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CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Oct. 27, 2008 – When students in Tarmiyah, Iraq, returned to school in September, they were welcomed by new classrooms full of new furniture and supplies. Their school, northwest of Baghdad, also had new electrical and sewer systems. Army 1st Lt. Erik Peterson meets with local contractors Oct. 20, 2008, and conducts a final assessment of improvements made to the Huda Teacher’s School in Tarmiyah, Iraq, northwest of Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. After conducting a final assessment of improvements made to the Huda Teacher’s School on...

NBC News, which keeps the most widely followed of the media electoral-college estimates, on Friday night said it is moving the closely watched battlegrounds of Virginia and Colorado to “lean Obama,” putting its estimate for the Democratic nominee over the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. President Bush won each of those states by 5 points or more in both 2000 and 2004. Before the move, NBC’s count had Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at 264 electoral votes, to 163 for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), with 111 as tossups. “We’re going to be, this weekend, moving Virginia and Colorado...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Oct. 23, 2008 – Leaders from Multinational Division Baghdad’s 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, joined the Taji Area Essential Services Committee to check on Iraqi government-funded projects in Taji, northwest of Baghdad, Oct. 15. Army Staff Sgt. Chris Mason, a native of Gilroy, Calif., pulls security duty outside a school undergoing rehabilitation in Taji, Iraq, northwest of Baghdad, Oct. 15, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Long  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Lt. Col. Thomas Mackey, a native of San Bernardino, Calif., and commander of...

DHI QAR — Electricity for any country means prosperity for its people; improvement to their lives and more opportunities for employment. In Iraq, a country that long has suffered from a serious lack of electricity production, a gleam of a light for a child in a dark night is a gleam for a new future. To avoid the darkness of winter, many Iraqis buy oil lanterns. And for many Iraqis, electric flash lights are very important if their private generators run out of fuel. Others have an electrical connection to generators run by local businesses to feed them with power...

TALLIL — A team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) paid a visit recently to the village of Al Haboosh in Dhi Qar province with several goals in mind. For one thing, the team members wanted to check on the progress being made by the contractor building a new compact water unit for the village, a project funded with Economic Support Fund (ESF) money by the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) for Dhi Qar province. That project, which cost $650,000 and will provide clean drinking water to an estimated 1,500 Iraqis, is proceeding satisfactorily, said Navy Cmdr. Mike Lang,...

TALLIL — The Adder Area Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is hoping to wrap up more than a dozen projects of different sorts before the end of the year. Navy Cmdr. Mike Lang, officer in charge of the office, said the intent is to end the year “with a strong finish” by closing out a significant number of projects. The office is part of the Corps’ Gulf Region South (GRS) district, which serves Iraq’s nine southern provinces. Among the projects being eyed for completion before year’s end are three primary healthcare centers (PHC) in Dhi Qar...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 20, 2007 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing a number of road improvement projects in Iraq, including a one-mile stretch on Victory Base Complex here. And while that particular project may be “inside the wire,” it is having an impact in town. Graders prepare the roadbed for asphalting. Iraqis are upgrading roads throughout Iraq, including this one on Victory Base Complex, Baghdad. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Hayder Mohammad, 26, is among those commuting from their Baghdad homes every day to help upgrade a gravel road into a paved main...

SACRAMENTO – A record $19.9 billion transportation bond pitched to voters last fall as a way to “fast track” projects is hitting slowdowns in some areas. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signaled that the money is flowing with a groundbreaking at Solana Beach last month for the extension of car pool lanes on Interstates 5 and 805. The bond will cover part of the $168 million cost. But legislation to set guidelines for distributing $2 billion to improve the movement of freight was stalled in part because Republicans thought proposals by Democrats were skewed toward improving air quality. And legislative leaders are...

BAGHDAD, Aug. 3, 2007 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, completed 112 construction projects between June 30 and July 27, 2007 – bringing the total number of completed projects to 3,998. Currently, there are 576 construction projects ongoing – all funded through the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, the Development Fund for Iraq, the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, the Economic Support Fund and the Iraq Security Forces Fund. Water projects that were completed this month include three network projects in Sadr City in Baghdad Province – each totaling $1.9 million. Each potable water project included laying...

