Gannett News Service

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department is scrambling to scoop up the toxic assets that have frozen credit markets and the economy and sent stocks into a dizzying plunge.

But the job is daunting, the clock is ticking and the work has only just begun.

“There are probably 12 steps to recovery from any addiction,” said Simon Johnson, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I think the U.S. is probably on step two or step three.”

Just Friday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced the government soon would start buying stock in ailing banks to try to bolster them and their ability to lend.

Already, the Treasury Department has named one of its own senior officials, Neel Kashkari, to engineer the federal government’s $700 billion rescue plan, which Congress recently approved and President Bush promptly signed.

Kashkari, 35, worked as a NASA satellite engineer and Wall Street banker before moving to the Treasury Department two years ago. His keen mathematical mind should serve him well in dealing with the highly complex financial instruments the Treasury Department will weigh in the coming weeks and months.

But he’ll need outside help.

The Treasury Department is scouring the financial community for experts – some from Wall Street – who will have to make the tough decisions on which banks to shore up, which damaged assets to buy and how much to pay for them.

And they will have to do all this on the fly.

Treasury officials have said they expect to begin hiring the necessary staff as early as this week.

On Tuesday, they announced they will start buying what’s known as “commercial paper,” the short-term debt large companies float, usually to expand or buy equipment.

Without these credit lines, large companies could stagnate, shrink or close, laying off thousands of workers.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve cut its target for short-term interest rates to 1.5 percent – the lowest level in four years.

But experts predict that, despite the calls for strict congressional oversight, the initial rescue plan will have to be executed so quickly that serious supervision will be almost impossible.

“Mainly what’s going to happen is Treasury is going to do it, and they’ll report back to the public now and then,” said William Gale, director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution. “I just don’t see a strong role for oversight in all this, despite what people say.”

But he added, “The risk of under-reacting here is much bigger than the risk of overreacting.”

Gannett News Service

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON – The lines at America’s public libraries are long and expected to get longer, not for books or videos, but for the Internet.

Only 17 percent of libraries say they have enough computers to handle patrons’ demands at all times, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Library Association. This despite branches adding more computers, expanding online services and installing wireless capability for patrons who bring in their laptops.

Among other findings from the Libraries Connect Communities report:

• The average library branch offers patrons 12 Internet-accessible computers, nearly half of which are more than 4 years old. Florida and Arizona offer the most, with more than 20 each.

• Almost 73 percent of libraries report they are the only source of free Internet access in their communities.

• Two-thirds of libraries offer wireless Internet service for patrons who bring in their own laptops.

• Nine of 10 libraries set time limits – often an hour or 90 minutes – on computer usage because demand is so great.

Job searches, research for school projects and connecting with friends on social networking sites are among the most common reasons customers use library computers, patrons and librarians say.

Some had predicted the Internet would render libraries obsolete by allowing people to retrieve information without leaving their home. Instead, library usage surged in recent years as people recognized free Internet access as an attractive bargain.

Gannett News Service reported in July that libraries across the country recorded 1.3 billion visits in 2005-06, a 10 percent increase over 2001-02. Experts say computers are fueling the increase and that library traffic tends to rise when the economy sours and people rely more on public services.

“Libraries are really technology hubs as opposed to what people might have thought of them,” said Larra Clark, who edited the American Library Association’s report.

Libraries in South Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio and California reported the biggest crunch for computer access, according to the report. Nationally, 56 percent of libraries surveyed said they had no plans to add computers within the next year, either because they don’t have the space or the money.

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON – American workers are worried about job security and want the government to help them gain new skills and prevent jobs from being shipped overseas, a national survey found.

The survey, released last week by Rutgers University, shows workers are as anxious now as they were during the 2001 recession, and their worries persist despite economic gains after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Co-author Carl Van Horn said workers are gloomier these days due to tighter credit, falling house prices, rising costs for health care, food and gasoline, and layoffs in some industries.

“That’s just the new normal, and people don’t like the new normal,” Van Horn said. “There’s just a lot of bad news out there, and the workplace is just one of the weak spots.”

