Afternoon Update:
Friday, June 27, 2008 10:08 AM PDT
LOCAL
SWCD meeting set
ONTARIO
The Malheur County SWCD board of directors meeting will be held at 7 p.m. July 8 at the USDA Ag Service Center, near airport corner, Ontario. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. A request for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours before the meeting to the SWCD at (541) 889-2588. This meeting is open to the public. An executive session may be held for the purpose of discussing personnel issues if needed.
Additionally, the I&E Committee will meet at noon Wednesday; the Budget Committee will meet at 3 p.m. Wednesday; and the Project Committee will meet at 1 p.m. July 7 at the USDA Ag Service Center.
Downtown Revitalization public meeting scheduled
ONTARIO
The City of Ontario will be hosting a community meeting regarding the Ontario Downtown Revitalization Plan from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. July 8 at Ontario City Hall, 444 S.W. Fourth St., Ontario. The meeting is targeted to members of a technical advisory committee comprised of local residents and others selected to provide guidance. All residents, business owners and property owners are also encouraged to attend. The meeting will consist of an overview of the project and walking and bicycling tours of downtown Ontario with the plan’s consultant, city staff, advisory committee members and other residents. The purpose of the tour is to identify issues that are important to the downtown plan, such as parking, sidewalks, city theme, community identity, project goals and objectives and urban planning concepts. Please bring a bicycle and helmet if you intend to ride. For those unable to attend but would still like to provide comments, contact Ontario Planning Director Evan MacKenzie, (541) 881-3222, or Evan.MacKenzie@ontariooregon.org; or contact the team project manager, Matt Hastie, Angelo Planning Group, 921 S.W. Washington St., Suite 468, Portland OR 97205; or (503) 542-3403; or mhastie@angeloplanning.com.
Republican Central Committee meeting
slated
PAYETTE
The Payette County Republican Central Committee will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Payette County Courthouse. The Central Committee was recently reorganized, and this will be an opportunity to meet the new members. The general public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, call (208) 707-5005.
THE NATION
Honey bee crisis could lead to higher food prices
WASHINGTON (AP) — Food prices could rise even more unless the mysterious decline in honey bees is solved, farmers and businessmen told lawmakers Thursday.
‘‘No bees, no crops,’’ North Carolina grower Robert D. Edwards told a House Agriculture subcommittee. Edwards said he had to cut his cucumber acreage in half because of the lack of bees available to rent.
About three-quarters of flowering plants rely on birds, bees and other pollinators to help them reproduce. Bee pollination is essential is responsible for $15 billion annually in crop value.
In 2006, beekeepers began reporting losing 30 percent to 90 percent of their hives. This phenomenon has become known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Scientists do not know how many bees have died; beekeepers have lost 36 percent of their managed colonies this year. It was 31 percent for 2007, said Edward B. Knipling, administrator of the Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Research Service.
Sales of existing homes show slight gain in May
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of existing homes rose slightly in May, only the second increase in the past 10 months. Prices, however, kept plunging and analysts said the large number of unsold homes indicated the prolonged slump in housing was far from over.
The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums edged up by 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.99 million units in May. Even with the small gain, it was still 15.9 percent below the depressed levels of a year ago.
The median price of an existing home sold in May dropped to $208,600, 6.3 percent lower than a year ago. That is the point where half sell for more and half sell for less. It was the fifth biggest year-over-year price decline in records that go back to 1999.
Existing homes sales account for the bulk of the housing market. The report followed news Wednesday that sales of new single-family homes fell by 2.5 percent in May. That was the sixth drop in the past seven months and pushed the annual sales pace down to 512,000 units.
NY millionaire gets prison for enslaving workers
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A millionaire who inflicted years of abuse on two Indonesian housekeepers held as virtual slaves in her Long Island mansion was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison.
Varsha Sabhnani, 46, was convicted with her husband in December on a 12-count federal indictment that included forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude and harboring aliens. The trial provided a glimpse into a growing U.S. problem of domestic workers exploited in slave-like conditions.
The victims testified that they were beaten with brooms and umbrellas, slashed with knives, and forced to climb stairs and take freezing showers as punishment. One victim was forced to eat dozens of chili peppers against her will, and then was forced to eat her own vomit when she couldn’t keep the peppers down, prosecutors said.
Mars lander finds salty environment in taste test
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Phoenix lander’s first taste test of soil near Mars’ north pole reveals a briny environment similar to what can be found in backyards on Earth, scientists said Thursday.
The finding raises hope that the Martian arctic plains could have conditions favorable for primitive life. Phoenix landed a month ago to study the habitability of Mars’ northern latitudes.
‘‘There’s nothing about it that would preclude life. In fact, it seems very friendly,’’ mission scientist Samuel Kounaves of Tufts University said of the soil. ‘‘There’s nothing about it that’s toxic.’’
Swindler sentenced to more than 24 years
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A former economist who admitted swindling hundreds of investors was sentenced Thursday to more than 24 years in prison and ordered to repay millions of dollars he stole from his unsuspecting clients.
Al Parish, a former Charleston Southern University professor who admitted he swindled investors out of tens of millions, stood silently with his hands behind his back as the long-awaited sentence was handed down.
Study: Many teens get alcohol from adults
WASHINGTON (AP) — Many of the nation’s estimated 10.8 million underage drinkers are turning to their parents or other adults for free alcohol.
A government survey of teens from 2002 to 2006 said slightly more than half had engaged in underage drinking.
Asked about the source of alcohol, 40 percent they got it from an adult for free over the past month, the survey said. Of those, about one in four said they got it from an unrelated adult, one in 16 got it from a parent or guardian and one in 12 got it from another adult family member.
Roughly 4 percent reported taking the alcohol from their own home.
‘‘In far too many instances parents directly enable their children’s underage drinking — in essence encouraging them to risk their health and well-being,’’ said acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson. ‘‘Proper parental guidance alone may not be the complete solution to this devastating public health problem — but it is a critical part.’’ The nationwide study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, being released Thursday, tracks the social contexts involved in underage drinking, a problem leading to thousands of alcohol-related traffic deaths and injuries each year.
Air Force colonel gets prison time, discharge
WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) — An Air Force colonel was sentenced to nine years in prison Thursday and kicked out of the military for assaulting a woman, misusing his government travel card and other crimes at Sheppard Air Force Base.
Col. Samuel Lofton III faced 140 years in prison after being convicted of 34 counts, including indecent assault, larceny, being absent without leave and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. The 49-year-old former training commander ‘‘systematically abused his power, position and authority to the detriment of the Air Force and to the detriment of those around him,’’ Capt. John Montgomery, a prosecutor, said during closing arguments in the sentencing phase Thursday. ‘‘The Air Force will recover, and the stains will fade over time. But (the assault victim) will have memories of this for the rest of her life.’’
