This is NOT MY ORIGINAL WORK! I wish it had been, but alas I have a job and commitments which prevent me from taking the time to create an expose' like this. None the less it is an awesome piece of citizen journalism...
Corporation that owns Zuccotti "Protester" Park Wins $168 Million Loan Guarantee from Obama DOE!
Original Research ^ | Oct. 11, 2011 | chatteringclassof58/FightinJAG, ed.
Posted on Tue Oct 11 2011 05:51:57 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time) by fightinJAG
(This info was developed and originally posted by chatteringclassof58. The original post was deleted. This is an edited version of the material.)
Occupy Wall Street protesters have been camped out in and trashing Zuccotti Park for weeks. Zuccotti Park is a very nice private park, right in the middle of Manhattan.
Zuccotti Park is owned by Brookfield Office Properties, which is part of Brookfield Asset Management, worth at least $150 billion.
Brookfield Office Properties
Mayor Bloomberg has said he can do nothing about the protest unless the park owners (Brookfield Properties) ask the protesters to be evicted. Brookfield issued a statement that it was okay with them if the protesters stayed on their private property.
NYPD: Only Landlord Can Evict Occupy Wall Street Protesters From Zuccotti Park
That’s pretty nice of a big evil corporation to let protesters sleep, smoke weed and go number one and two on its nice private park in downtown Manhattan. Especially since the protesters are protesting big evil corporations. (But then again, President Obama expressed solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protesters, Nancy Pelosi said “God Bless Them,” and Bill Ayers is writing their collective Occupy Wall Street demands. So someone loves them.)
Hmm. Wonder what that’s about.
Maybe Mayor Bloomberg has some inside track on what’s going on here? After all, Bloomberg’s longtime shack-up girlfriend, Diana L. Taylor, is on the Board of Directors of Brookfield Properties, the company that owns Zuccotti Park. (She’s also served as the CFO of the Long Island Power Authority.)
You can read about Ms. Taylor here:
Diana L. Taylor
Brookfield Office Properties Board of Directors, Diana L. Taylor
Zuccotti Park is named after John E. Zuccotti, a member of the Brookfield Properties board.
Profile of John E. Zuccotti
John Zuccotti was also a long-term member of the Board of Directors of WellPoint Health Network (also known as Blue Cross of California, Blue Cross of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in New York, Blue Cross Blue Shield in Missouri and Wisconsin, HealthLink, and UNICARE.).
WellPoint Health Networks
President Obama used WellPoint as an example of the evils that would be exorcized by Obamacare. In fact, some argue that WellPoint, along with other large health insurers, willingly colluded with the Obama administration in order to save Obamacare from an otherwise certain political death.
How the Health Insurance Industry Saved Obamacare
Why?
When the dust settled and people were actually able to read Obamacare, turns out it favors WellPoint.
Forbes: Obamacare Favors WellPoint
A few years ago, Brookfield Properties became the largest client in a start-up lobbying firm called Oldaker, Biden & Belair. Yes, the same Hunter Biden who was on the Board of Amtrak while Daddy was pouring Fedgov money down that rathole.
Some of Brookfield's lobbying history here and here.
One of the big divisions of Brookfield Asset Management is Brookfield Renewable Energy. You know where this is going. This company has received hundreds of millions, if not billions, in “green” grants, stimulus money and DOE loans (a la Solyndra).
First, about Brookfield Renewable Energy:
Brookfield Asset Management is looking to merge its hydroelectric and wind power assets into the world's second-largest public renewable power company in a move designed to cash in on the growing demand for cleaner power.
With a market capitalization of $6 billion, it would rank behind Italy's ENEL GP's $10-billion equity value and ahead of EDP of France and Portugal's EDF Group.
"The renewable power generation sector is increasingly becoming a meaningful portion of the new energy supply on a global basis," Richard Legault, CEO of Brookfield's power operations, said on conference calls with analysts and bondholders.