Timed to coincide with Monday’s observance of Labor Day, the survey polled 1,000 working and unemployed people nationally. That includes 587 employed male and female workers of varying ages and ethnicities drawn from blue- and white-collar professions. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

It found that, of those surveyed:

• 32 percent were “very” concerned about job security and 43 percent were “somewhat” concerned.

• 80 percent want the government to prevent jobs from moving overseas.

• 73 percent want the government to pay for job retraining programs.

• 43 percent don’t think they will have enough money to retire.

• 53 percent said they are “very” satisfied with their jobs and 38 percent were “somewhat” satisfied.

Harry Holzer, a fellow at the Urban Institute and former labor economist under President Clinton, said forces outside the government’s control fuel work-related anxiety.

Productivity has risen by about 20 percent since President Bush assumed office, but pay hasn’t risen as much. Corporate America, not government, is shifting jobs overseas, said Holzer, who wasn’t involved in the Rutgers study.

People felt a lot more optimistic during the prosperous 1990s, but the job market was more volatile back then, Holzer said. The difference was that people were confident of landing new work quickly if they got laid off, an optimism that no longer exists, he said.

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON – More than 3,400 murders and 172,000 assaults nationwide could be prevented if high school graduation rates were boosted by 10 percent, a report released Wednesday says.

Law enforcement officials from across the country joined the national group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids to unveil the report.

It shows that high school dropouts are 3 1/2 times more likely than graduates to be arrested and eight times more likely to be imprisoned.

The report estimates that Arizona would have 93 fewer murders and 3,856 fewer aggravated assaults if state high school’s graduation rates rose by 10 percent.

“With numbers like this, we’re not just looking at dropouts, we’re looking at a major public safety crisis,” said Boston District Attorney Daniel Conley.

Nearly 70 percent of inmates in the nation’s prisons did not graduate from high school, the group said in a news release.

“I can tell you where to find dropouts. You can find them in any state. Go to where there are drug deals or prostitution going on. There are some as young as 13,” said San Diego police Chief William Lansdowne.

“Far too often, today’s dropouts are tomorrow’s criminals,” he said.

The group is calling on Congress and state lawmakers to expand and pay for pre-kindergarten programs such as Head Start.

“Research shows that children who receive quality early childhood education have a much better chance of finishing high school,” Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher said.

Nationally, more than $15 billion in lost wages and taxes, and health care and prison costs would be saved if graduation rates rose by the 10 percent, the report said.

Citizen Staff Writer

Gannett News Service

BEIJING – Kimberly Glass admittedly didn’t have one of her best matches the day after she turned 24.

It didn’t matter. Her teammates made sure Tuesday night that she’s going to play twice more in these Olympics.

“This is a great birthday present,” said Glass, the former University of Arizona standout, after the United States rallied to beat Italy 3-2. The U.S. advances to to the medal round of the women’s volleyball tournament at Capital Gymnasium.

The U.S. is back in the medal round of the Olympics for the first time since 2000. The Americans are alive for their first medal since winning a bronze in Barcelona in 1992 because they snapped a six-match losing streak against a team that had dominated them for the last three years.

After the first three games Tuesday night, when Italy grabbed a 2-1 lead, it appeared that streak was going to reach seven.

“We had to rally together and minimize our errors,” said Glass, an outside hitter who is playing in her first Olympics. “I was really off my game but the team rallied behind me and really fought hard for me. It was a beautiful thing.”

The U.S. fell into a 2-1 hole after losing the third game 25-19. After that, the Americans had their way with the Italians, winning the fourth game 25-18, and the fifth, 15-6. Last Friday, the U.S. rallied from a similar deficit to beat China.

Lindsey Berg, a 28-year-old setter, played a big role in helping the Americans get back into the match against Italy. The U.S. fell behind 17-8 in the third game when Berg sparked a comeback that got the U.S. back into the game. Although the Americans eventually lost 25-19, they were back on track and carried that momentum into the final two games.

“She was amazing,” U.S. hitter Tayyiba Haneef-Park said of Berg, a native of Honolulu. “We had no fire at the end of the third set. She came in and changed the mindset of the team.”

