Bipartisan Leaders Call for Radical Reinvention of Illinois Schools
Advance Illinois report calls for higher bar for students, teachers and principals
NOTE: Recommendations available at www.advanceillinois.org
CHICAGO, June 18 /PRNewswire/ — Advance Illinois, the education reform group co-chaired by former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and former Secretary of Commerce William Daley, today issued recommendations for radical reform of the state’s education system to dramatically raise the bar for Illinois schools and reverse an alarming decline in student performance.
“The need has never been more acute, as our student achievement is slipping dangerously,” said Robin Steans, Advance Illinois executive director. “The opportunities have never been greater, as the federal stimulus is pointing us toward aggressive reform. And never before has such a bipartisan group of people come together around comprehensive, student-focused reform.”
Advance Illinois today published a report, We Can Do Better: Advancing Public Education in Illinois. The report calls for setting world-class standards, holding school districts and teacher training programs accountable for results, linking teacher and principal evaluations to academic outcomes, and empowering local schools and districts to stimulate innovation.
Data shows Illinois has been falling behind the rest of the country and the world.
“For the first time in history, a generation of young people is at risk to be less educated than that of their parents,” said Daley. “It’s time to think differently.”
For every four students who enter high school in Illinois, one will drop out, two will finish school but be unprepared for work or further education, and only one will graduate ready for whatever comes next.
“We hurt our young people most by low expectations,” said Governor Edgar. “We can and must do better. Every student has the right to a diploma that means something. We do children a great injustice by failing to prepare them to succeed in a highly competitive world.”
The report focuses its proposed reform in three main areas:
* Recruit, Develop and Empower the Most Effective Educators * Set World-class Expectations and Provide Essential Supports * Empower Local Innovation in Exchange for Accountability and Results
The report calls for teaching, arguably the most important job in America, to be treated as a profession. It recommends re-allocating resources away from strategies that don’t improve student achievement to those that do. For example, the report notes that, currently, more than $400 million is spent every year to reward teachers for completing graduate coursework and degrees. This despite the fact that, with minimal exceptions, there is no evidence that advanced degrees increase teacher effectiveness in the classroom.
In the same vein, the state should retool how teachers and principals are evaluated and reach career milestones, starting with measuring their impact on student achievement. At the same time, teacher training programs should be evaluated based on the quality of their programs and their graduates.
“Our focus should be on what the evidence shows works for students, and on rewarding strategies and people who help students meet new, tougher standards,” said Steans.
The state’s standards have slipped. While Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores are rising, Illinois students’ scores on national tests have shown little improvement.
To that end, the report recommends adopting internationally benchmarked college- and career-ready standards and raising graduation requirements to match college and career requirements.
“We are failing our students and their families who believe making the grade in Illinois means you are ready to take on college or the workplace,” said Edgar. “Sadly, that’s often not the case because our standards in Illinois are so low.”
School reform in Illinois has often been presented as a choice between local or state control. Advance Illinois calls for breaking free of what is a false choice; there should be more state support but it should be designed to empower local communities with more resources and information to adopt the best available practices that suit their particular circumstances.
“While it may seem self-evident or just plain common sense, many simple steps like tracking student outcomes to determine what works and what doesn’t just hasn’t been done in Illinois,” said Miguel del Valle, Chicago City Clerk, former Chair of the Illinois Senate Education Committee and Advance Illinois board member. “This is just a starting point, but we have to start getting serious before it’s too late for Illinois students.”
Among the report’s recommendations is the creation of a State Innovation Fund, to support districts and schools willing to creatively tackle priority issues.
Advance Illinois recommends tracking progress against aggressive measures to match the achievement of the most successful states. Illinois must lower achievement gaps and raise graduation rates. Now in the middle rank of U.S. performance, Illinois should aim to be in the top 5 states, across a range of measurements, including academic proficiency, student achievement and educational attainment.
The group’s proposed reforms correspond to criteria the federal government will use to award additional education stimulus dollars on a competitive basis starting this fall. These sound reform steps should be implemented regardless of the stimulus, but — taken seriously — could trigger significant federal dollars for cash-strapped Illinois schools.
