Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Genoa puts brakes on Amtrak plan - - BusinessRockford.com

State transportation officials — who will make the ultimate call — say they’re no longer sure whether the route should go through Belvidere or Genoa.

regional consensus,” he said. “Does that mean that if one community in the mix objects, (IDOT is) going to unplug

Click on the following for the rest of the story:  Genoa puts brakes on Amtrak plan - - BusinessRockford.com

Anderson Gardens tops in North America - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

(photo) anderson gardens gallery 17 

The overall quality of its construction and maintenance is what separates Anderson Japanese Gardens from the others

Anderson Gardens tops in North America - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

3 days on, 2 weeks off for Chrysler plant - - BusinessRockford.com

fiat1901-1904.jpg

work Wednesday through Friday, undergoing training and prepping the plant, and the plant is expected to resume production July 27,

supplier plants in Belvidere, however, remains unclear,

plant reopens July 27, it will do so with 992 fewer workers. Chrysler is eliminating the second shift

Click on the following for the rest of the story:  3 days on, 2 weeks off for Chrysler plant - - BusinessRockford.com

Monday, July 6, 2009

How to figure out someone’s social security number | csmonitor.com

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The researchers found visual and statistical patterns in publicly available SSN data, showing that “a strong correlation exists between dates of birth and all 9 SSN digits.”

, “Predicting Social Security Numbers from Published Data,” is being released online today and will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

How to figure out someone’s social security number | csmonitor.com

Transit board is expected to decide on outsourcing bus driving, repairs

Here is what California Transit is doing. The truth is the old rates don’t seem all that high. 

drivers with the highest seniority earn $21.85 an hour, and that could drop to $16 an hour with a private contractor. Entry-level drivers who earn about $14 an hour could see that fall to $10,

Transit board is expected to decide on outsourcing bus driving, repairs

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Northwest Herald | Suggestions for state cuts

• Reopen negotiations with state employee unions to eliminate 4 percent salary increases, or cut staff by a percentage that would equal the pay cut;

• Reduce pension benefits to all state employees and elected officials;

• Institute a two-tier state pension system to trim pension payments for new hires;

• Increase employee contributions for health care and other benefits;

• Regionalize pay so that a job title in a lower-cost area of the state would pay less than the same title would pay in a higher-cost area such as Chicago;

• Consolidate the state treasurer’s and comptroller’s offices;

• Eliminate state grants that pay overtime to police officers to staff safety belt checkpoints;

• Invest in home health care options to drastically reduce the cost of institutional care;

• Push to consolidate some of the state’s 870 public school districts

Northwest Herald | Suggestions for state cuts

Northwest Herald | Job seekers face long odds

it’s definitely a hirer’s market. Those looking for a job are treading water in the deep end of the applicant pool.

At the newly reopened Algonquin Wal-Mart, there were between 100 and 200 applicants for each of the 130 jobs its renovation created.

Northwest Herald | Job seekers face long odds