The win moved the U.S. in the semifinals for a rematch on Thursday with Cuba, which rolled to a 3-0 win when the teams met in pool play. The Americans have lost their past two meetings with Cuba after winning the previous five.

Brazil will play China, which won gold four years ago, in the other semifinal. The gold and bronze medal matches will be played on Saturday.

“It’s awesome,” Heather Bown, the 29-year-old middle hitter and former University of Hawaii player, said of advancing to the medal round. “We still have a job to do. We have Cuba coming up and we lost to them in pool play. We have to come back and redeem ourselves.”

The teams last met in the Olympics in 2004 when the U.S. won a preliminary game.

“It will be tough. We have met them several times,” middle blocker Danielle Scott-Arruda said. “They are dynamic. We need to be patient.”

Gannett News Service and ALEX DALENBERG

news@tucsoncitizen.com

The Internet was supposed to send America’s public libraries the way of eight-track tapes and pay phones. It turns out, libraries and librarians are busier than ever.

Libraries have transformed themselves from staid, sleepy institutions into hip community centers.

They offer Internet service, classes for kids and seniors, and even coffee and video gaming nights.

Some libraries offer classes on citizenship for recent immigrants and provide sessions on improving computer skills.

Most offer wireless Internet service, and many consult teen advisory councils for guidance on how to attract young people.

At most libraries, traffic is up – in some cases, way up – fueled in part by the lure of free computer use, according to experts and a Gannett News Service analysis of state and federal data.

At the same time, budget pressures on cities and counties that provide most of the funding for the institutions forced dozens of libraries to cut back their hours or close of late.

Books remain a staple, but libraries also offer DVDs, CDs and electronic audio books playable on portable MP3 devices.

Many allow readers to reserve and renew items online.

“As a group, libraries have embraced the digital age,” said Lee Rainie, founding director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which surveys the public’s attitudes toward libraries.

“They’ve added collections, added software and hardware, upgraded the skills of their staff,” Rainie said. “A lot of institutions have had to change in the Internet age, but libraries still have a very robust and large constituency.”

This holds true for the Tucson area, said Nancy Ledeboer, director of the Pima County Public Library system.

“I thought 10 years ago, ‘Oh, 10 years from now the demand will die and everyone will have computers at home and we won’t have to worry about this,’ ” Ledeboer said. “If anything, the demand has been increasing.”

A December 2007 Pew survey found that more than half of Americans – 53 percent – visited a library in the past year. That’s expected to grow as more people look for free resources and entertainment in a slowing economy.

People between 18 and 30 years old were most likely to visit a library and also were the most likely to say they’d return, the Pew survey found.

The Gannett News Service analysis compared data from 2002 and 2006 on the nation’s nearly 9,200 local library systems, using information provided by the National Center for Education Statistics and by each state and the District of Columbia.

The news service also looked at state-level data compiled by the national center for 2005, because in some cases that data were more reliable or complete than information from 2006.

The analysis found that libraries are thriving in the Internet age:

• Attendance increased roughly 10 percent between 2002 and 2006 to about 1.3 billion. Regionally, states in the South lag the rest of the country in visits per person.

• Visits to the Pima County system increased 2.4 percent between 2002 and 2006 while computer use increased more than 15 percent over the period.

• Circulation, which measures how often library visitors check out print or electronic materials, increased about 9 percent nationwide, from 1.66 billion to 1.81 billion, during the five-year period.

• Nationally, library spending on day-to-day costs such as staffing and materials was $31.65 per person in 2005. The District of Columbia and local governments in Ohio and New York topped the list, spending at least $50 per capita. Local governments in Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas and Tennessee spent the least – less than $17.

• The number of Internet-capable computers soared 38 percent between 2002 and 2006, from about 137,000 to nearly 190,000. Libraries in rural states in New England and the Midwest led the country in public computers per person in 2006.

“You should be able to walk into any library and find Internet service. It’s free, unfettered access to information.” said Jill Nishi, deputy director of the foundation’s U.S. Libraries initiative.

