Albany Times Union

HUDSON, N.Y. – Workers at the Kaz Inc. factory here will be watching this summer to see whether their latest product sends mosquitoes to their doom.

Kaz, which employs 400 people in this upstate New York town, is busy making and shipping its latest product – the Mosquito Vacuum, a high-tech trap designed to reduce backyard mosquito populations.

The Mosquito Vacuum is designed to run around the clock. It requires a standard 20-pound propane tank, access to an outdoor electrical outlet, and a bait cartridge that’s inserted into the machine. For those worried about global warming, company officials say the carbon dioxide generated is equal to what a small dog would create.

And while the Mosquito Vacuum might be considered a “guy” product because it requires a propane hook-up like a gas grill, Kaz executives believe it will also be a huge hit with mothers who want to keep their kids free of mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus.

It will be sold at Home Depot and Lowe’s home-improvement stores nationwide at a price of $279.

You may ask “Why single out the Mosquito Vac.?” Because it’s there,and given the state of the Nation and the VDP it is easy to get peevish about vacuums .

The mosquito vacuum: a symbol .How many current policy problems can you find that relate to this product? This is produced in the USA by a multi-national company. 400 manufacturing jobs here in the North East are riding in this vacuum’s sales .Rust belt, regional jobs,hard to find jobs,check to check jobs, ,jobs that people need .Jobs in potential jeopardy.

This item uses propane and electricity so add fuel prices and electric rates to the mix,maybe take a quick pass at Global warming.They will be sold this summer in Big box stores at a  sprawl mall near you, development issues,maybe zoning laws/environmental regs. are tied in too. Who knows what mosquito bait cartridges might contain?

Lastly what does it really do ? It protects,provides peace of mind for dad ,mom and the family .It fills the newest American need ,takes the fear from our back yards.Fear of mosquitoes carrying disease ,not just a homegrown disease ,but foreign (terrorist?) disease carriers.West Nile virus . Also notice the price. You may have some money left from your federal tax stimulus check to pay off some interest on that troublesome credit card debt.

Have a great Summer, fear free ,while enjoying both the “Gas Tax Holiday” and “Vt.Sales Tax Holiday”. Are they good to us or what ? Always thinking about the future .Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.

 Mission Accomplished

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday. “And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year.” She said what is important now is ”how the president would describe the fight today. It’s been a very tough month in Iraq, but we are taking the fight to the enemy.”

Bang head on wall once ,

..McCain and Clinton want to give us a gas tax holiday. It’s like buying drinks for a bar full of drunks with borrowed money.Bad from McCain ,inexcusable from Clinton

Bang head on wall twice

..Obama caught in and unable to extricate himself from media frenzy for two weeks involving flag pins ,weather underground and his ministers remarks

Bang head on wall thrice

..Gov.Jim Douglas

It’s not helping.

When the Rockefeller Foundation announced its $500,000 grant to B-Lab this winter, it described the start-up as “one of the newest social capital market infrastructure innovations.” (Rockefeller is now pursuing this idea further by exploring the viability of a “social stock exchange.”) The ultimate intent of launching an entire sector of B Corps, according to Kassoy, is to create transparent standards for good business and a changed legal environment which will allow investors, entrepreneurs and consumers to find each other, thus improving the scale and efficiency of the social capital markets. Among other things, this will require a strong B Corporation brand.

This from an article about B-lab (B for Beneficial) .A non-profit organization that will grant businesses a B rating for companies  that meet extensive standards for their environmental and social performance, scoring at least 80 out of 200 on the B-ratings scale. The article goes on to explain that this is not just greenwashing and that  B-rated companies must also expand their legal and fiduciary responsibilities beyond the interests of traditional shareholders to include a broader universe of “stakeholders” – employees, suppliers, consumers, community and environment.Social capital market infrastructure reads like a good fit with the new hot out of the oven L3C’s .  

B-Lab, a nonprofit organization based in Berwyn, Pa. that certifies individual B Corps and advances their collective potential as a meta-brand for socially minded consumers and investors. To become a B Corp – the “b” is for beneficial – companies must meet extensive standards for their environmental and social performance, scoring at least 80 out of 200 on the B-ratings scale.

http://www.citylimits.org/cont…

This is an interesting twist to appear at this point,after the decommissioning bill passed and while Gov.Douglas sits with his veto pen.Just a small detail arriving quietly Saturday morning on little cat feet.I have a distinct feeling that Entergy will/can find a way to do whatever they want.When dealing with aging nuclear power plants always do what is optimal not just permissible.

