NM NEWS & VIEWS FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010
THIS IS THE WORLD WE LIVE IN!
Colorado wildfire destroys more than 130 homes:
BOULDER, Colo. – A wildfire burning in the canyons and steep mountainsides near Boulder became one of the most destructive blazes in Colorado history Wednesday as authorities determined it had destroyed at least 135 homes in just three days.
Authorities provided the dire assessment as firefighters encountered a tangle of rattlesnakes, downed power lines and combustible propane tanks and struggled to get an upper hand on the inferno.
The Boulder County sheriff's office said Wednesday that 135 homes have been destroyed — a toll likely to rise as the blaze rages on and firefighters get a clearer picture of the damage.
About 3,500 people have been evacuated from about 1,000 homes stemming from a fire that broke out in a parched area near of Boulder on Monday. Residents of four neighborhoods will be allowed to return home Thursday morning. It wasn't clear how many homes that involves.
Four people remain missing as some residents have stayed behind and risked their lives to try to save their homes.
No deaths or injuries have been reported at this point, and the cause of the fire was not known.
The fire west of Boulder is not large in terms of size — only about 6,200 acres, or about 10 square miles. But it struck in a populated area that inflicted major property damage.
The reported loss of homes surpasses that of the 2002 Hayman fire in southern Colorado that was the most destructive in the state's history. That fire destroyed 133 homes and 466 outbuildings over 138,000 acres in a more sparsely populated area that includes national forest land.
Todd Martin, incident commander, told a crowd of about 600 at a public meeting Wednesday night in Boulder that it has cost $2.1 millon so far to fight the fire.
Firefighters took advantage of cooler temperatures and light rain to attack the wildfire Wednesday but authorities acknowledged they still don't have a good handle of the blaze. Fire officials scheduled a meeting night on the University of Colorado campus to update the community.
"We just don't have control of the fire," Sheriff's Cmdr. Rick Brough said Wednesday afternoon as some rain began falling over the fire area.
Air tankers dumped 35,000 gallons of fire retardant on the blaze and crews began building containment lines on the eastern side of the fire. The large plume of smoke the fire had been producing since it started has dissipated because of the favorable weather. However, the fire was still actively burning and threatening structures, forcing some deputies doing an inventory of the damage to retreat.
Fire managers said as many as 500 firefighters and support personnel are at the fire and more are on the way. Laura McConnell, spokeswoman for the management team, said crews are dealing with downed power lines, debris, poison ivy and rattlesnakes. They also have to be watchful for propane tanks in the area.
Brough said the conditions make it too dangerous for anxious residents to return to check on their homes. The fire has also destroyed at least four outbuildings and damaged at least 12 homes, according to a list released by the Boulder County sheriff's office.
At the Colorado Mountain Ranch, 60-year-old Mike Walker has been making a stand against the fire with his wife and 25-year-old daughter in a desperate effort to save the children's summer camp and outdoor recreation center they operate.
"He's safe, he's up there," said Walker's 19-year-old daughter Rose, who evacuated. "He just won't leave. We never doubted where he was, he just won't leave for anybody."
Rose Walker said her father, mother and sister are trying everything to save their ranch, with her father using a tractor to scoop up flames away from structures, "literally dragging the fire away from the buildings." On Wednesday, Rose Walker said her family were still at their ranch, using rakes and backpacks filled with water and a hose to put out any hot spots.
Fire conditions were expected to worsen Thursday night into Friday and the risk of any new fires quickly spreading was high along the populated Front Range region, according to the National Weather Service.
Seven of the country's 19 heavy air tankers have been sent to Colorado to fight the blaze, considered the nation's top firefighting priority. Two more have been dispatched to the fire, said Ken Frederick, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
Families like the Walkers have been carrying out their own fight against the fire.
Firefighters have been supplying them with water when they can and Rose Walker said she's been crossing into the fire zone to bring her family food and supplies, although authorities have been reluctant to let her come up to the ranch.
Despite her family's efforts, 35 structures have burned, including the family's home, sheds, barns and work areas, Rose Walker said. It's not clear if those are among the total structures that authorities have already confirmed have burned.
"It's everything to us. It's home, it's our work, it's our life," Rose Walker said.
She said family friends have started a Facebook page for the family to encourage people to make donations to help with supplies, food and help replace the tools her father has lost in the fire.
Brough said authorities don't have the time or manpower to force people to leave. However, he said that if a missing person is linked to a burned home, authorities will have to go to the home to see if there are any human remains, tying up resources.
"People are going through trying times right now. We don't have the resources to go up and arrest everybody that's not leaving the area," Brough said.
Meanwhile, those who abided by the evacuation order were frustrated that they couldn't do more to help.
William Bradshaw has grown restless watching the smoke plume over Boulder as he stays in a shelter at the YMCA.
"I don't know if my house has burnt to the ground but not just my house, but all the precious things that I have accumulated in my lifetime," said Bradshaw.