... "Any rape case is horrible but this takes it to another level, something you can't think of even in your worst dreams," police spokesman Ted White said. According to the police report, a man knocked on the woman's door at about 9 p.m. and told her he had a flat tire. The mother and son, whom police have not identified, went outside and were ambushed by a group of gun-wielding suspects. The victims told police they were forced back into their home and beaten and sexually assaulted. According to authorities, the men raped, sodomized and beat the woman, then...

DUBAI — The UAE accounts for the bulk of the ongoing and planned infrastructure projects in the GCC countries, amounting to an estimated $1.3 trillion plus of investments over the 2007-2012 period. According to Edward Morse, Lehman Brothers' Chief Energy Economist, as of early April 2007, there were over 2,000 infrastructure projects. The core of these, over $300 billion, are in the UAE, mostly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Projects in Saudi Arabia have doubled over the past 18 months, and are now tracked at over $280 billion. Kuwaiti projects exceed $215 billion and the development costs for projects in...

Sex offenders, drug dealers and gang members are not welcome in New Orleans. That's the crux of a measure passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would prohibit people convicted of certain crimes from living in the soon-to-be re-opened housing projects in New Orleans, while at the same time giving others priority to return. The measure proposed by Congressman Bobby Jindal will make it easier for handicapped, elderly and working people to move back into New Orleans public housing, while locking out those with shady pasts. Some evacuees say it's a racist move by politicians they don't trust....

BAGHDAD, March 6, 2007 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division completed 64 construction projects between Feb. 23 and March 4, 2007 – bringing the total number of completed projects to 11, 395. Currently, there are 1,696 construction projects ongoing – all funded through the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, the Development Fund for Iraq, the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, the Economic Support Fund and the Iraq Security Forces Fund. “Clean, accessible drinking water is tantamount to good health, and access to fuel helps improve the burgeoning economy here. We are committed to seeing that the Iraqis...

WASHINGTON - By 2020, the United States will emit almost one-fifth more gases that lead to global warming than it did in 2000, increasing the risks of drought and scarce water supplies. That projection comes from an internal draft report from the Bush administration that is more than a year overdue at the United Nations. The Associated Press obtained a copy Saturday. The United States already is responsible for roughly one-quarter of the world's carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gases that scientists blame for global warming. The draft report, which is still being completed, projects that the current administration's climate...

Margarita sighs and glances around the home she’ll soon be leaving. There’s the tiny Christmas tree, still perched by the window. Over there are the toys her kids should have put away before going to bed. On the kitchen counter, bamboo shoots and dishes wait to be washed. She doesn’t want to move away from this jumbled place, but she knows she has to. Because this is now the law: Anyone like Margarita who lives in state-funded housing must show identification to their landlord and sign a paper that says they’ve come legally to the country. Like scores of immigrants...

ICE helps with funding, plan development and quality control. BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 5, 2007 — One the biggest efforts in rebuilding Baghdad is concentrating on the very things many have taken for granted: central services such as sewer systems, clean running water, electricity and trash disposal. In the past few years, many Iraqis have had to do without these necessities. So, the responsibility of helping bring all these services back to Baghdad has fallen on a few members of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team’s Special Troops Battalion. (BSTB) These members make up the Infrastructure Coordination Element. Each person was selected...

WASHINGTON - Democrats may have declared a one-year moratorium on pet projects treasured by members of Congress, but the move will hardly stop horse trading in Washington or moves by lawmakers to try to steer taxpayer money back home. Nor will it touch billions of dollars in already budgeted Pentagon earmarks, which go to everything from research into better body armor for overseas troops to finding bone marrow matches to treat leukemia patients. The temporary ban on earmarks — footnotes in spending bills that lawmakers use to deliver federal bacon to their states — has been greeted with applause by...

