'Stickman Stew' teaches respect

FULTON, Texas -- Jane Guinn has been overtaken by stick people, with a message as simple as their five-line physique: respect.

It began in 1992 when a mental image of a lanky blue stick character pestered Guinn's plan for decorating a papier-mache children's bucket with positive images and words. Now she uses the 21-year-old bucket as a foot rest at Stickman Stew Studios. Its namesake's "Steward of respect" character, now crew leader of 22 patented stick folks, has been manufactured 40,000 times. After two decades of wrangling some 40 sales reps in 19 states and committing with a China-based manufacturer, this week Guinn's troupe of twig characters debut in New York City at the 111th Toy Industry Association's American international show — Toy Fair 2014.

Guinn's Heart of Gold crew range from bendable 13-inch-tall characters to foam-stuffed life-size versions, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (http://bit.ly/1oOwIAT) reported.

All carry Stew's Slogan: Respect life, each other, yourself and the world.

Guinn has given away 10,000 Stews to measure response and build its brand of caring hearts united.

"I was seeing an increase of violence in young people's lives," said Guinn, a 60-year-old marketing analyst who moved to Corpus Christi at age 19 from New York with her parents. "We needed an opposite alternative."

A stickman triggers no defenses, she said.

"A stick character is something we all claim," Guinn said, "it's the first thing we all draw."

Stew's message of respect appeals to people of all walks of life.

Myra Lombardo, vice president of public broadcasting affiliate KEDT, gave 10 Stickman Stews to members of a nine-week stress-busting program a couple of years ago that she attended through the Area Agency on Aging. They were learning coping skills to care take of senior family members.

"Even caregivers don't always know where to go for comfort," Lombardo said. "Stew's a good silent companion for difficult times — you just look at him and you say, 'I feel better.'

"I told everyone they could dress him up, with cowboy hats, boots, glasses, and take him along. I asked them to send me photos and some of them have."

Guinn began marketing Stew, and his crew with accessories, in 1997 from a kiosk in the former Padre Staples Mall.

The range of interest was surprising, she said.

"Sometimes rough-looking guys in their 20s would pick them up, read their card and then cuddle them," she said. "Some would say: 'We need more of these.'"

Little boys pretended to fly them like airplanes and girls with eyeglasses grabbed the ones wearing spectacles.

Guinn took her characters to elementary schools to teach students about respect.

"I'm always blown away by their responses," she said. "One student thanked me, and said she learned respect was when 'daddy isn't hitting mommy.'"

She also visited Driscoll Children's Hospital locally and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to give them away.

"A child with cancer told me, 'Thanks, I had to come here alone this time; I needed a friend,'" Guinn said.

It led to her diversifying the crew, and putting hearts of gold on the outside of them all.

She shelved her plans in late 1997, leaving the stick folks concept to percolate as she worked more than a decade helping her husband launch Longevity and Wellness Center of South Texas.

He accompanied his wife last year to the international toy show, where he encouraged her to follow her heart.

Stickman Stew is a clear vision coming to fruition, said Dr. Lee Guinn, 61.

"Jane's dedicated to getting the word of respect with love out into the world," said the physician of internal medicine. "I'm proud of her for working to go in a positive direction. There's a lot of momentum with a lot of people involved."

His wife joined the Toy Industry Association and Women in Toys networking organization. She has linked with video and animation specialists, who are working on games and cartoons for the stick character clan.

"I feel like a kid who just walked into FAO Schwarz," Jane Guinn said.

She hired a new project manager in January for a fresh perspective.

"When Shannon showed up, we started picking up steam immediately," Guinn said.

Austin resident Shannon Mehner wanted a positive allegiance with professionals braced to guide the world to a better place, she said.

"I had been looking for a long time for the opportunity to reach a tremendous number of people in a really positive way," said Mehner, 51, a longtime independent communications, marketing and logistics expert. "I packed two roller bags and a laptop and drove here, and all these people involved in making Stickman Stew are tremendous.

Stickman Stew now has a Facebook page with more than 1,600 likes and more than 100 Twitter followers, and sales are ramping up online at StickmanStew.com.