The belongings left behind include the ashes and fingerprints of his son who died at 16.
Resident Dan Hackett prepared to hike two miles from a roadblock to check on the condition of his home. He hiked in once before and found it was still standing. A house 200 feet away was lost and foundations and metal fixtures like sinks was all that remained of houses in some spots, he said.
The fire center also dispatched hot-shot crews to Colorado — teams which Frederick called the "Marine Corps of firefighters."
"If there's any good news, it's that we're at the tail end of the fire season nationally and there's a good availability of resources," Frederick said.
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Fidel Castro says Cuban model doesn't work:
HAVANA – Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba's communist economic model doesn't work, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has conspicuously steered clear of local issues since stepping down four years ago.
The fact that things are not working efficiently on this cash-strapped Caribbean island is hardly news. Fidel's brother Raul, the country's president, has said the same thing repeatedly. But the blunt assessment by the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows.
Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, asked if Cuba's economic system was still worth exporting to other countries, and Castro replied: "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore," Goldberg wrote Wednesday in a post on his Atlantic blog.
He said Castro made the comment casually over lunch following a long talk about the Middle East, and did not elaborate. The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Goldberg's account.
Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations who accompanied Goldberg on the trip, confirmed the Cuban leader's comment. She told The Associated Press she took the remark to be in line with Raul Castro's call for gradual but widespread reform.
Since stepping down from power in 2006, the ex-president has focused almost entirely on international affairs and said very little about Cuba and its politics, perhaps to limit the perception he is stepping on his brother's toes.
Goldberg, who traveled to Cuba at Castro's invitation last week to discuss a recent Atlantic article he wrote about Iran's nuclear program, also reported on Tuesday that Castro questioned his own actions during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, including his recommendation to Soviet leaders that they use nuclear weapons against the United States.
Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has clung to its communist system.
The state controls well over 90 percent of the economy, paying workers salaries of about $20 a month in return for free health care and education, and nearly free transportation and housing. At least a portion of every citizen's food needs are sold to them through ration books at heavily subsidized prices.
President Raul Castro and others have instituted a series of limited economic reforms, and have warned Cubans that they need to start working harder and expecting less from the government. But the president has also made it clear he has no desire to depart from Cuba's socialist system or embrace capitalism.
Fidel Castro stepped down temporarily in July 2006 due to a serious illness that nearly killed him.
He resigned permanently two years later, but remains head of the Communist Party. After staying almost entirely out of the spotlight for four years, he re-emerged in July and now speaks frequently about international affairs. He has been warning for weeks of the threat of a nuclear war over Iran.
Castro's interview with Goldberg is the only one he has given to an American journalist since he left office.
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Fed survey sees slower growth in East and Midwest:
WASHINGTON – The economy lost strength in late summer as factory production weakened in areas of the East Coast and Midwest.
A survey the Federal Reserve released Wednesday found the slower growth spreading to more regions of the country.
Of the 12 regions the Fed tracks, economic activity slowed or was mixed in five — New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta and Chicago. Activity elsewhere was described as modest or pointed to positive developments.
In the Fed's previous survey in late July, only two regions — Atlanta and Chicago — had reported slower growth.
Reasons for the soft spots varied.
In New York, retailers, especially those in New York City, said sales dropped. Factory production slowed, too. And, both the housing and commercial real-estate markets turned even softer.
Philadelphia reported slower manufacturing and real-estate activity. But retailers' revenue rose, which explained that region's mixed picture.
But in Richmond, retail sales sputtered, some factories reported a slowdown in customer demand and real-estate markets remained soft. A similar trend was reported in Atlanta, where retail, manufacturing and real-estate activity all fell.
In Chicago, a weakening in manufacturing and construction activity accounted mainly for that region's slower economic pace. Retail sales in that region rose, however.
The overall U.S. economy was still growing in late summer, but there were "widespread signs of deceleration," the Fed said.
The findings will figure into discussions when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues meet next on Sept. 21. The Fed is sure to keep rates at record lows to bolster the economy. Bernanke has said the Fed is prepared to take additional steps — namely buying large amounts of government securities — if the economy seriously deteriorated. That would be aimed at driving down rates on mortgages and other loans to spur Americans to buy more and strengthen the economy.
"Bottom line: The Fed ... was surprisingly frank in describing an economy that is in the process of losing momentum," said Brian Bethune, economist at IHS Global Insight. He said pressure is mounting on the Fed to take more action to help. "The ailing economy needs more oxygen pumped into it in order to nurse it through a critical phase of the recovery," Bethune said.
At its August meeting, Bernanke persuaded all but one of his Fed colleagues to support a plan to buy a small amount of government securities to try to give the economy a boost.
The Fed survey also found that five regions — St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco all reported modest growth. And two regions — Boston and Cleveland — reported improved economic activity.