The ravaged neighborhoods of New Orleans make a grim backdrop for imagining the future of American cities. But despite its criminally slow pace, the rebuilding of this city is emerging as one of the most aggressive works of social engineering in America since the postwar boom of the 1950s. And architecture and urban planning have become critical tools in shaping that new order. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s plan to demolish four of the city’s biggest low-income housing developments at a time when the city still cannot shelter the majority...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2006 – Military officials in Afghanistan reported several new examples of ongoing progress: resumption of a road project in Paktika province, a new well for a school in Panjshir province, and the training of Afghan soldiers and police in the United States. Construction of the Naka Bazaar Cobblestone Road in Naika district has resumed after being halted in May due to security concerns, officials said. The project, which employs 60 local Afghans at an estimated cost of $199,000, will link villages in Paktika province and improve its economic viability. Taliban extremists dug up many of the cobblestones...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2006 – Steady progress is being made to provide new roads, electric power and water distribution systems to the Afghan people, the U.S. Army’s top engineer said today. The Taliban destroyed much of Afghanistan’s feeble infrastructure while they were in power, Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, commander and chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said from Afghanistan during a teleconference with Pentagon reporters. That’s why Afghanistan isn’t a reconstruction mission, Strock said. “This is a construction mission,” the three-star general said. “And, when you look at the resources available in this country, it’s going to...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2006 – Several construction projects in Afghanistan have recently been completed, and many more are close to completion, military officials in the Afghan capital of Kabul reported. The Khayr Khot Medical Clinic in Paktika province had a grand opening ceremony Oct. 14. The clinic will provide health care to citizens of the province’s Sharana district. The clinic complex consists of a building with five rooms, a bathroom and a guard post with perimeter wall. riginally built by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan in 1999, the facility needed significant repairs, coalition officials said. The refurbishment cost $120,000 and...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2006 – Iraq’s future success depends on the ability of its provinces to assume control of their governance, their security and their prosperity, the spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said today in the southern Iraqi city of Hillah. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell spoke today during a meeting with the Babil Provincial Reconstruction Team, one of seven PRTs up and running in Iraq. Two of the seven PRTs, in Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, are slated to be inaugurated later this week and the following week, respectively, he said. Ultimately 10 PRTs will be operating around the country....

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2006 – More than 140 Afghan laborers are currently working to complete local dam and building construction projects worth a total of nearly half a million dollars, according to Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news releases. More than 90 Afghan workers are helping to build a water-retention dam on a natural waterway near the village of Rawza in Ghazni district, Ghazni province. Work on the $200,000 concrete dam began July 25, but much of the work was redone because of heavy rain and flooding that month. Work on the more than 45-foot-high dam is 25 percent complete. The...

An Iraqi construction worker pounds an iron rod into the ground at an electrical substation construction site in Shamia, June 25. The substation, once complete, will provide electricity to the residents of the town. Department of Defense photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adrian Cadiz. BAGHDAD -- While operations aimed at bolstering security in Iraq continue to move forward, quality of life projects - such as reconstruction, improving the health-care system and building the economy - are also finding success.According to a recent Gulf Region Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report, building an Iraqi health-care system based on primary...

MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 21, 2006) – Three towns west of Mosul in northern Iraq are benefiting from several newly completed projects as a result of cooperation between local leadership, and members of the 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion. Local contractors completed construction of a new courthouse for the citizens of Sununi on Aug. 7. The month-long project employed 35 local workers and is expected to make the adjudication of laws easier for the judges in the Sunini sub-district by providing a place for judges to meet and hear cases. When inspecting the work, coalition force personnel assessed the...

Soldiers Complete Projects in Zafaraniya Soldiers from Forward Operating Base Loyalty completed several beautification and improvements projects in Zafaraniya during the month of July. By U.S. Army Sgt. Tanasha Stachelclzyk FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Aug. 15, 2006 – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers from 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, completed several beautification and improvements projects in Zafaraniya and the area outside of FOB Loyalty during the month of July.The projects included five playgrounds, two soccer fields, a soccer park and a sewing co-op. “I have the best job. I get...

