Solar Powered Airplane

So I found this video at the CNN website and decided to take a look at it.

Currently the solar airplane isn't much of a passenger plane. In fact, while having similar wingspan to an AirBus, it pales in comparison to passenger capacity. The Swiss made plane could have huge benefits for the economy though.

This breakthrough could easily revolutionize the way we travel. This could bring back focus to solar energy, the most abundant energy on the planet, and perhaps make some more technological breakthroughs to allow solar panels to be used with passenger planes as well.

With this coming out into the light we could see more solar panels make their way onto aircrafts to cut down fuel costs and energy consumption. We could perhaps see solar panels make it onto more technology as well.

Low-tech radios connect some Haitians

This is an article from CNN describing the usage of low-tech radios in Haiti after the earthquake. This technology is widely available, but is much less popular than the high-tech communication devices that we have today.

The article describes one man's story after the quake and how he was able to notify his family in the U.S. almost directly after the disaster. The use of the low-tech radio was his only way of communicating with the outside world and was most likely extremely comforting.

Should people buy low-tech radios for their own homes? In the event of a disaster it is quite possible that the internet, phones, TV, and even being able to go from house to house could be quite impossible to use or do.

Decreasing Mortgage Rates

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate average fell back below 5% this week, reports this article from the LA Times. Rates had risen as a result of the struggling economy, but are now falling again, which is good news for borrowers. In addition to the 30-year fixed rates, 15-year fixed rates and adjustable mortgage rates also decreased.

While this is good news, the survey assumed that borrowers have good credit and paid a 20% down payment. It did not say what rates were for borrowers with average credit, or for those who payed a smaller down payment.

The article also states that rates may be lower because of the Federal Reserve's program to buy mortgage bonds, which ends at the end of this year's first quarter. It is possible that rates may increase again with the end of the program.

Congress approves tax deduction for Haiti contributions

This article is about the governments contributions to Haiti. Thursday the senate passed legislation to offer a tax reduction on their tax returns for donating to Haiti relief. Even in the tough economic times people are still generous to helping out people in more need of funding. Hoping the legislation will encourage further donations and generosity, President Obama is quickly to sign it into a law.

The Red Cross has collected $127 million and it has only been a week since the disaster struck Haiti. Many hurt in the disaster and countless people were left homeless after the earthquake. It is great to see the government helping out in this time of need.

Sticky Pedals for Toyota Means Big Recalls

I read an article on the New York Times website about how Toyota has made it's second major recall over accelerator pedals. In several new models there have been reports of accelerator pedals getting stuck and/or unintentional acceleration. The recall covers 2.3 million cars, both cars and trucks. This recall was separate from a previous recall of 4.2 million vehicles which was Toyota's largest recall ever.

The first recall was for floor mats that could get stuck under the gas pedal causing it to stick, but then a car sped off of the road and into a pond killing 4 people. When investigated it was found that the floor mats were actually in the trunk of the car, triggering the second recall.

I think that this article goes to show how important jobs can be, and how precise designs have to be with all angles considered, or else lives can be put at stake.

It seems that cell phones have obtained a more important roll than simply a means of communicating with others, according to an article that i found in the Wall Street Journal. The fashion brand Versace plans on marketing its new chic cell phone. Though the idea of fashionable cell phones is several years old, it seems that the trend is picking up. Cell phones are now competing with watches to demonstrate the wealth of their owners, cell phones costing several thousands of dollars are for sale around the world. These phones are treated as jewlery, often gold plated and/or covered in precious stones.

The new Versace cell phone is set at $5000 dollars and will be sold in high end beauty and boutique stores. Because designer cell phones have been selling most strongly through Asia and Russia, that is undoubtedly where they plan on targeting.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703626604575011142248650182.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Starbucks sees its profits triple

According to this article that I found in BBC, the US coffee chain giant made a net profit of $241.5 million in the three months to the end of December, compared with $64.3 million a year earlier. They won back customers by extensive cosy-cutting work over the past year.

They cut thousands of jobs and shut down hundreds of stores over the past two years to lower the costs. They also introduced new and lower price coffee.

I think this is interesting because I am a coffee person and I like to read about new about coffee. Also, I am impressed because Starbuck tripled their profit in only a year. I remember there were a time that I saw 2 or 3 starbucks in a city and it is unnecessary. I think they made a good decision and it turns out good.

Billionaires of Basketball

In this article from Forbes.com basketballs financial status is discussed. There are 10 billionaire basketball team owners; of these ten teams they lost a collective $110 million as the recession and job losses greatly affected ticket sales.

NBA players made a combined $2.3 billion during the 2008-09 season, up $100 million from the year before. The team that suffered the most was the Memphis Grizzlies; there value has dropped 13% since last season.

Not every billionaire-owned NBA team lost value; The Los Angeles Lakers got a 4% increase. The Lakers are now the leagues most valuable team, worth %607 million. The Lakers success is due to high ticket prices that get sold due to recent NBA championships and star players such as Kobe Bryant.

Google's Big 4Q

In this article from Forbes.com Google’s fourth quarter revenue is said to have made a 17 percent increase. While sales are boosting investors were still unhappy as shares are down 5 percent.

A 6.7 billion dollar fourth quarter came from smart online advertising sales. It will be interesting to see if they maintain these rising sales or if it is just a short boosts following a recession as some companies are now seeing. They have been working on finding a new way to make new sales as many articles they have released in the past few months have stated. I don’t know if the new sales are due to finding new ways of making money or if it’s just other companies starting to increase and buy more ad space on Google.

Gold Buying Companies not a Good Deal

In an article from Times Online reports that the companies that offer to buy gold through the mail are generally not a good deal. The annoying TV commercials that seem like a good deal to get cash quickly may not be a good thing at all. Several companies are being investigated by a British agency, The Office of Fair Trading, because they are accused of not giving the gold back if the customer is not satisfied with the cash offer.

I found it interesting because to most, companies like cash4gold seem too good to be true, and they probably are. A magazine sent three of these companies identical pieces of jewlery bought for $1180 each. In one case, a company only offered $62 for the gold. It might be worthwhile to look into how many people actually sell their gold to these companies. Are these types of companies actually prospering in this economy?

Japanese Airline Company Caught in a Buyout Battle

In this article by MSNBC, Japan Airlines (JAL) is not the true "prize" that Both Delta and American Airlines is fighting over. Whoever buys out JAL will get an increased money flow, and more influence over Asian air. Passenger increases would be expected to go up by 3.8 percent for whoever gains control over JAL.

Japan Airlines has filed for bankruptcy and has a tarnished image because of of safety flaws found on some planes earlier this year, but this is not deterring either of the American companies. Customers have been switching to other Asian airline companies. But a coalition with an American company, JAL is expected to get back on track.

Lincoln City is Green

In Lincoln City there is a new electric car charging station.