All that helps explain why Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, voted against the Fed's relief action in August. He says he thinks the national economy will keep growing and get through any soft patches without any extra help from the Fed.
But Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said in a speech Wednesday that he would have backed the Fed's August action if he were a voting member this year. (He will be a voting member next year.)
Kocherlakota struck an optimistic note that the U.S. economy will keep growing and avoid falling back into a recession. "I believe that a modest recovery is under way and is likely to continue," he said.
Nationwide, consumers, while cautious, are continuing to spend to keep the economy expanding, the Fed survey said. Manufacturing is growing but at a slower pace than seen earlier this year.
Home sales weakened, which, in turn, has weighed on construction activity, the Fed said. And companies continue to be cautious about hiring full-time workers. Businesses in Philadelphia and Atlanta, for instance, reported relying instead on temporary and contract workers to meet any increases in customer demand.
The Fed's region-by-region survey is based on information collected from the Fed's 12 regional banks on or before Aug. 30. It provides a more intimate look at the overall economy than broad statistics.
Obama firm, won't yield on tax hike for wealthiest:
CLEVELAND – Politically weakened but refusing to bend, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that Bush-era tax cuts be cut off for the wealthiest Americans, joining battle with Republicans — and some fellow Democrats — just two months before bruising midterm elections.
Singling out House GOP leader John Boehner in his home state, Obama delivered a searing attack on Republicans for advocating "the same philosophy that led to this mess in the first place: cut more taxes for millionaires and cut more rules for corporations."
Obama rolled out a trio of new plans to help spur job growth and invigorate the sluggish national economic recovery. They would expand and permanently extend a research and development tax credit that lapsed in 2009, allow businesses to write off 100 percent of their investments in equipment and plants through 2011 and pump $50 billion into highway, rail, airport and other infrastructure projects.
The package was assembled by the president's economic team after it became clear that the recovery was running out of steam. There was a political component, too: With Democrats in danger of losing control of the House in November, Obama is under heavy pressure to show voters that he and his party are ready to do more to get the economy moving and get millions of jobless Americans back to work.
However, none of Wednesday's proposals, nor Obama's call for allowing tax rates to rise for the wealthiest Americans, seems likely to be acted on by Congress before the elections, reflecting the battering Obama and congressional Democrats have taken in public opinion polls.
Obama made one of his strongest appeals yet to allow the tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush — in 2001 and 2003 — to expire at the end of the year on schedule, but just for individuals earning more than $200,000 annually or joint filers earning over $250,000. The changes would affect dividend and capital gains rates and various other tax benefits as well as income from wages and salaries.
The president's strategy — pushing for legislation to save some tax cuts but not all — carries its own risks. Since all the tax breaks would expire automatically at the end of the year if Congress failed to act, that could result in sweeping increases for taxpayers at every income level — a major blow to recovery hopes and a colossal dose of blame for voters to parcel out to lawmakers and the White House.
Some influential Democrats, and Obama's own former budget director, Peter Orszag, have suggested a compromise might be necessary — one to temporarily extend all the tax cuts, perhaps for a year or two — given the current election-year animosity between the two parties.
But in his remarks in Cleveland, Obama strongly signaled he wasn't about to sign off on any such deal.
"Let me be clear to Mr. Boehner and everyone else. We should not hold middle class tax cuts hostage any longer," the president said. The administration "is ready this week to give tax cuts to every American making $250,000 or less," he said. It was a slight misstatement of his own position, since the $250,000 would apply to household income. The threshold for individuals would be $200,000
White House officials said Cleveland was picked as the speech site expressly because Boehner, who probably would become House speaker if Republicans take back control of the chamber in November, laid out his party's economic agenda here in a fiery Aug. 24 speech.
At that time, the Ohio Republican called for Obama to fire key economic advisers and to support an extension of all the Bush tax cuts.
Boehner kept up the attack on Wednesday. "If the president is really serious about focusing on jobs, a good start would be taking the advice of his recently departed budget director and freezing all tax rates, coupled with cutting of federal spending to where it was before all the bailouts, government takeovers and `stimulus' spending sprees," he said after Obama spoke.
Earlier, Boehner was even more specific on ABC's "Good Morning America," saying Congress should freeze all tax rates for two years and pare back federal spending to 2008 levels. The deep recession began in December 2007.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs noted that keeping the Bush tax cuts in effect just for two more years would represent a change from past calls by Boehner to keep them in place permanently.
"My question for him is: Are they abandoning the permanent or are they going with the two-year plan? I've seen him saying permanent so many times that I tend to believe that," Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One. "That's his plan and I think that continues to be his plan."
Republicans, and some Democrats, argue that the fragile state of the economy makes this a poor time to raise taxes on anyone — and that increases could stifle wealthier people's appetite for spending.
Obama argued that the rich are more likely to save additional money than spend it. And he said the struggling U.S. economy can't afford to spend $700 billion to keep lower tax rates in place for the nation's highest earners.