Iraqi Communities Benefit From Projects Local contractors, civilian work force, local neighborhoods benefit from Civil Affairs projects. By U.S. Army Spc. William Jones 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment TIKRIT, Iraq, July 17, 2006-- One Iraqi community after another is benefiting from the efforts of people working together to improve the infrastructure of Iraq after years of neglect and war and at the same time putting the labor force back to work. "This helps to improve their infrastructure and it gives them an economic base." Capt. Jonathan Walden These behind-the-scenes people are working closely with the local Iraqi leadership to...

BALAD, Iraq, July 16, 2006 – Civil affairs soldiers are here working to ensure local Iraqis have the strong foundation needed to rebuild and sustain their government long after the coalition leaves Iraq. Army Capt. Philip Zapien, civil affairs team leader for 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, finds himself wearing many different hats these days. The majority of his civil affairs team has been tasked to help another unit, leaving Zapien with just a couple of soldiers to complete missions. Though short-staffed, Zapien is determined to...

NEW ORLEANS — Hundreds of displaced public housing residents returned here for the first time since Hurricane Katrina over the last several days, armed with little more than cleaning supplies and frustration, in an attempt to force the city to reopen their storm-damaged apartments. The city, saying the projects are not ready, has refused. And so, outside the largest public housing complex, the St. Bernard Housing Development in the 7th Ward, tenant groups have organized evacuees into a tent city called "Survivors Village." Uptown, at the C.J. Peete Development, elderly residents, mostly women, broke into their old homes and carted...

HYDERABAD, India (AFP) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) can boost the fight against climate change by curbing funds for fossil fuel projects and supporting renewable energy, environmental watchdog Greenpeace International says. In a report titled "Irrelevance or Leadership," Greenpeace said if the ADB continued to fund coal-based projects it could fail in its mission to reduce poverty and promote development. "The main cause of climate change is our reliance on fossil fuels -- coal, oil and gas -- to produce energy and the solution is to shift to clean, renewable energy such as biomass, geothermal power plants and wind...

ORLANDO, Fla. - The cost of building roads has gotten so high, not even dirt is cheap anymore. As a result, many states are postponing scores of highway projects. The reconstruction work from the eight hurricanes that have hit the United States since 2004 has combined with a rise in population in some states to drive up the demand for labor, material and equipment. That, in turn, has pushed up wages and prices. Surging fuel prices, China's immense demand for concrete and steel and the reconstruction of Iraq are also pushing U.S. road construction costs higher. "We plan for cost...

MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. (March 16, 2006) -- Service members and employees of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow judged some exceptional science projects for the Barstow Unified School District Science Fair March 9 at Barstow Community College's gymnasium. The fair is an annual event that is participated in by students who attend all schools within the Barstow area, said Danielle King, Barstow district science fair coordinator. Following the judging at the district fair, the students who received a gold ranking for their outstanding scientific intelligence are able to participate in the regional science fair, said King. Not all...

BAQUBAH, Iraq (Army News Service, March 14, 2006) – Challenges facing quality maintenance of a water treatment plant and a primary electrical sub-station northeast of Baghdad were laid out by Iraqi engineers during a tour by Coalition leaders March 9. Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq, visited the Khatoon Water Compact Unit and the Al-Abarra Electric sub-station. Both facilities were in great need of refurbishment and oversight. Chiarelli spent the day with the command group of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, and toured two of the brigade’s areas of...