To empower Stew and his message, he now has a nemesis: Coat Know It All.

"Coat's always hanging around trying to cloak Stew and bring negative attributes — greed, anger, jealousy," Guinn said. "For me it represents those bad moments in life when things sneak up on you and you can't shake it off. But Stew will always get that coat off."

Guinn has her sights on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

"I really believe Stickman Stew will be there some day," Guinn said.

"He will be the biggest Stew ever," she said placing her hand on her heart, "riding on a gust of respect."

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Information from: Corpus Christi Caller-Times, http://bit.ly/MkwQIX

Eds: This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

Number of young farmers rising in New Mexico

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- A new government survey shows New Mexico has more farms and ranches than it did five years ago.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture survey also shows the state has seen significant increases in the number of young and minority farmers in recent years.

State Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte said he's glad to see a wider diversity of people getting into farming and ranching across the state. That diversity will help create more opportunity, he said.

"I'm proud of the increased numbers of young and beginning farmers and ranchers in the state, which assures us that agriculture will continue to be a major economic driver in New Mexico for years to come," Witte said.

The 2012 agriculture census shows there are more than 24,700 farms and ranches in New Mexico, an 18 percent increase since 2007. That bucks a long-term national trend that has seen the number of U.S. farms drop. Meanwhile, the amount of land for farming in the state has remained steady at about 43.2 million acres.

The survey also found that the number of minority-operated farms rose in the last five years, especially in the Hispanic community. The number of Hispanic-operated farms climbed from approximately 6,400 to more than 9,300.

The value of New Mexico agriculture products in 2012 came to $2.6 billion, a 17 percent jump from 2007.

"Part of what we are seeing is that more farmers and ranchers in New Mexico are taking the time to fill out the census as they understand the importance of having data that reflects agriculture trends in their communities," New Mexico State Statistician Longino Bustillos said.

According to the USDA, a farm is any place that produced or sold at least $1,000 worth of agricultural products during the Census year. As a result, the agency also classifies nurseries and greenhouses as farms.

A final report from the Census of Agriculture is expected in May with information about New Mexico farm operators down to the county level.

Girl Scout's effort to sell cookies goes to 'pot'

PHOENIX -- Customers of some medical marijuana dispensaries are discovering this week that they don't have to go far if they have a case of the munchies.

A few days after a teenager sold dozens of cookie boxes outside a San Francisco pot dispensary, 8-year-old Lexi Menees is returning to TruMed Dispensary in Phoenix on Saturday for the same purpose.

The girl's mother, Heidi Carney, got the idea after hearing about what happened in San Francisco.

"For me, this isn't anything controversial," Carney said. "It's medication. It's no different than standing in front of a Walgreens or a CVS."

Lexi and her parents came on Friday with between 100 and 150 boxes to sell. Her family said they sold more than 50.

"It's better than she would've gotten outside a grocery store," said Justin Menees, Lexi's father.

Susan de Queljoe, a spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, said selling in front of marijuana dispensaries isn't something the organization would encourage, but that it's up to the parents.

"The girls' safety is our primary concern. So we give guidelines out to all the parents and hope that they will follow them," de Queljoe said.

Lauren Gooding, an oncology nurse who is the president of TruMed, runs the state-licensed facility with her father and brother. Gooding said Carney called her Friday morning with the idea, and she was immediately on board. In fact, she had already received several messages on Facebook about the San Francisco sale with people suggesting she do the same thing, Gooding said.

Gooding also sent a text message to more than 2,000 customers about the cookie sale and threw in a tie-in deal: Patients who buy at least half of an ounce of pot will have their pick of a free box of Thin Mints, Samoas or any of the other cookie choices.

"People will wait to buy when there are incentives," Gooding said.

She hopes the presence of the Girl Scouts will help eliminate the stigma tied to medical marijuana dispensaries, Gooding said. Furthermore, with a security guard always on site to ensure nobody illegally consumes their pot purchase, there is no danger of Lexi or any child being exposed to marijuana, she said.

"We are not promoting medical marijuana to her," Gooding said.

