Sunday, August 8, 2010

The United States unemployment rate remained unchanged at a high 9.5% as employers and companies remained nervous about hiring new workers and the public sector laid off 143,000 temporary 2010 US Census workers during July. State and local governments, facing major budget deficits, also laid off many people.

Overall, the 131,000 jobs lost during July far exceeded economist’s predictions of 65,000 jobs lost. The private sector added just 71,000 jobs during July, also less than the 90,000 economists predicted. Around 200,000 gains each month are needed just to hold the unemployment rate steady against first time entrants into the job market. Including the Census workers, the government laid off 202,000 people at federal, state, and local levels.

Though the unemployment rate remained at 9.5%, many discouraged job-seekers have given up looking for a position. Those who have given up are not counted as unemployed. The workforce participation rate, which counts those people as not participating in the workforce, dropped to 64.6% from 64.7% in June. The underemployment rate, which counts part-time laborers looking for a full-time job and those discouraged workers, was flat at 16.5% from June.

The Labor Department also revised their job report for June. The new version now states that 221,000 jobs were lost in June, worse than the previous estimate of 125,000. The previous estimate also said that 83,000 private sector jobs were created, however the new estimate says that just 31,000 private positions were filled.

Despite this, most economists were fairly confident that though there would be slower growth in the future, the country wouldn’t slip into another recession.

“Slower growth looks certain, but it’s not a double dip,” said Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner. Economists Jim O’Sullivan and Dean Maki say that jobs gains will pick up to 170,000 a month by the fourth quarter. Vitner says that jobs will gain at 87,000 per month for the rest of 2010.

The manufacturing industry has added 183,000 jobs this year including 36,000 in July. Some American companies are shifting overseas manufacturing jobs back to the US, primarily citing rising costs of doing business in China and decreased wages in the US, among other considerations such as long supply lines and difficulty protecting intellectual property rights in Asia. GE has relocated production of their new energy efficient water heaters to the US, while Ford Motor has brought 2,000 jobs to the US from suppliers, including those from overseas.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

After an early morning fire began, four out of the nine people living at the Riverview Individual Residential Alternative group home located in Wells, New York were killed by the blaze. The Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services Office, which supervises the home, told the media that the fire started at approximately 5:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time. Two staff members were at the home at the time, who safely evacuated four of the five survivors.

The names of the residents killed in the fire were not able to be released due to New York’s Mental Hygiene Law, but are able to be identified as two adult men, aged 32 and 52, and two adult women, aged 43 and 60. A 71-year-old male was injured in the fire, and was taken to a hospital in Utica, a nearby city. The other four residents have been relocated to an unnamed group home. Both staff members are also being examined at the hospital.

“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the families, loved ones and friends of the four victims and to continue to pray for the full recovery of those five people and two staff members who survived this incident. I also want to express my thanks and appreciation for the first responders and volunteers who worked swiftly and diligently to respond to this tragedy,” David Patterson, the governor of New York, said to the media.

The exact cause of the fire has yet to be determined. However, the New York Civil Liberties Union stated that “the blaze appears to have been an electrical fire and the sprinkler system was knocked out immediately.” They also called for “an immediate investigation into the causes of and contributing factors of the fire.”

The New York State Department of State Office of Fire Prevention and Control is currently investigating the causes of the blaze, with help from New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Conservative Party of Canada is now considering a 2005 recording of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussing “financial considerations” offered to the late Member of Parliament (MP) Chuck Cadman to have been “doctored”.

The tape contains a conversation between Harper and Vancouver journalist Tom Zytaruk, whose book “Like a Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story” claims that Conservative party officials had offered a C$1 million life insurance policy to Cadman in exchange for a key swing vote against the Liberal Party, one of Canada’s other main political parties. At the time of the alleged bribe, Cadman had already been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Conservative MP James Moore told reporters today that the tape had been altered, “including the insertion of a fabricated sound-bite.” However, he would not comment on whether or not the edits had changed the meaning of Harper’s words.

The Liberal party had submitted the recording as evidence that Harper was aware of the Cadman insurance offer. Cadman’s widow, Dona Cadman, has confirmed that the offer was presented to her husband. Conservatives deny the allegation, but say that party representatives had offered him a loan for campaign expenses if the MP were to rejoin the party.

Harper has filed a lawsuit against the Liberal party, the Canadian government’s official opposition.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Buffalo, New York —A proposed hotel that was supposed to be built at the corner of Elmwood and Forest Avenues in Buffalo, New York is apparently off the table. The former proposal was going to be called The Elmwood Village Hotel and would have consisted of 72 rooms and cost between $7 to $10 million American dollars to build.

Today several unknown individuals were seen removing a sign that was dedicated to the “Elmwood Village Gateway,” which signifies the beginning of the Elmwood Village at the formerly proposed project’s location.

Nearly an hour later the men replaced the sign with a different and unexpected sign: “For Sale: 5 commercial parcels and 1 carriage house, By: Owner.” Those 5 “parcels” are 1109-1121 Elmwood and 999 Forest Avenue, which is located in an illegal alley, according to the City of Buffalo, behind the 5 other properties on Elmwood. Hans Mobius owns all properties named in the sale.

Sam Savarino, CEO of Savarino Companies never owned the properties and has repeatadly told Wikinews in exclusive interviews that he still had a “contract to buy the properties” and on October 2, 2006 told Wikinews in an exclusive interview that he “extended” the “agreement to purchase the property[s] and will have it under contract for what we hope is a sufficient period of time.”