About 600 computers are available for public use in the Pima County system, said Steff Koeneman, the library system’s community relations manager.

“They are one of our most popular features because a lot of people don’t have computers,” she said.

The county’s libraries see about 70,000 computer sessions a month, Ledeboer said.

“From the moment we open, people come in and book on to them,” she said.

The teen room on the second floor of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave., is not only stocked with books, but also has teen magazines, CDs and DVDs, study areas and board games.

Alex Romo, 15, an incoming freshman at Pueblo Magnet High School, said that he uses the library for “computers, books, everything.” He visits at least two to three times a week, he said.

“I can’t go to my girlfriend’s house every day, you know. I really enjoy being here,” he said.

Romo said he uses the library’s computers to check his e-mail because he does not have an Internet hookup at home.

He plays online games with his friend and classmate.

David Lizarraga, 14, who was in the teen room with Romo, said he goes to the library at least four times a week, mostly to play online games.

“I don’t get books a lot,” he said.

“I do,” Romo said, butting in. “You see me at my house with like 30 books from the library.”

In one of the adult computer areas on the third floor of the main library, Nadine Edmonds, 26, searched for a job.

The library’s computers are so popular that she often has to wait for a terminal, Edmonds said.

“If you get here before lunch, it’s not that bad. Maybe 25 or 30 minutes at the earliest. But today it was 60 minutes,” she said.

Edmonds said that the trick is figuring out which floors have the shortest waits.

“You have to navigate the system,” she said. “For me, I’m just job searching, so it’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Despite the waits, Edmonds said, using the library is better than paying for Internet service at home; she does not.

“It’s a lot easier and it’s cheaper to go to the library,” she said.

Free Internet access is particularly important for low-income people, said Ken Flamm, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has studied the role of the Internet in public libraries.

About a third of households with incomes below $25,000 have Internet access, according to federal data.

“In a world in which Internet access is increasingly important for all sorts of things, from getting a driver’s license to preparing a homework project or looking for a job, this is becoming a vital lifeline for the least advantaged segment of the population,” Flamm said.

Ledeboer said that since the Internet has become such an interwoven part of our lives, Tucson’s libraries help to “even the playing field” for those who can’t afford service at home.

“We feel in times of economic stress, libraries are more important than ever,” she said.

Despite their success in meeting new demands for information, libraries aren’t immune from budget cuts.

Portland, Maine, has proposed closing a branch that is seeing 8 percent growth in circulation, according to the American Library Association. Libraries in Modesto, Calif., reduced the hours and days they are open after their budgets were cut 14 percent.

The Pima County system has not cut hours, maintaining 16 libraries that are open seven days a week.

“We’ve been very fortunate,” Ledeboer said.

Libraries fight to protect their patrons’ privacy

LEDYARD KING

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON – Congress is considering a bill that would bar children who use computers in public libraries from accessing Facebook and other social networking Web sites without parental permission.

Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, the Illinois Republican who sponsored the measure, says the proposal would keep sexual predators from contacting minors who are using a library computer.

But the American Library Association says Kirk’s bill is yet another attempt by the federal government to interfere with library users’ privacy and free speech.

“If people in a community do not feel confident that their privacy will be protected, they cannot use the library as it was intended, for intellectual pursuit,” said Emily Sheketoff, who heads the association’s Washington office. “It will intimidate them.”

It’s the latest in a series of battles the association has been fighting with Congress over the past decade. Some highlights:

• In 2000, lawmakers required libraries receiving federally discounted Internet service to install devices to filter out obscene material. Libraries sued, but the Supreme Court upheld the law.

• A year later, following the 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act, giving federal authorities more power to track the books and videos library patrons borrow and the Web sites they visit.

Despite objections from the American Library Association, the act was renewed in 2006 without significant changes, other than a requirement that authorities take extra steps in justifying their need for the records.

Supporters of the law note that two of the 2001 hijackers bought their plane tickets using a public computer at a New Jersey college library and that other members of the plot surfed the Internet using a computer at a public library in Delray Beach, Fla.