“Not all new funding means more money out of the pockets of Illinois taxpayers, and Illinois should actively pursue federal funds,” said Edgar. “Education Secretary Arne Duncan has warned us that Illinois may not have implemented enough reforms yet to get some of those federal funds. That is why we must show we are willing and capable of changing our ways when it comes to education.”
“While there are some very encouraging initiatives coming out of Washington to help our schools, we have to roll up our sleeves here in Illinois because no one is going to do the hard work for us,” said Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and an Advance Illinois Board member.
The recommendations are based on nearly a year of consultation with experts across the nation, research into successful reforms elsewhere and dozens of meetings and public Town Hall sessions with parents, educators, academics and community leaders across Illinois.
Advance Illinois is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, the Grand Victoria Foundation, The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, McCormick Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust.
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent, objective voice to promote a public education system in Illinois that prepares all students to be ready for work, college, and democratic citizenship.
For more information visit www.advanceillinois.org.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
We Can Do Better: Advancing Public Education in Illinois
RECRUIT, DEVELOP AND EMPOWER THE MOST EFFECTIVE EDUCATORS
* Evaluate and accredit teacher training programs based on the quality of their program and their graduates * Evaluate teachers and principals based on their performance, starting with their impact on student achievement * Award tenure and certification of principals and teachers based on performance, not coursework or years served * Give schools and districts serving at-risk children greater control and flexibility to attract and hire effective teachers
SET WORLD-CLASS EXPECTATIONS AND PROVIDE ESSENTIAL SUPPORTS
* Adopt internationally benchmarked college- and career-ready standards * Revise current assessments, agree on a mechanism for measuring student growth, and develop end-of-course exams to measure mastery of subjects throughout high school * Raise graduation requirements to match college and career requirements * Make cutting-edge curricula and formative assessments readily available to teachers * Provide parents with early, relevant information about student development and progress
EMPOWER LOCAL INNOVATION IN EXCHANGE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESULTS
* Create a State Innovation Fund, to support districts and schools willing to creatively tackle priority issues * Build a world-class data system * Develop the measures, capacity and strategies to constructively intervene in failing schools
The report recommends Illinois commit to meeting the following goals by 2020:
* Increase Illinois’ proficiency rate on the Nation’s Report Card to 50 percent for reading and math, placing us among the top five states. Illinois currently trails more than half the states with a rate of 30-35 percent. * Increase graduation rates by 10 percent to 85 percent, and increase the rate of students receiving post-graduate education by 12 percent to 40 percent. * Raise the number of students receiving a college and career-ready curriculum to 70 percent, from 45 percent today. * Close the gap in reading and math on the Nation’s Report Card between minority and white students and poor/non-poor students to less than 10 percent from 20 to 40 in all areas, among the worst in the nation.
Contacts: Laurent Pernot 773-865-5381 (c) Fuzz Hogan 312-467-5902 (w) 312-315-7221 (c)
SOURCE Advance Illinois
Foreign Investors: US Real Estate to Recover in Q2, 2010
Perceptions Shift from January Results
WASHINGTON, June 17 /PRNewswire/ — Foreign real estate investors say they expect to see a recovery in the U.S. real estate market by the end of the second quarter of 2010, according to the results of a new survey released today by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE). Completed in the past month among the association’s nearly 200 members, the survey was conducted by The James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, University of Wisconsin – Madison. This is the first mid-year survey to be conducted by AFIRE.
Respondents projected their investments for the remainder of 2009 will substantially out-strip investments completed year-to-date. On the debt side, survey respondents say they expect to invest three times more than current investment levels year-to-date; equity investors expect they will place seven times more than current year-to-date investments. Overall, three quarters of the survey respondents had not yet invested in 2009; however, more than two-thirds of them plan to invest some debt or equity in U.S. real estate before the end of the year.
Survey respondents continue to be optimistic in their investment projections. Thirty-one percent said they were more optimistic than at the beginning of the year; 16 percent said they were more pessimistic; and 53 percent said they felt about the same as at the beginning of the year.
In the 17th Annual Survey, released in January, respondents named Washington, D.C., New York, and San Francisco respectively as the top three cities for their investment dollars. “In this survey, respondents echoed those choices saying they expected the same three cities to lead the recovery,” said James A. Fetgatter, chief executive of AFIRE. “However,” he added, “The perception that Washington, D.C. will be the first to recover has risen dramatically since the Annual Survey. Twice as many respondents named Washington as their city of choice over second-place New York.” Boston, which has not appeared among investors’ top five cities since 2001, was selected as the fourth city and Los Angeles, fifth.
