Next time you’re confronted with charts and graphs and reams of data at work, you might want to simply shove it all aside and look at the person sitting across the table and ask: “So, what’s your sign?”

While it may sound like a bad pickup line from a single’s bar, talking about astrological signs in the workplace may be gaining acceptance as more people look to develop communication beyond the hard data often continuously spit out by technology.

Steve Weiss, author of a new book on using astrology in business, says that he does believe astrology can be an important communication tool on the job.

“No way, no how, is astrology a substitute for everything else you need to know,” Weiss says. “But I think it can help create a language for us to understand one another better.”

That’s why he says he has written “Signs of Success: The Remarkable Power of Business Astrology,” (Amacom, $24).

Astrology – defined in the dictionary as “the study of positions and aspects of heavenly bodies with a view to predicting their influence on the course of human affairs” – is often only experienced by others through brief astrological predictions in the morning newspaper (Taurus: “Money will come your way this week”).

But Weiss says that by using the “terminology” of astrology for business trends, people can develop a greater ability to understand why people – such as bosses or co-workers – behave in certain ways.

He stresses, however, that astrology should not be regarded as something written in stone, and even goes so far as to say that some aspects of astrology – such a predicting specific events – is “a bit wacky for my tastes.”

“In the wrong hands, astrology is just another form of intolerance,” he says. “It’s not a science. It’s much more like an art – like art wrapped up in the science of math and astronomy.”

The book provides information about each of the 12 astrological signs, and gives examples of traits for those born under various signs. For example, “creative entrepreneurship is the true stamp of the Leo leader, frequently to the point of personality cult as well as to fortune and fame.” Weiss says those born under the sign of Leo include Martha Stewart, Magic Johnson and Mick Jagger.

Or, “a Capricorn is inclined to the more conservative position that a happy destiny is the result of a hard, well-managed, socially-sanctioned climb.” He says that 19th-century author Horatio Alger “was a Capricorn to his very soul,” while founding father Benjamin Franklin’s dedication to hard work and movie star Mel Gibson’s movies about family honor (“Braveheart,” “The Patriot”) show the Capricorn’s traits.

Weiss further points out that by understanding our astrological sign, we can better grasp how we react in today’s business climate, and have a clearer understanding of other individual’s strengths and weaknesses. (To join the blog discussion of astrology and business, check out www.anitabruzzese.com.)

For example, when dealing with an Aquarius: “Try not to take offense at their forgetfulness, which may even include the name of long-term associates. They are easily distracted by their own bullet-train of thoughts.”

Or, “Scorpio plays secrecy of intent as an advantage, so accept that you will rarely be granted a full confidence. But also know that loyalty and competence will be handsomely rewarded.”

Weiss says this ancient tradition of studying astrology has an important role to play in our modern society.

“We are clearly living in an era of metrics. In the last 20 years, it’s been the story of the personal computer and the Internet. We’re great data-sharers. And yet, that doesn’t always drive us to insight,” Weiss says. “Astrology reminds us that…we can’t write an equation for inspiration. Astrology creates those opportunities.”

Weiss says that by increasing our understanding of astrology, we can better develop interactive skills that improve communication and understanding. Still, he cautions that it’s only one tool that should be used by someone trying to survive in the business world.

“I see beauty and precision in astrology, but it’s a very complex craft,” he says. “It depends on the person interpreting it. It can’t make mean people not mean.”

Weiss also points out that as we all try to compete in a global economy, astrology may be another way to build a bridge between cultures.

“There are many places such as South America, India and China where astrology is not that foreign to them,” he says.

Anita Bruzzese is author of “45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy…and How to Avoid Them,” (www.45things.com). Write to her at: anita(AT)anitabruzzese.com or c/o: Business Editor, Gannett News Service, 7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, Va. 22107. For a reply, include a SASE.

By the time you’ve been out of work six months or more, your mind starts playing tricks on you.