"Brookfield continues to believe that the strong growth in renewables will be driven by widespread acceptance of the need to reduce the world's carbon footprint, challenges faced by competing technologies such as coal or nuclear generation and the desire for energy self-sufficiency pursued by many governments through various policies and incentives."
A quick search of what Brookfield is up to:
A NH Solyndra? Wind farm gets fed loan
In the name of “green energy,” the Obama administration is using taxpayer money to subsidize a New Hampshire wind farm that is a subsidiary of a hugely profitable company.
New Hampshire’s largest wind farm, the Granite Reliable Power project under construction in Coos County, is jointly owned by BAIF Granite Holdings, LLC and Freshnet Wind Energy, LLC. BAIF owns 75 percent of Granite Reliable. BAIF Granite Holdings was created earlier this year by Brookfield Renewable Power, which is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management of New York.
That company, which runs clean energy operations around the world, has deep pockets. It reported net income of $454 million in 2009 and $3.2 billion in 2010.
Brookfield Renewable Power financed the creation of BAIF Granite Holdings from its Brookfield Americas Infrastructure fund, which was reported in February to have $2.7 billion in assets.
With that kind of backing, it is curious that the U.S. Department of Energy announced it would guarantee up to 80 percent of a $168.9 million loan for the Granite Reliable wind farm project last week.
Why would a company created by a $3.2 billion company and backed by a $2.7 billion private fund need federal loan guarantees? That would be an important question at any time, but it is more pertinent after the bankruptcy of Solyndra, a solar-panel maker that got a $535 million federal loan guarantee from the Obama administration last year.
Granite Reliable’s wind farm is not proven, and Granite Reliable is a limited liability company, which provides broad investor protection if the company goes down. If the wind farm flops, and investors cut their losses, the taxpayers stand to lose $135 million.
What is the justification for risking $135 million in public money, especially on a company with access to so much private cash? Apparently, the justification is that Obama likes “green power” and wants to associate himself with it.
With the country running deficits as far as the eye can see, the Obama administration opts to spend money we don’t have to subsidize a risky venture undertaken by the subsidiary of a huge, profitable company. If that doesn’t perfectly illustrate what is wrong with crony capitalism in general and the Obama administration’s practice of it in particular, we don’t know what would.
Department of Energy Finalizes Loan Guarantee of Nearly $170 Million to Granite Reliable Power
September 23, 2011 - 3:31pm
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today the Department of Energy finalized a partial guarantee for $168.9 million loan to Granite Reliable Power, LLC. The loan guarantee will support a 99 megawatt (MW) wind generation project that will be New Hampshire’s largest wind farm. The project will be located in Coos County in northern New Hampshire, approximately 110 miles north of Concord. Project sponsors, BAIF Granite Holdings, LLC and Freshet Wind Energy, LLC, expect the project will fund nearly 200 construction jobs. [Note: BAIF owns 75 percent of Granite Reliable. BAIF Granite Holdings was created earlier this year by Brookfield Renewable Power, which is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management of New York.
So....
Still wondering why a big evil corporation might be okay with a bunch of nasty protesters trashing its private property in beautiful downtown Manhattan?
As even the protesters could tell you, corporations don’t do stuff out of the goodness of their hearts.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Democrats are the "Party of the People"....
..... all the little people who will never get to partake in scandalous land deals and banking schemes.
I wish they'd all just go home and let someone with a modicum of morals & ethics run things for a few hundred years.....
Where, oh where is our next George Washington, John Adams, even Thomas Jefferson....?
Pelosi’s disclosure belated in husband’s land deal
Partner is father of favored envoy
The Washington Times
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s husband, a real estate developer and investment banker, stands to make millions of dollars in a previously undisclosed residential real estate project in California as a partner with the father of a woman Mrs. Pelosi helped become ambassador toHungary, records show.
Paul F. Pelosi’s investment in Russell Ranch is worth at least $5 million and possibly as much as $25 million in a deal put together by his friend and longtime business associate, Angelo Tsakopoulos, patriarch of a multimillion-dollar real estate development firm, according to Mrs. Pelosi’s latest personal-disclosure statement.
