravesh said.Reacting to the unemployment report, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 113.81, or 1.30%, to 8,628.65 in mid-morning trading.The Labor Department, continuing to crunch numbers from the last two months, also sharply revised recent payroll declines, reporting that 584,000 jobs were lost in November -- rather than the previously reported 533,000, which itself had been a record-breaking number -- and that 423,000 jobs were lost in October, rather than 320,000. It revised November's unemployment rate to 6.8% from an initially reported 6.7%.In just the last four months, the economy has shed 1.9 million jobs. Just to keep pace with population growth, the economy needs to create about 100,000 jobs a month."We're seeing a complete unraveling of the labor market and are on track for getting beyond 10% unemployment," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.The job losses were widespread, touching nearly every sector of the economy. Manufacturing payrolls, already shrinking for more than a year, posted their largest one-month decline since 2001. Construction firms also continued to shed workers, losing 899,000 jobs since the housing boom peaked in September 2006."There is no silver lining here," said Alan Krueger, a professor of economics at Princeton University and a former chief economist for the Labor Department. "The only sectors that didn't shrink are education, health care and government."Some economists believe the unemployment rate undercounts the number of people struggling to find work because it includes only workers who sought a job in the previous four weeks. Many more have not applied for new work that recently, or have become too discouraged to try."Factoring in discouraged workers, unemployment is closer to 9.4%," said Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland. "Add workers in part-time positions that cannot find full time employment and the hidden unemployment rate is 14.5%."The report was full of ill portents. Among them was a reported decline in the number of hours worked to 33.3 hours per worker -- the lowest number recorded since the Labor Department. began keeping track in 1964. Businesses tend to cut hours before cutting workers, so the declines likely mean more layoffs are pending.Behravesh said he expects the jobs hemorrhage to continue through much of 2009."During the first few months, the magnitude of the job losses will be at least as large as the November and December drops," he said in a note to his newsletter's subscribers. "However, if a large fiscal stimulus package can be enacted quickly, then the pace of job losses in the second half of the year can be slowed and by early 2010 the prospects for the U.S. economy starting to create jobs again will be good."Morici said that without a massive government stimulus program, the economic downturn will last a very long time."This will prove to be a depression if we don't act quickly," Morici said. "The economy is not in a self-correcting mode. Recessions self-correct, but depressions do not."KB Home reports eighth straight quarterly lossThe biggest California home builder lost $307 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. That's an improvement from a year ago, but the company expects home prices to continue falling amid foreclosures...Peter Y. Honghttp://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-kbhome10-2009jan10,0,4265698,print.storyKB Home, California's largest home builder, announced its eighth straight quarterly loss Friday, and company officials said they expect home prices to continue to fall in 2009.KB Home lost $307.3 million, or $3.96 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2008, but that was substantially less than the $772.7 million loss, or $9.99 per share, it reported for the same quarter a year earlier. Nevertheless, the loss reported today exceeded the median estimate of $96.9 million, or $1.19 per share, by analysts polled by Bloomberg.Revenue for the quarter was $919 million, down 56% from the fourth quarter of 2007. For the year, revenue was down 53%, to $3.03 billion.The home-building industry has been devastated by a glut of foreclosed homes that have undercut the prices of new residences. KB Home Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger told analysts in a conference call that the company's strategy has been to compete head-on with foreclosed homes by selling lower-priced, smaller houses.KB Home's average selling price for its homes was $232,000 in the fourth quarter, down 6.4% from the same quarter a year earlier. Mezger said the lower cost of building the company's smaller homes, however, had kept the profit margin up on sales of the less expensive houses.He said he expects "housing market volatility will continue" this year, but added that foreclosures and falling prices are drawing buyers, especially in Southern California. Mezger said KB Home plans to compete in Southern California at the bottom end of the market "because it seems to be where the market stabilizes," he said.New York TimesBill Easing Unionizing Is Under Heavy Attack...Steven Greenhouse   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/us/09labor.html?