The past starts looking pretty darn good and you forget how much you hated the first 15 years of your career and conclude with almighty certainty that you really did like purchasing. Or that being in information technology wasn’t so bad after all. Before you know it, you’ve convinced yourself that you should go back to your previous, lackluster career.

That might be. Or you could be falling for the when-all-else-fails-go-back-to-the-past strategy.

I keep meeting more and more people banking on former careers they left years ago as a new and improved place to hang their hat for the next decade or so. Many reason that, “I just need something secure for the next 10 or so years.”

If that is what’s making you nostalgic for the past, better rethink your plan.

First, you don’t want to end up miserable again. Second, it’s not necessarily an easy sell. Obviously you will have to answer sticky questions from potential employers about your change of heart. They will also compare you to newly minted graduates eager to jump in. How can you beat that? If a return to the past is truly what you want, you need a three-pronged approach to be a serious contender:

-Anticipate employers’ objections.

It’s only natural for an employer to probe. So expect to hear questions like, why after ten or more years, do you want to go back to what you did before? Why did you leave the field in the first place? And, if you’ve held management or leadership positions, why do you want to give it up?

You can bring up their concerns before they do: “You might be wondering why I want to get back into accounting…” Then give your well-thought-out response that explains your new career objective.

One of my clients who had been in information technology ten years before becoming a teacher explained how, even as a teacher his focus had been on helping students understand and use technology — a subject he loved. Now he wanted to apply his teaching skills to help adults understand technology by working in a customer support role. It’s a logical step, and he also had a story to tell.

- Explain how you’re up to speed and will keep up to date.

If you’ve been out of the field for years, you need to be up on the latest and greatest processes, issues the industry faces, as well as required skills. So be ready to explain how you’ve done that. What training have you taken? What do you read to stay abreast? Be prepared to talk about how you’ll stay ahead of the curve.

- Explain what has reignited your interest and why you’re excited about the work.

Employers can smell it if your heart’s not in it. How will you explain your renewed interest in a field you haven’t worked in for years? What is it about the work that you can’t wait to do again? What has happened in the last ten years that might add to your value in this new direction? How do you see yourself developing in this field?

If you can’t seem to come up with a story that you believe with all your heart, how can you convince someone else? In that case, perhaps heading back to your past is not the best plan for moving forward.

—

Andrea Kay is the author of “Life’s a Bitch and Then You Change Careers: 9 Steps to Get Out of Your Funk and On To Your Future.” Send questions to her at 2692 Madison Road, No. 133, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208; www.andreakay.com. E-mail: andrea@andreakay.com

PHOENIX — State officials say three environmentally contaminated mines in Arizona would get a $23 million cleanup as part of a settlement with the mining company that owns them.

The deal is subject to the approval of a Texas court overseeing the bankruptcy reorganization of Asarco LLC, the Tucson-based company that owns the mining sites.

State officials say $20 million would fund the cleanup and revegetation of the Sacaton Mine, a 3,000-acre open-pit copper mine near Casa Grande that was abandoned in the 1980s.

About $3 million would pay for cleaning and restoring the 600-acre Salero and 335-acre Trench mines outside Patagonia in southern Arizona. Both mines were abandoned about a century ago.

The deal is part of a $260 million, 11-state settlement with Asarco to resolve ongoing environmental disputes at 17 mines.

“Resolution of these environmental claims is part of our effort to meet our obligations to our creditors, reorient ourselves and emerge from bankruptcy,” said Doug McAlister, Asarco’s general counsel.

Environmental regulators worry that hazardous chemicals left in mine sites will leach into the soil and groundwater.

Crews will use fresh rock or soil to cover piles of waste from mine operations and allow vegetation to grow. Officials expect the move to direct the flow of rainwater around the waste.

Officials don’t think the groundwater has been contaminated at any of Arizona’s three sites, but the settlement includes money for groundwater cleanup if it is needed, said Patrick Cunningham, acting director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Cleanup could take up to 30 years if groundwater is found to be contaminated, Cunningham said.

Also as part of the settlement, Arizona would get about four miles of riparian habitat along the Lower San Pedro River south of Hayden and Winkelman in Gila County. The land, which has not been mined, is valued between $3 million and $4 million.