Earlier this year, a federal magistrate judge in Atlanta ruled the FBI did not violate the privacy of a Pakistani national in 2006 by logging onto the same computer the Pakistani has used and looking up which Web sites he had visited. Agents said the man was part of a terrorism plot.

• In 2007, the American Library Association helped persuade Congress to reopen several Environmental Protection Agency libraries the Bush administration had closed. The closures “created a serious obstacle to the public’s ability to gather information about key environmental issues,” according to the association.

• Kirk’s bill, the Deleting Online Predators Act, died in 2006 but gained new life this year.

Kirk says that as more children flock to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, “we’ve seen a corresponding increase of online sexual predators” targeting those children.

But library officials say the legislation, while tackling a legitimate problem, takes the wrong approach in trying to keep kids safe from online predators.

Rather than outlawing certain sites, the American Library Association supports preparing kids and parents to deal with online threats at the library, home or anywhere else.

• Check out the library database at www.tucsoncitizen.com/KNOW

• You’ll also find access to free, searchable databases that explore crime, development, sports, schools, entertainment and more.

Pima County library usage

2002 2006 % change

Population served 816,400 907,448 11.2%

Visits 3,088,290 3,163,200 2.4%

Items checked out 5,761,423 4,734,109 -17.8%

Computers 268 310 15.7%

Operating budget $19,128,148 $20,415,450 6.7%

Gannett News Service

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON – Citing “virtual total unanimity among the leaders of the state of Arizona” in support of a proposed land exchange near Superior sought by the Resolution Copper Co., Sen. Jon Kyl on Wednesday urged quick action on the bill he is sponsoring to close the deal.

Testifying before the Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee, the Arizona Republican said the federal land the company would receive includes a copper find “that is almost unsurpassed, perhaps in the history of the United States.”

He said a mine there would bring enormous economic benefits to an area that has struggled since the nearby Magma Mine closed in 1996.

Shan Lewis, president of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, opposed the bill, citing concerns about damage to lands that are culturally significant to the San Carlos Apache Tribe, including the massive escarpment overlooking Superior known as Apache Leap.

Lewis, vice chairman of the Fort Mohave Tribe, said the Resolution Copper Co. is owned by two foreign companies, Rio Tinton and BHP-Billiton.

Lewis urged officials to “resist being pressured into giving these foreign entities such incredible rights to land and resources.”

Resolution Copper Co. President David Salisbury said the mine would meet 20 percent of the nation’s copper demand for about 50 years. He also projected that operations would generate 1,400 jobs.

Kyl said the demand for copper would “increase exponentially” as the U.S. auto market moves toward hybrid cars, which use far more copper wiring than conventional cars.

Kyl’s bill would direct the secretary of agriculture to transfer to the company 3,025 acres.

The 5,500 acres the federal government would receive in return include environmentally sensitive land along the lower San Pedro River near Mammoth, a parcel adjacent to the Las Cienegas National Conservation area near Sonoita, and land within the Dripping Springs area near Kearny.

If the bill passes the Senate, action would switch to the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.

Roger Featherstone, a Tucson resident who represents the environmental group Earthworks, told the Senate panel the Kyl bill was “the height of special-interest legislation.”

The Resolution Copper land proposal gained notoriety in February when U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi was indicted on charges of attempting to pressure the company into buying land from an ex-business partner who owed him money.

Gannett News Service

You might not see these fashionable frocks on models walking down the runway, mostly because the kids who wear them are still learning to walk. But baby clothes today are just as stylish as anything coming out of New York, Paris and Milan. That’s because today’s best-dressed babies are wearing pint-sized versions of the trendiest clothes for adults. Take a peek here.

TRENDS FOR TYKES

• Baby doll tops, capri pants and dresses.

• Madras-inspired plaids.

• Bold yellows, greens and oranges and such color combos as brown and pink or brown and blue.

• Classic white for summer.

Gannett News Service

Far-reaching legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions stalled in the Senate recently, but supporters expect to revive it in 2009 with White House backing from either Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama. Both candidates favor curbing emissions.