Girl Scouts officials said they aren't surprised there are copycats after the story of 13-year-old San Francisco Girl Scout Danielle Lei went viral on social media and various news outlets. Lei set up a cookie table Monday outside The Green Cross, a licensed marijuana dispensary in that city's Mission district.

Kevin Reed, president of the dispensary, said Lei's mother, a secretary for a city task force on medical cannabis, approached him a couple weeks ago.

"She wanted to help break down the barriers around medical marijuana," Reed said. "I thought it was extremely sweet. So of course with open arms I said yes."

Reed said this isn't the first time Lei has sold cookies in front of other pot facilities. She did it the last two years but is just now getting attention for it, he said.

The feelings of Girl Scouts officials on the matter seem to vary state to state. Earlier this month, reports about Girl Scouts implementing the same strategy in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is now legal, turned out to be a hoax. The Girl Scouts of Colorado issued a statement on its Facebook page Friday to dispel the rumor, effectively prohibiting members from selling at a dispensary.

"We recognize these are legitimate businesses, but we don't feel they are an appropriate place for girls to be selling cookies in Colorado," the organization said.

Carney said she and her husband simply told Lexi they would try setting up in front of a facility that is similar to a pharmacy, where people go to get their medicine.

"She doesn't even know where she's at. It's more entrepreneurial," Carney said. "She's trying to go to camp this summer."

WhatsApp service restored after brief outage

LOS ANGELES -- WhatsApp is starting to work again after the messaging app that Facebook is buying for $19 billion had some technical trouble.

Associated Press reporters noticed that the app wasn't functioning Saturday starting at about noon PST, but by 2:30 p.m., Twitter users around the world began saying WhatsApp is working again.

WhatsApp and Facebook didn't respond to emails seeking comment, but the WhatsApp Status account on Twitter said service had been restored and apologized for the downtime.

Service outages are common for rapidly growing technology companies, and the WhatsApp Status account has tweeted about an outage about once a month going back through May.

WhatsApp, launched in 2009, has 450 million users globally. Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicts it will reach 1 billion in a few years.

Governors: Legalized pot buzz just smoke

WASHINGTON -- The nation's governors are taking a cautious approach on legalizing marijuana despite increasing support.

All the buzz over pot, some say, is just smoke.

Republicans and Democrats gathered for the National Governors Association meeting in Washington this weekend expressed broad concern for their children and public safety should legalized recreational marijuana use spread to their states.

States are watching closely as Colorado and Washington establish themselves as national pioneers after becoming the first states to approve recreational marijuana use in 2012. A group is hoping to do the same in Alaska this summer.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is warning other governors against rushing to follow his state's lead.

He says he's spoken to half a dozen governors with questions, and he's urging them to wait a year or two.

AgCenter names forestry economist

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Shaun Tanger has been named forestry economist for the LSU AgCenter.

Tanger will be based in Baton Rouge, coordinating programs of five regional forestry specialists and providing information to the forestry industry.

He holds a doctorate in forestry economic and policy from Auburn University.

The AgCenter's regional forestry specialists are Ricky Kilpatrick in Bossier Parish; Keith Hawkins in Beauregard Parish; Brian Chandler in East Feliciana Parish; Steve Hotard in Ouachita Parish and Robbie Hutchins in Rapides Parish.

50 Cent back at Daytona looking for a kiss

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- 50 Cent wants to get kissed or die tryin' at Daytona.

The rapper was back for Daytona 500 weekend a year after he tried to plant an awkward smooch on Fox reporter Erin Andrews.

He failed to connect — but 50 Cent has big plans for his follow up.

"I was looking forward to kissing somebody," 50 Cent said Saturday.

He didn't have to look far. 50 Cent shared a stage with Swan Racing drivers Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman.

"I'm going to kiss Cole," 50 Cent said.

"Only if I win," Whitt responded.

50 Cent, who launched an ultra-successful, six-times platinum debut with "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" in 2003, was at Daytona to celebrate his latest business deal. He brought his headphones and audio line into NASCAR via a partnership with Swan Racing.