Officials say the property exchange would compensate for damage to Mineral Creek and the Gila River caused by releases from Ray Mine and the Hayden Facility, two active Asarco operations nearby.

The riparian habitat is home to many migratory birds, nesting raptors, waterfowl species and the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher. The settlement includes about $4 million for land management.

“The San Pedro River is one of the most important riparian areas in the state, and perhaps the most threatened,” said Mark Winkleman, commissioner of the State Land Department, which owns much of the land surrounding the river. “This settlement will help preserve it, and that is of the utmost importance to this state.”

The end of the print edition was ruled Tuesday afternoon

The Tucson Citizen as we knew it is officially no more.

The print edition, which could have been reinstated if a judge ruled in its favor, was denied Tuesday afternoon.

The idea that the Citizen could come back actually made me a bit giddy. The thought of being back rubbing elbows and ideas with those I miss at this cavernous office was an exciting premise.

It would have also been quite interesting to see, if the judge had ruled to continue the print edition, how one would have been pasted, scrambled and cobbled together for publication the next day.

I figured I get to luck out and sneak a photo of my dog on the cover.

One more question was whether or not my pals who had been laid off would have come back if requested or walked away in a rebellious huff.

Monday’s hearing, which almost put me to sleep, did bring up some interesting information:

• Gannett said issuing a print edition of the Citizen was losing the company $10,000 each day

• The Attorney General’s representative argued that newspapers were worth saving because they print Macy’s coupons

• The judge has a granddaughter he had to pick up from school at 5 p.m. and he seemed like he’d make a cool grandfather.

At least those are the highlights I most remember.

Some former staffers stuck with a measly two week’s severance pay are kind of bummed.

Those who had longer, like photographer Val Canez who worked here for more than a decade, had a different take.

“I’m kind of relieved it’s over,” he said on the phone as he was calling to confirm the judge’s decision.

The saga began back in January when we got the first announcement of pending closure. The suspense dragged on worse than weekends between soap operas.

“It was like one big, long pin prick,” Canez said, “and the pin kept getting deeper.”

What do you think?

Are you relieved the historic saga is finally over?

If the judge ruled it back into print, could the Citizen have regained its former glory?

Should Gannett have sold it for the $200,000 offer, well below the $800,000 it was asking?

PHOENIX — Republican legislative leaders have set the stage for Senate committee consideration Wednesday of a new budget proposal that includes privatizing several state prisons to help close a big revenue shortfall.

The Senate on Tuesday suspended rules in order to allow short-notice consideration of the proposal.

Leader said it’s a revised version of a plan endorsed recently by a House committee and is a joint proposal by House and Senate leaders hoping to intensify negotiations with Gov. Jan Brewer.

Senate President Bob Burns, R-Peoria, previously had said he wouldn’t have the Appropriations Committee consider a budget proposal unless he had enough votes in the full chamber to assure passage.

He indicated that’s not the case now.

“I changed my mind based on the fact that time is slipping away from us. I think we have to make some changes in our plans of actions,” Burns said.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Russell Pearce said the privatization proposal calls for transferring operations of several prisons to a private company in exchange for an upfront payment of $100 million to $200 million.

The Mesa Republican said the state would continue oversight of the prisons and save money on operations. State employees working at the prisons could transfer to other state prisons or find work with the new operators, Pearce said.

Pearce said other elements of the plan include cuts in funding for K-12 schools and having the state grab some vehicle license tax revenues now going to local governments. The local governments then would be authorized to use some of their impact-fee money to backfill for the lost money from the vehicle license tax, Pearce said.

Arizona’s tax collections have been hammered by the recession and the collapse of the housing industry, and the state faces a projected $3 billion shortfall in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Depending on what spending cuts are made, the budget could total approximately $10 billion.

Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, R-Chandler, said the impact-fee proposal is fraught with legal and practical problems. Cities and towns are now preparing their budgets and need to know what money they will have, said Tibshraeny, a former mayor of Chandler.

