Free Republic

Union members at the Ford plant in St. Paul are being told this morning that the company will close the plant in 2009, an official for the union local said. "The (union) bargaining committee put out a notice to members (today)," said Bob Killeen, treasurer for UAW Local 879, which represents the workers at the plant. The local has scheduled a news conference for 2 this afternoon, said local president Rob McKenzie.

The Vatican has rejected the appeals of 10 parishes in the Boston Archdiocese that had petitioned to remain open after being shuttered as part of Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley's reconfiguration plan.O'Malley announced in January 2004 plans to close more than 80 parishes in response to a decline in the number of priests, changing demographics, and financial troubles brought on in part by the clergy sex abuse scandal."We appreciate the disappointment that this news brings to those who submitted the appeals and all who are saddened by the parish closings," O'Malley said in a statement Saturday.The Council of Parishes, a coalition...

Iraq Closing Borders Ahead of Election By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago Iraqi soldiers hold election campaign posters for the Iraqi National list carrying pictures of the head of the list, Shiite secular leader and former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi while receiving released prisoners in Baghdad, Iraq Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005. Voting begins Monday in hospitals, military camps and even prisons across Iraq, launching the process to choose a new parliament that the United States hopes can help quell the insurgency so U.S. forces can begin heading home. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) BAGHDAD, Iraq - Voting begins Monday...

WASHINGTON – The base-closing commission voted Tuesday to add two military facilities, in California and Maine, to the list of hundreds of domestic bases that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has proposed closing and shrinking. The Navy Broadway Complex in San Diego and the Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine, were added to the list of facilities to be closed. The commission also was voting on whether to add bases in nine other states and Washington, D.C. In a reprieve for California, the commission voted against putting the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on the closure list even though several commissioners...

The retreat is on. Even Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel (Nebraska) and Mel Martinez (Florida) are scurrying along with the panicked pack calling on the U.S. to close its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden (Delaware) has been a leader of what should be loosely called the “Release Suspected Terrorists Now!” caucus. Biden says everyone should be let go from Gitmo — except, in a crucial caveat, “Those we have reason to keep, keep.” Ah, there’s the rub. We captured more than 10,000 people in Afghanistan. Roughly 750 ended up at Gitmo — exactly because we had reason...

Navy discloses rationale for base recommendations By DAVID SHARP The Associated Press Closing the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard carries a one-time cost of $448 million that could be recovered within four years without affecting the Navy's ability to service nuclear submarines, and realigning Brunswick Naval Air Station retains an operational airfield while consolidating patrol aircraft in Florida, the Navy contends. The report signed by Navy Secretary Gordon England provides the first detailed look at the Navy's reasoning behind its proposal to close Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, and to remove P-3 Orion and C-130 Hercules squadrons from Brunswick Naval Air...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One week after Kansas City-based Interstate Bakeries Corp. announced Wednesday it was consolidating its Florida profit center and cutting 600 jobs, the company said it plans to close its Charlotte, N.C., plant, and cut an additional 950 positions. Interstate Bakeries, best known for its Wonder and Hostess brands, is one of the largest wholesale baking companies in the country. It has eliminated 2,200 jobs from its 32,000-member work force since declaring bankruptcy in September. The company said its moves in the Mid-Atlantic region are part of an effort to drop unprofitable products and routes, and streamline...

SIERRA VISTA - State Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said Friday that illegal immigrants being detained on Fort Huachuca is a problem for the Army. On Friday, he, six other members of the Judiciary Committee and two state senators met with post and local officials for lunch. They also received a briefing and tour of the fort. The committee was in the area for a hearing concerning an immigration bill that will criminalize actions taken by people smugglers engaged in sexual exploitation or forced labor. The state Senate approved the bill 29-0 Thursday, and the House...

Candidate Slate Shows Shiites Closing Ranks Sistani Backs List for Parliamentary Vote BAGHDAD, Dec. 6 -- Under the stewardship of the country's most powerful religious figure, Iraq's fractured Shiite Muslim majority has closed ranks and produced a unified list of candidates for the parliamentary elections set for Jan. 30. The United Iraqi Alliance, organized under the auspices of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, has brought together mainstream Shiite religious parties allied with the interim government and a junior cleric who until two months ago was committed to armed rebellion, recasting the politics of Iraq's majority population. The names of the...