This is the most recent green renovation the city has made. Even though there are only 2 stations now, it is a huge move for the city that has already made huge strides in going green.

The city has already renovated their library to make it eco-friendly and they also have taken over brush cutting on the local highway because of the herbicides that ODOT uses. They also have made their city parks and playgrounds herbicide and pesticide free.

They have also won many awards for them going green. The mayor of the city couldn't be more proud of their city, but she says that her city is just doing their part to fight global warming because of how much it effects the coast.

This is awesome to see from a city, the times are changing to where its not just businesses that need to go green, but whole cities.

China Economy Seeing Fast Growth

In this article from BBC News China is said to be now on course to overtake Japan and be the world's second biggest economy. This is a big turnaround from the economic crisis they were hit by in during late 2008 and early 2009.

Economists are saying the financial crisis they were in might not have been such a bad thing. They say at that time the world was too dependent on the US consumer and now they are shifting towards domestic demand with consumption and investment. At there current rate of growth they can be expected to be the world’s biggest economy by 2030.

This growth may not continue because it only came after a massive government stimulus package. There is a lot of concern over the quality of the growth and what will happen when the stimulus is withdrawn. I think there fast growth will soon slow as the stimulus policies diminish.

Oregon Unemployment Rate Still 11 Percent

Hope for Oregon's economy is looking very bleak. According to this article found on Oregon Live, Oregon just added approximately 2,900 jobs in December and yet it barely puts a dent in the astonishing number of 70,000 lost jobs in 2009. The unemployment rate is still hovering around eleven percent. The few jobs that are out there have many people chasing after them. This tight economy has not only demolished jobs, but many people have experienced significant pay cuts which are causing people to pursue second jobs. Economists say that we have only added 11,800 jobs, an increase of only 0.7 percent, in the last decade. Even worse, a large part of the increase we have seen has come from the medical demands of the aging baby boomers. So once these people die, will we see more jobs being lost because of the decreased demands? The good news is economists believe that we have hit rock bottom. However, the bad news is they expect us to be stuck down here for quite some time, possibly the next decade, with only small changes.

So what is the solution? Can we really be expected to pull jobs out of thin air? Perhaps our standard of living is too high. Maybe we really do need to go green and use those available resources. Whatever the case, this is no easy fix and it sounds like the unemployment rates wont be changing anytime soon.

Facebook in Prineville

This article from Oregonlive talks about the new facility the social networking power Facebook is planning on developing in Prineville Oregon.

Facebook needs more storage space for its millions of users. With so many users, there are over 55 million status updates per day, and every single one needs a place to stay, and this new facility will be one place where they are stored.

The facility will basically be a warehouse of servers with 35 full time employees which helps the struggling Prineville economy that has an unemployment rate of over 17% according tot he article.

The reason the company chose this location was because of the climate and tax breaks they can receive. Also Prineville had a steady and reliable power supply which is very important for running a warehouse of servers.

This will bring a lot of money into the town that really needs help. The project is estimated to be completed by next year, and construction has already begun.

Expanding Wind Power for the Eastern U.S.

In this article in the New York Times says that within the next 15 years, wind power in the Eastern United States could replace coal and natural gas use 20 to 30 percent. There are many obstacles that get in the way of this project. It requires a reorganization of the power grid, locations to put in the windmills, and quite a hefty price of over $93 billion.

Another problem posed is that wind is intermittent, and in some locations, putting in windmills would create power, but when there is no wind, there is a need for backup power. With the current power grid, excess energy created by wind is wasted. The grid needs improvement so in these areas, the normally wasted wind can be stored for non windy days. As time goes by though, this waste of power would become less problematic as grid continue to get better and able to receive excess amounts of power.

The article also mentions that the creation of so many windmills would help decrease global warming by reducing emissions by about 4.5 percent. This sounds good if you believe in the whole "global warming" craze. In the end run, you have to look at the cost/benefit ratio for windmills. As it is right now, windmills produce a modest amount of energy, but considering the cost of one windmill, a single windmill has to be in service for many years before it makes up for it's initial costs. In the current economy, I think the eastern United States and the Energy Department should be looking for another alternative source of energy that is cheaper and in the long run maybe more cost beneficial in the long run.

Kraft Buyout of UK Chocolate Angers Krafts Largest Shareholder

This article on the BBC talks about Kraft Foods buyout of a UK chocolate-maker company and how it angered Kraft's largest shareholder, Warren Buffet. Buffet owns 9.4% stake in Kraft. He says that this takeover is a bad deal and makes him feel "poorer". Kraft's chief executive, Irene Rosenfeld, believes that the takeover of Cadbury, the chocolate-makers, is a good deal. She told the BBC that "It transforms our portfolio for better long-term growth."

This article is the basic example that corporations and companies have the final say in agreements and takeovers, not the shareholders, no matter how much stock a shareholder holds. It is understood that a corporation will generally do something to benefit and please the stockholders. In this case, Kraft didn't listen to it's largest stockholder because he is just one person with different views, and Kraft thinks it's take over of Cadbury in the long run will be a very beneficial takeover. Only time will tell us if Warren Buffet was right after all or if Kraft made the right decision.

Sweden Teaches Banks Responsibility

This article I read in the New York times, once again discusses how much U.S. relies on the wisdom and strength of other countries. The Swedish government decided that it was no longer smart to have the government keep bailing out the banks, instead, the banks should have to bail themselves out. They set up a system where every month a certain amount of the banks liabilities, right now it is .018%, will be paid to the government and stored.

As time goes on, this amount will continue to rise, to about .036%, so that the amount of money will eventually be large enough to cover the cost of the next major financial disaster within the banks. Sweden says that within fifteen years the total will be equal to the amount most major financial break downs cost. The United States saw the potential of this idea, and how well it has so far been working for Sweden and decided to give it a try for our system. Barack Obama has decided that the U.S. banks are going to begin paying a certain percent of their liabilities every month to the government as well for at least ten years. We will see how well this works, and then judge from there whether or not to continue the process. Sweden was able to avoid going under at the level that most countries did during this recession, so the U.S. had faith in their new plan. 

As in  many articles that have been printed lately, I think that the writers do a wonderful job of stressing the importance of global success rather than individualized success. Everyone enjoys living in a country with lots of power and wealth, but we must also hope for the wealth of the whole world because otherwise we cannot avoid recessions like the one in the 1930's or 2009. We have to work on learning from the financial mistakes we have made, and fixing them before history repeats itself. 

A Country on Crutches

In this article from the LA times, economists explain how much of a reliance every country has on one another. As we all know when the U.S. fell into recession, it did not only effect us, but many other countries around the world. As a global power, the United States controlled and was involved in a great majority of the worlds trade. Without the finances to buy as much from other countries, their economies fell too. However, in turn, other countries can help us with their successes due to the close ties we all have.