Longtime Tucsonan Sheldon Gutman walks around with a pile of Tucson Citizen newspapers under his arm.

He is not a hawker selling them on the corner of Ajo Way.

Nor is he a homeless man using them for padding.

He just loves the Citizen.

Gutman, in his 70s, loves it so much he even came to the Monday afternoon hearing that would decide if the Citizen were ordered to continue its print edition.

Gutman came to testify.

No matter it was not an open hearing and no testimony was being heard – just lengthy lawyer legalese – Gutman came anyway.

It was unclear if he normally walks around with copies of the Citizen under his arm or if this was a special occasion.

His favorite was the calendar section. “It has movie listings, concerts.”

He then proceeded to go over all the headlines on the other sections and issues he had laid out in a messy accordian style on a courtroom bench.

“It covers cultural areas, state legistlature, pets,” he said. “There is such a variety. It has the greatest University of Arizona basketball coverage with Steve Rivera.”

Although Gutman has been in Tucson for decades, he only discovered the Citizen last year and now can’t get enough of it.

He better hang on to those copies in case the restraining order doesn’t go through.

“For 19,000 subscribers all they read is the Citizen,” he said. “It has inserts, sales at department stores.”

The judge passes down his decision on Tuesday, and you can bet Gutman will be there.

I’ll let you know if he brings his pile of Citizens.

Read story on the hearing: www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/frontpage/116713.php

PHOENIX – Gov. Jan Brewer signed the latest midyear budget-balancing legislation into law Thursday but added a warning to lawmakers that they should bend her way next time.

“It would be fiscally irresponsible for the Legislature to ignore the depths of the (2010-2011) state deficit by promoting a budget plan for (2009-2010) that relies primarily on one-time measures,” Brewer said in a statement.

To close the latest $650 million shortfall in the current budget, GOP lawmakers resorted to accounting maneuvers that postpone $400 million of education spending into the next fiscal year. They also included $250 million of stimulus money, an amount larger than Brewer wanted but much less than lawmakers sought.

The plan also set the stage for the state to grab some school district savings to help balance the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Estimates on how much money that would produce aren’t firm.

Brewer told lawmakers that the next state budget shouldn’t rely primarily on similar maneuvers because that would spell trouble for the following fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2010. It also faces a projected big shortfall that spending cuts alone won’t close, Brewer said.

Most majority Republican legislators have balked at Brewer’s call for a temporary tax increase to produce $1 billion of new revenue to help balance the next several budgets in face of deteriorating revenue collection.

Brewer said she “will not approve” a budget that doesn’t take into account the following year’s “needs and requirements.”

“I am hopeful that, with a continued emphasis on negotiation and compromise, the Legislature can reach consensus with my policy goals to approve a (2009-2010) budget package promptly,” she said.

Lawmakers approved the $650 million plan about 3 1/2 months after they closed a previous $1.6 billion budget shortfall. That action included spending cuts, raids on special-purpose funds and use of stimulus money.

Is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” your thing?

The Arizona Theatre Company is accepting applications for its Teen Critic Program. Selected students will learn how to write a professional-caliber theater review. They are invited to free opening night performances, where they will receive a press packet and get preferred press seating. They can participate in workshops and have their work professionally reviewed.

Students will write reviews to be published either in a school newspaper or online. Students who apply must be available to attend:

• “The Kite Runner,” Sept. 17

• “George is Dead,” Oct. 23

• “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Dec. 4

• “[title of show]” (yes, this really is the title), Jan. 29

• “The Glass Menagerie,” March 5

• “The Second City Does Arizona, or Close But No Saguaro,” April 9

Applications received by May 30 will receive priority consideration. Applications are accepted through Aug. 24. To apply, go to www.aztheatreco.org/index.html? education_teencritic.html&1 or call 884-8210.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is asking Congress to extend its oversight of the financial system to include the shadowy market of derivatives, the kind of complex financial instruments that helped catapult the world into an economic crisis.