That $700 billion is what the nonpartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimates it would cost the Treasury to continue tax cuts for top earners over 10 years. What Obama wants to do would cost just over $3 trillion over the same period, the panel estimates.
The debate over the Bush tax cuts is an unwelcome one for dozens of vulnerable Democratic incumbents just weeks before Election Day. Already, a handful of Democrats in conservative or swing districts, such as Reps. Gerry Connolly in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., and Bobby Bright in southeastern Alabama, have come out publicly for extending all the cuts — at least temporarily.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., engaged in a tight re-election battle, said he "would not support additional spending in a second stimulus package" and that any new initiatives such as Obama's infrastructure package should be paid for with leftover funds in the $814 billion stimulus package passed last year.
Still other embattled Democrats, wary of alienating middle-class voters, are siding with Obama. In central Ohio, for example, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy has said the tax cuts for higher earners should be repealed but middle-income people should see no tax increases.
Obama acknowledged recovery had slowed noticeably, with unemployment hovering just under 10 percent.
"The middle class is still treading water, while those aspiring to reach the middle class are doing everything they can to keep from drowning," he said.
Polls have shown a steady slippage in Obama's approval ratings and an accompanying rise in Republican prospects for winning House and Senate seats in November. That has chipped away at Obama's leverage to get things done in Congress.
Obama has sought to frame the election as a choice between continuing his policies or reinstating those pursued by Bush. He acknowledged in an interview with ABC after his speech that "if the election is a referendum on are people satisfied about the economy as it currently is, then we're not going to do well, because I think everybody feels like this economy needs to better than it's been doing."
The excerpt was aired Wednesday on ABC's evening news. Fuller portions of the interview were airing Thursday morning on "Good Morning America."
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Rio Grande High School principal removed:
Cynthia Hale has been removed as principal of Rio Grande High School amid the recent scheduling controversy.
In August, Hale tossed out the master schedule in an attempt to ensure students got the classes they needed to graduate. But when the school year started three weeks ago, the schedules were not ready.
Last week Rio Grande’s Parent Teacher Student Association sent a letter to APS Superintendent, Winston Brooks, demanding Hale be replaced. At that time Brooks said that Hale would neither step down or be fired.
Students finally received their correct schedules Tuesday morning, three weeks into the school year. And while APS told the public that 99 percent of the schedules had been corrected, many students are asking their schedules be changed.
APS Chief Academic Officer, Linda Sink, will step in as interim principal at Rio Grande while the district begins its search for a permanent replacement.
Sink has served as principal of Cibola High School and Albuquerque High. She was also interim APS Superintendent before Brooks was hired.
Brooks says a committee made up of parents, teacher and central office staff will choose finalists for Brooks to choose from.
Brooks announced his decision at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, he says he stands by his decision not to remove Hale sooner, but adds that now there is no other option.
"We have just too many factors. We have the schedule factor, we have the teacher morale factor, we have the student morale factor. So you have all these issues that are bombarding you so you have to admit to yourself it isn't going to work," Brooks says.
At this time, there is no word on Hale’s reaction to her removal. Hale will be reassigned to another position if she chooses to stay with the district. Hale had previously served as principal at Washington Middle School.
Drive by shooting injures teenage girl:
Steven Perez was detained by police on Wednesday as a person of interest in the morning's events.
Roswell Police say a brazen drive by shooting in broad daylight has injured a 16-year-old girl.
Police shut down parts of the city around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday after two cars possibly involved in a shooting could still be in the area.
Officers and paramedics converged at the shooting scene in the 1100 block of East Holland in Roswell.
Minutes later, Chaves County sheriff deputies, state police, and Roswell police officers caught up with a car that matched a witness’ description near Garden and Sixth Street. A few suspects were detained for questioning.
Late Wednesday afternoon while investigating the shooting, police arrested Steven Perez, 19, and charged him in connection with another recent drive by shooting. Perez is also considered a person of interest in the morning's events.
Though police believe the shooting may be gang-related, it is not believed that the 16-year-old girl was the intended target.
The victim was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover. Her name has not been released.
Secretary of State fires top staffers:
New Mexico’s Secretary of State Mary Herrera has fired two high ranking employees after both met with federal investigators.
Deputy Secretary of State Francisco Trujillo says former office manager Manuel Vildasol and former Secretary of State spokesman James Flores were terminated for allegedly secretly recording employees and creating a "hostile work environment."
Both Vildasol and Flores say their firings are retaliation for meeting with the F.B.I. over allegations of criminal wrongdoing within the Secretary of State’s office.
Last month, Vildasol publicized undercover video recordings of computer technicians trying to remove pornographic viruses from Mary Herrera’s state issued laptop. The video was given to Eyewitness News 4 after Herrera and Trujillo repeatedly denied a porn virus had infected Herrera’s laptop computer.
