Free Republic

WASHINGTON - A hotly disputed fence on the U.S.-Mexico border will cost more than $60 billion - nearly 10 times more than original estimates - with billions more needed for land acquisition and maintenance, according to a new government study. While officials have estimated that the 850-mile fence will cost $7 billion to erect, the report notes that maintenance could cost as much as $70 million per mile over its 25-year life span and that miles of private property in Texas still must be purchased. The new cost estimates come as a Democratic-controlled Congress prepares to revisit the contentious issue...

Washington- The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to bolster security at U.S. borders by pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into more patrols, surveillance flights and sensors to catch illegal immigrants sneaking into the country. Senators approved the $32.7 billion budget for the Homeland Security Department next year by a vote of 100-0. But they rejected proposals to boost funds for cities and states at high risk of terrorism attacks, a sore subject amid a recent spate of terrorism-related arrests and threats targeting metropolitan areas. With border security and immigration reform a top election-year priority, the Senate also agreed to make...

With 2 1/2 miles of border fencing along one Arizona ranch completed, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps plans to build a stronger security fence several miles east. Connie Hair, a spokeswoman for the group, which opposes illegal immigration, said Wednesday that construction of vehicle barriers will start soon on the first fence project, headed by contractor Peter Kunz. An 800-foot section of the five-strand barbed wire fencing constructed on the ranch owned by Jack Ladd and his son, John, had to be restrung after vandals cut the wire strand-by-strand within about 4 inches of each support post, Hair said. After...

YUMA, Ariz. - President Bush said Thursday it makes sense to put up fencing along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border but not to block off the entire 2,000-mile length to keep out illegal immigrants. During a visit to one of the busiest crossing sectors, Bush did not declare his support for either of two competing proposals in Congress — one approved by the House that would build 700 miles of fencing and one in the Senate that would build half that. Instead, he said the Border Patrol should guide the decisions. "Right here we're at a place where we're using...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Immigration authorities raided the offices of a Southern California fencing company Wednesday, seizing boxes of documents and arresting 17 employees who are believed to be in the United States illegally. Golden State Fence Co. had rehired some of the 17 employees who were arrested despite previous warnings by federal authorities that they were ineligible to work, officials with the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau said in a press release. Authorities searched company offices in Riverside, where the company is based, and in Oceanside, about 35 miles north of San Diego. All 17...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A leading House Republican wants to build a fence along the entire 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, a plan that could cost billions of dollars and that critics say would do little to stop illegal immigration. Rep. Duncan Hunter of San Diego, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, planned to announce legislation Thursday to create a two-layer reinforced fence with lighting and sensors from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, a 100-yard border zone to the north of the barriers, and 25 new ports of entry. Currently, most of the westernmost 14-mile stretch of the border...

HEADLIGHT THEFT: A man reported an attempt to steal headlights from his car while it was parked at his home on Short Beach Road in Stratford. The man told police Wednesday morning his 2004 Nissan Maxima had been damaged in the area of its headlights the previous night. Officers reported seeing pry marks and scratches on the car from an effort to remove the lights. The left headlight had been removed but the right one was still in place, police said. The man estimated the damage at about $2,000.

So last night the neighbor's dog is barking non-stop which it does any time they put it in the back yard and they are in the house. The problem was I hate noisey neighbors - it's an obsessive compulsive disorder of mine (or so I've concluded). About 10:30 PM I walk out to my driveway and they have their normal 4 cars parked. 2 in the driveway and 2 in front of the house. But this time there's a large extended passenger van with side-doors running at the end of the driveway with its lights on. I think nothing of...