Survey respondents also said that the office sector would recover first, followed by the multi-family and industrial sectors. This is a shift in investor perception from the results of 17th Annual Survey in which investors expressed an interest for multi-family over office buildings as the preferred property type for their real estate investment dollars.
AFIRE members have a common interest in preserving and promoting investment in cross-border real estate. Founded in 1988, AFIRE has nearly 200 members representing 20 countries. AFIRE is located at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC; (202)312-1400; www.afire.org.
Contact: Kathryn Hamilton (914) 767-3428 Kathryn@hamiltonink.com
SOURCE Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) Foreign Investors: US Real Estate to Recover in Q2, 2010
SOURCE Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE)
Bhelliom Taps Into a ‘Miracle Billion-Dollar Berry Blend’ With Their All-New Mr Energy 8 Hour Energy Shot
BOCA RATON, Fla., June 17 /PRNewswire/ — Bhelliom Energy Products, maker of Mr Energy 8-HR ENERGY Pills and other dietary health supplements, have released into the market their all-new 2 oz. Mr Energy 8-HR Energy Shot.
Due to the overwhelming demand worldwide for the powerful energy berries Acai, Noni, Goji and Pomegranate, Bhelliom has created a good-tasting blend of this quartet of health berries. Combining it with their timed release delivery system, Bhelliom has created the world’s first good-tasting, 2 oz., healthy, 8 hour release energy shot.
According to Casey McCarthy, President of Bhelliom Energy Products, “The Acai Berry is currently enjoying worldwide recognition not only as an antioxidant, but also as an energy supplement. Acai Berry’s other significant nutrients include amino acids, vitamins and trace minerals in addition to a variety of phytonutrients.”
Goji Berry, also in this revolutionary energy shot, has been used as a tonic by herbalists for generations to provide a sense of well-being and harmony to both the mind and body. Another antioxidant powering Mr Energy is Pomegranate, which helps to “free up your energy reserves.” Finally, Mr Energy 8-HR also contains Noni, known among herbalists as a tonic associated with greater energy levels, as well as a powerful immune system builder.
“We took our breakthrough crash-proof technology that has made Mr Energy 8-HR ENERGY Pills the most effective and longest-lasting energy pill on the market and combined it with the most sought-after ‘Billion-Dollar Berry Quartet.’ This first-of-its-kind blend has created a long-lasting, good-tasting, healthy, guilt-free energy shot. Our customers see it as ‘new found Time in a Bottle,’ and it is taking the country by storm,” stated McCarthy.
Mr Energy 8-HR Energy Shot is conveniently packaged in a resealable 2 oz. bottle. Consumers can now pace themselves to have the energy they need, when they need it. Mr Energy 8 Hour Energy Shot is now in distribution.
Bhelliom Energy Products has been in business since 2003 and distributes to wholesalers, distributors and health food stores throughout the US. Their products have stocked the shelves of more than 27,000 C-stores, nutrition stores and truck stops nationwide. In addition, Mr Energy 8-HR always gets top ranked listings on Google, Yahoo and most major search engines. All of Bhelliom’s products are developed, piloted, tested and manufactured in the USA.
Mr Energy 8-HR Energy Shot retails for $3.49 and the packaging is superb. Bhelliom provides free shipping for its distributors and all their products are backed by their unconditional 100% money back satisfaction guarantee.
For more product information on Mr Energy 8-HR Energy Shot, visit: http://www.8Hourshot.com.
For distributor information, see: http://www.bhelliom.com.
Bottle Image: http://www.ereleases.com/pr/2009-Bhelliom.jpg
Display Image: http://www.ereleases.com/pr/2009-Bhelliom2.jpg
Contact:
Lynn Baker, National Sales Mgr. info@bhelliom.com 888-277-8169
This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.