At the time, Vildasol told Eyewitness News 4 he was tired of negative events at the office "being swept under the rug" and said the recordings were taken in an effort to document alleged criminal wrongdoings within the Secretary of State's office.
Vildasol’s attorney, Rudy Martin, says the videos and documents Vildasol collected have since been turned over to federal investigators.
Tuesday, in his first interview since being put on leave, former Secretary of State spokesman James Flores also confirmed he had met with the F.B.I. at their request and believes that meeting was the reason for his termination.
Flores also denied secretly recording the Secretary of State's office staff, saying the only time he recorded anyone was when questioned by a risk management investigator for the state who was summoned after he was placed on paid administrative leave. At the time, officials declined to specify why Flores had been put on leave.
Flores said during his interview with the state investigator that he felt his termination may have centered around a press release that had been sent out via email under Flores’ name in response to Eyewitness News 4’s investigation into the pornographic virus.
The release defended the Secretary of State and called the allegations in the story "political attacks" during an election year.
At the time the email was sent, Flores was out on bereavement from the death of two aunts. On Tuesday, Flores told Eyewitness News 4 that he never wrote or sent the email to reporters and also denied emailing Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza and Former Bureau of Elections Director A.J. Salazar.
Flores also said he would take a lie detector test to prove he had not secretly recorded Secretary of State staff members if Secretary Herrera would take a lie detector test about her denials of allegations she ordered employees to campaign on her behalf while on the taxpayers’ dime.
"The challenge will be that Mary Herrera take a lie detector test regarding the fact that she ordered government exempt employees within her office to gather signatures for her, [to hold] this meeting on state time, in her office," said Flores.
Salazar and Manuel Vildasol have leveled the same accusation at Herrera saying they were also required to campaign for Herrera during normal working hours.
Herrera has denied all allegations and was unavailable to comment on whether she would accept the lie detector challenge.
Fla. minister determined to hold 9/11 Quran burn
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A top general, the secretary of state, the White House and political and religious leaders from around the world have decried a plan by the leader of a small Florida church to burn copies of Islam's holiest text to mark the 9/11 attacks. The Rev. Terry Jones is not backing down.
Despite the mounting pressure to call off Saturday's bonfire, Jones said at a Wednesday news conference that he also has received much encouragement, with supporters mailing copies of the Quran to his Dove Outreach Center of about 50 followers. The plan comes as an emotional debate continues over a proposed Islamic center near the ground zero site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.
"As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing," said Jones, 58, who took no questions.
Jones was flanked by an armed escort and said he has received more than 100 death threats since announcing in July that he would stage "International Burn-a-Quran Day." Muslims consider the Quran the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect.
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China blacks out towns to meet energy goal:
BEIJING – Chinese steel mills and mobile phone factories are being idled and thousands of homes in one area are doing without electricity as local governments order power cuts to meet energy-saving targets set by Beijing.
Rolling blackouts and enforced power cuts are affecting key industrial areas. The prosperous eastern city of Taizhou turned off street lights and ordered hotels and shopping malls to cut power use. In Anping County southwest of Beijing, an area known as China's wire-manufacturing capital, thousands of factories and homes have endured daylong blackouts over the past two weeks.
"We can't meet deadlines for some orders and will have to pay penalties," said Han Hongmai, general manager of Anping's Jintai Metal Wire Co. "At home we can't use the toilet" on blackout days due to lack of power for water pumps, he said.
While the U.S. and Europe struggle with flagging economies, the power outages are symptomatic of China's torrid growth and officials' capricious use of their powers to meet the authoritarian government's goals.
China's economic expansion, which hit 10.3 percent in the latest quarter, blew holes in government efforts to curb surging energy demand, pollution and emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases. Beijing told local leaders to clamp down and stepped up pressure by sending inspectors to see the order was carried out.
"You could say local governments are trying to blackmail the central government: If you order me to do something I can't deliver, I will pass on the pressure to ordinary people," said Yang Ailun, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace China.
The Cabinet planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, scolded Anping officials for the household power cuts. The provincial government issued an order to see that all homes have power.
It's not the first time something like this has happened.
In 2007, gasoline shortages disrupted the economy after refiners cut production in response to price controls. The next year, parts of China shivered through blackouts in bitter winter cold after the government froze power prices, prompting utilities to cut expenses by letting coal stockpiles run low.
This year's power cuts began after Beijing announced in August that an energy efficiency campaign suffered a setback as a stimulus-fueled building boom drove growth in steel, cement and other heavy industry.
Beijing's plans call for cutting energy intensity, or energy used per unit of economic output, by 20 percent from 2006 levels by this year. The World Bank says China uses up to twice the energy per unit of output as the United States, Japan and other economies. Chinese officials say energy use is 3.4 times the world average.
Energy intensity fell by 14.4 percent by the end of 2009 after thousands of antiquated steel mills and other factories were forced to close, the government says. But it crept back up by 0.9 percent in the first half of this year.