_r=1&sq=wal%20mart&st=cse&scp=4&pagewanted=printWASHINGTON — Intent on blocking organized labor’s top legislative goal, corporations are quietly contributing to lobbying groups with appealing names like the Workforce Fairness Institute and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.These groups are planning a multimillion-dollar campaign in the hope of killing legislation that would give unions the right to win recognition at a workplace once a majority of employees sign cards saying they want a union. Business groups fear the bill will enable unions to quickly add millions of workers and drive up labor costs.The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a federation of 500 business groups, ran a full-page advertisement on Wednesday that sought to discredit the legislation, called the Employee Free Choice Act. The advertisement said that if secret ballots were good enough to elect Barack Obama then they should be good enough for union members, too. Richard Berman, a Washington lobbyist, has created a business-backed group, the Center for Union Facts, that is planning to run millions of dollars’ worth of television spots over the next few months to pressure moderate Democrats to oppose the bill. During last fall’s presidential campaign, groups opposing the legislation spent more than $20 million on television commercials in Colorado, Maine, Minnesota and other states in an effort to defeat Democratic Senate candidates who backed the bill.At a confirmation hearing set for Friday, Republican senators are expected to challenge Representative Hilda L. Solis of California, President-elect Obama’s choice for labor secretary, over her support for the legislation. Business leaders denounce the bill because it would largely eliminate secret-ballot elections to determine whether workers want a union. (The union win rate has traditionally been far higher through majority signups than elections.)“If you know anything about politics, it is a game changer,” said Senator John Ensign, Republican of Nevada. “It is a total game changer for the next 40 to 50 years if the Democrats are able to get this legislation that eliminates the right to a secret ballot. We are fighting it hard.”Senate Democrats have not decided when to bring up the measure. Given its divisiveness, it will not be one of the first bills they bring to the floor. But the legislation has the strong backing of Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, who is expected to bring it up once Democrats are confident they can overcome any filibuster. In 2007, the House passed a similar bill, but it failed in the Senate on a procedural vote.Republican leaders and business lobbyists say the Democrats do not have the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. But union leaders voice optimism, noting that Mr. Obama has endorsed the bill and that Democrats have close to 60 seats in the Senate, though two remain in dispute. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who once was a co-sponsor of the bill, has not decided whether he would support it this time, an aide said.Whether it is Wal-Mart or the National Restaurant Association, many companies and corporate groups financing the opposition fear that their companies and industries will be among labor’s earliest organizing targets should the bill become law. Labor leaders say they are setting their sights on several industries, like banks and big-box retailers like Wal-Mart or Target, where unions have had virtually no success.“We’re going to organize in the basic industries of our unions: construction, hospitality, health care, retail, food production and manufacturing,” said Tom Woodruff, director of strategic organizing for Change to Win, a federation of seven unions that includes the Service Employees International Union, the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers. “Those are jobs that are going to stay in the country. The question is whether those jobs are going to be decent middle-class jobs.”Mark McKinnon, a media adviser to the presidential campaigns of John McCain and George W. Bush, is a spokesman for the Workforce Fairness Institute. Mr. McKinnon said the institute was focusing on drumming up grass-roots support from business. He would not say which companies are financing the institute, founded by several longtime Republican operatives.“This issue has really become very high on the radar screen,” he said. “Businesses are hearing about it, and they are ready to riot in the street about it.” The measure “is the most radical rewrite of labor legislation since the 1930s,” Mr. McKinnon said. “It is a political nightmare and a public policy disaster.”Opponents fear that the legislation will enable labor to become a wealthier and more powerful political force. Union leaders see the bill as crucial for reversing labor’s long decline — unions represent just 7.5 percent of private-sector workers, down from nearly 40 percent a half-century ago.John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, said that if Wal-Mart’s United States work force of 1.4 million were unionized, that could mean $500 million in additional union dues collected each year — tens of millions of which might be used to support Democratic causes and candidates. Acknowledging that Wal-Mart presents a formidable challenge, labor leaders say they hope to unionize up to 100 of Wal-Mart’s more than 4,000 United States stores for starters, which might add 30,000 members.“We are against any bill that would effectively eliminate freedom of choice and the right to a secret ballot election,” said a Wal-Mart spokesman, David Tovar. “We believe every associate” — Wal-Mart’s term for employees — “should have the right to make a private and informed decision regarding union representation.”Labor leaders say they do not oppose secret-ballot elections, but rather the bitter two-month management-versus-union campaigns that often precede elections. Union leaders say those campaigns are usually unfair because corporations often fire union supporters and press their anti-union views day and night in one-on-one sessions and large meetings while union organizers are prohibited from company property. Labor leaders said that last month they won one of the biggest unionization victories in years for the nearly 5,000 workers at the Smithfield pork processing plant in Tar Heel, N.C., by insisting on what they said were fairer rules. If the bill is enacted, unions say they will try to organize workers by quietly getting a majority to sign pro-union cards before companies can begin an anti-union campaign. In theory, a union organizer or pro-union employee would have an easy time signing up a majority of, say, the 25 workers at a McDonald’s, the 15 baristas at a Starbucks or the 50 aides at a nursing home.Corporations also oppose a provision of the bill that would allow government arbitrators to determine the terms of a contract when no agreement has been reached within 120 days of a union’s winning recognition. Defending that provision, labor leaders say companies often undermine newly formed unions by dragging out contract talks for months, even years.