SOURCE Bhelliom Energy Products
California Employee Confidence Report: Workers More Optimistic About Strength of the Economy
LOS ANGELES, June 19 /PRNewswire/ — In the midst of ongoing job declines being reported across the state, the California Employee Confidence Index rose 4.5 points to 49.2 in May, according to the latest Spherion(R) Employment Report. The monthly survey of California workers, conducted by Harris Interactive(R) on behalf of Spherion Corporation, uncovers signs of economic optimism for the third consecutive month. Specifically, more workers indicated that they believe the economy is getting stronger, and fewer workers reported that fewer jobs are available.
Results from the California Employment Report:
* One quarter of workers (25 percent) believe the economy is getting stronger, an increase of seven percentage points from April. * More workers reported that they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. Specifically 40 percent versus 36 percent in the previous month. * Nearly half of workers (49 percent) are confident in their ability to find a new job, an increase of six percentage points from April. * Sixty-nine percent of workers believe there are fewer jobs available compared to 77 percent in the previous month.
“We are pleased to see the continued uptick in confidence among California workers for the third consecutive month. While only time will tell if this is going to be a trend, we believe that ongoing fluctuation in our Index is highly probable in the months to come,” explained Beth Noseworthy, region vice president for Spherion. “However, it is promising to see that California workers are expressing higher levels of personal confidence and are increasingly indicating that they believe the economy is getting stronger, which are both positive signs in terms of economic recovery.”
Full Report: http://www.spherion.com/pressroom/index.php?s=43&item=811
About the Spherion Employment Report
Methodology
About Harris Interactive
About Spherion
Spherion Corporation is a leading recruiting and staffing company that provides integrated solutions and breakout specialties to meet the evolving needs of companies and job candidates. As an industry pioneer for more than 60 years, Spherion has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs.
With approximately 630 locations in the United States and Canada, Spherion delivers innovative workforce solutions that improve business performance. Spherion provides its services to approximately 10,000 customers, from Fortune 500 companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations. Employing more than 215,000 people annually through its network, Spherion is one of North America’s largest employers. Spherion operates under the following brands: Spherion Staffing Services Group for administrative, clerical and light industrial workers; Technisource for technology professionals and solutions; The Mergis Group for accounting and finance and other professional positions; Todays Office Professionals for specialty administrative personnel; and Spherion Recruitment Process Outsourcing. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com
SOURCE Spherion Corporation
Stanford Financial Group Executives and Former Chairman of Antiguan Bank Regulator Indicted for Fraud and Obstruction
Charges Related to $7 Billion Dollar Scheme to Defraud Investors
WASHINGTON, June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Robert Allen Stanford, 59, chairman of the Houston-based Stanford Financial Group (SFG), three SFG executives and the former chief executive officer of the Antiguan bank regulatory agency have been indicted on fraud and obstruction charges related to a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors, announced Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division; Tim Johnson, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas; Kevin Perkins, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Eileen Mayer, Chief of Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; and Greg Campbell, Deputy Chief Inspector, U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Also charged in an indictment returned in Houston yesterday and unsealed today was Laura Pendergest-Holt, 35, SFG’s chief investment officer; Gilberto Lopez, 66, SFG’s chief accounting officer; Mark Kuhrt, 37, SFG’s global controller; and Leroy King, 63, the former administrator and CEO of Antigua’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission. Stanford was arrested in Virginia last night, and is scheduled to make an initial appearance today in Richmond. Lopez and Kuhrt were arrested this morning and will make initial appearances in Houston this afternoon. Pendergest-Holt, who previously was indicted on obstruction-related charges, will make her initial appearance on the charges unsealed today in Houston in the near future.
“The Department of Justice will vigorously root out and expose financial crimes that wreak havoc on innocent investors,” said Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division. “Investors need access to accurate and truthful financial information in order to make decisions about how to invest their hard-earned savings. Their savings, and indeed the integrity of our capital markets, are jeopardized when investors are deceived. These difficult economic times make the mission of the Department all the more important.”
“The investing public needs to be assured that it is protected from those who would corruptly deprive them of their financial security,” said U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson of the Southern District of Texas. “When individuals or business entities engage in fraudulent activity designed to deprive investors of their assets, we will devote whatever resources necessary to bring them to justice.”
“Economic crime schemes such as those alleged here today are unfortunately all too commonplace,” said Assistant Director Kevin Perkins, FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “These crimes strike at the heart of our economy and our quality of life.”