Vermont Yankee wants to raid decommission fund

Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – A new twist has hit the contentious debate over how to force the owners of Vermont Yankee to assure there’s enough money required for decommissioning the nuclear plant in Vernon.

Documents show the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has asked for federal permission to use the plant’s decommissioning fund to pay for storage of waste rather than for taking the plant apart.

………Part of Entergy’s proposal for managing its spent fuel – some of which is now stored on the Vernon site in metal and concrete “dry casks” or a water-filled pool – is to use $157 million from the decommissioning trust fund to pay for storage.

Steve Wark of the Vermont Department of Public Service said that it is not ideal for the Yankee plant to use money from the decommissioning fund to build dry casks for storage of spent fuel.

“It is permissible” under federal rules, he said. “I don’t think it is optimal.“

http://www.timesargus.com/apps…

more Entergy news http://www.forbes.com/markets/…

Scalia denies that the controversial decision was political and discusses other aspects of his public and private life in a interview with 60 Minutes  Sunday, April 27, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

“I say nonsense,” Scalia responds to Stahl’s observation that people say the Supreme Court’s decision in Gore v. Bush was based on politics and not justice. “Get over it. It’s so old by now. The principal issue in the case, whether the scheme that the Florida Supreme Court had put together violated the federal Constitution, that wasn’t even close. The vote was seven to two,” he says, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision that the Supreme Court of Florida’s method for recounting ballots was unconstitutional.

Furthermore, says the outspoken conservative justice, it was Al Gore who ultimately put the issue into the courts. “It was Al Gore who made it a judicial question…. We didn’t go looking for trouble. It was he who said, ‘I want this to be decided by the courts,'” says Scalia. “What are we supposed to say — ‘Not important enough?'” he jokes.

Doesn’t bother me at all,over it totally ….ah ..vaffanculo ,Nino  See over it,let’s move on .  

 What with all the chest beating about tax,budget and revenue policies these past days I found this and it looked newsworthy .  

State to host new type of company

Burlington Free Press

Vermont is poised to become the first state in the country to host a new type of company, dubbed an “L3C.”

The designation allows for the creation of a hybrid between a nonprofit organization and a for-profit corporation. The entity would be a low-profit company with “charitable or educational” goals.

Enacting the legislation in Vermont, advocates say, gives the state an opportunity to further burnish its credentials as a progressive and innovative economy and might generate revenue for the state when in- and out-of-state companies register as L3Cs here.

The three “l”s from “low-profit, limited liability company” are used to form the L3C label, said Robert Lang, president and CEO of the Cross River, N.Y.-based Mary Elizabeth & Gordon B. Mannweiler Foundation Inc. that advocated for L3C legislation in Vermont and elsewhere in the United States.

“We wanted a branding that implied the LLC concept … and yet be distinctive enough to be recognized as a specialized vehicle,” Lang said; an LLC is a limited liability company

It would cost Vermont companies $75 to file as an L3C and those located elsewhere, $100, not including the fees generated by filing annual reports, said Deputy Secretary of State Bill Dalton. There are no estimates on how much money the measure could raise.

Selecting Vermont

Rep. Michele Kupersmith, D-South Burlington, one of the bill’s sponsor’s, said the measure could be used to help with downtown redevelopment, low-income

housing, energy initiatives and work force development.

The legislation passed the Vermont House and Senate on voice votes and awaits the signature of Republican Gov. Jim Douglas. The governor plans to sign the bill, said Jason Gibbs, his spokesman.

“It’s a rare example of this Legislature passing a bill that has, at its core, economic growth as its objective. And the governor looks forward to signing it,” Gibbs said.

some of it .Earlier the Republicans had emailed supporters telling of free tickets to the Home Show to hear Gov .Douglas unveil his plan.

By Terri Hallenbeck Free Press Staff Writer

April 19, 2008

ESSEX JUNCTION –

Gov. Jim Douglas today unveiled a package of 15 items he said would stimulate $214 million worth of economic activity in the state over the next five years.