California's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is trying to keep his state's military installations out of the Pentagon's sights during next year's round of base closures. Schwarzenegger this week appointed an 18-member council to advise state and local communities as well as coordinate with the California congressional delegation on base closing and retention issues. And in case the recommended strategies don't work, the council will also recommend ways of mitigating the adverse effects of closing or downsizing bases. The council is to be chaired by Leon E. Panetta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and a former House member...

The legendary Minneapolis nightclub closed its doors Tuesday. We asked local musicians to share their favorite memories at First Avenue and 7th St. Entry.

Kerry is now where he is on most of the polls around 47% Bush at about 54%. The 47% is about where most polls show Kerry's ceiling. While its obvious that the extremely high numbers of the past few weeks for Bush had to come down, where do you all expect it to end up? Did the 2000 election show a change of the leader close to election day? Incidently, tradesports numbers are now very similar to these. Symbol Bid Ask Last Low High Average DEM04_G52 0.163 0.165 0.165 0.140 0.165 0.157 DEM04_L52 0.304 0.312 0.311 0.295 0.322 0.306 .476...

Please help stop NBC. They are trying to do it again. Please note: on this MSNBC website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6290776/ they list Florida polls closing at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 2. Half of the panhandle of Florida is in the Central Time Zone. Polls in West Florida close at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. Central Time). West Florida is very conservative. I am convinced that if NBC and others had not announced Algore the winner before the polls closed last time, Bush would have won Floirida by thousands of votes (not just hundreds).

<p>"We're fighting for our church and the future of Polish heritage here in St.</p> <p>Louis," said John Baras, a board member from Eureka.</p> <p>Church, requires the parish to comply.</p> <p>John Sitek, 78, of south St. Louis.</p> <p>Polish-Americans here are at odds with some of the later Polish immigrants.</p>

US commandos 'closing in' on bin Laden By David Rennie in Washington (Filed: 24/02/2004) The top-secret US commando team that spearheaded the capture of Saddam Hussein is heading for Afghanistan in the latest sign that the hunt for Osama bin Laden is coming to a head. Battle-hardened units from Task Force 121 are being shifted as intelligence reports increase on the possible whereabouts of the terrorist leader, according to an article in the Washington Times by a reporter known for his access to the special forces. Most of the "high-value targets" from Saddam's regime have been caught or killed, Pentagon...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Gov. Kathleen Blanco will travel to Monroe to meet with community leaders about coping with the loss of State Farm Insurance, Northeast Louisiana's largest private employer.</p> <p>Blanco also intends to probe State Farm executives as to why they decided to close the offices there.</p>

Three engineers who work for the Navy predicted Tuesday that the Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Ceiba will be shut down entirely. Three instrumentation engineers - Juan Lugo, Angel Ramos and Miguel Sierra - disagreed with Vieques Commissioner Juan Fernandez and Ceiba Mayor Antonio Cruz, who maintained the base will not be shut down because the Navy is investing money to restore and purchase equipment for the facility. The three who work with the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility, a Navy division whose main function is to provide Navy training, were notified that as of Sept. 30, they will no...

<p>WAILUKU — West Maui community leaders, concerned about growing isolation and public safety issues, reacted with anger yesterday upon learning the state is considering closing Kapalua Airport.</p> <p>"It would be insulting, even criminal," said Joe Pluta, president of the West Maui Taxpayers Association.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) --  The Postal Service's desire to shut down little-used post offices will probably require a panel akin to a military base-closing commission, a congressional agency said Monday.</p> <p>No lawmaker will like the idea of voters complaining about the closure of their long-standing post office, so putting together a commission is probably the only way to get it done, Comptroller General David Walker told a Senate subcommittee.</p>

JACKSONVILLE , Fla. -- Winn-Dixie Stores (NYSE: WIN - news) Inc. (WIN) plans to exit its operations in Texas and Oklahoma by June 26 , resulting in the elimination of about 5,300 jobs. Citing continuing losses and reduced market share, the food and drug retailer said Monday it intends to close or sell 71 stores in Texas , five stores in Oklahoma and a distribution center and dairy plant in Fort Worth , Texas . The company said Monday it is in final negotiations to sell a majority of the stores and the dairy facility to various buyers and will...