Briefcase
Avista gives groups $500,000 to help needy pay heat bills
Avista Utilities is distributing $500,000 to church and community organizations within its Washington, Idaho and Oregon service territories, the Spokane-based company announced Tuesday.
The checks to the 43 nonprofit groups will help citizens in those areas pay their heating bills, said Dennis Vermillion, the utility’s president, who added that the recipients are identified by its Customer Assistance Referral and Evaluation Service, or CARES.
“Many of our customers are having a difficult time making ends meet and paying bills due to the struggling economy in our region,” he said.
The donations are paid with Avista shareholder money, not by utility customers, he said.
The money can be used only to help pay Avista bills, unlike contributions to Project Share that help offset the cost of using any fuel, she said.
Bert Caldwell
Fired highway worker alleges wrongful termination
SANDPOINT – A construction worker has filed a lawsuit against the Idaho Transportation Department and a contractor hired to work on a U.S. Highway 95 bypass, saying he was wrongfully terminated.
Jay Nelson worked for Washington-based Parsons RCI Inc. on the Sand Creek Byway in North Idaho and claims he was fired in August after reporting safety violations and the sexual harassment of a female worker.
Nelson filed a civil lawsuit in Idaho’s 1st District Court last week.
The byway will route U.S. 95 from downtown Sandpoint across Sand Creek and a three-lane highway. It’s among a series of huge construction projects designed to improve traffic safety in the tourist region.
Associated Press
Several airlines raising fares, effective immediately
DALLAS – Passengers whose travel plans were wrecked this week when thousands of flights were canceled might not want to hear it, but airfares are going up again.
Several airlines confirmed Tuesday that they are raising prices on many domestic routes by $10 one way and $20 per round trip, even as snowbound passengers remain stranded at New York City-area airports.
United, Continental and Delta said they’re raising prices effective immediately. Travel website FareCompare.com says American is too, but the airline didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Associated Press
China to cut back exports of essential rare minerals
BEIJING – China is scaling back its exports next year of rare earth minerals used in high tech products, which could be an unpopular move with countries such as the United States and Japan.
Numbers released Tuesday by the Commerce Ministry show export quotas of the rare minerals will be down 11 percent next year as compared to the same period this year.
China accounts for 97 percent of the global production of rare earths, which are essential to high-tech products such as cell phones, computer drives and hybrid cars.
The new numbers say China is allocating 14,446 tons of rare earths among 31 companies.
Associated Press
AT&T grows public ‘hot zones’ in NY, starts them in Bay Area
NEW YORK – AT&T Inc. is expanding Wi-Fi access for its subscribers in New York and introducing it in San Francisco, adding data capacity in two cities with heavy wireless network use from the iPhone and other devices.
The phone company said it will expand Wi-Fi hot spots in New York’s Times Square just ahead of New Year’s revelers cramming there for the annual countdown to midnight. It is also deploying its first hot spots in a public, outdoor area of San Francisco, the Embarcadero waterfront district.
For years, AT&T has operated a wide network of hot spots in hotels, airports, Starbucks coffee shops and other indoor locations. The new “hot zones,” as AT&T calls them, are different in that they cover public, outdoor spaces and cluster together many access points to cover a larger area.
The zones provide fast data service for AT&T subscribers and divert traffic from the company’s cellular network. Many AT&T smart phones, including the iPhone, connect automatically to AT&T Wi-Fi when it’s available.
Associated Press