FMCS Statement on Strongsville City Schools, SEA Negotiations

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) issued the following statement today on the labor negotiations between the Strongsville City School District Board of Education and the Strongsville Education Association (SEA):

The FMCS is pleased to announce that following lengthy negotiations conducted under our auspices, the parties have reached a comprehensive, tentative collective bargaining agreement. This tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the teachers' union membership and the Strongsville Board of Education.

In addition, with the pending resolution of the current work stoppage, representatives of the Board and the SEA have affirmed their joint commitment to move forward in a positive atmosphere, fully focused on creating a successful learning environment for the students, parents and community of Strongsville.

Out of respect for the ratification process and consistent with the Agency's longstanding policy on confidentiality, we shall not disclose any of the terms of the agreement.

Because of the sensitive nature of these discussions, FMCS will have no further comment on these proceedings at this time.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, created in 1947, is an independent U.S. government agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 10 district offices and 67 field offices, the agency provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities.

Web site: www.fmcs.gov   

SOURCE Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

View the original article here

U.S. Department of Transportation Declares N.C. Truck Driver in Fatal Hit-and-Run Crash to be an Imminent Hazard to Public Safety

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared North Carolina-licensed truck driver Johnny Allen Spell to be an imminent hazard to public safety and has ordered him not to operate any commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce.

On April 23, 2013, Spell, a commercial driver's license (CDL) holder employed by Ricky Lucas Trucking of Roseboro, N.C., was operating a tractor-trailer in Sampson County, N.C., when he failed to stop for a school bus.  The bus had engaged its warning lights and was unloading passengers.  Spell's vehicle struck and killed a child as she was crossing U.S. Highway 421. 

"Safety is our highest priority," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Unsafe truck drivers who endanger children and other members of the public have no business on our nation's roads."

Spell was arrested by North Carolina law enforcement personnel for his role in the hit-and-run crash.  He faces numerous state charges, including involuntary manslaughter, felony hit and run, improper passing of a stopped school bus with warning devices activated, reckless driving, and driving while using or in the possession of drugs.

FMCSA's imminent hazard out-of-service order for Spell is based upon his disregard of federal safety regulations and interstate operations.

The investigation remains open. 

"FMCSA will continue to assist state and local law enforcement officials, who are leading the investigation, in every way possible," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro.  "We demand that commercial drivers operate their vehicles with a high regard for public safety."

SOURCE Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

View the original article here

Obama backs Planned Parenthood in political fight

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama vowed Friday to join Planned Parenthood in fighting against what he said are efforts by states to turn women's health back to the 1950s, before the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide, and singled out the GOP-governed states of North Dakota and Mississippi for criticism.

"When politicians try to turn Planned Parenthood into a punching bag, they're not just talking about you," Obama said, becoming the first sitting president to address the abortion-rights group in person. "They're talking about the millions of women who you serve."

Obama asserted that "an assault on women's rights" is underway across the country, with bills introduced in more than 40 states to limit or ban abortion or restrict access to birth control or other services.

"The fact is, after decades of progress, there's still those who want to turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century," he said. "And they've been involved in an orchestrated and historic effort to roll back basic rights when it comes to women's health."

Last month, North Dakota Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed a law that bans abortions as early as six weeks, or when a fetal heartbeat is detected, making the state the most restrictive in the nation in which to get the procedure.

Obama said "a woman may not even know that she's pregnant at six weeks."

More than a year ago in Mississippi, a "personhood" ballot initiative that would have defined life as beginning at fertilization was defeated by 58 percent of voters in November 2011, the same election in which staunch abortion opponent Phil Bryant, a Republican, was elected governor. Bryant had campaigned for the initiative. Abortion opponents are expected to soon begin a signature-drive to get a similar initiative on the ballot in 2014 or 2015.

"Mississippi's a conservative state, but they wanted to make clear there's nothing conservative about the government injecting itself into decisions best made between a woman and her doctor," Obama said of the voters there.