Despite his involvement in the project dating back to the late 1990s, Mrs. Pelosi first listed the investment in May 2010 on her federal financial-disclosure forms covering the couple’s finances during 2009. The forms are required annually and are supposed to identify assets she and her husband have that are worth more than $1,000.
The first Russell Ranch listing came a month after The Washington Times raised questions about business dealings between Mr. Pelosi andMr. Tsakopoulos and Mrs. Pelosi’s successful efforts to help his daughter, Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, become ambassador. For 2009, Mrs. Pelosi reported that the Russell Ranch investment was worth between $1 million and $5 million. The next year, she listed the value as between $5 million and $25 million.
Maxine Waters: Swamp Queen
To re-cap: OneUnited Bank received $12 million in federal TARP bailout money after Waters’ office personally intervened and lobbied the Treasury Department in 2008. The minority depository institution was seeking a backdoor government rescue from its reckless decision to squander nearly $52 million of its bank capital on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock. Lavish spending by top bank executive Kevin Cohee, who boasted a company-financed Porsche and a Santa Monica, Calif., beachfront mansion, compounded the bank’s problems.
After the federal bailout of Fannie/Freddie, OneUnited’s stock in the government-sponsored enterprises plunged to a value estimated at less than $5 million. Only through Waters’ intervention was OneUnited able to secure an emergency meeting with the Treasury and its then-Secretary Henry Paulson.
Business as usual for the Dems. We are supposed to be grateful they are up there "fighting for the [little] people....
Where, oh where is our next George Washington, John Adams, even Thomas Jefferson....?
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Only a liberal ideologue could say this with a straight face....
$200K Per Job? Timothy Geithner Says White House Jobs Plan Is Still a Bargain
By BEN FORER
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner didn't dispute a Harvard economist's estimate that each job in the White House's jobs plan would cost $200,000, but said the pricetag is the wrong way to measure the bill's worth.
And he also pointed out, in an interview today with ABC News' David Muir, that there is no other option on the table for getting the economy moving and putting more people back to work.
As if the only other option is "doing nothing" (of course, for the first 150 years of our existence we did nothing and it all seemed to turn out ok....):
"If the alternative plan is for Washington to do nothing, that's unacceptable," Geithner said. "If the alternative plan is to sit there and say we're going to cut our way out of this by just cutting spending, that would make the economy weaker. Or we're going to sit here and just complain about regulation. ... That will not do anything to help the average family now still suffering so much from the crisis."
But somehow the government borrowing $200,000 per job (will have to paid back through taxes of the "average U.S. family) WILL HELP the average U.S. family....?
Friday, September 23, 2011
Really? THIS is the smartest guy in the room...? NOT!!!
New gaffe: Obama hails America's historic building of 'the Intercontinental Railroad'
"We’re the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad," Barack Obama.
That's what the president of the United States flat-out said Thursday during what was supposed to be a photo op to sell his jobs plan next to an allegedly deteriorating highway bridge.
A railroad between continents? A railroad from, say, New York City all the way across the Atlantic to France? Now, THAT would be a bridge!
And of course, who could forget this intelligent look:It's yet another humorous gaffe by the Harvard graduate, overlooked by most media for whatever reason. Like Obama saying Abraham-Come-Lately Lincoln was the founder of the Republican Party. Or Navy corpseman. Or the Austrian language. Fifty-seven states. The president of Canada. Etc.
Yeah, this is the guy we were all waiting for....
And the NYT wonders why readers are leaving in droves....
In Rush to Assist Solyndra, U.S. Missed Warning Signs
By ERIC LIPTON and JOHN M. BRODER
Published: September 22, 2011
Here are some pull quotes:
"While no evidence has emerged that political favoritism played a role in what administration officials assert were merit-based decisions..."