In a two-page letter sent Wednesday to congressional leaders, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he wants to create a central electronic-based system that would track the buying and selling of derivatives. He also wants to ensure that financial firms selling the instruments have enough capital on hand in case they default and subject them to stringent standards of conduct and new reporting requirements.

The legislative proposal is the administration’s first major step in overhauling the nation’s financial regulatory system.

“All (over-the-counter) derivatives dealers and all other firms whose activities in those markets create large exposures to counterparties should be subject to a robust regime of prudential supervision and regulation,” Geithner wrote in his letter.

“Key elements of that robust regulatory regime must include conservative capital requirements, business conduct standards, reporting requirements and conservative requirements relating to initial margins on counterparty credit exposures,” he adds.

New rules would deter financial firms from taking undue risk, prevent fraud and ensure they are marketed appropriately, according to the letter.

Current law largely excludes regulation of the instruments, which are referred to as “over-the-counter” derivatives because they are traded privately rather than through commodity exchanges now regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

It was unclear how the rules would affect hedge funds, which are large, mostly unregulated entities that use complex trading tactics to earn big returns for high-dollar investors. Many hedge funds use derivatives contracts to offset risk on other transactions.

The proposal is strikingly similar to legislation proposed by a small group of major Wall Street banks. Critics of that proposal say the regime would give the same banks that contributed to the financial meltdown exclusive control over a larger part of the derivatives market.

The plan was received warmly by House Democrats who share oversight of the issue.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Colin Peterson, D-Minn., chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said in a joint statement that they agree there should be “strong, comprehensive and consistent regulation” of the derivatives market and promised to work toward that end.

The value of over-the-counter derivatives hinges on an underlying figure or commodity — ranging from currency rate “swaps” to oil futures and inflation bets. The derivative reduces the risk of loss from the underlying asset. The global business world holds a staggering $600 trillion of these contracts.

One of the most infamous examples of the derivatives were credit-default swaps sold by American International Group Inc. AIG sold the swaps to investors as a kind of insurance to protect against defaults on mortgage-backed securities. But the company had to accept a hefty federal bailout after it became unable to support the contracts.

Under Treasury’s new plan, companies like AIG would have to prove they have enough reserve capital to support the sale of derivatives.

Geithner said in congressional testimony in March that his plan would force the system to be more transparent.

“Let me be clear: The days when a major insurance company could bet the house on credit default swaps with no one watching and no credible backing to protect the company or taxpayers from losses must end,” he said.

Under the plan, the CFTC would establish an “audit trail” for the derivatives and have “clear unimpeded authority to police fraud, market manipulation and other market abuses” involving the derivatives. The Securities and Exchange Commission would be given comparable authority, including tools to prevent insider trading.

The new system should enable the regulators to “detect and deter all such market abuses,” Geithner stated in his letter.

Investors are betting that exchanges like CME Group Inc., the parent company of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, would benefit under the new regulation.

Shares of CME soared more than 6 percent Wednesday even as most other stocks fell.

Associated Press business writers Daniel Wagner and Tim Paradis contributed to this report.

Forty-two months is the milestone date for the Plaza Centro project at the east end of downtown, as described in the city development agreement with developer Jim Campbell.

In those 3 1/2 years, the city pledges to design and build a roughly 375-space parking garage, while Campbell gets his 2.47-acre residential-and-commercial project ready to start construction as soon as the garage is finished.

Campbell, president of OasisTucson, a local development company, proposes to build 100 to 150 residential units targeted toward university students and 40,000 square feet of commercial space on two plots of land bisected by Congress Street. One lot is the former Greyhound lot just east of the Rialto Theatre and the other is across Congress just south of the Fourth Avenue underpass.

The City Council scrutinized the project in a Tuesday study session, with formal approval of the development agreement expected May 19.

Either the city or Campbell can terminate the contract if the 42-month tasks are not completed. However, the agreement spells out that Campbell “will not be deemed to be in breach . . . if developer is unable to secure financing . . . on commercially reasonable terms” as long as he resolves financing within two years of the garage’s completion.