Beijing reacted by ordering 2,087 steel and cement mills and other factories with poor environmental controls to close. The Cabinet stepped up pressure on local leaders by sending inspectors to 18 of China's 32 provinces and major regions to enforce efficiency.
"They understand that if they fail to meet this target it could potentially cast doubt not just internationally but domestically about whether China is serious about tackling its emissions," said Greenpeace's Yang.
Yang said environmentalists welcome moves to close antiquated factories because that improves overall efficiency. But she said temporary blanket cuts come at a high social cost and the government should be taking more long-term steps such as changing energy pricing to encourage conservation.
"What they are doing now is relying too much on harsh administrative orders," she said.
In some ways, the power cuts are backfiring. Han, the manager in Anping, said his wire factory coped by purchasing its own generator. So it still uses power — but from a source that might be dirtier and less efficient.
Energy is politically sensitive for Beijing, which is trying to clean up the battered Chinese environment and rein in growing demand for imported oil and gas, which it sees as a strategic weakness.
Booming China passed the United States last year as the world's top energy consumer, according to the International Energy Agency — a report that Beijing angrily rejected.
China also is the biggest source of climate-changing greenhouse gases. As a developing country it is not bound by U.N. climate treaties but has pledged to curb emissions growth, though it says the United States and other advanced economies should do more.
Some of China's biggest companies have been hobbled by the campaign, which is cutting production at a time when Beijing needs to create jobs to sustain a rebound from the global crisis.
Baosteel Group, a major steelmaker, announced Sept. 1 it was shutting down a 2 million-ton-a-year blast furnace in Ningbo, a port city south of Shanghai.
"The suspension could last over three months, causing a loss of 180,000 tons of steel a month," the facility's deputy director, Huang Ming, said in a company statement.
Zhejiang province, where Ningbo is located, failed to achieve even a 1 percent improvement in energy intensity in the first half of this year, said a provincial government notice. It said this year's target is a 3.2 percent improvement.
In Jiangsu province, north of Shanghai, factories that make mobile phones, computers and other electronics were ordered to shut down for five days every two weeks, according to Chinese media.
In Hebei province, authorities have imposed energy quotas on factories and threatened violators with fines and a cutoff of power and water supplies, the state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News said. It said the curbs hit as steelmakers were preparing for a peak production season.
"People in the industry are heartbroken," the newspaper said.
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Judge: NM sheriff's office ignored seizure rules:
ALBUQUERQUE — The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office tried to get around state law over seized cash by using more lenient federal forfeiture procedures, which made it easier for the department to keep millions of dollars in seized assets, a judge has ruled.
The Albuquerque Journal reports in a copyright story Wednesday that state District Judge Nan Nash ruled last week that the department failed to follow the New Mexico Forfeiture Act, which requires seized money to be deposited in an interest-bearing account with the court clerk within 30 days of its seizure.
Nash ordered the office to stop transferring seized cash to the federal government without following state procedures.
The department had transferred seized cash to the feds — eventually receiving back 80 percent of it — or had held it in an "evidence" account, even though it wasn't always used as evidence.
The judge's ruling came in a 2006 lawsuit challenging cash forfeitures by the department and former Sheriff Darren White.
White said he hadn't seen the ruling but expected to meet soon with county attorneys to discuss an appeal.
Attorney Joseph Kennedy, whose firm filed the class action lawsuit, said the ruling was a victory and that "even sheriffs have to follow the law."
The money was taken from people during traffic stops, typically on Interstate 40. In many cases, criminal charges were never filed but individuals never got the money back.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of people whose money was never deposited with the clerk. The judge's ruling does not allow individual class members to receive interest on the amount held by the county.
Experts will offer calculations at a Sept. 23 hearing about how much the county must return to class members.
Kennedy estimated the number of people in the class action at 400 to 500, and said most seizures were for less than $10,000.
The sheriff's department, in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI, "adopted a system to bypass the more stringent requirements of the New Mexico Forfeiture Act in favor of the more lenient requirements of federal forfeiture act. BCSO chose to follow federal law ... to avoid the higher burdens placed on them under the New Mexico Forfeiture Act," the judge wrote.
Sheriff's narcotics officers who made the seizures were part of an interagency task force working with federal and other local law enforcement agencies on drug control, but Nash found they were not federal agents or officers.
White testified he believed he had the option of using either state or federal law to forfeit money or property. He contended officers were not required to follow state law and were free to transfer the money to federal officials using federal forfeiture law.
NM governor appears at conference on Latin America:
SANTA FE — Gov. Bill Richardson traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak at a conference on U.S. and Latin American policy.
Before appearing at the conference on Wednesday, Richardson met with Vice President Joe Biden about New Mexico's requests for federal economic stimulus money for expanded broadband Internet access and electrical grid upgrades.
The foreign policy conference is sponsored by the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Dialogue and the Andean Development Corp., a Latin American bank known as CAF.