The rapper — born Curtis Jackson — will have branding for his SMS Audio line on both of Swan Racing's cars for Sunday's Daytona 500. The logos will also be on Kligerman and Whitt's uniforms, and the drivers will be featured on Swan-branded SMS Audio headphones.

Kligerman took 50 Cent for a wild spin around Daytona in the pace car and hit 135 mph early in the day.

"I didn't know a Camry could do that!" 50 Cent said.

Kligerman, who went airborne and landed on the roof in his first full Daytona 500 practice, kept 50 Cent and the car on four wheels. He was thrilled to be associated with one of his favorite artists. He said his favorite 50 Cent song is "How To Rob."

"That was the one in high school a lot of my friends talked about all the time," Kligerman said. "But for pump-up song, I know you've heard this a lot, but 'Many Men.'"

This was just the warm up. Who knows what's in store for race day?

In the strangest part of the buildup to last year's Daytona 500, 50 Cent brought back memories of Joe Namath's awkward attempt to plant one on Suzy Kolber when he tried the same move with Andrews on pit road.

She turned her head one way, then the other, only allowing the "Candy Shop" rapper to get a peck on the cheek.

"I wanted to kiss her, man," 50 Cent said. "She handled it amazingly."

He's such a NASCAR fan, 50 Cent might be willing to spend some big bucks and invest in team ownership.

"I want to belong here. I like it," he told The AP. "I want to have ownership in a team. Someone should look forward to me investing in a team. I just like it. The energy of the actual racing is cool."

He's been busy with his day job.

After battling with his major label for years, 50 Cent has decided to become an independent artist. He left his longtime record label, Universal Music Group's Interscope Records, and Eminem's imprint, Shady/Aftermath.

The Grammy winner and his G-Unit Records have signed a distribution agreement with Caroline, the independent label at Capital Music Group. Capitol is one of the many labels that are part of Universal Music Group.

Jackson is an admitted former crack dealer turned rapper who has built an empire beyond entertainment. He invested early in Vitamin Water and has expanded his business interests into clothing and now audio equipment. Going independent was just another business decision.

"I can make deals now that I couldn't make under that structure," he told The AP. "On the brand extension, it's obvious I've been the leader in that actual area. When I fell in love with hip-hop culture, it was actually the opposite, it would be selling out. To be an artist and be associated with a major corporation was a crossover. I had enough of a bad-boy image at that point to do what I wanted to do and knew it was bigger business-wise."

50 Cent is about ready to drop his next album, "Animal Ambition." The first songs he plans to release are called "Don't Worry About It," and "Smoke."

Smoke, like Tony Stewart?

"Nah, this one was produced by Dr. Dre."

Dr. Dre produced songs on 50 Cent's new album, perhaps triggering the latest hip-hop rivalry: Which rapper has the freshest headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre or SMS Audio?

"I'm listening to mine, he's listening to his," 50 Cent said, laughing.

Before he left the DIS media center, 50 Cent met actor Gary Sinise of "Forrest Gump" fame and yelled, "Run Forrest!" before they shook hands.

Missouri lawmakers considering payday loan changes

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A proposed overhaul of Missouri's loan industry would give borrowers more time to pay but could allow lenders to charge higher fees and interest.

The state Senate sent legislation to the House last week that would prohibit a borrower from renewing a payday loan. Under current law, a loan can be rolled over up to six times.

"Doing that got people into a trap of refinancing a loan, and it turned into a trap of economic slavery," said Sen. Bob Dixon. R-Springfield.

In Missouri, a payday loan can be no larger than $500 and can run only from 14 to 31 days.

The legislation, which senators passed 20-13, also would give buyers more time to a pay off a loan and lenders wouldn't be able to charge additional fees or interest during that period, which could last up to 120 days.

But it would be the borrower's responsibility for taking advantage of the no-penalty extended payment period. Lenders only would be required to provide brochures and notices about the plan's availability, but it would up to the borrower to invoke the option before the loan's maturity.

The Center for Responsible Lending says extended payment plans aren't an adequate solution because few borrowers take advantage of them.

Under the measure, a borrower only is allowed to use the extended payment option with an individual lender once a year, which some opponents said wouldn't help people escape being in debt.

Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis, said he was concerned about people who got loans from multiple lenders, which could perpetuate debt. But Sen. Ed Emery said that wasn't a problem for the Legislature.

"I don't believe it's the government's responsibility to make every one of my bad decisions turn out right," said Emery, R-Lamar.

The legislation also would remove the state's 75 percent cap on interest and fees for payday loans. Under the current cap, lenders can charge $75 on a $100 loan, which leads to an annual interest rate over 1,950 percent for a 14-day loan.

Sponsoring Sen. Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville, said the cap isn't necessary since loans could not roll over. He said competition and market forces would dictate the amount of fees lenders can charge.

Other senators said the legislation didn't go far enough to regulate payday loans, but added that it was a good step forward.

The legislation's outcome could affect a 2014 ballot measure that would cap the annual interest rate for payday loans at 36 percent.

The Rev. James Bryan, treasurer of Missourians for Responsible Lending, said the group's initiative petition has been approved but they haven't started collecting signatures. Bryan said he wasn't familiar with the details of Cunningham's legislation since he has been traveling outside the country.

There were 934 licensed payday loan lenders in the state in 2012, according to the Missouri Division of Finance. The division estimates that between October 2011 and September 2012, there were 2.34 million loans issued with an average value of $306 at an average interest rate of 455 percent.

Arkansas is the only one of Missouri's neighbors to currently allow payday loan renewals.

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Payday loans is SB694

Online:

Legislature: http://on.mo.gov/1dgzM0b

Rural lawmakers struggle to make themselves heard

MINNEAPOLIS -- They're an endangered species in many state legislatures as more Americans move to urban centers or suburban cities: the rural lawmaker who knows what it's like to care for a herd, plant a crop or drive on gravel roads.

Indiana Rep. Bill Friend, a pork producer, said it's challenging to explain modern farming to colleagues who no longer have personal connections with agriculture. He calls it an annual educational project, as he knows of only one other state legislator who makes his living primarily from farming.

"They're one, two, three generations removed from food production and agriculture. It's kind of a foreign topic to them," said Friend, the Republican majority floor leader in the Indiana House.

Lawmakers and political experts say the dwindling numbers of farmers, ranchers and others who make their living off the land affects not just agricultural policy but other rural concerns — highways, health care, schools and high-speed Internet access. Urban and suburban lawmakers might be sympathetic, but they're often unfamiliar with particular concerns.

One Colorado legislator, a rancher, has even gone so far as to suggest each of his state's 64 counties have a single House seat instead of awarding representation according to population.

In ag-centric Nebraska, more than half of the legislators now come from the Omaha and Lincoln areas. Similarly, South Dakota's legislators are bunched near Sioux Falls or Rapid City — only 11 of South Dakota's 105 legislators as of last year were involved in agribusiness; in 1987, the figure was nearly three times higher.

It was once the opposite.

Rural interests had outsized influence in state capitols back when districts were often based on geography rather than population, said Tim Storey, a senior fellow with the National Conference of State Legislatures. That changed when a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s said legislative districts must have roughly equal populations to ensure the principle of one person, one vote.

"That just makes it more difficult for the rural voice to be heard. It doesn't mean it can't be heard. It's just more challenging," according to Doug Farquhar, the conference's program director for agriculture and rural development.

Colorado state Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg's radical idea of one representative per county comes out of his frustrations over not being heard — he is the only rural voice in the House. Currently, the state legislature's votes are heavily concentrated in the greater Denver and Colorado Springs areas.

He concedes the idea is constitutionally dubious, and follows a mostly symbolic ballot initiative in 11 rural Colorado counties last year to secede and form a 51st state amid disagreements over gun control, renewable energy mandates and other issues.

"I think it is an argument worth having," said Sonnenberg, who represents a sprawling district in the northeastern plains. "But I have no illusions this would ever go into effect."

Illinois was the nation's top soybean producer in 2013, and ranks No. 8 in the U.S. for number of farms, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Census of Agriculture report release this week. But Democrat John Sullivan is the only active farmer in the Illinois Senate, with 200 acres of grain and a few cows.