China has been seeing some of its most successful years recently, and in fact have even begun trying to slow down the surplus they have found themselves in, in order to preserve it. China has begun to tell its banks to stop giving out so much money, and stop spending so much on imports. The United States was upset to hear this news because they have been fundamental in helping us slip out of our recession. They have been importing machinery and other forms of technology in from the U.S., and because of this our economy has slowly been on the road to recovery. 

China trying to take itself out of the economic fast lane they have been in could possibly be dangerous for us. Our country has been relying a lot on government support, but our job market is still not doing well, and same with our home buying market. We need to stabilize those before we can be sure that China's slow down will not hurt us. Economists say that as long as China's slow down is done in pieces we should be fine as a country, but we must stop relying on money from the government. Our government can not keep giving out money that the country doesn't have, that only makes things worse. However, they don't predict any disastrous financial falls in our country any time soon.

I thought they did a good job in this articled of discussing how the world is all very connected with each other, even if we don't see it every day. Although this was not about a specific business, this article discusses the future of all businesses around the world. Everyone needs to flourish in order for any country to be financially stable, and any business to have success. The United States is hoping to become stable enough thanks to the help of China, that our stock market, and all our businesses can once again stand on their own. 

Comcast and DirecTV Agree on FCC Ruling

I found an article at Oregon Live talking about an argument that Comcast and DirecTV are having about the Trail Blazers TV rights. At the moment Comcast is the provider of Blazer games but DirecTV wants in on the games.

The FCC has just recently made a ruling about a similar situation but it involves Philadelphia. Both representatives for DirecTV and Comcast say that the ruling in Philadelphia has nothing to do with the situation in Portland. This means that an agreement might not be made for a long time, bad news for Blazer Fans.

Comcast has already made a previous offer to DirecTV that would allow DirecTV to show the games. However DirecTV thought the offer was unacceptable and didn't agree to the terms.

Too Much Help? There is such a thing

I read an article on the MSNBC website talking about the disaster relief going on after the devastating magnitude-7 earthquake that recently hit Haiti. It talked about how after many disasters uninvited help rushes to the scene, but can actually do more damage than it does good.

When disasters hit, trained relief teams are sent to the areas in need of help, and if more help is needed, it will be requested. The article talks about how people, with purely good intention, try to be the hero and go to help, but more often than not come unprepared and actually get in the way of useful help, costing money, valuable resources, and even lives.

This shows that people, although they have good intentions, need to be more considerate when deciding how they can help. Instead of rushing to help, planning on the movie-romanticized weekend of being a hero, I think that those wanting to help should contact disaster response organizations to see how they could help, maybe with a donation or volunteering time here at the response team bases instead of showing up uninvited.

Cyber attack in China

This article found at CNN Tech is about Hillary Clinton's views on Cyber attacks an the vulnerability that we all face. "In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation's networks can be an attack on all," she stated. This essentially means that Cyber attacks in China can lead to Cyber attacks anywhere. Google threatened to shut down its operations in China. Chinese hackers have targeted both Google and other companies.

Someone who is to use Google search in China would find that their results are much more censored then someone who would use it in the US. A large number of people use the internet now for banking, and this can be risky if we can't really on internet security to keep us all safe.

Then later in the article, Clinton goes on to talk about how the internet is a very useful tool and can create opportunities where none would exist otherwise. For example, farmers in Kenya have seen their incomes increase by 30% since they started using mobile banking technology.

I found this article to be interesting because many of us use the internet every day for many different purposes. Many of our classes rely on the use of the internet, and it's security is very important.

Starbucks Sees Large Gains in a Poor Economy

An article from BBC News talks about how even in the current poor economy Starbucks has seen major gains. Over the last quarter of 2009 (Oct.-Dec) the company saw their profits triple to $241.5 million compared to the $64.3 million brought in the same time of year in 2008.

The article also mentioned some of the things that the company had done to work towards these gains. Cost-cutting things that Starbucks did include cutting thousands of jobs and closing hundreds of stores that were not bringing in enough revenue and that were competing for business with other Starbucks stores. They also brought in cheaper coffees to eliminate the threat of cheaper competitors and to help win back lost customer who strayed to other coffee shops because of the high prices.

This goes to show that even in a poor economy, wise business choices like down-scaling (if necessary) and making sure to put the customer first can show major gains. I think that this could be an inspiration to struggling businesses across America. Unless, of course, you are also in the coffee business.

Loss of purchasing power

This article from the Gazette time discusses about the loss of purchasing power in United States. The current financial and economical situation is affecting many people, and the inflation remains very low. However, it is not affecting positively people’s life as the wages increase is even lower.

Energy and health insurance are basically the core elements increasing the general level of prices. Couples with children who sometimes only have one or none salary, are struggling to pay for the schools tuition, the loans as well as the bare necessities.

In order to revive the economy, the FED wants to keep the interest rate at a very low level which will encourage investments, but on the other hand it also favors inflation which decreases workers real purchasing power. If we want to lower the inflation, the interest rate has to be higher, but it might slow down investment and as a consequence the whole economy. The difficulty is to find the right balance and adjust to the trends and previsions. But as long as people will lose spending power, the economy will have a hard time going back to normal.

New York Times Website willing to charge its readers

This article from Time Magazine is about the New York Times plan to charge its users for its online website by 2011. The daily newspaper founded in 1851 opened its website 14 years ago. It is the most popular American online newspaper website receiving more than 18 million unique visitors a month.

This new plan will target frequent users of the website. So those you are used to check the newspaper website every morning, might soon have to pay. However, the access will remain free for the old school subscribers.

Many details about this project have not been revealed yet, but will other online newspapers follow the trend and charge readers? Will people have to pay for high quality journalism? Will TV be the only way to be informed about what is going on in the world? Hopefully this new plan will not slow worldwide readers from keeping updated from the world’s most famous newspaper.

Larger Royalties for Amazon's Digital Publications

This article from the LA Times talks about how Amazon is offering author royalties as high as 70% for books that are published digitally through them. It says that typical royalties through publishers are as low as 7-15%, so the new rate that Amazon will offer is significantly higher.

While this seems like an especially good deal for authors, there are also a number of restrictions that apply to these digitally published books. There are a few requirements with regards to what prices the books can be set at, and authors would also need to give Amazon a number of rights to the book.

Amazon's announcement comes shortly before Apple is expected to announce a new device that can be used to read e-books, among other things.

Auto Industry Forsees Job Increase

This article from the LA Times discusses how auto makers are planning to hire as many as 5000 workers in the next year, replacing some of the 40000 jobs lost during the economic recession last year. Auto makers are estimating that sales will rise approximately 10% over 2009.

Many auto makers are making an additional effort to increase production of trucks, as they are hoping that an improved outlook in the housing and construction markets will increase demand for work vehicles. Sales of pickups had increased their market share by a whole percent during the final month of 2009.