Richardson's office said the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based nonprofit policy center, paid for the governor's travel.
Trapped Chilean Miners Showing Signs of Cabin Fever
Miners Have Been Trapped Underground Since Early August:
The 33 Chilean miners who have been trapped underground for more than a month are no longer celebrating their miraculous survival, and are reportedly growing irritable and rebellious thousands of feet below ground.
The miners were upset when they were denied wine and cigarettes by authorities concerned about health implications. They were also angered when a request for empanadas was also denied, according to Chilean news outlets.
And Time.com has reported that the miners, evidently going stir crazy, have taken to riding machinery vehicles "recklessly" through the mine tunnels.
Refused the provisions they crave, the miners rejected a shipment of peaches that were sent down to them through a narrow tunnel that is their link with the world above, according the report.
Some of the miners have also grown frustrated that they haven't received letters from their relatives, one miner telling local Chilean news station TVN that he felt "abandoned" by his wife.
The grousing is a long way from the euphoria the miners expressed when they were discovered alive more than a month ago.
The newer and grumpier reactions, medical professionals say, are to be expected for a group of people who have been so secluded and limited in their daily actions for such a long period of time.
"When you're stuck in a confined area with heat and humidity and little light, our frustration tolerance starts to decrease," said Dr. Simon Rego, a psychologist at New York's American Institute for Cognitive Therapy.
"Impatience and frustration will rise and it will result in individuals becoming a little more oppositional and short-tempered," said Rego.
Old Farmer's Almanac: Expect colder winter in the East; South to see wet summer:
DUBLIN, N.H. — Most of the country will see a colder-than-usual winter while summer and spring will be relatively cool and dry, according to the time-honored, complex calculations of the "Old Farmer's Almanac."
The 2011 issue of the almanac, which claims to be the nation's oldest continuously published periodical, was released Tuesday. It predicts that in the coming months, the Earth will continue to see a "gradual cooling of the atmosphere ... offset by any warming caused by increased greenhouse gases."
The "Old Farmer's Almanac" also is forecasting a weak La Nina — a climate phenomenon marked by an unusual cooling of the sea surface in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
Janice Stillman, editor of the almanac, said that means much of the eastern half of the United States will experience lower-than-normal temperatures with less snow while Mid-Atlantic states will see more snowfall than usual. The West will see a mild winter with average precipitation, she said.
Meanwhile, the South will experience a cold and wet summer and the Rockies should see a mild and dry winter, according to the New Hampshire-based "Old Farmer's Almanac."
"It'll be cold. There will be no mistaking winter," Stillman said. "But it may be a little shorter or we may see some small warm spells in places like the East Coast."
The 219-year-old "Old Farmer's Almanac" and its longtime competitor, the Maine-based "Farmers' Almanac," still draw droves of fans despite it being the age of the Internet and mobile phone apps. The books, which use secret formulas to predict weather based on sunspots, planetary positions and other information, are popular at farmers markets and bookstores and have maintained a fan base that sometimes spans generations of families.
Both books have a circulation of around 3.2 million and feature a mix of helpful hints, recipes, gardening tips, jokes and inspirational messages. Their websites are full of videos, blogs, podcasts, Twitter accounts and Facebook fan pages.
In general, the almanacs' weather predictions are similar. The "Farmers' Almanac" predicts that it'll be cold but nothing like last winter.
"Overall, it looks like it's going to be a kinder and gentler winter, especially in the areas that had a rough winter last year," said managing editor Sandi Duncan.
But the almanacs' forecasts are at odds with the National Weather Service's long-range outlook for the meteorological winter, which runs from December through February.
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center anticipates a warmer-than-normal winter for the mid-Atlantic and Southeast and colder-than-normal weather in the Northwest. That puts it at odds with the almanac.
Ed O'Lenic from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said the scientific community doesn't accept tides, planetary alignment and sunspots as effective predictors of temperature or precipitation, but he stopped short of being critical of the almanac's meteorological methods.
Stillman said, however, she's confident about the weather predictions in the "Old Farmer's Almanac" because they tend to be 80 to 85 percent accurate — the same accuracy rate boasted by the Maine almanac.
The dueling almanacs have enjoyed a long, mostly friendly rivalry that dates back nearly 200 years, said Judson Hale, the semiretired chairman and longtime pitchman for the "Old Farmer's Almanac." He said any time one of the almanac gets publicity, it helps the other.
But Hale is quick to say his publication is older and has more history: "We're the one in the Smithsonian. We're the one that Abraham Lincoln used in a murder trial. We're the one George Washington read. We are THE one."
Still, Hale said, both almanacs survive because they've maintained strong relationships with their readers for generations.
"I think it's very comforting for people to see that there's a constant in this world," he said. "There's something that, although brand-new every year, isn't changing. It is the same."
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Detroit mayor calls fires 'natural disaster':
DETROIT — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing defended a stretched fire department Wednesday and its response to what he termed "a natural disaster," after wind-whipped flames destroyed dozens of occupied and abandoned homes across the city.