In an unusual campaign to hedge their political bets, a coalition of 11 leading environmental groups has quietly drafted a ballot measure asking California voters next year to approve the largest parks and water bond in state history. The proposed measure, now awaiting a title and summary from California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, would raise $5.4 billion to shore up aging levees in San Francisco Bay's delta, build new drinking water treatment plants, fund flood control, restore salmon runs and purchase new parklands from Monterey Bay to Lake Tahoe to inner-city Los Angeles. --snip-- ``We're hopeful the governor and the...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 21, 2005 – Mosul is a microcosm of Iraq. It's the second-largest city in the country, and contains all kinds of people who make up the ethnic stew that is this nation. Shiia Arab, Sunni Arab, Kurds, Turkomen, ethnic Iranians, Assyrians and many other ethnicities settled in Mosul, taking advantage of its location astride ancient trading routes, and amid fertile land that turned the region into the wheat belt of the Middle East. The city is the capital of Ninewa province. In Judeo-Christian heritage, Ninevah was the home of the prophets Jonah and Isaiah, and it has the...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Dec. 16, 2005 – Nothing makes Army Lt. Col. Jamie Gayton more angry than someone saying coalition projects in East Baghdad have no effect. "We are making a difference every day in the lives of average Iraqis," said Gayton, the commander of 2-3 Brigade Troops Battalion and responsible for coalition projects in East Baghdad. Sadr City is a part of the area of operations for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, a unit of the 3rd Infantry Division. Hundreds of projects in the area of 2.6 million people have changed life in the neighborhoods. When Americans...

Some of the trucks, front-end loaders, and giant back-hoes provided by the Non-Construction Sector for ongoing maintenance of the Sweet Water Canal in southern Iraq. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division photo. Canal Projects Deliver Water, Self-sufficiency Work to ensure the Sweet Water Canal water quality and reliability also provides local Iraqis the tools necessary to maintain this resource. By Denise CalabriaGulf Region DivisionU.S. Army Corps of Engineers BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 5, 2005 — Due to the desert-like climate and high salinity of water in southern Iraq, two million residents of Basrah have long relied upon the...

Iraqi teachers clean in preparation for the first day of school. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Polli Keller Sulayminyah School Projects Nearly Complete The school renovations included plaster repair and painting, as well as installation of ceiling fans and window screens and new playground equipment. By Polli Keller Gulf Region North U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MOSUL, Iraq, Oct. 12, 2005 — School days are here and Sulayminyah school renovations are nearing completion. Seven out of ten schools renovated in the Sulayminyah district are complete. The other three are ninety percent finished and will be ready for...

BILLINGS, Mont. - A new study suggests natural gas development in western Wyoming is forcing mule deer into less suitable winter range and affecting the animals' movements in an area known as the Pinedale Anticline. The number of mule deer on the Mesa winter range dropped a "disconcerting" 46 percent from 2002 to 2005, according to the report from Western EcoSystems Technology Inc. Models and maps indicated that, through at least three winters, deer tended to favor areas further away from well pads. Such behavior suggests that seasonal drilling restrictions may not be achieving what land managers had intended, the...

TALLIL, Iraq, Aug. 8, 2005 — With a major neighborhood electrical refurbishment project getting underway in the city of Najaf, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South District has earmarked most of the money for distribution projects, which means a voltage level from 33 kilovolts down to the levels used by houses and small shops. “The plants aren’t operating at full capacity for one reason or another. The plants are old and haven’t been well maintained over the years for example. This power shortage causes the three hours on/ three hours off of electricity that Iraq experiences...

Kofi Annan had what perhaps was the quote of the week recently. In an editorial displayed in The Washington Post, Annan said of Iraq: “In a media-hungry age, visibility is often regarded as proof of success, but this does not necessarily hold true in Iraq.” Most of Iraq’s successes have been away from the camera. They have been too far away for most Americans to see. President Bush has stated that “successes” abound in Iraq, but he has failed to elaborate. Therefore, I followed Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi’s advice and searched for the real facts about Iraq. We do see...

Were a lyricist to pen words to this imaginary "Bankruptcy Forever" March the lyricist could combine the serious with the absurd. Alas, absurdity often plays well in Congress. Because there is no effective germaneness requirement in the Senate Rules, human imagination cannot envision the projects upon which Congress appropriate taxpayers' money. How about $1.5 million for a bus stop in Anchorage? ("The Streetcar Named Desire" in New Orleans evidently struck out but "The Bus Stop Named Profligate" made it.) Or $1 million toward the National Flag Museum in Pittsburgh? ("National" Flag in Pittsburgh?) Or $1 million for a DNA study...