Campbell would pay the appraised value for the land, which an appraiser will determine in the next 90 days. There is no preliminary inkling what the land is worth, said Lou Ginsberg, the city’s real estate program director.

The three-level garage would cost an estimated $3.5 million to $5 million and would potentially be funded with a revenue bond, City Attorney Mike Rankin and ParkWise coordinator Chris Leighton said.

Council members Regina Romero and Karin Uhlich were concerned about spending money on a public garage as the city is wrestling with a huge budget deficit.

“I think it’s proper to have a Plan B for that garage,” Romero said.

City Manager Mike Letcher, Leighton and the City Attorney’s Office will meet in the coming week to determine the financial feasibility of the garage.

“If it doesn’t pencil out, we don’t build a garage,” Assistant City Attorney Chris Avery said.

Leighton said in an interview that a 2004 parking study revealed that downtown has a shortage of about 1,000 spaces east of Stone Avenue and north of Broadway.

Campbell expects to invest $25 million to build three four-story housing structures – two on the Greyhound plot and one atop the garage – with a variety of commercial space on street level that could include a gym, retail, services and an Underpass Cafe. There would be walkways along all three sides, Campbell said.

The Plaza Centro project has been in the works for nearly four years, but has been on hold while the neighboring Fourth Avenue underpass was under construction.

In the meantime, Campbell was part of the brief life of the Downtown Tucson Development Co., which brought together financier Scott Stiteler, Williams & Dame Development and Campbell to master plan east downtown development from Sixth Street to Armory Park.

The partnership collapsed within two months earlier this year, Williams & Dame left town, and Stiteler and Campbell are independently negotiating development agreements. Stiteler’s involves Depot Plaza and its One North Fifth Apartments, the Rialto Block and the Ronstadt Transit Center.

“We could not come to terms on how we could work together,” Campbell said.

One proposal: Tax boss-paid health insurance

WASHINGTON – After weeks of discussing ways to provide health care to the uninsured, Congress is beginning the difficult task of finding a way to pay for it.

Lawmakers are considering a broad range of ideas – including a new federal tax on soda – but a key Senate committee focused Tuesday on a proposal to tax health insurance that millions of Americans receive through their employers.

“I don’t think you can avoid taking that on,” Gail Wilensky, senior fellow at the health education foundation Project HOPE, told the Senate Finance Committee, which is helping to craft an overhaul of the health care system.

Nearly 164 million people, or 62 percent of the nation’s non-elderly population, receive health insurance through work, according to a joint congressional committee on taxation. Money spent on insurance provided by employers is excluded from an employee’s taxable income. If the exemption was lifted entirely, it could have raised about $226 billion in 2008, the joint committee reports.

During the campaign last year, President Obama opposed taxing employer-based health care benefits, and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs reiterated that opposition Tuesday.

Even so, Senate Democrats are taking a closer look at the idea of at least limiting the tax break. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said the exemption helps the well-off more than the poor, who are less likely to receive health care through work.

Baucus said the idea of repealing the break entirely is “just not going to happen,” but said Congress could cap the amount of benefit made available tax-free. He also said lawmakers may set an income limit so the exemption would not apply to high-paid employees.

Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, also supports the idea of repealing the exemption.

Gerald Shea of the AFL-CIO said limiting the tax break is “a step in the wrong direction” because it could punish employees who negotiated for better health care coverage rather than higher wages. Also, some employees pay more for health care insurance because of factors outside of their control, including the size of their company, he said.

An artist's rendering of the Sheraton Tucson Convention Center Hotel

The TCC hotel is on.

The City Council, with an “absolutely” from Councilwoman Nina Trasoff and “yeah” from Mayor Bob Walkup unanimously approved a development agreement Tuesday for a 525-room, 25-story Sheraton Tucson Convention Center Hotel.

“We’re coming here to build an astounding hotel edifice,” Trasoff said.

