Union Minister of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal has said twenty telemetry stations will be set up in the North East to monitor seismic activities. Disclosing this at a news conference in Guwahati yesterday after a three day tour to Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, he said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) will install two such stations in Nagaland, at Mokokchung and Kohima by June 2007

Shri Sibal also revealed that IMD will establish 50 Automatic Weather Stations in the North-East by March next year. Among these, 13 stations will be located in Arunachal Pradesh and eight in Nagaland and will be installed by end of December this year.

Shri Sibal disclosed that the possibility of setting up of three Doppler weather radars for weather forecast in the North-East will be investigated.

Construction Bank will re-engineer the economy -Ajanlekoko

THE dearth of funds has been variously fingered as the major problem besetting the construction industry. The plethora of uncompleted and abandoned projects that dot the nation's landscape has often been traced to this factor. Indigenous construction companies have been worst hit, hence, many of them have folded up, giving way to multinational construction companies who are often backed financially by their home governments.

Both the Federal and state governments have often hinged their preference for expatriate construction companies on the fact that their indigenous counterparts lack the equipment to execute complex jobs. But how can they effectively compete with these offshore funded companies when borrowing from commercial banks is usually at cut-throat interest rates. Built environment professionals who have been badly affected by this scenario have not rested on their oars in a bid to float a specialized bank that would be sympathetic to the cause of construction industry operators.

Squeezed in Star Valley

AUBURN -- It's 1 in the afternoon on a rainy Thursday, and Jody Bagley is doing something he'd rather you not know.Bagley, a regional vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, is herding lambs onto a truck.He's a cattleman, but his work as a rancher has him dabbling in all kinds of activities, including helping a friend load lambs on this day. Bagley raises some sheep and was filling the truck with some of his stock as well.Bagley is well known in Star Valley. He's on the Star Valley Land Trust and from the Bagley Ranch, which has been in the family for generations.

But all that may change for the 48-year-old father of three. Soaring land prices and increased costs in fuel, feed and drought have Bagley and other longtime western Wyoming ranchers looking to leave for different, if not greener, pastures."We're looking at trading one acre for 23 acres north of Lusk," he said.

Stocks to Watch: Delta, Goodyear, Kohl's, Mattel, Oshkosh ...

Andersons (ANDE) and Marathon Oil (MRO) said they have agreed to form a 50/50 joint venture to construct one or more ethanol plants. Andersons will provide day-to-day management. Chrysler (DCX) is encountering resistance from big dealers to its efforts to shrink its inventory of unsold vehicles. The development may make it harder for the auto maker to bounce back from an expected loss in the third quarter. Teamster representatives said the union has reached a tentative agreement with Delta Air Lines (DALRQ) Comair Airlines. By Nov. 14, about 1,000 flight attendants will vote on the agreement, which strengthens job security and caps health insurance payments, according to the union. Enzo Biochem (ENZ) said the fourth-quarter net loss widened, as revenue fell, to $4.51 million, or 14 cents a share, from a net loss of $1.47 million, or 6 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year.

LEXAS Companies Finalizes Financing for Construction of ESCALA

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seattle-based developer LEXAS Companies, which is developing the luxury 30-story ESCALA condominium tower in downtown Seattle, has closed on its $175 million construction loan, the final stage in the project's capitalization.

"We feel that this project represents everything a lender wants to see: experienced developers, significant sponsor commitments and a thorough business plan supported by sound underwriting and real estate principals," says Nancy Sulse, VP, Regional Manager of Fremont.

EDITORIAL: Housing solutions

Tupelos City Council listened attentively a second time last week to the findings of a special housing task force that has worked the better part of eight months to identify ways the city can facilitate, encourage and improve the availability of all kinds of quality housing, and it appears positive action may be take soon on the task forces recommendations.
Councilwoman-at-Large Carolyn Mauldin, who is herself an entrepreneur, said at the conclusion of last weeks briefing, This committee has put in a tremendous amount of their own time. Its been so time-consuming that they cant stay away from their jobs any more. They cant move any further until we act and start the housing commission and hire an executive director.
The full committee reflected a spectrum of housing interests owners, renters, developers, real estate brokers, civic leaders knowledgeable people devoted to the city and its future and the idea that the only housing worth building is quality housing and that existing housing stocks should be fully habitable, attractive, maintained and safe.