While the title of the article suggests that the total number of auto industry jobs will increase, the end of the article also says that as many as 15 more plants will be closing in the next 3 years, costing thousands of jobs. Additionally, the payrolls of Detroit's 3 largest automakers are likely to continue their decline through the next year.

Oregon Unemployment Increases to 11%

I found this article at the registerguard.com, it depicts the jobless rate increase in the state of Oregon, despite many jobs gained in the last month. According to the Employment Department Oregon's jobless rate rose up to 11%, even though there was a net gain of 2,900 non-farm related jobs. Many employers are now only hiring temporary employees to remain cost effective.

Now the total number of Oregonians without jobs was 209,576 in December of 2009. Major industries that suffered job losses include: construction down 1,100 jobs, mining and logging down 700 jobs, and leisure and hospitality down 1,000 jobs. However, major industries that have showed substantial job gains include, educational and health services 2,200 jobs, manufacturing up 1,800 jobs and trade, transportation and utilities up 1,400 jobs.

This article depicts the mixed up mess our economy is in, although it has an optimistic tone. While some new jobs are created other jobs are lost. Analysts believe that overall the net gain of jobs is a greater factor than the total unemployment rate and that the job market "will come around moderately."

Less Known Advertisers Taking Over Super Bowl

I found this article at Forbes.com, it shows the new trend in Super Bowl advertising. Many large corporations are investing their money on online add campaigns and passing on Super Bowl advertising. One such company is Pepsi who announced they are passing up the Super Bowl because everyone watching the big game already knows who they are. Instead Pepsi is investing $20 million on an interactive Internet campaign, which include promotion by Facebook.

So what companies are shelling out the cash to advertise during the Super Bowl? Developing companies that want to establish a brand image and companies that want to change public reception. Some of these companies include Go Daddy, E-Trade, and Hyundia.

However, some staple advertisers will remain including Anheuser-Busch and their memorable Budweiser ads as well as Levi's. This article shows where the money in advertising is going--to the Internet where companies can reach more people globally than on television. Some analysts believe that "Super Bowl advertising as we've known it is gone."

Wells Fargo Optimistic

I found this article in the Gazette Times regarding the financial stability of the banks. Wells Fargo has an optimistic outlook after seeing some recovery in their loans. They also had a one cent return for all of their stock, when there was a projected loss of eight cents a stock.

Analysts say that it may be a stretch for Wells Fargo to already say that they are making a come back, because they still have big losses in their real estate.

A few analysts agree with Wells Fargo and say that the return on stock is proof that the banks are turning around. However not all banks are having the success that Wells Fargo. Causing most banks to be cautious about what they say the state of their banks are in.

Credit Card Companies Find Loopholes in New Laws

I found this article at Foxbusiness.com. It talks about what the credit card companies are doing to squeeze through the new regulations being enacted on February 22, 2010. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act was designed to help consumers deal with credit card companies policies, which includes rate hikes, additional fees, and double-cycle billing.

Companies are doing a few things to get around these new provisions. One company introduced a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate, other companies are "re-engineering" double-cycle billing by charging upfront interest and rebate the interest if you pay in full, if you fail to pay off each monthly balance the upfront charge increases.

Experts say that consumers should watch out for changes in their credit cards and carefully watch for changes in terms and conditions.

I found this article to be responsible and informative. I feel that the author has the American consumers' best interest in exposing the loopholes in the regulation of credit card companies.

Trader Joe's Creates New Jobs

I found this article in the Gazette Times. It talks about how the Trader Joe's that is opening in the spring is bringing jobs to the Corvallis area. This will help relieve Corvallis' unemployment which has grown to over 7%.

The article interviews many people that have been out of work for over a year. The article also interviewed potential employees that have sent out over 40 applications to Corvallis, Albany, and Lebanon.

I found this article to be uplifting but also a little premature. I don't think that one business opening will have that large of an effect on unemployment. The way I see it a grocery store isn't going to hire a whole lot of employees.

Smartphones to Take Over

Good news for companies that bought into mobile phone service in its formative years, this article unveils how intelligent cell phones, or smartphones, are taking over. Smart phones are mobile phones running a high level operating system, like a iPhone or Android. Reports show that smart phones are rapidly taking out other hand held devices, from the pager in the late nineties to the more current palm pilot, it seems nothing is safe. Companies that invested in such doodads as handheld electronic calendars are now losing money due to the increase in smartphone holders. To date 17 percent of mobile phone service subscribers own a smartphone, and sales in these other technological tools have all but stopped.

Smartphones are expected to continue their growth in share in the market. The main risk critics of smartphones have pointed out that because these phones are part of a mobile network and users can download any application or program that they want the phones pose major security risks. Hackers can write codes that will leach personal information off of phones and send them to the hacker.

Nike and Education Unite!

This article I found in the Oregonian discusses how Nike has awarded $1 million dollars to schools in the Portland, Hillsboro and Beaverton areas. The schools in which they work with are mostly elementary and middle schools. Nike leaders take time out to work with teams of the principal and a group of teachers within that certain school.

The money that is given goes towards substitute teachers for the selected teachers participating and the meetings. These meetings are designed to review teaching techniques, student achievement, and find new and efficient ways to teach students their required knowledge. In the elementary and middle school levels in Beaverton, they are focusing a lot on writing skills and trying to bring them up. In Hillsboro the focus is a little different the emphasis on teaching students to speak and write proficiently in English if it is their second language.

This is a great example of how corporations are using their money to better their local communities. Nike is not just giving the schools money to buy the best technology, but instead the opportunity to brainstorm ideas coming from the sources (teachers and administrators) themselves. 

Renovation to Oregon State Even in Times of Recession

This article was found in the education section of the Oregonian, with Ed Ray, the president at Oregon State being the main source of information throughout the article. Although the college has needed to make cuts to certain courses and faculty, it has been able to afford certain renovations throughout the campus due to private sources and research grants. 

With these special sources and research grants the school is building a $63 million dollar Linus Pauling Science Center along with adding 28 faculty positions and for low-income housing students, were able to waive their tuition and fees. 

It might be questioned why the school is raising tuition and lowering staff pays if they are able to hire on 28 new faculty members. This is a question that may never be answered and even though the president did an excellent job of describing the success that the school is progressing towards, there are still many questions that are not being answered. It is understandable that the money is coming from other sources but instead of building new buildings and hiring on new people, why don't some of the private sources help with student tuitions or faculty pay?

China's booming economy

This article found on BBC News is about the growth of China's economy, which has expanded by 8.7% in 2009. This was a great recovery considering the economic crisis that China was hit by at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. Even still, while there is still 150 million poor people, they've still got some work to do. However, they're on their way to pass Japan and 2nd to the United States for largest world economies.

The reason that this article caught my eye was because just a week or so ago I read somewhere that around year 2018 or so, China will have an economy larger than the US. This is because they are growing at a rate much more rapid than we are and are on route to eventually pass us. At that point, its possible that there will be more products saying "Made in US" on them.