A “universal recipe” for building a “dream team” has been devised by scientists studying the make-up of the groups behind hit Broadway musicals and successful science projects. The perfect creative team contains just the right mix of veterans and rookies, suggests the mathematical modelling study, carried out by Luís Nunes Amaral at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, US, and colleagues. “All the best teams seem to have a certain number of newcomers,” says Amaral, who works on complex systems and network analysis. But he adds: “The successful teams also have a fair number of people who are established.” Taking completely...

Perhaps you're wondering what the Appalachian Fruit Laboratory in Kearneysville WV wants to do with $3,638,000 of your hard-earned tax dollars. Maybe you want to know why animal waste management in Bowling Green KY costs the federal government $2,300,000. (What are those animals eating -- too much of that Appalachian Fruit?) Possibly you just want to know why $100,000 of the money you send to the IRS is going to teach Iowans who want to plant trees in the Trees Forever Program about the injuries snow can do to those trees. I'm more concerned with the damage pork-barrel projects like...

- Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released the 2005 Congressional Pig Book, a sweeping compendium of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. Congress spent more tax dollars on pork this year than in any other year in history. For fiscal 2005, appropriators stuffed 13,997 projects into the 13 appropriations bills, an increase of 31 percent over last year’s total of 10,656. In the last two years, the total number of projects has increased by 49.5 percent. The cost of these projects in fiscal 2005 was $27.3 billion, or 19 percent more than last year’s total of $22.9 billion....

[VHFCN] Real news from Iraq Went to an AUSA dinner last night at the Ft. Hood Officers' Club to hear a speech by MG Pete Chiarelli, CG of the 1st Cav Div. He and most of the Div. have just returned from Iraq. Very informative and, surprise, the Mainstream Media (MSM) isn't telling the story. I was not there as a reporter, didn't take notes but I'll make some the points I remember that were interesting, suprising or generally stuff I had not heard before. It was not a speech per se. He just walked and talked, showed some slides...

WASHINGTON (AP) - California would get more than $25 billion in highway and public transportation money under a giant transportation bill that passed the House of Representatives this week. Hundreds of projects would be funded - from $400 million to extend Los Angeles' light-rail Gold Line through East Los Angeles, to $11 million for a seismic retrofit of the Golden Gate Bridge, to $153 million for the Mission Valley East light-rail extension in San Diego. The bill also includes language to allow California's law letting hybrid cars into carpool lanes to take effect. All 53 California House members voted Thursday...

The FBI's failure to roll out an expanded computer system that would help agents investigate criminals and terrorists is the latest in a series of costly technology blunders by government over more than a decade. Experts blame poor planning, rapid industry advances and the massive scope of some complex projects whose price tags can run into billions of dollars at U.S. agencies with tens of thousands of employees. "There are very few success stories," said Paul Brubaker, former deputy chief information officer at the Pentagon. "Failures are very common, and they've been common for a long time." The FBI said...

Thousands of residents of subsidized housing in New Jersey got a last-minute Christmas gift this week, after federal officials agreed to a complex arrangement that advances 21 housing authorities $80 million to renovate old buildings.The authorities will repay the money over 20 years, using 30 percent of their annual appropriation for capital maintenance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. And they benefited from a joint borrowing operation overseen by the state."It's a good news story for housing authorities for once," said David Gardner, executive director of the Morristown Housing Authority, which helped organize the borrowing effort through...

WASHINGTON - Despite soaring deficits, the government spending plan awaiting President Bush's signature is chock-full of special items for industries and communities. Consider $443,000 to develop salmon-fortified baby food, or $350,000 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lawmakers from both parties who approved the $388 billion package last weekend set aside plenty of money for projects certain to sow good will in their home districts. The time-honored practice flourished despite the ballooning deficit, less money for federal programs and rising unease about how government will finance the futures of Medicare and Social Security. For instance, there was $50,000...