Energy tax debate splits West Texas and East Coast
Local West Texas residents oppose an energy tax aimed at conservation citing long drives and lack of mass transit. East Coast experts say the bill would benefit heating fuel users, with no car use. Critics fear replacement taxes like ad valorem or value added taxes while some support a transport tax. Officials hope lawmakers find a balanced solution as industry watchers stay wary and brace for belt tightening.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Ted) Kennedy
Massachusetts
Brown
PBPA
School board backs away from funding decision timing
Huddleston said a decision on sharing funds would not be made until August, while Goodman warned tax rates would rise under the new law. The 86 cent minimum local tax rate may rise to about 93 cents in Ector County due to a shrinking Permian Basin tax base, with homestead exemptions facing reductions and the state keeping a $5,000 minimum exemption plus a $10,000 extra for disabled or elderly homeowners.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Goodman
Ector County
House Public Education Committee
Permian Basin
ECISD
Tim Wooden
State Comptroller’s Office
Wooden
Debates Rise Over Sexual Harassment Survey Definitions
Academics challenge the inclusivity and motives behind a Harris survey on sexual harassment funded by the AAUW Educational Foundation. Critics warn that broad definitions may invite lawsuits over high school flirtation, while others urge clearer, non identical criteria and object to subjective wording.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Louis Harris and Associates
American Association of University Women Educational Foundation
Washington
Christina Hoff Sommers
Clark University
Worcester
Mass
U.S. Education Department
Maryka Bingee
School of Professional Psychology
Pacific University
Forest Grove
Ore
Biaggio
Billie W. Dziech
Annexation concerns touch Ponderosa Estates residents
A partial-interest annexation proposal for annexed land near Odessa faces opposition from 142 residents of Ponderosa Estates. They warn inclusion could bring city sales tax rules and livestock access limits, with residents stressing the area was never meant to join Odessa. Local officials revised project parameters, avoiding inclusion for now.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Odessa
Clyde
Clinton negotiates cooling of energy tax amid House backlash
In a Capitol bargaining session Clinton and Senate leaders reached a more modest energy tax plan after criticism from House Democrats who felt pressured to back a broader heat-content levy. The compromise would trim about 20 billion from the original 72 billion five year goal and may extend to electricity alongside fuels. Senator Breaux helped shape an earlier 7.3 cent per gallon fuels tax proposal targeting gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel for 40 billion over five years.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Clinton
House
Billy Tauzin
D-La
Tauzin
Senate
John Breaux
Breaux
Oldest amber weevil yields ancient DNA for study
Researchers report in Nature that a weevil preserved in Lebanon amber contains genetic material dating well beyond prior records. The find, described by Cano and colleagues from AC CDC and universities, suggests many amber-encased specimens retain DNA usable for study, though results require further verification.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lebanon
Cano
Nature
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta
American University of Beirut
University of California, Berkeley
Wardler
The
American Museum
Also Mentioned on This Page
Collins
David Boren
D-Okla
Boren
Erskine
Auust
Huddleston
Dziech
Tom W. Smith
National Opinions Center
University of Chicago
Ernest Lynch & Associates
E. 42Nd Street
Ernest C. Lynch, Cl.a
Old Town
Jbs Parkway
Odessa Paesee Ee OL
W. University
Morris Caffy
Stove
Bay Bucks
Promanan
ThirstCrusher
Morris Daffy
E.8th Street
Ness V
of Natural History
New York
Brian Farrell
University of Colorado At Boulder
Englesh
TNE
Shepperd
Visa
Gordon Thomas
Gitman
Burberry
Axis
Gant River City
Boston
Robert Talbott Ferrell Reed
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