On the face of it, it actually sounds reasonable, until you realize what you just read in the prevous paragraph:
"The government’s backing of Solyndra, which could cost taxpayers more than a half-billion dollars, came as the politically well-connected business began an extensive lobbying campaign that appears to have blinded government officials to the company’s financial condition and the risks of the investment, according to a review of government documents and interviews with administration officials and industry analysts."Hmmm... Admittedly, there are two authors of the article......
"While no evidence has emerged that political favoritism played a role in what administration officials assert were merit-based decisions, Solyndra drew plenty of high-level attention. Its lobbyists corresponded frequently and met at least three times with an aide to a top White House official, Valerie B. Jarrett, to push for loans, tax breaks and other government assistance. "
Wait a minute.... I'm getting mixed signals here. Is this a political scandal or not...
“It was alarming,” said Frank Rusco, a program director at the Government Accountability Office, which found that Energy Department preliminary loan approvals — including the one for Solyndra — were granted at times before officials had completed mandatory evaluations of the financial and engineering viability of the projects. “They can’t really evaluate the risks without following the rules.”
The Energy Department’s senior staff has acknowledged in interviews the intense pressure from top Obama administration officials to rush stimulus spending out the door.
Yes! I knew it!
But....
Damien LaVera, an Energy Department spokesman, said administration officials realized the Solyndra plan posed some certain risks. The loan program was designed to help finance cutting-edge projects that could not otherwise find enough private-sector investors.
“But we did not just take what this company was telling us,” Mr. LaVera said. “We did the analysis on our own and decided it was a good bet.”
Yeah, it was probably just an honest mistake by an over zealous bureaucrat who only wanted to give a hand up to someone in the private sector. I'm sure it had nothing what so ever to do with the "nearly $1.8 million on Washington lobbyists" or the fact that "George B. Kaiser, a billionaire from Tulsa, Okla., was a fund-raiser for Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign and the backer of a foundation that is Solyndra’s leading investor..."
No, I specifically remember Barack Hussien Obama promising to keep lobbyists out of the White House. Yeah, that's it. It was an honest mistake. A half a billion taxpayer dollar mistake. Easy come, tax some more....
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Obama Nation....
Consumers paid more for range of items in August
Consumers paid more for gas, food, rent and other items in August, raising inflation pressures
, On Thursday September 15, 2011, 9:28 am
Huh.... Food inflation? Who'd thunk.....?
Consumers paid more for a range of goods and services last month, pushing up inflation and squeezing Americans' purchasing power.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in August after jumping 0.5 percent in July. The core index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent.
The Labor Department said food prices rose 0.5 percent, the biggest increase since March. That was due to higher prices for cereals and dairy products. Energy prices increased 1.2 percent. [emphasis added]
Huh.... Food inflation? Who'd thunk.....?
More Obama-nation....
Mortgage default warnings surged in August
Report: Mortgage default warnings spiked in August, signaling potential new foreclosure wave
, On Thursday September 15, 2011Banks have stepped up their actions against homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, setting the stage for a fresh wave of foreclosures.
The number of U.S. homes that received an initial default notice -- the first step in the foreclosure process -- jumped 33 percent in August from July, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
The increase represents a nine-month high and the biggest monthly gain in four years. The spike signals banks are starting to take swifter action against homeowners, nearly a year after processing issues led to a sharp slowdown in foreclosures.And:
Jobless Claims Rise Again -- 428K Weekly First-Time Benefits Requests
Published September 15, 2011 | Associated Press
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in three months. It's a sign that the job market remains depressed.
The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications rose by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 428,000. The week included the Labor Day holiday.
How much more Obama can this country handle?
Welcome to Obama-Nation....
Butterball to shutter Longmont plant; 350 jobs to be lost
Posted: 09/14/2011
Butterball will close its plant at the end of the year, leading to the loss of 350 jobs.
Rising grain and fuel costs are the primary reason for the decision to close the Longmont plant, Nalley said.
“Corn is a primary ingredient of our feed costs, so is soybeans,” he said. “Grain represents approximately 70 percent of the costs for us to produce a live turkey, ready to be processed. Grain has essentially doubled just since 2010.”