The measures included bonding for road and bridge projects, a sales-tax holiday, and help for Vermonters who risk losing their homes.

Douglas said the proposals would cost $2.78 million in state money to implement next year and that he would work with the Legislature to determine where the funds would come from. He spoke at the 2008 Vermont Home & Garden Show at the Champlain Valley Exposition before a smattering of attendees, staff members and media against a backdrop of tractor exhibits and food vendors.

The governor released his plan the same week economists warned Vermont is in a recession and state revenues are slowing.

Douglas said he thought the Legislature could enact his package in the next couple of weeks. However, some lawmakers have expressed anger that the governor is releasing his package two weeks before they are due to adjourn the session and while they are in the midst of trying to cut the state’s general budget for fiscal year 2009.

(This is far worse than it looks.  I’m writing up a companion diary to this to post soon. – promoted by JulieWaters)

The article is coy about what this package may actually wind up containing,it’s full of Douglas’s favorite buzz words ,maybe some helpful things will emerge .All the talk the past couple weeks was of belt tightening and  cuts….. today Gov.Jim Douglas comes up with $100 million stimulus package.He gets the legislature talking on his belt tightening turf and then zaps us with this. Maybe he can bait a hook! You would think he was facing some opposition for re-election.  

April 17, 2008

Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – Facing a sagging economy and declining projected state revenues, Gov. James Douglas is expected to unveil by next week a state economic stimulus package worth more than $100 million.

State officials would not say what will be included in the measure, but it will be drafted and timed to maximize the impact of the federal measures like a forthcoming tax rebate, they said.

Douglas spokesman Jason Gibbs confirmed that a proposed economic recovery program is being drafted by administration officials.

Gibbs said. “The governor understands that Vermonters want their leaders to do everything they can now to strengthen our economy, encourage growth and provide relief from rising costs. The governor also understands the best way to balance the state budget is to grow the economy,”

……has puzzled veterans’ advocates

The cost two wars are imposing on the people that fight them are huge.

$2.5 billion wisely spent for helping people who fought is not too much to spend.

Where’s McCain? The Straight Talker(TM) himself can’t get straight with this and make up his mind .

The bulk of this bill is one year old and he has yet to make a decision !

..

the presumptive GOP presidential nominee has said repeatedly that he supports the concept but has yet to delve into the details of the proposal.

A McCain spokeswoman said Wednesday that the senator has not yet made a determination.

McCain’s silence has puzzled veterans’ advocates, who wonder why the much-celebrated prisoner of the Vietnam War is reluctant to support a better GI Bill for a younger generation.

An updated GI Bill, sponsored by Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), would offer Iraq and Afghanistan veterans up to four academic years of full, state college benefits — covering room, board and other expenses. Webb says it maintains “the spirit of the original World War II GI Bill,” which offered far more comprehensive benefits than the GI Bill of today. Many of Webb’s colleagues agree. The proposal is supported by 52 additional senators, including 10 Republicans.

……The Bush administration and some congressional Republicans have quietly resisted the Webb bill. They cite its cost — an estimated $2.5 billion in the first year — as well as concerns that an improved education benefit would entice troops to leave service earlier, exacerbating the already substantial retention problems surrounding today’s all-volunteer military.

http://www.washingtonindepende…

Red-eye run: Salmon announces re-election bid, early

Times Argus MONTPELIER –

State Auditor Thomas Salmon’s re-election announcement blitz actually started at a Rockingham gas station at 5:30 a.m. Friday morning.

Salmon, who won a narrow recount election in 2006, met with a handful of supporters and two weary-eyed local reporters on his way up to Montpelier for work that morning. For Salmon, the stop was about coming full-circle in Vermont politics.

“I stop there in the mornings for coffee,” said Salmon, who gave a small speech at the gas station hours before his “official” re-election kick-off announcement in Barre and Burlington later Friday. “And this is where I made my formal announcement to run for state auditor two years ago.”

A Democrat actually announces his intentions to run …news worthy .Granted it is for re-election not another office but…..he announced it ! He declared! He must have thought about it ,seriously of course,and then announced his intention to run.Maybe a trend.Nice hook for the story the gas station thing at 5:30 AM many people can relate to that scene.He even had a Republican Mayor at another campaign event later in the day.Which may or may not be good thing .