Sullivan, an assistant majority leader, lamented that the Senate agriculture committee's chairman and other members don't have agricultural backgrounds. He expects a struggle to make the farming opinion heard as the chairman pushes legislation to require labeling of foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients.

"It just makes it more difficult to explain and talk to my colleagues when they're only hearing one side of it from opponents of GMO crops," Sullivan said.

In Minnesota, Rep. Rod Hamilton has long argued that rural concerns get neglected in St. Paul, where the number of farmers in the House stands at six — down from 14 as recently as 1995.

Hamilton, a Republican and pork producer, said he plans to work with other rural lawmakers from both parties in both chambers this session to protect shared interests against a leadership that's mostly from the Twin Cities area.

"You don't need that many votes to make an impact," he said.

Forming partnerships has been key for the only full-time farmer in the Maryland Senate, Thomas McLain "Mac" Middleton.

Maryland has some of the country's richest counties, but its poor, rural areas share many of the same problems as urban areas such as Baltimore — poverty, unemployment, teen pregnancies and lack of opportunities, Middleton said.

So he's made common cause with his urban counterparts to ensure that rural communities have access to education funding as well as high-speed Internet service.

Though his 250-acre farm has been in his family since the 1600s and his ancestors grew tobacco, Middleton converted the property mostly to agritourism. He hosts school groups and families to visit barnyard animals, take hay rides, navigate a corn maze or pick strawberries and pumpkins.

Broadband has been important to the growth of his and many other businesses in rural Maryland.

He said: "I fight real hard to make sure that rural communities don't get left behind."

Union chief Tony Clark meets with Red Sox players

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The head of the baseball players union is concerned that free agents who cost a team a draft choice for signing with them are still without jobs.

Tony Clark says the Major League Baseball Players Association is paying attention to the issue.

He spoke after meeting with Red Sox players. It was the second stop on his tour of all 30 major league camps that began Friday in Port Charlotte with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Of the 13 players who would require compensation, three remain unsigned. They're shortstop Stephen Drew, designated hitter Kendrys Morales and right-hander Ervin Santana.

Teams that make qualifying offers to their free agents are entitled to a draft pick as compensation if the player doesn't accept the offer and signs elsewhere.

Detroit automakers worry about UAW money struggles

DETROIT -- The United Auto Workers' membership and dues are down sharply from just six years ago. In another sign of weakness, the union suffered a stunning defeat this month when it tried to organize a Tennessee factory run by labor-friendly Volkswagen.

The rejection, by a close vote, was a major setback in the union's effort to expand in the South, where non-union, foreign companies such as VW, Nissan and Hyundai are rapidly growing.

But instead of relief, Detroit's three automakers — Ford, Chrysler and General Motors — are increasingly anxious about the 78-year old union's future.

For them, it's a "devil you know" situation. They worry that the 382,000-member UAW could be absorbed by a more hostile union. Such a merger could disrupt a decade of labor-management peace that has helped America's auto industry survive the financial crisis and emerge much stronger, according to a person with knowledge of executive discussions.

Another union might not be as willing to keep labor costs competitive with overseas automakers, says the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential.

Despite talk of a union merger, Gary Chaison, a labor relations professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., says he doesn't see the UAW giving up its identity and history by combining with another organization.

"It's something that the employers always fear," he says.

Spokesmen for Ford, GM and Chrysler declined comment, and a top UAW official says the automakers' worries are unfounded.

Even as it struggles, the UAW remains the wealthiest union in the nation, with assets of more than $1 billion at the end of 2012. Officials point to a revived U.S. auto industry and more hiring at UAW-represented factories, moves that have stabilized membership dues that have been falling since 2006.

Still, the union's loss at the VW plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., heightened concerns about how it can grow.

Annual dues collected were down more than 40 percent to $115 million from 2006 to 2012, as the union's ranks fell by 30 percent. Thousands of members took buyouts and early retirement as Detroit's auto industry lost billions during the financial crisis and worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Membership has risen slightly since 2009, but dues collected continue to decline.