In fact, costs for things such as corn, soybean meal and fat have gone up an average of nearly $65 million per year for the past five years, or $325 million total, the company said.
“We've been looking at this, actually, for the past couple years, because costs have continued to go up,” Nalley said.
The Longmont turkey plant dates back to 1951, when it opened as Longmont Foods. Rising fuel costs were another reason cited by Nalley in the decision to close Longmont.
This year alone the company's fuel costs — primarily diesel — will have increased $15 million to $20 million over 2010, he said.Read the previous post to learn why this is happening. Again, complicated problems, simple solutions.....
It is difficult to believe this company survived Jimmy Carter, but not Obama.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Good News....? Not!
Another record month for U.S. ethanol exports
Top destinations in July were Canada, Brazil, and European Union. Through the first seven months of 2011, the United States has exported 588.5 million gallons of ethanol, or roughly 7.5% of total output during that same period. Year-to-date exports in 2011 are already more than the combined total of 2009 and 2010 exports. The U.S. ethanol industry remains on pace to export 800-900 million gallons of ethanol for the entire 2011 calendar year.
Exports of denatured ethanol in July topped 100 million gallons for the first time ever, coming in at 104.6 million gallons. For context, this is equivalent to the annual output of a typical large ethanol facility. Canada was the top export destination in July, receiving 33.8 million gallons of denatured product. Brazil imported 16.1 million gallons, while the United Kingdom (14.0 mg), United Arab Emirates (13.6 mg), and Netherlands (12.3 mg) rounded out the top five. Together, the top five destinations accounted for 86% of July denatured ethanol exports.
This U.S. government's instance on interfering with market forces is completely screwing the typical U.S. consumer (unless you don't eat food or use energy).
1) U.S. Government mandates the use of ethanol, which diverts corn supplies away from food/feed and into ethanol production. Unfortunately, even this fake market created by the mandate is not enough to make ethanol production profitable, so;
2) the U.S. government must subsidize the manufacturing of ethanol. Because it is corn based it yield 1.5 units of energy for every 1 unit of energy input into producing it (when taking into account the fuel burned by the grower, the energy used to transport and the fact that ethanol is less efficiently burning than petroleum based fuel. So;
3) the price of U.S. corn doubles, then doubles again because it is short supply. "Why is it in short supply," you ask? We grow a lot of corn. True, but the price of sugar is also increasing. "What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?", you ask. Well, as it turns out, after all the subsidies, U.S. based ethanol is cheaper (falsely, so) than sugar cane based ethanol (which, btw, yields 7-8 units of energy for every 1 unit of energy it takes to produce it). So, we import Brazilian ethanol, while Brazil imports U.S. ethanol. Confused? You should be.
4) So producers (specifically poultry producers) are losing money hand over fist. The government's response? Spend $40 million tax payers money to "subsidize" the poultry industry. BTW - $40 million is less than a half day of the industry's production, so all they are doing is throwing good money after bad.
5) So, you are getting ready to ask, "Why can't farmers just grow more corn?" Maybe because growers have land in conservation and are being paid to produce NOTHING (or maybe something besides corn).
Net effect?
Everyone pays more for the ethanol, the food and the taxes to support this lunacy.
Anyone else feel like screaming?
And congress wonders why they have single digit approval ratings.
The lesson? Government ought not try to pick winners and losers through tax policy, subsidies, set-aside, et. al....
Thursday, September 08, 2011
This is what happens when adults run things....
Here are some things you won't see in the MSM:
(Note: I could have put links on each of these, but it's too time consuming and most of these links also contain links to the other references.)
(Note: I could have put links on each of these, but it's too time consuming and most of these links also contain links to the other references.)