The president lauded Planned Parenthood's nearly 100 years of providing cancer screenings, contraception and other health services for women and assured those fighting to protect abortion rights that they have an ally in him.

"You've also got a president who's going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way," Obama said.

In North Dakota, Republican state Rep. Bette Grande, an abortion opponent from Fargo who introduced the bill banning most abortions based on a fetal heartbeat, said she was happy Obama took notice of her state's stance on the issue.

"He is pointing it out because it's true. We have taken a serious look at the life of a child, and the nation is paying attention to that," she said. "We are dealing with life in North Dakota and something as basic as a beating heart."

Laurie Bertram Roberts, Mississippi president of the National Organization for Women, said voters in her state, while conservative, did not misunderstand what "personhood" would have meant for women and families.

"We understand that when you give a fertilized egg the rights of a person, that affects every aspect of pregnancy and reproductive health," she said.

Obama's pledge to stand with Planned Parenthood echoed his rhetoric in last year's presidential campaign after Republican rival Mitt Romney said he'd eliminate the organization's federal funding if elected. That incident, coupled with other issues, led Democrats to begin accusing Republicans of waging a "war on women." Obama went on to win a second term with 55 percent of the female vote, polls showed.

The president originally was scheduled to address Planned Parenthood on Thursday night, but the appearance was delayed to allow him to spend more time in Texas with the loved ones of those who were killed or injured in last week's explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas.

In his short speech on Friday, Obama made no reference to a pair of abortion-related issues that made headlines in recent weeks.

On April 5, a federal judge in New York gave Obama's administration 30 days to begin allowing over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill, saying the government's decision to limit such sales to those aged 17 and older was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."

Planned Parenthood sided with the judge; the administration has yet to say whether it will file an appeal.

In Pennsylvania, abortion provider Kermit Gosnell is standing trial on charges of killing babies after they were born alive at his West Philadelphia clinic. He also is charged in the 2009 overdose death of a 41-year-old patient. Closing arguments in the case were set for Monday.

___

Associated Press writers Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Miss., and James MacPherson in Bismarck, N.D., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

View the original article here

Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available to Small Businesses in Massachusetts Impacted by the Boston Marathon Bombing

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Low-interest economic injury disaster loans are available to Massachusetts small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and most private non-profit organizations affected by the Boston Marathon Bombing on April 15, 2013.  

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110909/DC65875LOGO)  

SBA Administrator Karen Mills made the loans available following a request from Massachusetts
Gov. Deval L. Patrick on April 26 for a disaster declaration by the SBA.  The declaration covers Suffolk County and the neighboring counties of Essex, Middlesex and Norfolk in Massachusetts.

"The Small Business Administration is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to help small businesses and non-profits in Massachusetts with their federal disaster loans," said Mills.  "Getting our businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA."

"The SBA can help affected small businesses and non-profit organizations overcome their economic losses by offering working capital loans, but the help cannot start until they submit an SBA Disaster Loan application to us," said Robert H. Nelson, SBA's Massachusetts district director. 

Eligible entities may qualify for loans up to $2 million.  The SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.  The rates on these loans are 2.875 percent for non-profit organizations and 4 percent for small businesses with terms up to 30 years.  The SBA determines eligibility for the loans based on the size and type of business and its financial resources. 

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA's secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Applications and program information are available by calling the SBA's Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA's website at www.sba.gov . Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth,
TX 76155.

The deadline to return economic injury applications is January 27, 2014.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov.

Contact: Michael Lampton
Email: Michael.Lampton@sba.gov
Phone: (404) 331-0333

Release Number: 13-517 MA 13556 

SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

View the original article here

Inside the Cover: The American Dream, Downsized

Middle-class Americans’ anxieties and the shift in how they define the American Dream had consequences for the 2012 election. Romney spoke in the language of economic risk: “The promise of America has always been that if you worked hard, had the right values, took some risks, that there was an opportunity to build a better life for your family and for your next generation.” Compare that with Obama describing the “basic bargain in America,” a formulation he has used since his U.S. Senate campaign in 2004: “If you’re willing to work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to find a good job, feel secure in your community, and support a family.” So, which guy won?

