Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Northwest Herald | Invasive creatures spread to Fox River, Chain O’ Lakes

 

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The mussels can be hard to remove from boats or equipment, usually requiring a high-pressure wash or even a manual scraping to get them off.  One way to prevent their spread is for boaters to clean out their watercraft and let them dry for five days when transferring between bodies of water

Zebra mussels, which are spreading throughout the Chain O’ Lakes and the Fox River,

Northwest Herald | Invasive creatures spread to Fox River, Chain O’ Lakes

Northwest Herald | Recovery bonds clear committee hurdle

I don’t know if this is a good or bad program—but where is Boone County’s application for this part of the Recovery Act?

The new bonds authorized in the massive $789 billion American Reinvestment and Recovery Act will allow the county to issue bonds for capital projects for itself and the county’s municipalities, or economic development facility bonds for businesses that want to locate in the county or expand.

But the county first must designate itself as a “recovery zone” to be allowed to allocate the funds, said chairman Marc Munaretto, R-Algonquin.

Investors are entitled to receive a 45 percent refund of the federal taxes payable on them

Internal Revenue Service still is working out the formula to determine how much each recovery zone will get

Click on the following for the rest of the storyNorthwest Herald | Recovery bonds clear committee hurdle

The Belvidere Daily Republican. - Boone health department funds down; animal bites on the rise

This may be the “real news” in the article—a County Board sub-committee is researching whether the reimbursement of alcoholic beverages by the Board of Health may have violated  county policy.

“The committee also addressed that some members [of the Board of Health] went to Giovanni’s and submitted a request for reimbursement and were paid back.

The committee felt since this meal included alcoholic beverages, this reimbursement is a violation of policy and the parties involved should be disciplined. The committee looked for direction from Terrinoni on how to word a formal ethics complaint.

The committee agreed to look into the process and finalize its complaint next meeting. It was also brought up that the ethics board consists of three people, but at this time there are only two members and one opening.

This, in itself is not a problem, because two members make a quorum. However, one of the two members on this board is also on the Board of Health, which is the body that the complaint will be directed toward….They asked Terrinoni if he could ask for advice from the State’s Attorney Michelle Courier on this matter.”

Click on the following for more of the story:  The Belvidere Daily Republican. - Boone health department funds down; animal bites on the rise

Fiat Completes Takeover of Chrysler - NYTimes.com

 

Under the plan, the carmaker would emerge from bankruptcy with a union retiree trust owning 55 percent, Fiat owning a 20 percent share that could eventually grow to 35 percent, and the United States and Canadian governments holding minority stakes.

Fiat Completes Takeover of Chrysler - NYTimes.com

Why the Economic Recovery Won't Feel Like One - Rick Newman (usnews.com)

bad news that's less bad than it was a few months ago. An economic recovery has to start somewhere, and before things start to get better, they have to stop getting worse.

Home prices have fallen about 30 percent nationwide since they peaked in 2006. Isn't that enough? Surely they have to stop falling soon, right? Maybe not. The Federal Reserve has projected a total home price decline of somewhere between 41 and 48 percent, with a bottom in 2010. After that, the "rebound" is likely to be muted, with slow price gains at best.

unemployment rate will keep rising through 2009 and into 2010, topping out somewhere between 10 and 12 percent….won't return to "normal" levels of 5 percent or less until 2016.

If we're going to have the usual kind of recovery—where jobs generate income that consumers spend—then it's still winter

Click on the following for the rest of the storyWhy the Economic Recovery Won't Feel Like One - Rick Newman (usnews.com)

Boone County administrator: Look past current budget - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Well—the real question:  is the current budget really “balanced” as promised?  Do the departments’ cut backs really  match the fall in revenues?   What do we really know about this current budget?  I believe revenues are falling perhaps even more than projected because of the state’s share still being up in the air but what about the expenditures cuts?  Public Safety items are nearly 50% of the budget “can” and “will” these expenditures be trimmed?

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Terrinoni anticipates he will have a clearer projection to deliver to the board about the county’s budget status. He said as of Tuesday, it looked like the county was operating under a deficit based on “guesswork looking forward.”

Click on the following for the complete story:  Boone County administrator: Look past current budget - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star