| California payrolls shrink in January
The January job figures followed a revised gain of 11,400 jobs in December, the Employment Development Department said. Revised annual job figures showed the state added only 14,900 payroll jobs in the 12-month period ended Jan. 31, a paltry 0.1 percent increase. The once-booming construction sector accounted for the most job cuts, shedding 69,300 positions, a 7.6 percent annual drop. "These revisions, while not unexpected, highlight the probability that economic growth in 2008 will be lower than expected, which in turn will intensify the pressures on state and local budgets," Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, wrote in a research brief. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he planned to spend more than $10 million on job training for construction workers left idle due to the housing slump.
The Meaning of Lice
I'm an adult male with short hair, not an 8-year-old girl with long wispy locks and a penchant for playing dress-up with other 8-year-old girls. And I wasn't walking into this house alone but rather alongside a confident professional, 57-year-old Helen Hadley, who calls her Needham delousing business The Nit-Picker, and who's been making house calls like this one for six years now. OK. No sweat. But then I recalled how Helen had responded an hour earlier, when I asked her if she had ever gotten lice as a consequence of her work, and she admitted that, yes, she had. Twice. And if this visit led to a third infestation, at least she would have pulled down her usual 120 bucks an hour for her troubles. But me? All Id get would be an ironic ending for my story. Michelle, the friendly, chatty mom of the house, met us at the door and led us through a well-lit foyer and into the open dining room/family room area, where her daughters, ages 7 and almost 5, sat on the upholstered sectional, watching the Disney Channel.
2008 Honda Accord EX sedan is able but clunky
Everyone but maybe Toyota likes Honda, the aloof, coolish engineer nerd of the auto industry. From snarling, wheel-standing crotch rockets to cheap, hard-edged Civic sedans, Honda builds unusually balanced, dynamic vehicles – a result, I think, of the company's vast racing experience. We love them here at the Daily Planet. If you sent out an e-mail saying there was a Honda with its lights on in the garage, our high-tech newsroom – Truth Central, I call it – would empty as hordes of reporters and editors loped outside to save their cherished Civics, Accords, Pilots and Odysseys. (Maybe that's a slight exaggeration. But I'm sure I wouldn't have much company inside if that happened.) So why was I so conflicted about the 2008 Accord EX I had recently, a four-door sedan that, at about 3,600 pounds, is now heavier than some Buicks and stranger-looking than many 5-series BMWs? After all, most of my colleagues in the automotive media continue to heap praise on the Accord, as competent and complete a sedan as ever.
Circus denies its use of animals is ‘cruel’
We appreciate some people will have strong views about the circus, but we are confident people can watch the show safe in the knowledge that it exceeds Government regulations on animal welfare. "We believe the circus has the very best reputation when it comes to animal welfare and we are assured it has passed numerous RSPCA checks." 7:18pm Wednesday 9th January 2008 Print Email this .b_box { border: 1px solid #eeeeee; background-color: #eeeeee; color: #8F8D8D; padding: 5px; width: 307px; } .b_box img { border: 1px solid #eeeeee; padding: 5px; background-color: #ffffff; } .b_box a, .b_box a:visited .b_box a:active { color: #8F8D8D !important; } .b_box a:hover { color: #8F8D8D !important; } .msg_div { padding: 0px; width: 307px; clear: left; } .entry { border-left: 1px solid #eeeeee; border-right: 1px solid #eeeeee; padding: 5px; width: 307px; } .entry2 { border-left: 1px solid #eeeeee; border-right: 1px solid #eeeeee; padding: 5px; min-height: 80px; } .b_entry { border-left: 1px solid #eeeeee; border-right: 1px solid #eeeeee; border-bottom: 1px solid #eeeeee; padding: 5px; width: 307px; } fieldset { margin-top: 10px; border: 1px solid #eeeeee; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding: 0px; } legend { padding: 2px 6px; color: #8F8D8D; background: #eeeeee; border: 1px solid #eeeeee; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 10px; } .headcell { text-align: center; color: #8F8D8D; background: #eeeeee; border-bottom: 1px solid #eeeeee; } .headcell a:link, .headcell a:visited, .headcell a:active { color: #8F8D8D; } .headcell a:hover { color: #8F8D8D; } .caltab { border: 1px solid #eeeeee; margin-top: 5px; } .year_daycell { text-decoration: underline; text-align: center; } .year_fullcell { background: #eeeeee; border: 1px solid #eeeeee; } blockquote { border: 2px outset #eeeeee; } .buttonclass { background: #eeeeee; color: #8F8D8D; } Thanks for your comments - this feedback is now closed .
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