During the brief debate on the Climate Security Act – co-sponsored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia. supporters and opponents traded contradictory claims. Here’s a brief look at some of those claims and the arguments on each side:

Climate change is the most important challenge facing the globe

More than 100 years of burning fossil fuels and deforestation have dramatically increased atmospheric greenhouse gases, causing the planet to warm, according to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Left unchecked, the buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases likely will speed the melting of snow and ice at the poles, increase extreme weather events, cause sea levels to rise, displace coastal populations and cause widespread economic harm, according to the panel’s 2007 report.

Other researchers question those conclusions. Research by the George C. Marshall Foundation, a conservative policy organization opposed to the Senate bill, calculated that annual carbon dioxide emissions have increased fairly slowly and won’t lead to the dangerous levels predicted by U.N. scientists.

Climate legislation would hurt the gross domestic product

By restricting carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal, oil and natural gas, the Senate legislation works like a massive energy tax and would impose costs out of proportion to any benefit, according to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy organization opposed to the bill.

More costly energy could cause the gross domestic product to decline between $1.7 trillion and $4.8 trillion by 2030, the foundation says.

Supporters of the bill acknowledge energy would cost more if the bill became law, but they reject the claim that the gross domestic product would decline. Instead, it would continue growing but at a slower pace, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Climate legislation would cost jobs

The Climate Security Act would eliminate up to 1.2 million jobs by 2020 as businesses scale back or close because of higher energy costs and additional emissions regulations, according to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., an outspoken global warming skeptic.

The Natural Resources Defense Council counters that such doomsday scenarios ignore the many job-creating incentives and investments in the Climate Security Act.

Climate legislation would increase the cost of gasoline and electricity

Provisions in the Climate Security Act could cause gasoline prices to increase 53 cents per gallon by 2030, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s analysis of the Senate legislation.

Even without the legislation, the average price of regular gas hit $4.02 a gallon on Sunday, an 89-cent-per-gallon increase in just one year.

The National Association of Manufacturers, which opposes the legislation, says it could result in households paying $739 to $2,927 more each year for energy by 2020.

The climate bill’s authors say electricity would cost more, but by 2030 residential and commercial electricity bills would be lower, as energy efficiency increases and consumption decreases.

The legislation would be instrumental in curtailing global warming

The Climate Security Act aims to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 19 percent by 2020 and 71 percent by 2050.

If the U.S. achieves its goals and the rest of the world makes the minimum expected cuts, greenhouse gas concentrations wouldn’t rise enough to result in severe consequences, according to Lieberman

But the Heritage Foundation says that at most, the predicted cut in U.S. greenhouse gas output would reduce global temperatures by less than 1 degree.

Gannett News Service

Far-reaching legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions stalled in the Senate recently, but supporters expect to revive it in 2009 with White House backing from either Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama. Both candidates favor curbing emissions.

During the brief debate on the Climate Security Act – co-sponsored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia. supporters and opponents traded contradictory claims. Here’s a brief look at some of those claims and the arguments on each side:

Climate change is the most important challenge facing the globe

More than 100 years of burning fossil fuels and deforestation have dramatically increased atmospheric greenhouse gases, causing the planet to warm, according to the U.N. Intergovernment-al Panel on Climate Change.

Left unchecked, the buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases likely will speed the melting of snow and ice at the poles, increase extreme weather events, cause sea levels to rise, displace coastal populations and cause widespread economic harm, the panel’s 2007 report says.

Research by the George C. Marshall Foundation, a conservative policy organization opposed to the Senate bill, calculated that annual carbon dioxide emissions have increased fairly slowly and won’t lead to the dangerous levels predicted by U.N. scientists.

Climate legislation would hurt the Gross Domestic Product

Supporters of the bill acknowledge energy would cost more if the bill became law, but they reject the claim that the gross domestic product would decline. Instead, it would continue growing but at a slower pace, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Carbon dioxide emissions

Country % Co2 emissions*

China 21%

U.S. 20%

Europe 13%

Russia 6%

Middle East 5%

Africa 4%

India 4%

Japan 4%

Australia 2%

Mexico 2%

All other 14%

* Projected 2010 emissions

Source: Energy Information Administration.