“The idea of negotiating a contract and turning it over to an arbitrator who has no interest in the company or the workers’ future and then can dictate the terms of a contract, that’s a pretty reckless way to go,” said Mr. Engler of the manufacturers’ association. “This is the one issue that everybody who’s an employer agrees is a bad idea.”CNN MoneyThe job market is worse than you thinkThe reported unemployment rate spiked to its highest level in more than 15 years. But some think the 'true' rate is really much higher...Paul R. La Monicahttp://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/markets/thebuzz/index.htm?postversion=2009010914NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The unemployment rate rose to 7.2% in December, the highest it has been since 1993. That's obviously not good news. But the job market might be in even worse shape than this number suggests. There's a growing number of market experts who think that the government's employment statistics don't accurately paint the true picture of the job market.In addition, many loyal readers of this column have expressed in both e-mails to me and comments in our Talkback section that they are frustrated with what they think is an intentionally distorted view of the job market.Now to be fair, the government also does report a so-called underemployment rate, which includes some part-time workers as well as people who have given up looking for work during the past year. That figure is now 13.5%.Talkback: Are the government's job statistics accurate?But one prominent critic, John Williams, an economist and publisher of the research site Shadowstats.com, said that when you take into account the large number of people who have been so discouraged by job market woes that they have not been actively looking for work for more than a year, the unemployment rate is actually as high as 17.5%Williams explains that prior to 1994, all people who were "discouraged workers" were counted in the unemployment survey. But that's no longer the case. So he believes his number is more of an apples-to-apples comparison to some of the numbers cited about the peak level of unemployment during the Great Depression, which was around 25%.What's more, Williams believes that this and other tweaks to the employment calculations over the past few decades were designed to give a more optimistic view of the economy."I think it's true that changes have made to make numbers look better. If you don't think the system is political, you don't know the system." Now I don't know if I want to make this the financial equivalent of searching for a second shooter in the grassy knoll or alien remains in Roswell, N.M. But I will admit that the government's labor numbers are, to put it mildly, flawed. Others agree."I will tell you that all models are wrong but not worthless. There is value to the unemployment number, even though it has its foibles," said Barry Ritholtz, CEO and director of equity research at research firm Fusion IQ and author of the soon-to-be-published book "Bailout Nation." It goes without saying that even if you are willing to accept the 7.2% number as an accurate level of joblessness, the unemployment rate has shot up at an alarming rate in the past few months. It was 6.2% in September."We know we're in a recession and we know it got much worse over the past four months. Should anyone really be surprised by the job numbers?" Ritholtz said. He predicts that the headline unemployment rate could go as high as 10% before the recession is over and that the "underemployment" figure could reach 16%And there was more bad news in the December jobs report as well that didn't get as much attention as the 7.2% unemployment rate, 524,000 job losses for the month, or nearly 2.6 million jobs lost for the year. Keep in mind that these are all lagging numbers. What's most important is trying to figure out what's next for the job market. Along those lines, it's important to note that the average workweek declined from 33.5 hours in November to 33.3 hours in December. Brian Battle, vice president of Performance Trust Capital Partners, a fixed-income investment advisory firm in Chicago, said that spooked him more than other numbers."It looks like people that are still employed are working less," Battle said. "That portends more job cuts in the future. Companies might be keeping people now, but eventually will have to let them go if they are working less." So with all this in mind, can President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package actually help to create jobs? Obama has promised to save or create 3 million jobs over the next two years. Williams said the plan to create new jobs through increased spending on infrastructure could work...but at a cost."Stimulus could create some new jobs, but the problem is it will be very expensive. Washington thinks it can spend as much money as it can print," he said. "But there's no way it can borrow $2 trillion without seeing a sharp spike in money supply and inflation." Get ready for more pain aheadForget about the credit crunch and falling house prices. The job market is the biggest economic problem -- and it's likely to get worse before it gets better...Chris Isidorehttp://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/news/economy/pain_ahead/index.htm?postversion=2009010914NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There is no longer any doubt about the biggest problem facing the economy: the job market.Economists believe the recession is likely to get worse until the spiraling job losses and unemployment rate start to improve.Record low mortgage rates won't lead to higher home values and increased home sales as long as 500,000 people a month are losing their jobs. Rising unemployment will probably make banks even less willing to lend and also lead to increased defaults on a large range of existing loans.And