Free Republic

Reston - February 17, 2005 One of Virginia's most strident advocates of tax hikes will have to defend his record, and his support for both the proposed toll hikes and a new county income tax, in November's general election. Donny Ferguson, a Reston Libertarian, will oppose Delegate Ken Plum in the Nov. 8 general election. Ferguson works for the [Republican] Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, dealing with traffic, growth and budgetary issues. "You'd think Plum would know his district doesn't support his call for higher tolls, seeing as they already voted against his call for higher taxes for transit in...

The Republican leader of the state Senate said today that an increase in cigarette taxes is an option lawmakers could turn to this session in trying to erase the state's deficit and pass a balanced budget. "I am certainly open to consideration of an increase in the cigarette tax," Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton of Columbus said during a weekly meeting with reporters. When asked about the possible range of an increase, he suggested 25 cents to 40 cents per pack. "I merely mention it. There will be opposition to it. I mention it. I don't want the public...

Satellite TV customers are facing price rises, as operators Dish Network and DirecTV hatch plans to increase rates, despite an ongoing rivalry with cable providers. Dish Network, owned by EchoStar Communications, plans to raise subscriptions by $2 to $4 a month, the company said Thursday. That translates to an average of 4.3 percent on average charges of $56.11. The new rates will take effect Feb. 1 and affect certain packages, such as the basic service. DirecTV is also planning to announce a rate hike this quarter, but details are not yet available, said Robert Mercer, a company spokesman. Currently, DirecTV...

"Although President Bush has said that he would not increase Social Security taxes to pay for private accounts, some of his aides are floating the idea of a stealth tax increase on the wealthy, nevertheless..." "...According to the Congressional Research Service, in 1980 a retiree with lifetime earnings at or above the Social Security wage cap got back all of his and his employer’s contributions in 3.1 years. By 2000, it took 24.9 years, and by 2010 it will take 35.3 years... Under current projections, a high-income worker retiring in 2030 will need 55 years worth of benefits to get...

New to the Alameda County Board of Education, Dennis Chaconas challenged Superintendent Sheila Jordan's scheduled raise but was rebuffed Tuesday night by a legal opinion claiming her salary was set in stone. In 2002, the previous set of board members voted to give Jordan a compensation package including a $60,000 raise and $13,125 increase in benefits by January 2006 — a 21 percent increase the first year and a combined 35 percent increase over the next three years. On Tuesday, Chaconas, the former superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District, made a motion to freeze the scheduled increase in January....

Hundreds of millions of additional dollars must be pumped into Minnesota schools to get them operating at peak performance, the leader of Minnesota's teachers union said Thursday. And if that takes more taxes, then so be it. "We're not tax experts, but we need to put everything on the table," said Education Minnesota president Judy Schaubach. "Legislators cannot blindly adhere to a no-new-taxes stance."

BANGOR - Mainers could be paying as much for electricity starting March 1 as they did five years ago when policy-makers promised lower prices once the state's electricity industry was restructured. Today, the Maine Public Utilities Commission likely will increase the standard-offer electricity rate by as much as 50 percent, from roughly 5 cents per kilowatt-hour to 7.5 cents. It could mean paying about $16 more per month for the average homeowner.  Stephen Ward, the state's public advocate, expects this magnitude of price increase. It's a vote that wasn't supposed to take place. Standard offer, or the default rate consumers...

By David Winning, PA City Staff Oil cartel Opec agreed today to scale back production in a bid to defend high prices and protect revenues. At a meeting in Cairo, Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi said the total reduction of one million barrels a day will be implemented from the beginning of January. Opec also agreed to meet again at the end of that month to review the impact of the cutback on prices, which have fallen sharply recently since hitting a new record in October. Mild weather in the United States has led to a stronger than expected build-up...