NY Times to Charge for On-line Articles

The New York Times will make a policy change in 2011 that will affect college students and other readers who get information from the Times on a regular basis. The NY Times will begin to charge for access to its articles. There will be exceptions for casual or very infrequent on-line readers. The details have not been announced according to the linked article.

As the "Newspaper of Record", as it refers to itself, the Times is very valuable for students and anyone who wants to stay informed. The terms of the new policy, and especially how much the Times will charge, will determine how readers will be impacted.

Many other publications will be watching this policy to see if it works, and if it might work for them. Many publications, including the Times, are loosing subscribers to the printed versions of their publications. Collecting, writing, and distributing information costs a lot of money, particularly for a paper like the Times which attempts to cover all important stories, all around the world. This is an attempt to collect money from the users of the service so it can keep publishing.

Global Warming Affecting Farmers Around the World

I found this article in the New York Times. The first major aspect that the article talks about is the green revolution in India. The green revolution was a major change in the Indian agriculture business. In this revolution, M.S Swaminathan, a plant geneticist, developed crops that have higher yields for the growing Indian population. Also, use of irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides were encouraged and used in many more farms. The Green revolution helped feed a lot of hungry people in India, but global warming is threatening to take away all the success that India's agriculture has had. The article says that even one degree change in the mean year temperature would affect India's crop production. Some estimates claim that there could be a 10 to 30 percent decline of crop yields. This would be devastating to the billions of people living in India.

India's location means that it will definitely be affected by global warming, but countries like America and China could be just as affected by this global change. China's lead meteorologist predicts that China's crops will be devastated by drought in the near future.

The article also says that lower latitude countries will be more affected than high latitude countries. Some scientists believe that they could just farm in the northern latitudes such as in Canada and Siberia. With global warming, these areas should become warm enough to grow crops such as corn. The only problem is that the soil in these areas are often composed of rock with little to no nutrients.

This article also talks about how farmers need to be the leaders in stopping warming emissions. Worldwide agriculture is about 14% of global emissions and if you count logging and conversion of forests to farmland, its 31%. Learning and using new techniques to help lower global emissions should be a major concern for farmers around the world.

Overall, this article was very interesting. A lot of people have their suspicions about global warming, but the facts are there and now people need to start taking action. Farmers especially need to reconsider the way they farm and start looking for more green ways to farm.

The battle between Apple and Google

This article from Business Week talks about the battle between Apple and Google. On January 5th, Google came out with the Nexus One, a touchscreen smartphone, much like the iPhone. Apple then purchased, on the same day that the Nexus One was released, Quattro Wireless for $275 million. The point being that Google is doing something that Apple would normally do, and Apple is doing something that Google would normally do. The article states that often times, when companies mimic each other, it's a sign of war or competition. Each trying to outdo the other at what they're known for. Although Google isn't at much risk when it comes to regular search advertising, they may be vulnerable when it comes to mobile advertising, but are looking to make improvements.

The reason that this article caught my attention was because it mentioned two of the companies which names I see and use on a daily basis. I think Google has a better chance at matching Apple at what they do best than Apple matching Google.

The Future of Written News?

In an article by The New York Times, they announced that in 2011 they would start charging readers for certain amounts of content on NYTimes.com. They divided users into occasional users and frequent users. This proposed system would not charge for a couple articles being read by a person here and there. However, daily readers would be required to pay to continue to read the articles on their website.

Most comments about this article were negative and a large amount of people said that they would simply read the news elsewhere. Although, a few people accepted the fact that they will have to pay for this service in the future. Many news companies have been successful with charging for some online content such as The Wall Street Journal and Newsday.

Every newspaper seems to have websites that deliver news online for free nowadays. I think that as more people turn from paper to online most companies will need to charge for news. It would be interesting to investigate the approaches that local newspaper companies are taking toward this problem of decreasing subscriptions due to the internet.

YouTube Introduces Film Rentals

I found this article on the New York Times website. The article states how YouTube has joined the movie rental market, however they are only going to be showing five independent movies, and not any new releases.

YouTube has unveiled their plans in conjunction with the start of the Sundance Film Festival, and all five films that will be available for purchase on YouTube are part of this festival or were shown at the festival last year. Sara Pollack, entertainment market manager for YouTube suggested that it can be extremely difficult for independent movies to gain commercial success, and that YouTube would provide a new outlet for them.

It doesn't appear that YouTube will be adding any classic or new releases to their movie selection in the near future, however they are planning on adding other content to their selection including educational, and health and fitness videos. They are also planning on starting a program named "Filmmakers Wanted," which will give independent producers an opportunity to make their movies available on YouTube at a price of their choice.

I think that YouTube backing independent movies will be beneficial to them, as there is so much other competition from Netflix, Itunes, and cable providers who all offer an extremely wide catalog of movies.

Smoking Can Hurt Your Chances With a New Job

I found this article in the Tennessean. Memorial Hospital in Tennessee has put forth a new plan and will no longer higher people who smoke. People will be tested for nicotine at the same time they are tested for other drugs. Some companies nationally are adopting this new and healthy stance on hiring individuals.

Many companies want to support individuals having good health and hiring people based on health helps reinforce that. Having healthy and happy employees benefits the company in many ways.

Starbucks Profits Triple

I found this article on the BBC website and it talks about how Starbucks has tripled their profits in a year. The article states that at the end of December Starbucks made a net profit of $241.5m which compared to $64.3m a year earlier.

Starbucks has had to make a number of cost cutting changes over the past year not only to survive in the harsh economy but also to win back support from it's customers. Starbucks had to cut thousands of jobs and also shut down many under-performing stores. They have also introduced lower coffee prices to win back customers who were tempted away by cheaper rivals.

Howard Schultz, the founder and chief executive of Starbucks admitted that they had opened too many stores which had resulted in stores taking business away from each other.

Solving our Health Care Problems

In this article, it talks about the problems that health care will have with the new health care reform. The problem with the reform is not that more people are getting health care, because this is a good thing, but rather, there aren't enough physicians and nurses to take care of the massive amounts of people that will soon be getting health care. People who have health care now can vouch that it can take a long time to get in to see a doctor between planning an appointment and waiting in the waiting room. On top of all this, once you do get into an examination room, the doctor only sees you for at maximum, ten minutes.

Health care is important for everybody. This new health care reform will help our nation become a healthier nation, but how can we educate and train thousands of more doctors in such little time? It's not possible. What is possible is to allow free immigration for liscenced doctors, nurses and Medical technicians. If people from different countries are able to move with their whole family to America, then they would be more willing to come, but moving an entire family is expensive. If the American government were to allow free immigration to doctors and nurses for a short period of time, I imagine that there would be a flood of people trying to move to America.

