Hot new car sparks GM to rehire laid-off worker

LORDSTOWN, Ohio - The entire town of Lordstown is being jolted back to life by 4,000 pounds of steel.

Plant manager Bob Parcell has a sense of gratification now. "Going from telling people, 'you're laid off' to telling people - 'hey, we're hiring - come back in.'"

Parcell's proud of the new car coming off the line now, the fuel-efficient Chevy Cruze. Introduced in September, it had outsold every other GM vehicle by April.

"How this plant goes is really how this community goes," Parcell says. "And really how northeast Ohio goes."

Continue »

Veterans from Team Rubicon help clean up Joplin Missouri

Returning veterans find new life as they transition out of war and into a different kind of service, helping homeowners hit by devastating disasters like the recent tornadoes, first in Alabama and now in Joplin, Missouri.

The team came together for the first time in Haiti, following the earthquake 15 months ago. Now the disasters are hitting closer to home and the former snipers and medics are first in line to help, relieving not only the stresses of others, but their own.

You can donate to the relief organization, which helps vets to help others, at the Team Rubicon website.

Continue »

Smart grid costs billions, saves trillions

A planned modernization of the U.S. national power grid will cost up to $476 billion over the next 20 years but will provide up to $2 trillion in customer benefits over that time, according to industry experts.

The so-called "smart grid" will save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability by delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way communication that can control appliances, the charging of electric vehicles and the flow of power from renewable sources at customers' homes.

Continue »

Google invests $55 million in Mojave Desert wind farm

Google Inc. is investing $55 million in a large Mojave Desert wind farm, pumping fresh air into California's struggling wind power industry. The Internet search giant made the announcement in Anaheim at the industry's largest gathering, where wind farm developers and turbine makers said the investment could be a key step in California's efforts to regain its once enviable title as the world's capital for wind power.

Google said Tuesday that it was partnering with Citibank, which is also shelling out $55 million to help finance part of the Alta Wind Energy Center, one of the world's largest wind installations. When complete, the project in the Tehachapi Mountains will generate 1.5 gigawatts, enough to power 450,000 homes. The installation will help boost wind jobs in the state 20% while feeding more than $1.2 billion into the Kern County economy, according to developers.

Continue »

HUD Grants help low-income families in Iowa get job training

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston today announced that 12 public housing agencies in Iowa would receive $885,416 to provide low-income people with the necessary job training to put them on a path toward self-sufficiency (see below for list of agencies that will receive funding). The grants are part of nearly $49 million awarded nationally to 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.

Continue »