Garfield Traub Development is the hotel developer. Schematic design work will start this month, with construction of a new east-side main entrance for the TCC set to start in September. The hotel will be built where TCC’s grand lobby is now. Construction is to start at the TCC’s west lobby in March 2010.

The $239 million hotel, TCC expansion and parking garage project has become a priority for the city as it tries to save Rio Nuevo from the Legislature’s budget ax.

Focusing on the TCC complex came at the expense of the Tucson Origins museum complex on the West Side.

“I want to make sure we do not forget many of the things voters approved in 1999,” said Councilwoman Regina Romero. “We also have a cultural complex that the people of Tucson voted for.”

Councilwoman Karin Uhlich urged fiscal caution during economic hard times.

The estimated $167 million hotel will be funded with a tax-exempt revenue bond, and certificates of participation will likely pay for the $39 million TCC expansion and $33 million garage, Rio Nuevo director Greg Shelko said.

New York City fell just short of a clean sweep of the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards.

Of the nine national awards in the Restaurant and Chefs category, the Big Apple made off with eight:

• Outstanding Restaurateur Award: Drew Nieporent, Myriad Restaurant Group, New York

• Outstanding Chef Award: Dan Barber, Blue Hill, New York

• Outstanding Restaurant Award: Jean Georges, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, chef/owner, New York

• Rising Star Chef of the Year Award: Nate Appleman, A16, San Francisco

• Best New Restaurant: Momofuku Ko, David Chang, chef/owner, New York

• Outstanding Pastry Chef Award: Gina DePalma, Babbo, New York

• Outstanding Wine Service Award: Le Bernardin, Aldo Sohm, wine director, New York

• Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional Award: Dale DeGroff, Dale DeGroff Co. Inc., New York

• Outstanding Service Award: Daniel, Daniel Boulud and Joel Smilow, owners, New York

Best Chefs in America:

• Pacific: Douglas Keane, Cyrus, Healdsburg, Calif.

• Mid-Atlantic: Jose Garces, Amada, Philadelphia

• Midwest: Tim McKee, La Belle Vie, Minneapolis

• Great Lakes: Michael Symon, Lola, Cleveland

• Northeast: Rob Evans, Hugo’s, Portland, Maine

• Northwest: Maria Hines, Tilth, Seattle

• Southeast: Mike Lata, Fig, Charleston, S.C.

• Southwest: Paul Bartolotta, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas

• South: John Currence, City Grocery, Oxford, Miss.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration will use bailout money repaid by large banks to provide additional capital infusions to smaller banks, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday.

Banks with less than $500 million in assets will have six months to apply for the funds, Geithner said in remarks to the annual meeting of the Independent Community Bankers of America. They also will be able to apply for larger amounts than banks were allowed to request during the current round of investments.

The administration first indicated that the repaid funds would be used for further injections earlier this month when regulators announced the results of the “stress tests” conducted on the nation’s 19 largest banks. Those tests found that 10 of the banks, including Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., needed to raise additional capital to survive a worsening recession.

Geithner also said the administration will propose an overhaul of the financial regulatory system in the “next couple” of weeks. The reforms will simplify and streamline the existing oversight structure, which he said is “too complex.”

Due largely to the government’s efforts, “the financial system is starting to heal” and “a substantial part of the adjustment process is now behind us,” he said.

Still, the administration wants to move on an overhaul of the nation’s financial rule book “while memory of the crisis is still acute,” Geithner said.

BRUSSELS – The European Union fined Intel Corp. a record euro1.06 billion ($1.45 billion) on Wednesday, saying the world’s biggest chip maker used illegal sales tactics to shut out smaller rival AMD.

The fine exceeded a euro899 million monopoly abuse penalty for Microsoft Corp. last year. Intel called the decision “wrong” and said it would appeal.

Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, has about 80 percent of the world’s personal computer microprocessor market — and faces just one real rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

The European Commission says Intel broke EU competition law by exploiting its dominant position with a deliberate strategy to keep AMD out of the market that limited customer choice.