Gannett News Service

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON – Metropolitan areas with low-cost electricity emit more carbon dioxide per capita than densely populated cities with extensive mass transit systems where electricity is more expensive, according to a report from the Brookings Institution, a liberal think tank.

Read the full story on Page 3B.

Per capita carbon emissions from transportation and residential energy use, 2005

Rank Area Carbon footprint (metric tons)

1 Honolulu, Hawaii 1.356

2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. 1.413

3 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore-.Wa. 1.446

4 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-Penn. 1.495

5 Boise City-Nampa, Idaho 1.507

17 Tucson 2.000

21 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale 2.072

96 Louisville, Ky.-Ind. 3.233

97 Toledo, Ohio 3.240

98 Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Ky.-Ind. 3.281

99 Indianapolis, Ind. 3.364

100 Lexington-Fayette, Ky. 3.455

Average footprint for the 100 largest metro areas 2.235

Gannett News Service
RealFAST LOCAL NEWS

About 26 million acres of national monuments, historic trails and wilderness areas in the West could get additional protection under a bill the House approved Wednesday.

The 278-140 vote would officially designate the system of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management as the National Landscape Conservation System. In Arizona, the land includes a portion of the Grand Canyon, the Ironwood Forest National Monument and the Vermillion Cliffs.

President Clinton designated the areas for conservation in 2000. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., sponsored the bill. The Senate would have to approve it before it could become law.

Gannett News Service

Gannett News Service

A growing number of U.S. employers are screening new hires through a federal government database to weed out illegal workers.

Employers have screened about 2.5 million new hires in the first six months of fiscal 2008 through E-Verify, the Department of Homeland Security’s database that determines which employees can legally work in the U.S. This compares to 3.3 million in fiscal 2007 and 1.7 million in fiscal 2006, according to the department.

Arizona mandated that all businesses use E-Verify starting Jan. 1, and fewer problems have been reported than originally feared, said Ann Seiden, spokeswoman for the state Chamber of Commerce that opposed the measure in the legislature last year.

Companies haven’t left the state in reaction to E-Verify, she said, and employers haven’t reported major problems with the database.

“Anecdotally, we haven’t heard as much backlash as we originally thought,” Seiden said. “Although it’s mandatory, there are a lot of businesses not using it yet.”

Only 20,000 of the state’s 150,000 businesses have signed up to use E-Verify so far, she said. Reasons could include the economic slowdown causing fewer companies to hire or many businesses remaining unaware of the new law, she said.

State employers still are seeking workers and have supported legislation to create a statewide guest worker program, which ultimately would require congressional approval. If passed, Arizona would be moving toward more comprehensive immigration reform, something Congress tried to do last year and failed.

Gannett News Service
Shopping

Rain gauge lights up

When every drop counts, the EZ Read Illuminated Rain Gauge can provide up-to-the-moment rain readings at any time of the day or night. Designed with three LED bulbs that light up the inside and outside of the water column, the gauge can be illuminated for nighttime readings. Using any infrared remote control, you can turn on the gauge’s lights up to 30 feet away. After five seconds, the lights will shut off. The rust-free gauge can be mounted in the ground or placed on a fence. It costs $25 and comes with a pair of AAA batteries.

ledraingauge.com

Gannett News Service

New Sony Walkman lets you cancel noise

Stuck in a noisy room? With a noise-canceling Sony Walkman video MP3 player, you’ll be able to hear the music without pumping up the volume. And if you’d rather snooze, the player can minimize noise even when you’re not listening to music. Besides playing music and displaying video on a 1.8-inch color screen, the noise-canceling player also can broadcast FM radio through the included ear-buds. The NWZ-S716F model with 4 gigabytes of memory costs $150, while the NWZ-S718F with 8GB of memory costs $200. Another new line of players features wireless Bluetooth technology, a 2.4-inch screen and controls that let you delete content directly from the player: The NWZ-A828K with 8GB of memory costs $270 while the NWZ-A829 with16GB is $320.