with more consumers losing, or worried about losing, their jobs, that should lead to a further pullback in spending. In turn, that will make it tougher for companies to increase their profits, which could lead to even more stock market losses. If all that weren't bad enough, economists worry that that this will put more pressure on employers to lay off even more workers -- prompting the proverbial vicious circle that can make it so hard to get out of a bad economic downturn."That's behind the difficulty in seeing a sustainable recovery ahead," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute.With that in mind, there's a very good chance that there could be more months ahead where the economy sheds more than 500,000 jobs."When you have an economy in a free-fall, you have to expect job losses of this magnitude," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. "The really bad news is that there's no reason to expect this trend to reverse."Even the people who have jobs are suffering. According to a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, more companies are reporting that they are cutting pay of their employees in response to the difficult environment.In addition, the average work week has been falling steadily during the past four months. A record 8 million workers that want full-time employment have only been able to get part-time jobs, according to the government's December labor report. That's up 37% from the total of so-called underemployed workers in August.Pay hikes will be at best modest this year for many employees lucky enough to get increases. A survey by consultant Hewitt Associates found raises will be less than 3% for the first time in the study's 32-year history.State and local governments are also making tough choices because of the recession, with many reporting big cutbacks in services and suggesting new taxes that could further hurt cash-strapped consumers.Currently, 43 states have an estimated combined budget deficit of about $100 billion. With many states required by law to balance their budgets, those governments are looking at everything from reduced garbage collection and shortened school years to new taxes on everything from soda to music downloads. And it could get worse before it gets better for states and local governments. Some retail experts expect a record number of stores to close this year, with thousands of closings beyond those already announced. Vacant storefronts and dead malls can further depress a community's property values and tax collections.That's why some think that the only way out of the recession is to firmly address the issue of rising unemployment. Tig Gilliam, chief executive of Adecco Group North America, a unit of the world's largest employment firm, said many of his clients tell him they're preparing to make additional job cuts.Gilliam added that it's not the credit crunch that is causing them to cut back, but the reduced sales due to weak consumer demand, which has largely been driven by job losses and job worries."It's not a housing problem. It's not a financial services problem. It's spread across the landscape," Gilliam said. "And it's a lack of confidence of the 92.8% of people who are employed."Worst year for jobs since '45Annual loss biggest since end of World War II. Unemployment rate rises to 7.2%...David Goldmanhttp://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/news/economy/jobs_december/index.htm?postversion=2009010912NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The hemorrhaging of American jobs accelerated at a record pace at the end of 2008, bringing the year's total job losses to 2.6 million or the highest level in more than six decades.A sobering U.S. Labor Department jobs report Friday showed the economy lost 524,000 jobs in December and 1.9 million in the year's final four months, after the credit crisis began in September.The unemployment rate rose to 7.2% last month from 6.7% in November - its highest rate since January 1993.The steep annual drop in jobs marked the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945, the year in which World War II ended. "We're seeing a complete unraveling of the labor market and are on track for getting beyond 10% unemployment," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute.The total number of unemployed Americans rose by 632,000 to 11.1 million.November, in which 584,000 jobs were lost, and December marked the first time in the 70-year history of the report in which the economy lost more than 500,000 jobs in consecutive months."We have a bigger economy now, but even on a proportional basis, the last months have been the worst since [1945]," said Kurt Karl, head of economic research at Swiss Re. "It's just an enormous acceleration of job losses."By comparison, the 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008 nationwide were equal to the number of jobs found in states such as Wisconsin, Missouri or Maryland.Under-employment at a record highA growing number of workers seeking full-time jobs were able to find only part-time work. Those working part-time jobs - because they couldn't find full-time work, or their hours had been cut - jumped by 715,000 people to 8 million, the highest since such records were first kept in 1955.The so-called under-employment rate, which counts those part-time workers as well as those without jobs who have become discouraged and stopped looking for work, rose to a record 13.5% from 12.6%. Calculations for that measure began in January 1994."The existing unemployment figures are greatly understated," said billionaire steel tycoon Wilbur Ross in a recent interview with CNNMoney.com. "They count as employed someone who used to have a high-paid manufacturing job, and now is working at a Wal-Mart or a Wendy's."In another discouraging sign, the average hourly work week fell last month to 33.3 hours - the lowest level in history - from 33.5 hours. Even with a modest 5-cent gain in the average hourly salary, the average weekly paycheck fell by $2 to $611.39.Job losses widespreadJob losses were spread across