Bing said firefighters confronted conditions "that were not manmade" starting Tuesday afternoon. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph forced flames to jump from house to house, eventually encompassing 85 homes and garages — many abandoned — across several neighborhoods.
No injuries were reported.
When pressed on whether the fire department was adequately staffed, Bing sidestepped the question and pointed out that no one was killed.
"A natural disaster — (that's) what this was," he said at a news conference. "You just cannot plan for that."
Alonzo Rush, 62, a retired auto worker, said it took 90 minutes for a fire truck to arrive, by which time several nearby homes were aflame.
"We called. All the neighbors called, but we didn't get an answer at 911. ... We're not getting the services we once had and what we're paying for," Rush said.
Fire Commissioner James Mack told reporters the city has about 500 firefighters, about 20 fewer than last year. He said the 236 firefighters on duty Tuesday was typical, and that on any given day there are usually 35 fires in the city.
Firefighters from a half-dozen neighboring agencies assisted the Detroit fire department. If he could do anything different, Mack said he might have called for help from the suburbs a little sooner.
"We're maximizing the manpower we have and the equipment we have," he said. "Yesterday was an unusual day."
City Council President Charles Pugh earlier downplayed concerns that the struggling city's fire department was too poorly equipped to respond.
"It was a freakish day — the wind was tremendous," he said.
"That would have been a difficult day for the fire department if we added $100 million to the fire department budget."
National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Tilley said the conditions had been perfect for fires to quickly move.
"The really dry air along with high wind — that would have been favorable for a fire to spread," Tilley said.
Mack said eight of the fires were sparked by downed power wires, and he attributed two to arson. He said 62 power lines were downed overall.
DTE Energy Co. spokesman John Austerberry said the utility was investigating possible links between its lines and the fires.
On Detroit's northwest side, four brick bungalow and Tudor-style homes were gutted; two had only chimneys remaining. Neighbors, utility and cable workers stood outside surveying the damage, while the Red Cross counted displaced families.
"My garages were burning. It was a big fireball," said Kevin Mays, 45, whose two vacant homes suffered minor damage. His three cars and two motorcycles inside the garages were wiped out by the flames.
"It's going to be a big hole in the neighborhood," he said. "The neighborhood won't be the same."
Latosha Staples, 43, could feel the heat from her porch two blocks away from a pocket of fires.
"It felt like you were in the fire. That's how hot it was. It was terrible," Staples said.
The fires struck haphazardly across Detroit, hitting some blocks and skipping other streets completely.
Rush's northwest side neighborhood is one of the most stable in Detroit. Most houses are brick and the properties are well-kept. But several miles to the east on Robinwood, the heaviest fire damage was to vacant houses already in poor condition.
Some houses are separated by vacant lots where homes once stood. The neighborhood is among Detroit's most desperate.
The other fires spread across various parts of the east side also are among the poorest in Detroit.
DTE and utility CMS Energy Corp. said more than 120,000 customers lost power late Tuesday, although service was restored to many by the following morning.
NYPD Top Cop: Planned Quran Burning Is "Dangerous":
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly sided with Gen. Petraeus last night, calling a planned burning of Qurans on the anniversary of Sept. 11, "unwise" and "un-American" during the 9/11 Museum and Memorial's fundraising dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan Tuesday night.
NEWS MAKERS OF THE DAY:
WOW, talk about a jam packed day! Don't miss Dewey's Daily Cup this weekend (check program guide for Sat & Sun), because Sandy Hoffman joined us this afternoon to play some music and talk about his ministry in Santa Fe. Ryan Freeman, KKIM/KARS Ministry Representative joined us to give away some tickets. Larry Moss chimed in on the burning of the Korans in Florida, 'In a way he should not do it, he doesn't realize the consequences.' Larry believes this is the biggest and most widespread war in the history of the world and he went on to say about the times we live in, 'This is end time stuff.' He also mentioned that FDR did a lot of what Obama is planning on doing today and extended the depression longer than what it had to be. Did you know that the yearly U.S. interest paid to China is as large as their entire budget for their military? Regarding the APS situation, 'Nobody's in charge and there's no structure.' Heath Haussamen from NM Politics http://www.nmpolitics.net joined us to talk about the secretary of State's Office, saying that it didn't look good to fire two whistle blowers and mentioned that we're going to see big Republican gains in November. Martinez is still in the lead for the Governor's seat, by more than 6 points, with 87% of Republicans behind her. Keep listening to KKIM/KARS, because you're not going to get these News & Views anywhere else!
Many Blessings,
Rev. Mark F. Tross
Ekklesia Outreach
http://ekklesiaoutreach.com
http://powersforgood.weebly.com
http://ekklesiaoutreach.weebly.com
http://www.whatissimplechurch.com
http://simplechurchfellowship.weebly.com
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