The union had hoped VW would give it a foothold in the South and help revive its fortunes. Even though the Detroit Three have hired thousands in the past four years as auto sales have recovered, union membership is nowhere near a 1979 peak of 1.5 million. And the new hires are paid only two-thirds of what veteran workers get, keeping dues revenue down. The union agreed to the lower wages and became more cooperative seven years ago to help the companies survive the recession.

As it struggles to reverse declines, the union has been forced to tighten its belt. It cut spending 15 percent from 2006-2012, but still had to sell more than $300 million worth of assets, mainly securities and other investments, to pay operating expenses. Last year alone, the UAW raised more than $47 million by selling assets to balance its budget. The union may even raise dues this year for the first time in 47 years.

"That right there tells you it's fairly dire," says Mike Smith, director of the Walter P. Reuther library, an archive of union history at Wayne State University in Detroit.

A weaker UAW is worrisome for American automakers who only recently reached a labor peace with the union after decades of fighting. The peace resulted in lower wages for new hires and in health care concessions that nearly erased a $1,500 difference in production costs per car between U.S. and Japanese automakers.

A more radical union could bring a return to strife-filled days, when UAW strikes cost automakers dearly. The last major strike, in 1998 at a GM factory in Flint, Mich., cost the company about $2 billion in profits.

The UAW isn't alone in its struggles. The decline in membership is consistent with unions overall in the U.S., where only 11 percent of workers were unionized nationwide last year. That's down from 20 percent in 1983, the Labor Department says.

For the UAW, dues won't rise by much without an influx of fresh recruits in the South, where most of the auto industry's growth is occurring.

Bob King, the UAW's president, has said the union has no long-term future if it can't organize southern foreign-car plants. Automakers from Japan, Korea and Germany have 14 assembly plants in the region, including eight built in the last 10 years, a time when Detroit was closing factories.

Yet Dennis Williams, the UAW's secretary-treasurer and likely its next president, says the companies' worries about the union's demise are off-base. He says dues and membership are now on the rise from new hiring by Detroit automakers and recruitment in areas such as casino workers and heavy truck assembly.

More spending cuts also are coming, and the union plans to balance its budget and stop selling assets in the next 2 ½ to 3 years, Williams says. He knows of no talks to merge with another union.

"The UAW can survive a long time," Williams says. "They'll be here far after you and I pass away."

Williams says the UAW will show higher dues revenue when it files a 2013 report with the Labor Department next month.

Still, the union can't fully replace dues paid by longtime workers who retired at $28 or more per hour, says Art Wheaton, an industry expert at the Worker Institute at Cornell University. Lower-tier workers for the UAW start at $15 per hour, although recent raises can make over $19.

"What you're getting per hour to deal blackjack is nowhere near what you're getting per hour as a skilled tradesman at General Motors or Ford," Wheaton says.

There have been merger talks in the past between the UAW and the Steelworkers and Machinists unions, but nothing came of them, Wheaton says.

Spokesmen for both unions say there are no current discussions.

Williams is not giving up on organizing a southern auto plant, saying that the union recently signed up parts-supply and truck-building factories in the region.

And the union on Friday challenged the recent VW vote in Tennessee. In an appeal filed with the National Labor Relations Board, it asserted that "interference by politicians and outside special interest groups" swayed the vote.

The challenge comes days after the top labor representative on VW's supervisory board suggested that the anti-union atmosphere fostered by some southern politicians could lead the company to make future investments elsewhere.

Even without an expansion in the South or into other industries, the UAW is trying to boost its ranks and revenues now that the financial crisis is over and the industry is strong again.

Williams says the union wants more pay for the new hires, and will work with automakers to figure out how to get there while keeping the companies competitive.

But higher pay presents a quandary. If new hires at Ford, GM and Chrysler make more than workers at southern factories, Detroit's cars and trucks will be more expensive and they won't be as competitive. That could threaten union jobs.

In Detroit, workers aren't worried about the VW loss in Tennessee, or the financial pressures on the UAW, says George McGregor, president of a local union office at a factory that makes the Chevrolet Volt electric car. He thinks workers will approve the dues increase, which amounts to about one-half hour of pay per month. And he says the union will be back for another vote at VW.