a wide variety of industries. Manufacturing lost 149,000 jobs, the leisure and hospitality industries cut 22,000 jobs, and the mining industry shed 1,000 positions.Even in the midst of the holiday shopping season, retailers still slashed payrolls by 66,600 workers last month.Professional and business services jobs, a category seen by some economists as a proxy for overall economic activity, dropped by 113,000. And financial services jobs fell by 14,000.Only two of ten industry categories were hiring last month. Government hiring, which has stayed relatively strong throughout the downturn, added another 7,000 jobs in December. Education and health services also grew payrolls by 45,000 employees.Construction employment shrank further by 101,000 jobs, and the rate of construction unemployment soared to 15.3% - by far the highest of any group."Today's jobs report ... is conclusive evidence that it is time to put people back to work building America," said Terry O'Sullivan, general president of the Laborers' International Union of North America. "Now it's time for Congress to move to create jobs with the same urgency as they did on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout."Call for stimulusPresident-elect Barack Obama has begun his push for a massive stimulus plan, aimed at creating or saving 3 million jobs over the next two years. Lawmakers have called for rapid action to address the extraordinary stresses facing the labor market, including spending hundreds of billions of dollars on new infrastructure projects."This morning, we received a stark reminder about how urgent action is needed," said Obama at a Friday press conference. "Clearly the situation is dire, it is deteriorating and demands urgent and immediate action. For the sake of our economy and our people, this is the moment to act, and act without delay."Many economists have said job losses will continue to accelerate without government intervention."The country is losing half a million jobs in a month, and if the government doesn't act quickly, there's no reason that wouldn't intensify," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com before a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee forum Wednesday.Infrastructure experts agree, saying unemployed construction workers are eager to get back to work."Putting money into highways won't by itself end the recession, but it will put a lot of skilled workers back on job," said Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America.December's job losses were expected to be deep, as employers looked to slash payrolls to free up balance sheets for the new year. But large-scale cutbacks may continue throughout the first half of 2009, economists say, as the nation's economy continues on its slow path to recovery."I think this [level of job loss] is going to continue at least through March," said Tig Gilliam, chief executive of Adecco Group North America, a unit of the world's largest employment firm. "The many clients I've spoken with are not expecting an economic bounce-back soon. They're making the painful and difficult decisions to adjust their capacity for the reduced demand for their goods and services."Gilliam and Karl both expect about another 1 million jobs to be lost in January and February before the declines begin to shrink to about a 200,000 level in June. Both said stimulus will help, but they doubt infrastructure jobs will have as quick of a boost as lawmakers hope."Infrastructure projects won't have an effect until late in the year," said Karl. "Tax cuts may have a more immediate impact, but as we saw with the last stimulus package, they may have no economic impact at all."In another sign that more losses will come soon, temporary employment, including workers employed by temp agencies, fell by another 80,600 jobs last month. Employers often cut temporary workers before they begin cutting permanent staff.The economy has lost more than 2.5 million jobs in the current recession, which began in December 2007, far surpassing the previous two recessions, and just below the 2.7 million jobs lost in the 1981-1982 recession, which had the deepest unemployment in the 70-year history of the report.Stimulus may spur jobs - abroadManufacturers hope Obama's stimulus plan will ensure every taxpayer dollars support American jobs, but economists say a closed-door policy could be risky...David Goldman...1-8-09http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/08/news/economy/stimulus_jobs/index.htm?postversion=2009010815NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President-elect Barack Obama this week proposed a massive economic stimulus program with a lofty goal amid a deep recession: create 3 million jobs.How many of those jobs will end up in China, South Korea or other countries?Obama plans to rev up the nation's job-creation machine by spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a variety of public infrastructure projects, including rebuilding crumbling roads, bridges and schools. That will spur new demand for fabricated building materials, and potential opportunities for out-of-work mill and factory workers to get back on the job.But many of those mill jobs may not go to American laborers. Many materials for highway construction, namely steel, are produced cheaply in foreign countries, and contractors have an incentive to buy the most efficient and inexpensive materials for their projects."Some of the stimulus money is bound to spill over overseas, since we import about 50% of our gross domestic product," said Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist for the Economic Outlook Group. "If the goal is to buy materials from the most efficient producer, and foreign countries produce them at a cheaper cost, U.S. firms engaged in construction will likely buy materials from abroad."The issue is likely to spark a debate in coming weeks as Congress takes up Obama's recovery package.Some economists and trade industries want to ensure that stimulus money goes exclusively to American companies. As a result, they support measures