“He [Mobius] is undoubtedly concerned because he has lost some tenants and is a bit impatient. I think he has properly portrayed the situation,” said Savarino in an exclusive interview with Wikinews.

Savarino also says that there may be “legal issues” to work out now, before anything else can move forward, regarding the proposal.

“There are some legal complexities that must be sorted out before anything can happen there,” added Savarino.

The welcome sign was; however, not removed entirely. The sign was placed, facing the same direction of north, on the side of the Forest Plaza Art Gallery, a new art gallery located on the corner of Forest and Elmwood.

Nancy Pollina, owner of Don Apparel which was located at 1109 Elmwood, but closed on October 14, 2006 considers this a possible “victory” in regards to the lawsuit filed against the hotel to stop it from being built, alleging that several laws were broken, including not performing an Environmental Impact Study before the proposal was approved by the city, during its approval and the proposal was “rushed.” Patricia Morris, who operates Don Apparel with Pollina, Angeline Genovese and Evelyn Bencinich, owners of residences on Granger Place which abut the rear of the proposed site, Nina Freudenheim, a resident of nearby Penhurst Park, and Sandra Girage, the owner of a two-family residence on Forest Avenue less than a hundred feet from the proposed hotel’s sole entrance and exit driveway, were also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. They filed the suit with a lawyer representing them, Arthur J. Giacalone, on April 25, 2006 in New York State Supreme Court, but the case has never gone to a courtroom.

Giacalone believes that a press release issued in July regarding the project was nothing but a statement to “save face,” but that the placement of the for sale sign might be a way of convincing Savarino to speed up the sale of the properties.

“I thought all along that Savarino’s July press release might be no more than an effort to save face. But we have no way of knowing. Similarly, Mobius might have put the for-sale sign up in an attempt to pressure Savarino into closing the deal. There’s no way to tell,” said Giacalone in an exclusive interview with Wikinews.

In regards to the lawsuit, Giacalone thinks it may now be in “limbo.”

“The lawsuit still sits in limbo,” added Giacalone.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

The CBC has raised new security concerns over the instant scratch tickets sold by the OLGC. CBC’s the fifth estate reported in a special investigation on October 25 the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLGC) tickets are not being given to lottery winners and are claimed more often by the retailers who sell them averaging at CAN$500,000.

The report investigated several aspects of the lottery retail trade, including a report that tickets were stolen by the clerks of convenience stores. One reported case involved a convenience store clerk who, after checking the ticket bought by a customer who brought suit, said he did not win.

Retailers appeared to win prizes more often than the general public. However it also appeared that retailers were a core audience of the lottery games and due to that, statistically, could be expected to win more than the general public. The study found that the retailers were winning about 2.5 times more than the general audience and spending almost twice as much on their tickets. Retailers spent CAN$23.30 over the past four weeks. The average person spends CAN$12.30.

“We are here to make sure that all of our players have confidence in our process,” OLG chief executive Duncan Brown said. “Lottery retailer means, in our broad definition, anybody that works for a lottery retailer or is related to a lottery retailer. That’s 140,000 people … in Ontario….What was missing from the fifth estate’s numbers was the frequency of play by the retailers.”

There were 30 complaints referring to the instant scratch tickets from 1999 to 2006. Only once ware charges laid by police. Nine cases had special investigations, winnings totaling at CAN$3,629.

Retailers could, in a process called “pin pricking,” attempt to uncover codes printed on the instant scratch tickets under a latex coating that show which card is the winner.

In the wake of earlier allegations, OLG devices were installed for anyone who wanted to check their own tickets, for security reasons.

“Any time someone connected with the OLG tries to claim a prize we conduct a higher level of investigation than what we would do with somebody who is not associated with OLG. And this includes looking at the tickets very carefully, especially in the case of scratch tickets,” Teresa Roncon, a spokeswoman for the OLGC said.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

English actress Rachel Weisz thinks that Botox injections should be banned for all actors.

The 39-year-old actress, best known for her roles in the Mummy movie franchise and for her Academy Award-winning portrayal in The Constant Gardener, feels facial Botox injections leave actors less able to convey emotion and that it harms the acting industry as much as steroids harm athletes.

In an interview with UK’s Harper’s Bazaar, coming out next month, Weisz says, “It should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen,” she claims. “Acting is all about expression; why would you want to iron out a frown?”

Currently living in New York, she also mentions that English women are much less worried about their physical appearance than in the United States. “I love the way girls in London dress,” she claimed. “It’s so different to the American ‘blow-dry and immaculate grooming’ thing.”

Monday, September 30, 2013

Following three weeks of talks, the leader of Høyre, Norway’s Conservative Party, Erna Solberg announced today that the Conservatives will form a minority government in a right-wing coalition with the Progress Party. The coalition will be the first time the Progress Party have been in power in the executive branch.

The coalition government plans to change policy on immigration and asylum, reduce inheritance tax, and reform provision of healthcare and pensions. The parties also agreed to not allow drilling for oil on Jan Mayen Island or in the Lofoten archipelago. The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association said the decision was “disappointing and undemocratic”.

Solberg said that she intends to continue working with other parties. The new government is due to take office on October 18. Solberg will replace the current Labor Party Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.