There are plenty of utilities to help this health care reform work, but it will take a lot of planning and organization. It is important to look at what is more important, the health of our country, or preventing immigrants from moving to our country. There are a lot of politics behind immigration, but when push come to shove, it's pretty simple to let people into our country in a controlled manner. Overall, the health care reform in necessary and compromises will have to be made in order for it to work.

Haiti Earthquake Relief: an Alternative Way to Help

This article from Oregon Live talks about how many people are trying to help earthquake relief efforts through technical support. Oregon State's Open Source Lab and a portland company, NedSpace, are organizing an event that will help by organizing maps, relevant news and various kinds of data for the volunteers in Haiti. The event is held this Saturday in Portland with about 20 confirmed volunteers and is one of many similar events being held around the nation.

I thought this was interesting because it's a way for people to help the survivors of the earthquake in a different way. Normally, most think that they can only help by giving money or traveling to the affected region. Instead, some have found that this is a creative route to help out if a person cant make a monetary donation, but instead give their time to help the volunteers that are physically in Haiti and allow them to do their work more effectively.

The article brings up issues of how Americans are helping disaster victims in the poor economy. Because of this economy, people dont have as much money to spare, so they are finding alternatives. It also might be interesting for a project to look at how the money and time that Americans are donating is being spent on the relief efforts. How efficient is the system at delivering help to Haitians? How could the system be made better so we can make our dollars stretch?

Internet Search Privacy

This New York Times article covers Microsoft's decision to retain Bing user's search history for six months. Bing, Google, and other search engines record the searches that users conduct. They keep this information for various lengths of time. It is used for advertising purposes so that when a user opens the engine and conducts a search, the browser gears the advertisements displayed to that user based on past searches. Depending on point of view, this could be a valuable service, as the user is presented with information and advertisements that may be similar to past inquiries. It could be a time saver, and useful resource.

On the other hand, this could be viewed as an intrusion on one's privacy. The process presents advertisements and information based on a past search. Perhaps that search was to investigate a medical condition the user wants to keep confidential. A subsequent user of that person's computer could be presented with search suggestions or advertisements and might be able to deduce private information. Or maybe the search that is recalled and used by Bing to present new sites was just an incorrectly spelled word.

Microsoft's decision to delete one's search history after six months, compared to some browsers maintaining this history much longer, will be seen by privacy advocates as a good step, if not a complete step, toward improving personal privacy.

Cell phone distraction causes one in four US car crashes

This article in the Christian Science Monitor discussed the number of automobile accidents due to distracted drivers looking at their cellular phones. The article also covers the formation of a new anti distraction campaign called FocusDriven. The article claims that over 1.6 million automobile accidents a year are a direct result of drivers using cell phones behind the wheel. David Strayer who runs the applied cognition lab at the university of Utah concluded from his studies that people talking on cellphones are 4 times as likely to be involved in an accident, and that people texting are 8 times as likely.
The group, FocusDriven, wants to raise awareness of the danger of operating a motorvehicle while using a cell phone. The groups president and CEO, Jane Froetscher, wants the group to be along the same lines as MADD, by appealing to peoples emotions to get them to get the right of cell phone use restricted while behind the wheel. All 5 board members and the head of the organization have lost dear ones to distracted drivers.

Too Much Media Concentration?

Disney owns ABC. Viacom owns CBS. Comcast is buying NBC. This article in the LA Times reports on the Justice Department reviewing the NBC deal. There are a couple of concerns.

First, the concentration of major media companies under a few owners. For example, Rupert Murdoch owns Fox, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and a lot of other communications outlets. If the same company, or same individual controls so many sources of information, will the editorial content be affected? Can the Wall Street Journal do an unbiased investigative report on financial troubles at Fox if Murdoch owns both outlets? As a reporter or editor at the WSJ, do you file a potentially negative story on the guy who signs your check?

A second concern is access to media. In the Comcast/NBC merger, let's say NBC has hit shows. Yea, I know, that's getting to be far-fetched. But Comcast does want to carry NBC shows, and so Comcast pays a fee to NBC to carry the network on its cable system. Remember Comcast owns NBC, so it should get a sweet deal. Now, lets say DirecTV wants to carry NBC shows. Will DirecTV pay the same price to NBC as Comcast? DirecTV could be at a disadvantage in that negotiation, and consumers subscribing to DirecTV could see that in higher monthly satellite bills.

USC Coaching switch

This article talks about how much money USC will end up paying their new head coach and his staff now that Pete Carroll (their previous coach) left for the NFL to take the head coaching spot for the Seattle Seahawks.

Although USC isn't short on money, this coaching change could come back to bite them in the butt. If Kiffin and his staff end up doing worse than Carroll did his last year at USC then they will have to buy out their contracts and start a new search for a new staff and end up paying even more because of the decision they made hiring Kiffin.

Once Carroll made is leap to NFL, that sent the college football nation into panic mode. Withe the USC head coaching spot open the rumors started flying. Will they pick an NFL coach or would they pick another college coach? The rumors started with USC trying to get Oregon State Coach Mike Riley, but he said no and instead opted for an extension on his contract to put him coaching the Beavers through the 2019 season and more money per year.

After a few other coaching either falling through or USC didn't like them, they landed with Kiffen, a coach for the Volunteers of the University of Tennessee. So with Kiffen leaving there, Tennessee had to sign a new coach and give him a better contract.

So Carroll leaving for the NFL not only caused USC to deal with money issues, but many other teams around the country as well.

Oregon hospital costs hit $7.5 billion a year

In this article Oregon hospitals are taking a real big hit with high patient debts. In 2008, all Oregon’s community hospitals saw a $7.5 billion in operating costs. Rising hospital costs have been a contribution to higher premiums for insurance. Many people who visited the hospital are n debt or denied service because of the outstanding price.
Lives are nothing to be gambled with and people will be in medical debt if medical attention is required to stay healthy. Hospitals are seeing charities increasing as well as bad debts increase. After experiencing a loss in profit in 9 years, Salem Hospital is making $9.3 million in cuts.
More people are losing jobs and insurance. Urging not to go to the emergency until needed, Oregon’s medical field is not healthy. The new health plan reform is a step that is helping out some people in need but there are many who are still suffering.

E Bikes May Be Quick Fix

The article I found in the Business section of the New York Times brings to light a recent biking phenomenon that actually has taken years to enter the US due to popular criticisms. The E Bike, or essentially a half battery powered half human powered bicycle is beginning to be seen more and more across the country.

The bike, whose idea took off in other parts of the world years ago now is starting to catch on with the American public. Whereas the original model seemed bulky, didn't get many miles, and "encouraged laziness", the new model shown off at the Las Vegas technology convention was met with praise. People are beginning to understand that with gas prices back on the rise and the looming effort to go green, a little bit of battery power could be sacrificed in order to get people to ride for a purpose, not just leisure. The bike specifically only encourages people to use the energy carried on the frame to cover terrain that might be difficult for the average American to ride over, such as steep inclines.