Women would be forced to pay hundreds of pounds more for their car insurance under new EU anti-sexism laws expected to come under heavy fire from a parliamentary inquiry this week. Female drivers are charged up to 30 per cent less than male drivers because they have fewer crashes. They also pay less for life insurance, because they are less likely to die young. The measures proposed by the European Commission to enforce 'gender equality' would force the financial services industry to treat the sexes equally. It argues that differences in men and women's life expectancy are down to potentially...

SACRAMENTO - The wages of more than 1 million Californians would increase by a dollar an hour under legislation approved Thursday by the Democratic-controlled Senate. The bill by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, would raise the state's minimum wage 50 cents to $7.25 an hour next summer, and then to $7.75 an hour in January 2006. The measure, approved on a 22-14 vote, now returns to the Assembly for final approval, which is considered a formality, before it lands on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

Online Petition To Premier Dalton McGuinty: On the 11th of September 2003 you signed a pledge to uphold the Taxpayers’ Protection and Balanced Budget Act if your party formed the next government of Ontario. You specifically promised to: “Not raise taxes or implement new taxes without the explicit consent of Ontario voters; and Not run deficits.” Since then, you have broken both of these promises. Your budget of May 18, 2004 has increased taxes, imposed new taxes, and will run this province further into the red for years to come. You also plan to gut the Taxpayer Protection and Balanced...

SACRAMENTO - In a rare move, the nonpartisan legislative analyst yesterday recommended raising the gasoline tax to improve a state road system hurt by four years of diverting transportation funds to tighten budget gaps. Californians pay hundreds of dollars more than the average American for auto repairs and other costs due to rough roads, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill said, adding that increased traffic congestion is harming the state's economy. She pointed to a recent study that found bad roads cost the average San Diego motorist $667 a year, far above the national average of $396. Another study revealed that congestion...

<p>SACRAMENTO - California energy officials no longer believe replacing MTBE with ethanol will spike gasoline prices at the pump.</p> <p>"You won't see $4-a-gallon gasoline because of ethanol," said James Boyd, a California Energy Commission member. "You might see it as a result of other things, like the unrest in Venezuela or the situation in the Middle East, but not ethanol."</p>

Subject: Noblesville-Southeastern Public Library Board Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 13:54:59 -0500 ============================================================FYI...I am sending this e-mail message to you because you will be affected by the matter that it focuses on.The Noblesville-Southeastern Public Library Board is pursuing a $30 million bond to more than double the size of the Noblesville and Fishers library branches.This non-elected board is going to bind taxpayers in Delaware, Fall Creek, Noblesville and Wayne Townships to a 22-year debt. That debt will be paid through a property tax hike. They are hoping that nobody notices the proposed bump in taxes.Homeowners with a house valued at...

House reinstates $1.14B tax increase By Elisabeth J. Beardsley / Boston Herald Wednesday, July 24, 2002 House lawmakers overwhelmingly reinstated a $1.14 billion tax hike yesterday - less than 24 hours after acting Gov. Jane M. Swift nixed it. The ink was barely dry on Swift's veto before House members voted, 120-29, to restore the biggest tax hike in state history. The five-tax package now proceeds to the Senate, where President Thomas F. Birmingham, a gubernatorial candidate, has described it as a ``fait accompli.'' Previous votes have demonstrated a comfortable two-thirds margin for override, prompting Senate Republicans to throw in...

<p>The Senate fell one vote shy Tuesday of approving a package of tax increases to close California's budget gap.</p> <p>Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, said the Senate would meet every day to try to approve the budget by the start of the fiscal year Monday.</p>

Police: Two football players accused of oral sex in class The Associated Press3/23/02 5:15 PM DERIDDER, La. (AP) -- Two DeRidder High School football players are accused of having oral sex with a 14-year-old girl during biology class, police said. A teacher and about 30 students were in the class at the time, DeRidder police Lt. Kenneth Pine said. He would not say how many saw the alleged sex act. Pine said police do not know what the teacher was doing, but are not investigating the teacher. School officials would not say whether the teacher will be investigated or disciplined....