Elmbrook School District - changing health care provider, savings estimated at $878,000;
Mequon-Thiensville School District - saving $49,000 on dental insurance coverage;
Marshfield School District - saving $850,00 by dropping WEA Trust;
City of Sheboygan - Mayor Bob Ryan says collective bargaining reforms will provide enough savings to make up for the reduction in state aid;
Wauwatosa School District - tax levy decreasing, no programs will be cut, class sizes won't increase, thanks to the reforms in collective bargaining;
Manitowoc - Laid-off city workers may get their jobs back due to the wage/benefit reforms contained in Walker's budget. Changes to overtime rules saving the county $100,000;
Kaukauna School District - hiring additional teachers, reducing class sizes, enacting a merit pay system, and due to Walker's Budget Bill, Kaukauna's operating budget has moved from a negative $400,000 to a positive $1,500,000. Much of this savings was due to being able to drop WEA Trust.
Hartland School District - switched from WEA Trust and saved $690,000;
Hudson School District - saved $832,000 on health insurance due to ability to bid the insurance.
KSTP did a study of the savings in Sheila Harsdorf's 10th Senate District. They found that Ellsworth, Prescott, Menomonie, Somerset and Hudson school districts are all reporting large savings due to the changes signed into law by Walker.
Keep in mind, WEA TRUST is a union insurance company, a company that has obviously been ripping off the school districts for years, thanks to collective bargaining that prohibited school districts from seeking insurance coverage from any company other than WEA Trust. How much tax money would we have saved if school districts had been "allowed by the unions" to bid out their insurance over the years? I'd say probably many, many, many millions statewide. It's the union money train running off the tracks, finally, and Shelly and her union don't like it.
WANT MORE GOOD NEWS??
Walker just signed an Unemployment Insurance extension adding 13 weeks of UC benefits.
Passed a state budget on time, without tax increases, that leaves WI in the black for the first time in over 10 years.
Turned a $3 billion deficit into a $300 million surplus.
Cut bonding by nearly 20%.
Cut more than 1,000 government jobs, including 735 long-term vacancies.
In the first 6 months of 2011 WI showed job growth more than twice the national rate.
Protected our votes by requiring a picture I.D. at the polls.
Became the 49th state to recognize our 2nd Amendment right to carry concealed weapons.
Paid off WI's $60 million debt to MN under the former tax reciprocity agreement.
Paid back over $200 million to the Injured Patients and Families Fund. This is money that Gov. Doyle unconstitutionally raided from the Patients' Compensation Fund.
Walker expanded the prohibition against tax money being used to subsidize abortion.
Friday, August 26, 2011
A tale of two buses....
 |
| Top: Former Governor Sarah Palin's Bus, Bottom: President Barack Hussein Obama's Bus Need I say more....? |
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
And we are paying for it...
Pentagon report: China closer to matching modern militaries
“Militarily, China’s sustained modernization program is paying visible dividends,” the report said. “During 2010, China made strides toward fielding an operational anti-ship ballistic missile, continued work on its aircraft carrier program, and finalized the prototype of its first stealth aircraft.”
More disturbing:
China also is continuing aggressive cyberintelligence gathering and targeted numerous computer systems around the world, the report said, noting the intrusions “appear to have originated within the PRC.”
“These intrusions were focused on exfiltrating information,” the report said, noting that the same skills can be used for “computer network attacks” in warfare.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
What is Obama's REAL motivation...?
Ignorance, Stupidity or Connivance?
Townhall.com
8/10/2011Walter E. Williams
I believe Mr. Williams sums it up quite nicely:
I don't believe that Obama is dumb enough to believe that a tax on corporate jets would be a revenue generator. His agenda is to inspire envy and resentment against wealthy Americans as a tool in pursuit of his higher-tax agenda.
The question that is still nagging me, is why does he want to do this?
What is Obama's REAL motivation?
What part does "inspiring envy and resentment against wealthy Americans" play in BHO's bigger picture?
To me the possible answers to those questions are more disturbing than nearly every other question about Barack Hussien Obama.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
We need an alien invasion to save the economy...
The man, Paul Krugman, who said this is a Pulitzer Prize winning Nobel Laureate and all around kook on NY Times Opinion page....