It will be interesting to note whether this bike begins to play a bigger role in terms of fulfilling the green epidemic and ideally replacing a handful of other motorized vehicles. People may complain that it is a hefty price for a bike (anywhere in the range of $500-$2500), but it sure beats buying a new car. The E Bike still hasn't captired everyone's attention across the globe, but it is making its presence more known and that is an important feat at this point.

Facebook can Hurt Your Chance of Employment

I found this article in the Chicago Tribune discussing facebook and ways in which it can hurt your chances of future employment. More than half of employers today check facebook and other networking sites before hiring a potential candidate. According to the article 2 in 5 employers did not hire candidates because of the content found on their facebook page. Employers claim that facebook helps them figure out whether or not a potential candidate is lying about his or her qualifications. Employers also found potential candidates to have inappropriate photos and content on their pages. Not only can facebook be damaging for candidates pursuing a job but for those already holding a position within the company. Employers have also fired employees for writing negative comments on facebook regarding the company.

College students tend to put a ton of pictures and commentary on facebook that they might regret later on in life. Young students have to be very careful what they share on the internet, like people always say "once it's on the internet its there forever". Employers can now use anything and everything on a persons facebook against them ,even if the profile is private, they can find it out one way or another.

New Wilsonville Fred Meyer will incorporate housing, pioneer themes

This article is abut a new Fred Meyers opening up adjacent to Interstate 5 in Wilsonville that will be located inside a retail-housing complex.  The area will set a record for the longest interval between purchase of a site and completion of a store.  This would be the first store to be incorporated with one-stop shopping in a residential area.

 

The project is set to begin in June and should be open by July 2011.   The 145,000 square-foot facilities is selling development rights to an additional 100,000 square feet.  Wilsonville is a town in which there are more jobs than residents.  Offering more job opportunities with the new Fred Meyers complex, the town is healthy and is growing fast.

 

Tech Savvy Business Vs. Main Street Business

I was able to find this article in The New York Times regarding business competition. Big business competitions tend to pick business plans that specialize in technology. This tends to discourage smaller scale companies from participating. There are new competitions that tend to cater to small scale businesses but some tend to be very career specific. The overall question is whether technical business beats main street business.

It's a war of who will ultimately come out on top. Though technical businesses are making lots of money and growing quickly, I still think that main street business it very valuable. A woman mentioned in the article was worried that her salon was no match for tech savvy businesses. She might not be raking in the money but she still is exceptionally valuable and can be seen in competitions as a company with a steady and reliable income.

Kraft Must Increase It's Cadbury Takeover Offer

I found this article on the BBC website and it talks about the takeover of Cadbury, the British confectionery and beverage company based in London.

Kraft began it's hostile takeover bid in December but so far management within the company have not been pleased with the offer that Kraft has made. With rising competition from Hershey, who are planning on placing a bid by next week, Kraft are under pressure to raise their bid. Currently, Kraft is offering a bid of 10.5bn which so far has been rejected. Hershey is projected to place a bid of 10.74bn although this figure has not been confirmed. US billionaire Warren Buffett has also put pressure on Kraft as he warns them not to overpay.

I feel that this article does a good job at demonstrating the current situation that Kraft and Cadbury are in. It will be interesting to see if Kraft come back on the deadline with a higher bid, as if they come back with their current bid and it is rejected, then they won't be able to bid for another year. It will also be interesting to see what Hershey bring to the table and if they will out bid Kraft.

Oregon Hospitals Rising Costs

Oregon hospitals have been experiencing investment losses and are expecting a rough year ahead. This article from The Oregonian describes the increasing costs for hospitals as more and more people are having difficulty affording medical insurance.

Hospital costs increased 40% between 2004 and 2008. Insurance companies have made their premiums higher due to, according to them, the fact that hospital costs are increasing. The article states that congress is working towards bringing these outrageous costs down so that insurance can again become affordable for most people.

We seem to be caught in an endless downward spiral. The problem is that so many people with serious medical problems have no way to pay their hospital bills and the only way that hospitals seem to know how to face the problem is by raising costs and making cuts. Oregon's hospitals have recently refrained from buying too much new equipment and have let many of their staff go. Salem hospital is making 9.3 million dollars in cuts due to their losses in the last year.

Needless to say, this is a huge issue. The small changes that people have been trying to make in order to fix the financial situation has not helped enough. Most people today cannot afford insurance and less people are going to the hospital for smaller injuries. However, in many cases their injuries and sicknesses only get worse so that by the time they finally do go to the hospital it will cost a lot more to help them.

Health care is the topic of many debates today and no one can seem to agree on how to fix it. One thing that most people agree on is that some change, big or small, needs to be made.

Detroit hopes

I found this article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the critical situation in Detroit, MI related to the car industry breakdown, the uncertainty about what is coming up, and the expectation from the auto-show taking place in Motown which started on Monday.

Within a year, Detroit car production decreased by 21% in comparison to 2008. The city is now facing an unemployment rate that reaches 25%. The “big three” (Chrysler, GM and Ford) gave way to “Detroit Three”, and all of them are hoping for sales to go back up in 2010.

Nowadays, Detroit automaker are not only facing the bad economic situation, but also have to deal with a fierce competition with Asian car producers and also have to manage the threat of the oil-price rising tendency.

To do so and avoid facing new lost of its market share, the Detroit Three will have to cut their product range and focus on the smaller car segment. But what really give new hopes to the car manufacturers is the development and commercialization of new fuel efficient vehicles.

Farms May Be More White Than Green

This article that was in The Oregonian discusses the issue of farms in Oregon being being not so green, but instead white. Although first thoughts would make one assume green as being energy efficient, this article touches on the fact that Oregon Farms are mostly owned by whites. 

The main topic that this article discusses is the inequality of different races within owning farms in Oregon. This is not only seen in farming but in all aspects of higher paying and higher position jobs. Unfortunately our nation is still predominanlty white which leads to inequality in the workforce. 

Although the population of  minorities are rising the number of farm owners are not. The fact that African Americans were not able to own land in the 1800's I think has a huge impact on even todays owners of farm businesses. It has taken a long time for our nation to get where it is today and I believe especially with farming it will take awhile, due to its past, to get an equal amount of farm owners throughout nationalities. 

Google Threatening to Leave China Due to Cyber-Attack

This is an article I found regarding Google and its most recent exploits in China. Although the article explained that Google was not the main search engine in China, it is still a considerable investment if they plan to leave.

Many of the Google executives have not felt well about being the censorship program in china than keeps many searchers of google.cn from sites that the government site has banned. So it may seem like a poor economic decision in the eyes of many, to some it seems like the correct moral decision.

The main problem that is foreseen here is that China's economy is growing rapidly and in a very short time it could become a powerful Internet market. If Google closes up shop in China they could hurt their business terribly.

