Michigan And Ohio To Cooperate On Lake Erie Algae

Lake Erie from satellite 2007. Photograph courtesy of NASA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Officials in Michigan and Ohio promised closer cooperation Wednesday in the quest for solutions to massive algae blooms in Lake Erie, a deadly threat to fish and a turn-off for tourists.

Delegations from both states, including their top environmental protection officials, agreed to push harder for reductions in phosphorus discharges from farms, waste treatment plants and other sources while sharing ideas and supporting research. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pledged technical and financial assistance.

“We all agreed that while more research is needed, that shouldn’t be a barrier to taking action now,” said Susan Hedman, chief of the EPA’s regional office in Chicago. “It’s absolutely clear that we need to reduce nutrient loading to the western end of Lake Erie.”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/ap/618886_Michigan–Ohio-to-cooperate-on-Lake-Erie-algae.html#ixzz1r8KLtV1j

Yahoo To Lay Off 2,000 Employees

Deutsch: Logo von Yahoo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Betcha nobody is yelling “yahoo” over this news!

(Reuters) – Yahoo Inc will lay off 2,000 people, or 14 percent of its workforce, in its deepest round of job cuts in years as new Chief Executive Scott Thompson tries to jumpstart growth with a leaner, more agile company while saving hundreds of millions of dollars.

Wall Street’s reaction was lukewarm, after two previous Yahoo CEOs failed to find an answer to rivals like Web-search leader Google and the Facebook social-networking site.

Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, which ended 2011 with some 14,000 employees, said it would save $375 million annually from the cuts and incur a pre-tax cash charge in the second quarter of $125 million to $145 million.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/sns-rt-us-yahoo-layoffbre8330ly-20120404,0,1433746.story

Alt-Rockers Young The Giant Ro Headline Musikfest In Bethlehem

Alternative rock group Young The Giant, which last year had two singles hit the Top 5 on Billboard’s rock chart, will headline Musikfest‘s main SteelStage venue Aug. 3, the festival announced Wednesday.

Tickets for the show — at $24 and $34 — will go on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday for ArtsQuest members and 10 a.m. April 13 for the general public at http://www.artsquest.com or by calling 610-332-1300.

The California-based quintet’s song “My Body” hit No. 5 on the alternative chart and “Cough Syrup” hit No. 2. Both songs are from the band’s self-titled debut album, which hit No. 42 on Billboard’s albums chart and No. 6 on Billboard’s rock albums chart. This week, it was No. 23 on the rock chart.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/music/mc-musikfest-announcement-20120404,0,235912.story

More Than 100 Positions On Chopping Block At Easton Area School District

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Easton Area School District could cut more than 100 positions if it chooses not to raise taxes for the 2012-13 school year.

Facing a deficit of more than $8 million without a tax increase, the administration Wednesday unveiled the details of cuts associated with tax increases of 2.2 percent, 1.7 percent and zero percent. All of the budget plans include using $1.5 million from the district’s assigned reserves.

Even with a 2.2 percent tax hike, the maximum allowed by the state, the district would cut more than 40 teaching positions, 27 paraprofessionals and 10 maintenance positions in order to balance its 2012-13 budget.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-school-budget-options-20120404,0,2495016.story

Jobless Rates Fall In Reading, Berks

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

February unemployment rates fell in both Reading and Berks County. Reading’s rate fell 0.8 percentage points from a revised 11.7 percent in January, and Berks County’s rate fell 0.3 percentage points from a revised 7.8 percent in January, according to statistics provided today by the state Department of Labor and Industry.

The seasonally adjusted county rate decreased 0.7 percentage points from February 2011.

In the city, the unemployment rate was down from 12 percent a year earlier, or 1.1 percentage points. That rate is not seasonally adjusted.

The decreases to jobless rates are significant for both the county and the city, said Steven Zellers, department industry and business analyst

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=377464

Pennsylvania Cements Status As Nation’s No. 2 Gambling Market

Slot machines at Wookey Hole Caves (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  PottsVegas never happened but evidently other communities have embraced casinos!  King of Prussia wasn’t too good for a casino!

PHILADELPHIA – Pennsylvania’s 11 casinos pulled in more than $233.1 million in gross slot machine revenue last month, setting an all-time monthly high since the state’s first casino opened in November 2006 and cementing the state’s status as the nation’s second-largest gambling market.

The slots totals released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board include revenue from two test nights and one day of operations at the state’s 11th casino, Valley Forge Casino Resort, which opened Saturday. Overall, the figures broke the previous monthly record of $218.3 million set in July, and they represent an 8.5 percent increase over March 2011.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=377820