Agriculture Threatened Warns U.S. Secretary

California farms, vineyards in peril from warming, U.S. energy secretary warns

'We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California,'

Steven Chu says. He sees education as a means to combat threat.

California's farms and vineyards could vanish by the end of the century, and its major cities could be in jeopardy, if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said Tuesday.

In his first interview since taking office last month, the Nobel-prize-winning physicist offered some of the starkest comments yet on how seriously President Obama's cabinet views the threat of climate change, along with a detailed assessment of the administration's plans to combat it.

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SEC repeatedly warned about Madoff

Madoff tipster Harry Markopolos assails SEC

The man who waged a decade-long campaign to alert regulators to problems in the operations of fallen money manager Bernard Madoff told Congress today that he had feared for his physical safety.

Harry Markopolos also assailed the Securities and Exchange Commission in his first appearance before lawmakers. The SEC failed to act despite receiving credible allegations of fraud from Markopolos about Madoff's operations over a decade.

Because of the agency's inaction, "I became fearful for the safety of my family," Markopolos said at the hearing of a House Financial Services subcommittee.

"The SEC is ... captive to the industry it regulates and is afraid" to bring big cases against prominent individuals, Markopolos asserted. The agency "roars like a lion and bites like a flea" and "is busy protecting the big financial predators from investors," he said.

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What WERE They Smokin'?

Dear Fellow Americans,
While you have been fighting the War on Drugs, these guys have been getting stupid with your life savings and the financial security of your nation. ...And the message has not been lost on your kids.

Have plans Saturday?

Plan to Help Your Neighbors, and Enjoy the Evening Too!

Dear Mr. Fulk,

My husband, Brannon Hottinger, said I should email you the upcoming events for Cystic Fibrosis, and you could email a bunch of people for me to see if they are interested. I really do appreciate you helping us. We are trying to make each event bigger and better to raise more money for the foundation, so they can find a cure and also find new and better medicines to help people with CF stay healthy.

The most current event is a Valentine Dinner and Dance that is going to be held on February 7 at Muhlenberg Lutheran Church in Harrisonburg. Dinner is served from 6-7, with dancing until 10:00. There will be a DJ. Babysitting is provided, and pictures will be available. The dinner is Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread, 2 kinds of Dessert, and coffee, tea and lemonade. Tickets are $14/person and all proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Other upcoming events will be the Great Strides walk on April 18 at Hillendale Park (which is our biggest event of the year), a pancake breakfast in August and other events in the summer such as a car show, car wash and bake sale (no dates have been set for those events yet).

Cystic Fibrosis is a life-threatening disease that affects the lungs and can cause you to die at an early age. Our daughter, Danielle, is 6, and she is doing great! We are praying and believing that she will stay that way for the rest of her life. And that they will find a cure right away. She has a lot of treatments to do and medicines to take to keep her healthy, but she does it all like a big champ!

Any support that we get is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time. Let me know if you need any additional information or have any questions at all.

Thanks again.

Angie Hottinger :)

540-433-2884 home

540-246-1392 cell

AngHottinger@aol.com

VA Politics: Clean Energy Moves Forward

You can click on the picture above and save it to make your own poster!

State Senate passes 2 bills to encourage clean energy

The measure was overwhelmingly approved Monday in a 38-1 vote. Only Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, voted against the bill.

Repeat: Only Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, voted against the bill.

The state Senate approved two measures Monday that create incentives for homeowners and businesses to invest in clean energy technology. The bills — sponsored by Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, who represents much of the Charlottesville area — now head to the House of Delegates, where they face an uncertain future.

One bill, SB 1212, would allow local governments to establish a pot of money they can loan out at low rates to residents, business owners and homebuilders interested in upgrading or building a property with energy efficiency improvements or renewable energy devices.

The idea behind the bill originated with Charlottesville’s City Council, which asked Deeds to carry the legislation. Shortly thereafter, Albemarle County asked to be added to the bill. And the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties soon requested that the bill be amended to include every local government in Virginia.

“It’s gone viral, which is great to see,” said Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris. “It will allow local government to take a lead role in building a new energy future in our commonwealth — all without taking one dime of state money.”

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Update:

SB 1212 Clean Energy Financing Program; locality may authorize contracts to finance by ordinance.

01/27/09 Senate: Reported from Local Government with substitute (14-Y 1-N)

YEAS--Lucas, Marsh, Quayle, Martin, Hanger, Ticer, Reynolds, Puller, Ruff, Cuccinelli, Herring, Locke, Smith, Stuart--14.

NAYS--Obenshain--1.

ABSTENTIONS--0.



SB 1212 Clean Energy Financing Program; locality may authorize contracts to finance by ordinance.

floor: 02/02/09 Senate: Read third time and passed Senate (38-Y 1-N)

YEAS--Barker, Blevins, Colgan, Cuccinelli, Deeds, Edwards, Hanger, Herring, Houck, Howell, Hurt, Lucas, Marsh, Martin, McDougle, McEachin, Miller, J.C., Miller, Y.B., Newman, Norment, Northam, Petersen, Puckett, Puller, Quayle, Reynolds, Ruff, Saslaw, Smith, Stolle, Stosch, Stuart, Ticer, Vogel, Wagner, Wampler, Watkins, Whipple--38.

NAYS--Obenshain--1.

RULE 36--0.

NOT VOTING--Locke--1.

GOP governors press Congress to pass stimulus bill

This past week the bipartisan National Governors Association called on Congress to quickly pass the plan.

Most Republican governors have broken with their GOP colleagues in Congress and are pushing for passage of President Barack Obama's economic aid plan that would send billions to states for education, public works and health care.

Their state treasuries drained by the financial crisis, governors would welcome the money from Capitol Hill, where GOP lawmakers are more skeptical of Obama's spending priorities.

The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, planned to meet in Washington this weekend with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other senators to press for her state's share of the package.

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Get out of contempt free card for Rove?

Thanks to Valley Progressive for catching this:

"To my knowledge, these [letters] are unprecedented," said Peter Shane, an Ohio State University law professor who specializes in executive-privilege issues. "I'm aware of no sitting president that has tried to give an insurance policy to a former employee in regard to post-administration testimony." Shane likened the letter to Rove as an attempt to give his former aide a 'get-out-of-contempt-free card'."

Read the Valley Progress Report