| But cut delays in buying defence items
Despite a steady rise in the tax collections and an over-all improvement in the states fiscal condition, the government must not have extended the tax relief to the urban rich. A steep rise in the real estate prices has tremendously benefited the urban property owners in the recent past and the government could have even raised the house tax to generate additional income for the civic bodies, which are starved of funds. A recent survey by an NGO, Participatory Research in Asia, highlighted the dismal condition of the municipalities in Haryana. Low revenue collections, flawed account-keeping practices, poor governance and rampant political interference have hampered the functioning of the civic bodies. Any further dent into their already limited sources of income is bound to hit their development works.
Test scores keep former prospect searching for a school
Dwight Jones was a Parade All-American and regarded as the No. 1 college prospect in North Carolina as a senior at Burlington’s Cummings High School in 2006. Dozens of major college programs were offering him scholarships. But now the gifted 6-foot-4, 210-pound wide receiver is in the uncomfortable position of finding a school that can admit him after his latest attempt at meeting the required entrance exam score fell short. “My high school coach is trying to talk to some schools,’’ Jones said Tuesday morning. “He was talking to West Virginia, but he found out they don’t take Prop 48 players. Other than that, he’s just trying to find other schools.’’ Jones signed a national letter-of-intent with North Carolina last February, but he came up short on meeting academic entrance requirements to the Atlantic Coast Conference school.
UPI NewsTrack TopNews
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The bipartisan candor of U.S. presidential hopeful and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has been met with both admiration and skepticism.
Obama touted himself as the "post-partisan" politician in a political system often gridlocked in an antagonized U.S. political environment.
Obama said in a speech Saturday that "American people are hungry for something different" and said he could establish a "working coalition, a working majority for change" in Washington.
Critics and supporters alike view Obama's rhetoric with a note of pessimism.
"He believes he's a game-changer, but I don't believe the game has changed," said U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., in Monday's Washington Post.
Past experiments with a bipartisan compromise came at the expense of party principles, as the Clinton White House settled on a joint federal and state heath program in place of a universal healthcare system and Republicans failed to curtail an expanding government bureaucracy, the Post said.
Elgin stars dance to raise more than $11,000 for PADS shelter
Kathy and Pat Hannell of Huntley have danced together since they were 16 years old. The couple first took the stage together as dance partners in a production of Pygmalion during their junior year at St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin. Now 61, they lit up the stage Saturday, Jan. 19, swing dancing to the iconic World War II song, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, in Elgin Stars Dance for PADS, part of Public Action to Deliver Shelter of Elgin Inc.'s Winter Harvest for the Homeless fundraiser at The Stonegate Conference & Banquet Centre in Hoffman Estates. .
Obama To Hit the Air in Bay Area
Clinton is the only one who left her name on the ballot. Even if voters wrote in Obama or Edwards, the Michigan Democratic Party said they would not count them. So, the NDP said it would not recognize the Michigan delegates. It will be interesting to see what happens. Posted By: dmvl | January 12 2008 at 09:25 AM .
GM's move south a blow to Ontario
General Motors Corp. has scrapped plans to build some rear-wheel-drive cars at its giant operations in Oshawa, Ont., a move that could threaten the long-term future of the largest vehicle assembly plant in Canada and thousands of jobs. The auto maker has scuttled the rear-wheel-drive version of the Chevrolet Impala, which was scheduled to represent half the output of a leading-edge flexible assembly plant now under construction in Oshawa, industry sources said. Production of rear-wheel-drive Cadillac and Buick sedans originally slated for Oshawa will be shifted instead to Lansing, Mich., the sources added. GM will begin producing the reborn Chevrolet Camaro as a rear-wheel-drive muscle car in Oshawa later this year. .
The State of Journalism: We’re Killin’ All the Bees
Where does content come from, Mommy? Well, sweetheart, the Content Fairy comes at night and sprinkles content over all the good little Web sites. Yeah, right. I knew journalism was in trouble the first time I heard that word, "content." Up until then, I was a reporter, writing stories, getting the news out, telling truth to power, tilting at dragons, righting the occasional wrong, sometimes misquoting someone - you know, all the usual stuff. Then, all of a sudden, I was a "content provider." It was just like when "sales" (which had a human component - after all, you have to sell to someone) turned into the impersonal "marketing." I believe that journalism is a calling. It's like teaching, healing and entering a convent. Maybe us nascent journalists start out as gossips or tattletales in high school, but the best of us evolve into reporters who can spot interesting changes in the social fabric a mile away, do the research, digest a lot of complicated information, and write it clearly and concisely.
Stars shine at Nobelity Project dinner
Since Willie Nelson was beatified in the 1970s, music has always added glamour to the old Austin social power nodes of politics, education and business. The arts, especially with the spectacular development of the Blanton Museum of Art and Long Center for the Performing Arts, have also added a touch of class to social events for years. And movies have contributed mightily to the glam factor at Austin parties and nightlife, not just during the major film festivals and Austin Film Society's essential Texas Film Hall of Fame ceremony each March. Hence the Hollywood part-timers — interestingly, mostly guys, but also the likes of Sandra Bullock — who call Austin home part of the year, have blended with full-time local artists of international repute. More recently, Lance Armstrong, Andy Roddick, Vince Young and others have juiced up the Austin social scene with sports charisma, and the Texas Book Festival airs out the literary stars of the day, while chic boutiques and star chefs have mixed fashion and food into the steamy mélange.
|