But if the American Dream, and the understanding of what it means to be middle class, is changing, the reverberations will go far beyond a single election. They speak to the very story Americans tell about themselves. We were once a nation of strivers, raised on Horatio Alger and Bill Gates, confident of the possibility of moving upward. If Americans now aim simply to avoid slipping backward, they will have decided that the American Dream is but a reverie.

In this week's National Journal special Next Economy issue cover story, Amy Sullivan takes a look at the state of the middle class. In the video above, get inside the story with the author herself.

View the original article here

Fossilized bird egg sells at auction for more than $100,000

This fossilized elephant bird egg sold for more than $100,000. (Christie's)A fossilized egg belonging to the largest known species of bird in history sold at an auction this week for $101,813.

The elephant bird (Aepyornis maximus) egg was sold as part of Christie’s “Travel, Science and Natural History” collection. The elephant bird went extinct sometime in the 17^th or 18^th century. It grew to 10 feet tall and could weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

“The elephant bird was thought to be the giant flying beast known as the Roc (or Rukh) in the tales of Sinbad and accounts of Marco Polo's voyages," says a description on Christie’s website. "The bird grew to around 10 or 11 feet in height and whilst probably unable to devour an elephant, as the Roc was reputed to do, it certainly was the largest bird ever to have lived.”

Though the exact reason for the bird’s demise is not known, it’s assumed that human activity played a major role. More specifically, the BBC says this could be due to the fact that an elephant bird egg was large enough to feed an entire family of humans.

Interestingly, the egg was only valued at between $30,500 and $45,700 by Christie’s but a flurry of bids on the last day of the auction pushed it up to more than double that.

The elephant bird egg was eventually sold to an anonymous bidder. It is believed that the egg dates back to the 17^th century, placing it at a time close to the extinction of the species.

A chart comparing the size of a fully grown elephant bird (purple) to other creatures, including humans (Wikic …

View the original article here

U.S. government may not hit debt limit until October: analysts

By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States might not hit the statutory limit on its debt until October, a policy research group said on Friday, giving Republican lawmakers more time to extract spending cuts from the Obama administration in return for extending the borrowing cap.

After giving into Democratic demands in December to raise taxes and later working with them to avoid a government shutdown, Republicans have been gearing up to use the debt limit as leverage to seek fresh budget cuts and changes to the tax code.

The Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank that analyzes the Treasury's daily and monthly cash flows, had expected the federal government to hit the congressionally-set limit on its debt sometime between early-August and mid-September.

But stronger-than-expected revenues and deeper-than-anticipated budget cuts mean the ceiling on borrowing probably will not be reach until sometime between mid-August and mid-October, the group said on its website on Friday.

"October is a nasty month," BPC economic policy director Steve Bell said in an interview, noting that major government payments are due in October.

If Congress does not raise the borrowing cap before the Treasury hits the limit, the government will no longer be able to borrow money to pay its bills, including interest on its bonds, raising the risk of a damaging debt default.

In an attempt to avoid being blamed for a default, Republicans in the House of Representatives are pushing legislation to require the Treasury to pay bondholders and Social Security retirement benefits before other bills if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling on time.

The BPC said its forecast could change depending on economic conditions and when updated financial information became available.

Nearly $90 billion may soon be pumped into government coffers by the now-profitable government-controlled housing finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to account for deferred tax assets that were written down.

The think tank, however, does not think the disbursement to the Treasury will be that high. "We do expect that there will be a payment of some size in June but it is our opinion that the number is more likely to be in the $20 billion range and not in the rumored $100 billion range," Bell said.

The Treasury has said it could not forecast an exact date for when Congress must raise the debt ceiling due to delayed tax filings and uncertainty about the effect of the government budget cuts.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Paul Simao)

View the original article here