| People's Power in Venezuela
This ranking creates a proposed project list that is presented to an assembly in each territory, which can change its priorities and request reconsideration -- if for example a favored project turned out to be impossibly expensive. Once the project list is decided, the required funds are allocated to the community bodies, which handle administration, buy materials, and engage workers or contractors, giving preference to cooperatives. Community networking and know-how helps keep costs down, and any savings stay in the community for other purposes. Argenis estimates that $1 million a year is saved simply by eliminating private profits. "For example, a flood control project was approved with a budget of 184 million bolivars [about $90,000]," says Fidel Hernández.
Pro-BSO Minnet earns mayor's seat
We are going to work with her and hopefully she'll come through with flying colors and see what's best for the town,'' Dodd said. The two factions have shouted at each other during city commission meetings and have tried to sway their neighbors. The situation became so tense that many voters in a friendly town said they wanted to swoop in to voting sites, cast their ballot and leave anonymously. Others said the candidates' persona mattered as much as their politics. ''I voted for Minnet because I think she's well-qualified,'' said Maria Chiarello. ``I think she's bright and intelligent and will help us bring unity to this town.'' On election day, campaign workers were civil. They sat in lawn chairs and distributed literature. A Minnet supporter stood outside with her white small dog, Miko, who she claimed wanted a professional fire department.
David Horowitz Has a List
And I think most people feel that selling your honesty is a lot more dirty than selling sex, at that. If I say Bush and Cheney are whores of special interests, I am certainly insulting them, but I am not feminizing them. I am simply saying that they’re happy to sell out the good of the nation and of the world for the personal benefit of themselves and a few friends (or "fiends," if you prefer). I personally have a problem with the idea that feminizing is necessarily negative. Fred’s "When men feel threatened by other men, they ‘feminize’ them, or encourage others to view them as prostitutes" sounds innately sexist to me. Thane Doss, at 12:50 pm EST on February 13, 2006 .
Ford to Challenge Chrysler Van
Ford intends to market the vans as a solution for small-business people, such as caterers. Larger vans in the U.S. are often used by plumbers, electricians and for transporting people from hotels and airports. It is unclear how Ford intends to price the van, though the 2008 Dodge Sprinter cargo van sells for about $34,000. Write to Mike Spector at mike.spector@wsj.com .
Ten years later, two-sport star back at VU
Given that Jamie Sykes is enshrined in the Valparaiso University Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the baseball diamond and basketball court, it seems appropriate that his single greatest basketball feat required baseball skill.But maybe not as appropriate as tasking a center fielder with slinging a basketball the length of the court in the final seconds to help Valparaiso defeat Mississippi in the first round of the 1998 NCAA tournament's."It didn't take a mental genius to decide he was throwing it," Homer Drew said.And maybe not as appropriate as Sykes lofting the pass that few remember and Bryce Drew sinking the shot that few can forget."He was the perfect complement for me, and a lot of times he doesn't get the credit I think he deserves," Bryce Drew said of his fellow guard."Underrated, overlooked, but an integral part of the team," former teammate Jay Phifer said of Sykes.If Drew was the offense's focal point, Sykes was the drive-and-dish threat, the dogged defender who usually hounded the opponent's top perimeter scorer.
Delco GOP picks Gulf vet to face Sestak
Delaware County Republicans last night nominated a former assistant U.S. attorney to challenge U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak this fall. Wendell Craig Williams, 43, said a number of issues set him apart from Sestak. "Our positions on Iraq are very different," he said, adding that U.S. troops should stay until the job is done. Williams said that on illegal immigration, he is "far more stern and aggressive" than Sestak. Referring to key party issues of winning the Iraq war, illegal immigration, and the mortgage crisis, Williams told those gathered at the Paxon Hollow Country Club: "We in the [Delaware County] Republican Party have lost our voice in Congress." Andrew Reilly, former County Council chairman, said of Williams: "He has a pretty impressive resume." While in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Williams prosecuted cases including child abuse, drugs, street crime and fraud.
Government restrictions should only be considered where takeovers ...
He's been a public advocate for using policy to protect certain sectors of the Canadian economy from takeover. As well, nowadays D'Alessandro figures bank consolidation might be a good idea."I was against bank mergers when they were first proposed in 1998, because I didn't think they were in the country's interest," he said, during a CEO discussion panel at the conference. "I've changed my mind now because I think the industry has evolved." He cites the emergence of insurance industry as a viable banking alternative in Canada as one of the most influential changes. "Increasingly, the products that we offer resemble what the banks offer and vice versa," adding that perhaps Canada's small population can't sustain the ten or 11 companies now providing banking services, thus making mergers a viable option.
Orlando CNL unit scoops up 2 office buildings
With real-estate prices stable or falling and sellers shopping for buyers, CNL Commercial Real Estate in Orlando is on the hunt for multimillion-dollar deals. And it recently scored with two big ones.
The company, one of seven independent business units founded and controlled by Orlando real-estate mogul James Seneff, bought a $4.5 million office property in Central Florida Research Park and a $32 million, 12-story office building on Harbour Island in Tampa's central business district.
Both were acquired for "well below replacement cost," President Paul Ellis said Tuesday during an interview in the company's CNL Center II headquarters in downtown Orlando. More deals are in the works, he said, as the company looks to put its capital to work now that more bargains are cropping up.
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