that would force contractors in receipt of government funding to buy American products. "We certainly make the materials here, and it's not too expensive to buy American, so why not make them to do it?" said Peter Morici, professor of economics at the University of Maryland.The steel industry, which has begun to fight hard for a government-sponsored recovery plan, said the choice is a simple one for lawmakers."If you are going to spend money on infrastructure development, unless you buy materials that are made in America, it's not going to have the desired impact, which is putting Americans back to work," said Scott Paul, the executive director for the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a steelworkers and manufacturers advocacy group.Furthermore, some industry economists say investing in one manufacturing position in turn creates an average of four more American jobs, because of the so-called "multiplier effect." According to Paul, new supplier and other induced labor positions must be created to support each new manufacturing employee."When you're spending Americans' taxpayer dollars, you get a bigger bang for your buck when you support American jobs," Paul added.'Buy American' provisions may backfireBut some economists say the Obama plan should avoid mandating that materials are purchased from American companies. They argue such a move would set a bad precedent that could hurt the national economy in the long run."The worst thing countries can do when they have a recession is to start shutting down their borders," said Baumohl. "Any attempt in the legislation that would limit purchasers to buy only from American steel producers rather than from low cost foreign producers could backfire on the U.S."Baumohl said "buy American" limitations present a very real danger that could make the current recession even worse, triggering a global move toward protectionism that would have great consequences for the future of the U.S. economy.Previous efforts have misfired. For instance, from 2001 to 2003, the Bush Administration imposed several so-called "safeguard" tariffs on certain steel products from various foreign countries in an attempt to prevent U.S. steel mills from closing. But, according to Brian Deery, senior director of the Associated General Contractors of America's transportation division, foreign steelmakers found other markets during that span, namely China and Middle Eastern countries. As a result, when U.S. demand for steel heated up again in 2004, steel prices skyrocketed by 48% in a year, according to the Labor Department.Infrastructure experts also say such limitations could endanger the economic recovery efforts. They say the economy must be stimulated immediately by supporting so-called "ready-to-shovel" jobs that use readily available materials."That would be unfortunate - we need to give taxpayers the most cost-effective projects," said Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America. "Reducing choice may cause delays. For the projects to work, the contractors need to have the right kind of steel on a timely basis."Simonson said spending exclusively on American manufacturer's products may prove to be all risk and little reward, given the comparatively small amount of jobs that would be created in that sector.According to Simonson, about a third of the money spent on infrastructure projects directly creates construction jobs, and only one-sixth would grow materials and equipment manufacturers' positions. The other half tends to boost job levels of businesses that indirectly aid the projects, such as shippers other services.The Guardian (UK)Brown pledge to get banks lending...Press Association...1-8-09http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/feedarticle/8218930Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling pledged fresh measures to bolster the economy as the grim toll of job losses continued to mount.Despite another interest rate cut, taking the cost of central borrowing to its lowest ever level, the Prime Minister and his Chancellor acknowledged they would have to do more to ensure the banks made more credit available.That was the message delivered to a gathering of about 200 people invited to a "listening" event with ministers in Liverpool, ahead of a full Cabinet meeting in the city.The event, designed to demonstrate that ministers are in touch with the country as families and businesses struggle with the recession, was overshadowed by the announcement that 1,200 jobs were being axed by Nissan in Sunderland.Mr Brown, speaking before news of the latest job losses broke, said: "In the next few weeks we are looking at the measures we can take to take the next step, and take it with effect, and that is to get the banks to resume the lending that is necessary."We know now how important banks are to the system, but if they can't supply finance, and if they don't keep the money moving in the economy, and if they are not able to fund new business loans or fund mortgages, then we have lost an important function that is vital to every part of the country."So we want to move from the capitalisation of the banks to securing the funding that is necessary, for business projects, for home ownership and for the everyday business concerns that people have in the banking system."His comments came as the Bank of England was announcing the latest interest cut, taking the base rate to 1.5%, and amid mounting concern about when the economy will begin to recover.Mr Darling told the same gathering that banks should respond to the interest rate cut with improved lending facilities. "We have to ensure that having ensured the banking system is there, that it starts to lend, to businesses and to people," he said."We've announced a number of measures to do that and as I've made clear over the next week or so further measures will be necessary. The Bank of England has again cut interest rates this lunchtime to 1.5%, the lowest they've ever been. We need to make sure that that lending is passed on and the availability of credit is available for businesses."