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Lawmakers fault day-care regulators
Regulatory failures that preceded a young boy's recent day-care death prompted key state legislators Monday to demand changes at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The failures, detailed in Sunday's Dallas Morning News, angered Sen. Jane Nelson, who leads the Texas Senate's Health and Human Services Committee and pushed through a package of child welfare reforms in the last legislative session. The Lewisville Republican said she was particularly upset that the protective services agency did not take responsibility, in interviews with The News, for missing problems at the Dream House day-care center in Dallas. .
Paying its (tax) dues
CROWN POINT | The BP Whiting Refinery and Lake County announced the settlement Tuesday of a years-old tax dispute, with BP cutting an $8.8 million check for previously withheld property-tax payments.The settlement will benefit various Lake County taxing districts, including Whiting, East Chicago and Hammond, county Assessor Paul Karras said. BP initially withheld about $12 million in property tax payments to the county from 2000 to 2002, disputing the company's obligation, a county news release states. Most of BP's dispute claims were related to its investments to comply with environmental mandates and regulations.Karras said the settlement helps to ensure all taxpayers in Lake County -- corporate and otherwise -- are held to the same standard."Today's settlement is a reasonable resolution for all of the taxpayers of Lake County," Karras said in the statement.The assessor's office confirmed Tuesday the BP settlement was the second major corporate tax settlement since 2004, when U.S.
Concerns about missing guns at O'Hare
August 14, 2006 - Many people are trying to adjust to the changes of what you can take in your carry-on bags when you fly. There are now questions about how secure the checked luggage is, and we're learning that several guns were stolen from checked bags months ago. .
Credit card fraud causes cancellation of over 1,000 Barbra Streisand show tickets
Over a 1,000 tickets of the upcoming Barbra Streisand US tours have been axed off the list of valid tickets due to purchase through credit card frauds, the actress-singer's manager Martin Erlichman and the tour's official ticket seller Ticketmaster said. Bought through stolen credit card numbers from the official Web site of the tour, these tickets were put online for resale. So, many of the owners of the invalidated tickets might be unsuspecting fans. However, the organizers are firm that the invalidated tickets would not be entertained irrespective of who the buyer is. Fans who have purchased or who are considering purchasing Barbra Streisand tickets on those sites are not guaranteed admittance to the venue. The 'buyers beware' adage applies here more than ever, Erlichman said. .
Airport security checks to be rolled out across the EU
European ministers in charge of security pledged Wednesday to increase their cooperation to fight terrorism, saying they may begin by blocking certain Internet sites, using fingerprinting or iris-scanning technology, and training Muslim preachers to discourage militancy. .
Hearing set on issues facing poor
Two State Assembly committees said Wednesday they will hold a public hearing - the first of two - in Buffalo next month to look into the "challenges and pitfalls" facing low-income consumers cut off from traditional financial services. The hearing by the Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee and the Banks Committee will be held at noon Sept. 20 in the Frank E. Merriweather Jr. Library, 1324 Jefferson Ave. A second hearing will be held in October in Manhattan. Advocates for the poor applauded the announcement. "I think it's wonderful news that the Assembly is going to focus their attention on these kinds of issues that have been facing low-income people for a long time," said Kathleen Lynch, senior litigation attorney at the Western New York Law Center. "It is our hope that some of the abuses that we have seen will be addressed and ended." The forums follow a Buffalo News series, "The High Cost of Being Poor," in June that detailed how low-income consumers pay more for goods and services and the failure of laws and regulations - some of which haven't been changed in 20 years - to address the problems.
No mandatory evacuations as Ernesto heads for SC
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Tropical Storm Ernesto fizzled to a tropical depression on its trek across Florida on Wednesday but was expected to pass out to sea and regain tropical storm strength before making a second landfall along the South Carolina coast. Governor Mark Sanford said the state would not require any mandatory or voluntary evacuations but urged coastal residents, including those on barrier islands in mobile homes and in low-lying areas, to pay attention to the storm which was expected to come ashore late Thursday. "The storm isn't here yet. There's still a lot of uncertainty," he said. "Let's hope it doesn't intensify." The 240 National Guardsman who had been mobilized on Tuesday were released from duty Wednesday, Guard spokesman Lt.
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