“The IRS is united with the federal law enforcement community in our resolve to put out of business those financial schemes that defraud investors and the U.S. government,” said Eileen Mayer, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “This is particularly true as it relates to international financial fraud, and we will continue to follow the money in order to bring those responsible to justice.”
“Robert Stanford’s investors trusted him and his associates, in many instances, with their life savings,” said Gregory Campbell, Deputy Chief Inspector, U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “When allegations are made that the U.S. Mail has been used to violate such a trust, it’s our job as Postal Inspectors to restore America’s confidence in the integrity of its postal system and help to bring the violators to justice.”
According to the indictment, Stanford and his co-defendants engaged in a scheme to defraud investors who purchased approximately $7 billion in certificates of deposit administered by Stanford International Bank Ltd. (SIBL), an offshore bank controlled by Stanford and located on the island of Antigua. Stanford and his co-defendants allegedly misused and misappropriated most of those investor assets, including diverting more than $1.6 billion into undisclosed personal loans to Stanford himself, while misrepresenting to investors SIBL’s financial condition, its investment strategy and the extent of its regulatory oversight by Antiguan authorities. For example, the indictment alleges the following:
* That the defendants allegedly falsely claimed that SIBL’s assets grew from approximately $1.2 billion in 2001 to approximately $8.5 billion in December of 2008. The indictment alleges that, in fact, approximately $5 billion of SIBL’s reported assets consisted of notes on loans to Stanford and grossly overstated interests in “island properties,” including more than $2 billion added to the books in 2008 from an allegedly artificial real estate deal that Stanford and his co-conspirators conceived to inflate the bank’s reported assets; * That Stanford and his co-defendants allegedly falsely represented to investors that SIBL’s investment strategy was to “minimize risk and achieve liquidity” and promised rates of return on CDs that in the end were simply too good to be true in light of the bank’s actual investments and assets; and * That Stanford and his co-defendants allegedly made false and misleading representations about the regulatory scrutiny of the bank by Antiguan authorities, when, in fact, Stanford was making corrupt payments of more than $100,000 to King to ensure that the Antiguan bank regulatory authority that he headed did not accurately audit, or verify the assets reported in the bank’s financial statements.
Also according to the indictment, Stanford, Pendergest-Holt and King conspired to conceal the fraud from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to fend off an SEC investigation. King allegedly provided Stanford and others with confidential information that he had received from an official SEC inquiry into a possible fraud on investors by SIBL so that additional false representations concerning SIBL’s financial health and Antiguan regulatory oversight could be made. In addition, Stanford, Pendergest-Holt and others allegedly agreed that Pendergest-Holt would provide false information to the SEC about the true value of SIBL’s investment portfolio.
The defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud; seven counts of wire fraud; ten counts of mail fraud; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment also charges Stanford, Pendergest-Holt, and King with conspiracy to obstruct an SEC proceeding. The indictment seeks forfeiture of the proceeds of the fraud from all defendants, including forfeiture of specific foreign bank accounts controlled by Stanford, Davis and Pendergest-Holt.
Also unsealed today was a criminal information charging James M. Davis, 60, SFG’s chief financial officer, with conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud; mail fraud; and conspiracy to obstruct an SEC investigation. The information seeks forfeiture of up to $1 billion in fraud proceeds. Davis will make his initial appearance on these charges in Houston in the near future.
Additionally, also unsealed today was an indictment returned in the Southern District of Florida charging Bruce Perraud, 42, a former SFG Global Security Specialist, with destruction of records related to a federal investigation. Perraud allegedly ordered and supervised the destruction of numerous SFG documents housed at SFG’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office after he was put on notice that a federal court had ordered the preservation of SFG documents in connection with an SEC investigation and lawsuit. Perraud was arrested in the area of Naples, Fla., this morning and will make his initial appearance in the near future.
An indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Houston Field Office, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by individuals from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, including Paul E. Pelletier, Principal Deputy Chief; Jack Patrick, Senior Litigation Counsel; Matthew Klecka, Trial Attorney; and Allan Medina, Law Clerk of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, as well as Gregg Costa, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Texas.
The Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section assisted the trial team by working with our foreign counterparts to facilitate the freezing of more than $300 million of Stanford’s assets in the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida also provided assistance in this matter.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
Congress Passes Cash For Clunkers Bill, Offers $4,500 Stimulus Vouchers to Car Owners
NEW YORK, June 19 /PRNewswire/ — Congress passed the Automotive Stimulus bill “Cash For Clunkers” on Thursday, marking the first real legislative stride towards an auto industry recovery, announced CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com, an organization that is leading the campaign to educate the public about the bill. Cash For Clunkers provides up to $4,500 to car owners who trade in their present car for a more fuel efficient and environmentally-friendly alternative. The bill is being called a legislative “trifecta” because its passage stands to ignite a much-needed recovery in the auto industry, save car-owning households money, and improve the environment on a national scale.
Cash For Clunkers works by providing a $4,500 voucher for car owners whose present car gets less than 18 miles per gallon in fuel efficiency. Drivers who buy a car with a 10 MPG improvement over their previous car qualify for the entire $4,500 voucher, while those who choose a car with a 4 MPG improvement qualify for a $3,500 voucher. SUV and truck owners also qualify for the program but fall under slightly different qualifications. CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com provides all of the information regarding the program on its website. Spanish speakers can find this information translated on dineroporsucarcacha.com.
The official name of the program is C.A.R.S. – “Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program” (www.ConsumerAssistanceToRecycleAndSaveProgram.org) – and is Title XIII of Bill H.R. 2346. The program will receive an initial allocation of $1B funded by the US government as a part of a War appropriations bill. The program time length is 7/1-11/1 and will be implemented by the NHTSA which has 30 days from the approval of the bill to post all program details online.
In addition to advocacy groups like these, Cash for Clunkers drew support from local car dealers who see the program as an opportunity to boost not just their own businesses but regional economies which are heavily dependent on car sales. In addition, parts of the private sector have stepped up to promote the bill (www.ConsumerAssistanceToRecycleAndSaveProgram.org). One of the innovators of the Cash For Clunker voucher is Paragon Cars, one of the largest dealers in the country. “While Paragon’s own Cash For Clunker program has a local or even regional effect on the economy and environment, the country on a whole needs a congressional initiative like this bill to make both the serious economic and environmental impact we need,” said Brian Benstock, one of the partners at Paragon. New York’s Paragon Cars (www.ParagonCars.com) took a lead in educating the public about the bill by creating an information site for New York residents (www.CashForClunkersNY.com) but also designed and implemented a program to offer their own vouchers to car buyers who trade up in fuel efficiency at Paragon’s New Yorked-based Honda-Acura dealership. Paragon declared that it will continue to offer its own vouchers to buyers, in addition to the vouchers provided by the bill.
CashForClunkerHeadquarters.com is leading a national effort to certify eligible car dealers and equip them with the right communication plan and campaigns to reach and help qualifying consumers in their market. CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com also received an important push from Hispanic American celebrities like Dancing With The Stars’ Cristian de la Fuente and Ugly Betty star Angelica Vale. Both stars expressed their support for Cash For Clunkers as a way to boost the economy and help the environment but also as a way to make an important financial impact on the hundreds of Hispanic American communities whose livelihoods are tied to the auto industry.
New car dealers are seeking to attain certification from www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com to distinguish themselves from other retailers. In addition, select retailers sign on to become exclusive “Certified Cash For Clunkers Headquarters” whereby they receive and implement the recommended communication plan to educate consumers in their local market. As a part of being certified “Cash for Clunkers Headquarters,” the dealer agrees to augment the government vouchers with dealer funded stimulus programs.
Related Articles:
Huffington Post:
Is Congress Driving Drunk? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ashley-rindsberg/is-congress-driving-drunk_b_216012.html)
Univision: http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=4781&schid=8881&secid=8890&cid=1984425&pagenum=1
SOURCE CashForClunkerHeadquarters.com
MIT Report Analyzes Best Paths to Cut Carbon Emissions at Existing Coal Plants
Entergy CEO Leonard: Report Provides Policy Makers a Clear Roadmap
WASHINGTON, June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — An MIT Energy Initiative report outlines clear steps the nation must take to develop cost-effective options for cutting carbon emissions at existing coal-fired power plants, Entergy Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer J. Wayne Leonard said Friday.
There is “no credible pathway” toward stringent cuts in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide without addressing coal-fired plants, according to the report released Friday at a press conference here.