Yes! He really did say that. Really. You heard it right. Alien invasion could save the economy. Dang, I wish I'd thought of that!
Yes! He really did say that. Really. You heard it right. Alien invasion could save the economy. Dang, I wish I'd thought of that!
A rose by any other name....
You can call Food Stamps SNAP, but it's still welfare....
Using this logic, the government ought to give us all food stamps to really get the economy rolling! Idiocracy...
Using this logic, the government ought to give us all food stamps to really get the economy rolling! Idiocracy...
Monday, August 15, 2011
More Greenie Solar Power Boondoggles...
From the Whitehouse.gov Stimulus Progress Report:
Evergreen Solar Was Hoping to Hire 90 to 100 People for Its Manufacturing Plant. "Evergreen Solar, the Marlborough-based maker of solar panels, also is hoping to hire 90 to 100 people at a manufacturing plant in Devens, said Gary Pollard, vice president of human resources. The plant, which opened last summer, is expected to employ more than 800 when it reaches full capacity." [Boston Globe, 3/6/09]
Breaking News:
Evergreen Solar Was Hoping to Hire 90 to 100 People for Its Manufacturing Plant. "Evergreen Solar, the Marlborough-based maker of solar panels, also is hoping to hire 90 to 100 people at a manufacturing plant in Devens, said Gary Pollard, vice president of human resources. The plant, which opened last summer, is expected to employ more than 800 when it reaches full capacity." [Boston Globe, 3/6/09]
Breaking News:
Evergreen Solar files for bankruptcy, plans asset sale
By Greg Turner And Jerry Kronenberg
Monday, August 15, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
I mean, really, who saw this coming, right?
Greg Bialecki, [Deval] Patrick’s economic development czar, defended the administration’s support for the once-promising Evergreen. The state is still trying to recoup about $4 million [of $58 million] in cash from the Marlboro-based company.
“Not every company is going to be successful ... but we still believe the approach of providing business incentives to create and maintain manufacturing jobs in Massachusetts is an important strategy,” he said.
Evergreen — hurt by lower-cost competition in China and plummeting prices for solar panels — also said it will cut more jobs — 65 layoffs in the United States and Europe, mostly through the shutdown of its Midland, Mich., manufacturing facility. That would leave Evergreen with about 68 workers according to a head count listed in the bankruptcy filing.
To cut costs, Evergreen shifted some of its production to Wuhan, China, last year. That joint venture will remain operating subject to financing talks with Chinese investors. [emphasis mine]Again, I'll say, "Who could have thought way back last year that China could produce solar panels cheaper...? Who?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Forefather Wisdom....
"History by apprising [citizens] of the past will enable them to judge of the future; it will avail them of the experience of other times and other nations; it will qualify them as judges of the actions and designs of men; it will enable them to know ambition under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its views." --Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 14, 1781
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 08, 2011
The Dems are scared...
...and rightly so.
The Democrats will always tell you who they fear by who they attack. This weekend they coined the phrase "Tea Party downgrade", as if the $10 trillion they are going to add to the deficit doesn't count, the fact that they did not pass a budget in either the house or the senate the entire time they controlled it didn't matter and conveniently over looking the fact that 95 House and 45 Senate Democrats voted FOR the bill raising the debt ceiling....
The inside-the-beltway Dems are sacred....
The Democrats will always tell you who they fear by who they attack. This weekend they coined the phrase "Tea Party downgrade", as if the $10 trillion they are going to add to the deficit doesn't count, the fact that they did not pass a budget in either the house or the senate the entire time they controlled it didn't matter and conveniently over looking the fact that 95 House and 45 Senate Democrats voted FOR the bill raising the debt ceiling....
The inside-the-beltway Dems are sacred....
Monday, August 01, 2011
The New Face of the U.S. vs the Old Guard....
Maro Rubio is one the rare politicians who I actually enjoy listening to.... My prediction is that if he can remain scandal-less, he will one day be president.
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