sonystyle.com

Wallet holds iPod Nano, other essentials

You can carry your Apple iPod Nano, along with other essentials, inside the Knox, a thin case made of aircraft-grade aluminum. When opened, the case reveals a clip for money and cards on one side and a secure holder for a second-generation Nano on the other. Thanks to a play-through design, you can listen to your iPod while it’s stashed safely inside the case. Available in silver, red, pink or black, it costs $40.

mophie.com

Dock your laptop into the SpaceStation

Need a place to park your laptop? Try docking it in the SpaceStation, a docking port sporting a sleek ergonomic design and a cooling system. Equipped with an internal four-port USB hub, a cable management system, a desk organizer and a page holder, the station makes it easy to plug in gadgets while keeping your work area organized. Available in white or black, the docking port costs $80.

bluelounge.com

Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON – Despite methamphetamine’s addictive and sometimes deadly effects, 1 in 3 youths sees little or no risk in trying the illegal drug, a new survey finds.

Nearly 1 in 4 youths believes meth “makes you feel euphoric or happy” or helps you lose weight, and the same number said it would be “very” or “somewhat easy” to obtain meth, according to a first-ever national use and attitudes survey about the drug released Tuesday.

And yet, in a finding that might be of comfort to parents, 3 out of 4 youths said they are strongly opposed to using meth.

The survey of 2,602 students ages 12-17 was done by The Meth Project, a nonprofit Palo Alto, Calif.-based project that aims to reduce first time meth users through advertising campaigns. About 1 in 6 youths has either a friend or a family member who has used or been treated for meth addiction, the survey found.

“For kids, meth is death,” said Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said meth is often a factor in preventable, deadly accidents such as automobile collisions involving kids.

The project, which has run an intensive anti-meth campaign in Montana since 2005, found that meth use among youths in that state has dropped 50 percent.

“Advertising works,” Gerberding told a news conference on Capitol Hill. Gerberding said the same kinds of advertising that sells toothpaste “helps motivate kids not to use this drug.”

The project is running similar campaigns in Arizona, Illinois and Idaho.

Other findings in the survey:

• One in 10 youths says someone had offered or tried to get them to use meth.

• Three out of 4 youths are strongly opposed to using meth.

• Fifty-five percent of youths say they have never discussed meth with their parents.

GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media conducted the survey March 16 through June 6 of 2,602 students at 43 randomly selected high schools across the U.S.

The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Study: One third of youths would try the addictive drug

By Gannett News Service

Entertainment

SCREEN SIRENS – The Silver Screen Siren site takes you back to a time when starlets weren’t Barbie clones. From Lauren Bacall to Lana Turner.

http://users.deltanet.com/users/dstickne

A TOUCH OF FEAR – Horror fans have a tingling new site to visit. DarkEcho offers dark thoughts, features and reviews. Includes an interview with the ”Connoisseur of Fear,” Peter Straub.

http://www.omnimag.com/darkecho

THOUGHTS ON LOVE – Need a virtual Cyrano? Just click on this interactive heart to see what the famous, and infamous, have said about love throughout the ages.

http://www.randomhouse.com/wordsoflove

FOOD FLAVORING – Spice up your food. Here you’ll find marinades, sauces, gravies and dry rubs.

http://www.teleport.com/(tilde)cstarz

Public affairs

DEMOCKRACY – Don’t get angry at Washington. Laugh at it, with a little help from DeMOCKracy, ”the cartoon strip that turns White House spin doctors into whirling dervishes!”

http://www.clark.netpub/theme/demockracy/home.html

SOLDIER’S JOURNAL – Capt. David Emmett’s Soldier’s Journal chronicles the North Carolina National Guard’s 270-day peacekeeping mission to Croatia.

http://www.ieti.com/journal/default.html

Art

DEBATING DA VINCI – Was Leonardo’s Mona Lisa a self-portrait? You be the judge, at this collaboration between high school students in Sweden and the Bronx.

http://library.advanced.org/13681

AFRICAN EXHIBIT – The purely Internet-based Nok Museum of African Art’s exhibition of African masks is a refreshing change from the digitized abstractions that proliferate on the Web.

http://www.harlemm.com/nokbeta