Any proposal must pass the “China test,” meaning its cost must be low enough “that China and other emerging economies can afford to implement it,” said the report, which is based on the March 23 MIT symposium “Retrofitting of Coal-fired Power Plants for CO2 Emissions Reductions.”
Entergy, the New Orleans-based utility company, provided funding for the symposium, although less than 10 percent of Entergy’s generating capacity is coal fired. The importance of developing a viable method of cutting carbon emissions at existing coal plants is critical, Leonard said.
“The reason for this is simple: We cannot have an effective, sustainable response to climate change without finding a way to clean up emissions from existing coal plants,” he said at the press conference.
The report provides three key findings, Leonard said. The report:
* Reinforces the need to quickly start a cap-and-trade program; * Concludes retrofit technology is feasible but not enough is being done to implement it on a large scale; and * Provides action steps for policy makers.
U.S. coal-fired power plants are responsible for one-third of the nation’s carbon emissions, and the number of China’s coal plants continues growing and may reach double the size of the U.S. fleet in the coming years. China and other developing countries also have resisted talk of imposing hard limits on its carbon emissions.
“China’s logic is understandable – most of the CO2 in the atmosphere did come from the developed world, and we do emit more per capita than they do,” Leonard said. At the same time, many in this country ask why we should go to all this effort and spend all this money on capping our emissions before China agrees to act.
“And in fact if we cannot find common ground on an agreement to control their rapidly growing emissions, unilateral action on our part to address climate change may turn out to have been money better spent on adaptation. We are at an impasse, but the fact is that we haven’t yet done enough to break the impasse,” Leonard said. Retrofitting existing plants has the potential to break the stalemate, he said.
Among the report’s specific findings and recommendations:
* Some $12 to $15 billion should be spent over the next decade to “dramatically expand” federal government programs to demonstrate large-scale, sustained CO2 capture-and-sequestration technology for existing plants. * At least $1 billion in federal funds should be invested annually for roughly 10 years while creating more flexibility and improved certainty for robust research into advanced technology, efficiency, and repowering or rebuilding options.
“We should be leading the world in investments in this technology for cleaning up conventional coal plants, and we are not,” Leonard said.
The U.S. and China should be working together, he added. “In fact, our shared mission to manage the issue of coal and climate change could be one of the building blocks of a new, cooperative relationship between the two giants of the climate problem, the U.S. and China,” Leonard said.
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $13 billion and approximately 14,700 employees.
Use the following link to find Leonard’s full remarks from Friday: Speeches
The full report can be found at the MIT Energy Initiative Web site.
Entergy’s Web site is entergy.com
SOURCE Entergy Corporation
Employers Holdings, Inc. to be Added to S&P 600
RENO, Nev., June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EIG) announced Standard & Poor’s will add it to the prestigious S&P 600 SmallCap Index. The S&P 600 is widely considered the preferred small capitalization-market index in the United States and is comprised of 600 leading publicly-held companies in the most important industries in the U.S. economy.
According to Standard & Poor’s, the S&P SmallCap 600 is a core component of the U.S. indices that could be used as building blocks for portfolio construction.
Index constituents exhibit the following characteristics:
* Market Coverage – 3%-4% of the U.S. equities market * Weighting – Market capitalization * Market Capitalization – US$ 200 million to US$ 1.0 billion * Public Float – At least 50% * Reconstitution – As needed basis
Employers Holdings will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Property & Casualty Insurance Sub-Industry index after the close of trading on Tuesday, June 23.
About Employers Holdings, Inc.
Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EIG) is a holding company with subsidiaries that are specialty providers of workers’ compensation insurance and services focused on select, small and medium-sized businesses engaged in low to medium hazard industries. The company, through its subsidiaries, operates in 30 states. Insurance is offered by Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, Employers Compensation Insurance Company, Employers Preferred Insurance Company, and Employers Assurance Company, all rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company. Employers Preferred Insurance Company and Employers Assurance Company are also known as AmCOMP Preferred Insurance Company and AmCOMP Assurance Corporation, respectively. Additional information can be found at: http://www.employers.com.
All rights reserved. EMPLOYERS(R) and America’s small business insurance specialist.(R) are registered trademarks of Employers Insurance Company of Nevada.
SOURCE Employers Holdings, Inc.