It said Intel gave rebates to computer manufacturers Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and NEC for buying all or almost all their x86 computer processing units, or CPUs, from Intel and paid them to stop or delay the launch of computers based on chips from AMD, which is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini said the company would appeal to the EU courts because “the decision is wrong” and “there has been absolutely zero harm to consumers.” The company promised to comply with the EU order but criticized it as extremely ambiguous.

AMD’s Europe president Giuliano Meroni said the EU order “will shift the power from an abusive monopolist to computer makers, retailers and above all PC consumers.”

Regulators said the company also paid Germany’s biggest electronics retailer, Media Saturn Holding — which owns the MediaMarkt superstores — from 2002 to 2007 to only stock Intel-based computers.

This meant workers at AMD’s biggest European plant in Dresden, Germany, could not buy AMD-based personal computers at their city’s main PC store.

“Intel has harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years,” said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. “Such a serious and sustained violation of the EU’s antitrust rules cannot be tolerated.”

Kroes joked that Intel would now have to change its latest global ad campaign — “sponsors of tomorrow” — to proclaiming “the sponsor of the European taxpayer.”

“I can give my vision of tomorrow for Intel here and now: Abide by the law,” she added.

EU regulators said they calculated Intel’s fine on the value of its European chip sales over the five years and three months that it broke the law. Europeans buy some 30 percent of the euro22 billion ($30 billion) in computer chips sold every year.

They could have gone even higher as EU antitrust rules allow them to levy a fine of up to 10 percent of a company’s annual global turnover for each year of bad behavior. Intel’s worldwide turnover was euro27.9 billion ($38.8 billion) in 2007.

European consumers group BEUC welcomed the fine and said Intel should be held to account to consumers through civil suits in European courts. So far these are rare but the EU is urging victims of antitrust action to seek damages.

“Intel should be liable to compensate the victims of its illegal practices,” said Monique Goyens, head of the group. “Consumers have been paying too much for their computers and they should be compensated.”

The manufacturer rebates started in 2002, the EU said, with most ending in 2005 — apart from a 2007 deal for one unidentified company to only source notebook computer chips from Intel.

Regulators said rebates that give discounts for large orders are illegal when a monopoly company makes them conditional on buying less of a rival’s products or not buying them at all.

Manufacturers depend on Intel to supply most of the chips they need and faced higher costs if they lost most or all of a rebate by choosing AMD chips for even a small order.

Hewlett-Packard buys a fifth of Intel chips with Dell taking 18 percent, according to market research from Hoovers.

The discounts were so steep that only a rival that sold chips for less than they cost to make would have any chance of grabbing customers, the EU executive said.

It said AMD offered 1 million free chips to one manufacturer — which could not accept because that would lose it a rebate on many millions of other chips. It only took 160,000 free chips in the end, regulators said.

Intel’s payments to manufacturers ordered the company to delay the European launch of AMD’s first business desktop by six months. They were also paid to only sell the AMD line to small and medium companies and to only offer them directly to customers instead of to retailers.

Other manufacturers were paid to postpone the launch of AMD-based notebooks by several months, from September 2003 to January 2004 and from September 2006 to the end of 2006 — missing the key Christmas market.

The European Commission said Intel tried to conceal the conditions attached to these payments and details only emerged from e-mails that regulators seized in surprise raids on the companies.

Regulators refused to rule out returning to other parts of their probe where they had investigated Intel’s behavior in the server market and allegations of below-cost pricing designed to hurt AMD. Intel strongly denies these charges.

The EU charges also cover a time when AMD managed to take market share from Intel by launching higher performance microprocessors for servers in 2003, previously an Intel stronghold.

Intel fought back successfully by rolling out Core chips. More recently, it has grabbed more market share with Atom chips for netbooks.

EU regulators are not the only ones chasing Intel — South Korea fined the company $21 million last year.

And the U.S. may be stepping up action. The Federal Trade Commission upgraded a probe into Intel last year — and as the Obama administration is set to take a more aggressive approach against monopoly abuse by reversing a strict interpretation of antitrust law that saw regulators shun such cases.