Google has stated that their current reason for leaving is a cyber-attack aimed at Chinese human rights activists with GMail user accounts. The sophisticated attack allowed them to gain access to secure files on many different computer. This is something that Google cannot allow and currently the best way to escape that seems to be to leave the country, at least that is what the Google executives said.

China's Economic Success has Many Chapters Ahead

I found this article in the New York Times, published on January 11th, 2010. This article talks about how China has become an economic powerhouse, even though the world economy is struggling. China is moving up in the world's economy, but many experts believe that the good times won't last because every success comes with its hard times.

China has a booming realty market and has taken over Germany's lead as the biggest exporter of manufactured goods including car sales. This new economic boom is putting pressure on China to change some of its policies. When China was a developing country, they had an excuse if somebody questioned their policies. Now, they can no longer use this excuse because they are one of the forerunners in economic fortune. Some experts even think that China's wealth was raised on bad loans and unworthy investments. There seems to be no immediate danger for China's economy, but there is still a long road ahead of them to figure out what works for long term profit and what works for short term profit.

In this article, China expresses how happy they are that their country is one of the forerunners of prosperity in these hard economic times. Much of the Chinese population, including the media, believe that this boom "is proof of national superiority". They also talk about how their leaders were able to make good, quick decisions which promoted their prosperity because no time was wasted in times of crisis.

Whether China is more superior than other countries or not, I believe that they're doing something right because they are one of the few countries that are doing well in a global recession. Only time will tell if this boom in China's economy will last, but by the looks of it, they will be a global powerhouse in no time.

Buildings Go Green

The article I found from the New York Times discusses an attempt going on to force apartment landlords and office buildings to go green. As the current era begins to call for change, cities believe it is important to keep up with the trends, and transform themselves into environmentally friendly areas. However, as the article discusses, it is often very expensive to go green, and the sufficient funds are not being provided. 

New York City's city council passed a piece of legislation saying that apartment landlords must audit their buildings energy use every ten years. This is to prove that they have been complying with the energy standards set by the city. Tenants of these buildings of course must pay for their electricity, and that is what is causing the most disagreements. The landlord takes care of setting up the buildings electrical needs, but the tenants must pay their bills in order to pay back the tenants. Experts are saying that it is not fair to force apartments to take the expensive route and go green, because in turn they must force tenants to pay more to live in the apartments. In a struggling economy, commercial landlords are afraid that asking their tenants to pay more will simply detract from the amount of business they get. 

Large commercial landlords, city officials, and environmental groups such as  Natural Resources Defense Council are all getting together to try and discuss more cost efficient ways to allow their buildings to go green, such as sharing the costs with investors, this is called "the green lease". The article also states that part of the problem is tenants and landlords alike do not realize how much energy is actually wasted within their building every day. If this new green legislation passes, information will be let out demonstrating how much waste happens, and people will begin  to see how important it is to allow these changes to happen, giving them an incentive to pay more. 

I believe that although this article states people don't see an incentive for going green, it is extremely important. This article does a good job of presenting and discussing all sides of the article, and then demonstrating the solutions they are offering to the problem. I hope that they do decide to follow through with the green leasing, and the green reforms in New York City. 

Animation Industry

The article I found in January 10th's New York Times explains the world of animation companies and the layout of their successes. For many people, the big names in the industry are Dream Works and Pixar, however one group called Blue Sky has taken a lot of people by surprise and doesn't let its small time, non Hollywood approach get them down.

While animated films continue to bring in big money at the box office and also in stores once the actual DVDs have been released, the world is seeing an even larger demand for new family flicks. While the main two commercialized feature film companies as mentioned above (DreamWorks and Pixar) still hold the title as the most profitable and award winning animation entities, Blue Sky now has the third highest ranked movie, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. While not working at an even close to comparable rate of production, this is still an accomplishment and honor that this east coast company should be proud of.

New technologies also allow for improvements in the computer generated world and are making viewers flock to the theaters in order to see the newest film. Because of this, all three companies are continuing in their quest of producing the "best" movie.

There are a lot of aspects of this industry to spin off of. Whether it's the spirit of competition, the reason people keep coming back to watch animated films, or the surprising successes of even the smallest companies, animation is something that dominates the arts market and will continue to have emphasis within the film industry.

Obama's Green Initiatives

This article from the Register Guard gives insight to the Go Green campaign that President Obama will continue into the new year this 2010. Although the efforts to make products, companies, and people more aware of environmental issues is national, this article specifically looks at three Oregon companies who will be benefited by Obama's tax money.

Not only will this campaign be successful in helping out local, green focused companies, it is also meant to create many new jobs for the still dreadful unemployment numbers. In Oregon, this money will directly be implemented to companies in Hillsboro, Gresham, and Eugene who spend their time trying to improve the power and production of solar and wind energy.

While many businesses are in favor of, and are striving to become more energy efficient, it would be interesting to look deeper into SolarWorld, Centrosolar, or Pacific Metal Fab's direct works for achieving these "green" goals. Also, being able to realize the connection between their successes and the money from Obama's tax funds and increased working power would be great knowledge to have if the state and nation is going to continue to spend its money on businesses like these.

DHS Funding a Hit or Miss?

I found an article concerning a suprising increase in funding for Oregon's Department of Human Services. This increase in budget has very good, and very bad elements within it. The article parades the fact that there will be an increase in workers hired, however ignores the fact that these employees are generally viewed as expendable. The training they recieve is often subpar, and the pay offered is an insult. The average burnout for a DHS employee stands at about 4 years. So, while more employees are going to be hired, there is no mention of any pay increase, or funding for more comprehensive training. All in all, Oregon should be looking at quality, not quantity, which has historically been a problem.

Another issue with this funding the article touches on, is this federally funded money comes with strings attached. There are major cuts in other areas of federally funded programs many Oregonians depend on. Specifically, adults and children with disabities- those who may need the most will be recieving less than the previous year, in a time when more people than ever have deended on the system.

Federally funded programs are having major issues within their systems and these are ones which, in my opinion, need to be addressed from the inside out. If those who are doling out the cash have no idea where it actually needs to be directed, then those organizations need to take the steps to make those needs more apparent.

Energy regulators up timeline for liquid gas terminal

This article from The Oregonian exemplifies some of the major issues surrounding contemporary business practices that provide public services but potentially compromise regional ecosystems.

I feel that the news article does a nice job of highlighting the main issues, and the author outlines the major environmental concerns, but there is, as always, more to consider. For example, what is Bradwood Landing's record on environmental impact in the past? How to they propose to avoid damaging the salmon population? What other environmental effects are possible? How many jobs would this project bring to the region, and to Oregon specifically? What is NorthStar Natural Gas Company's record on these issues?

This looks like a potentially worthwhile investigation for a group in this class. The National Marine Fisheries Service is an important federal agency in the Northwest, and we're at a critical point where both job growth and environmental protection are absolutely necessary.

(Travis's sample post. Feel free to look into this issue later in the term.)