"We'll try again another day," McGregor says. "It's not going to break the UAW."

Tax break helps NYC lure 'The Tonight Show' home

NEW YORK -- "The Tonight Show" made its return to New York City with a splashy opening sequence showcasing Grand Central Terminal, the Chrysler Building, Lincoln Center and Jimmy Fallon's glamorous new studio at Rockefeller Center — a fitting tribute to the place that helped foot the bill.

An unconventional 30 percent tax credit aimed at luring "Tonight" away from California after four decades is reportedly saving NBC more than $20 million a year.

The network said that while the show relocated to New York for creative reasons the move wouldn't have been possible without the tax credit.

New York's mayor believes the show's relocation was a triumph with wide-ranging benefits.

"Bringing 'The Tonight Show' back to our city means we're bringing more than a hundred jobs to hard-working New Yorkers, and giving travelers another great reason to visit," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Others are less certain of the show's benefit — or the need to use a tax incentive to lure it back.

"We're going to change our tax policy — in the heaviest-taxed city and state in the country — to get another late night show in Manhattan?" asked E.J. McMahon, head of The Empire Center for Public Policy, a non-partisan think tank. "Even the money that they bring is a rounding error in the New York City economy."

"Other industries don't get 30 percent credit," he continued. "It's because it's a glamorous industry."

The tax incentives were inserted into the state budget by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration in early 2013 as NBC was debating dropping the show's then-host, Jay Leno, for Fallon and potentially leaving Los Angeles to return to New York, where the show started in 1954.

The language of the 30 percent annual tax credit was remarkably specific: It would only benefit a show that had filmed at least five years in another state before moving to New York (check), spends at least $30 million in production costs (check) and films in front of a studio audience of at least 200 people (check). In other words: "The Tonight Show."

Cuomo's team has downplayed the idea that the credit was specifically for "Tonight," though Kenneth Adams, commissioner of the New York State Department of Economic Development, said this week that changed were made to "attract these long-running, high-budget productions to New York State."

While NBC did not release financial stats for the new "Tonight" production, The Hollywood Reporter estimated the 30-percent credit would yield the network an annual savings of $22 million, based on the show's recent annual production budget of more than $75 million.

An NBC spokesman said the network anticipates creating nearly 250 new staff jobs and then another 300 or so "indirect jobs" — such as tour guides — and hundreds more part-time jobs. The show's arrival is just the latest in a filmmaking boom in New York City that dramatically increased under de Blasio's predecessor, Michael Bloomberg. Twenty-nine TV shows in the 2013-14 season have filmed in the city as well as dozens of movies and several late night talk shows, including those hosted by David Letterman, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

All told, the television and movie industry created $8.2 billion in direct wages in New York state last year, trailing only California's $17 billion. The growing industry in New York has been helped by a tax incentive program, which is capped at $420 million for all productions filming statewide. By comparison, California's is $100 million, Florida's is $119 million and Louisiana's is $229 million.

"The tax incentives game is played by a lot of states and some have used it more than others," said Sam Craig, director of the Entertainment, Media and Technology program at New York University. "But it's not just that: New York City has made it much easier to shoot films here by making it easier to get permits and block off streets."

Craig said the return of an iconic show such as "Tonight" has a "psychic impact that's hard to quantify" that is good for civic pride as well as a more tangible one.

"Even if the tax credit saves NBC $20 million, the show's production costs are still pumping, in one way or another, $50 million into the economy," said Craig, who couldn't recall another show-specific tax break.

The show's pride in returning home has been obvious. Fallon, a New York native, made it clear he wanted to stay. The show's producer, Lorne Michaels, told The New York Times last week that "it simply never came up that we would move to Los Angeles." And during its premiere episode, the show placed U2 on the roof of Manhattan's GE Building to showcase the city's skyline as well as the band's music.

"We're at the world famous 'Top of the Rock' atop Rockefeller Center, 70 stories above the city," Fallon roared as the band kicked in. "I couldn't think of a better way to show off our beautiful city."

UAW official says union remains financially strong

DETROIT -- The man who appears poised to take over leadership of the United Auto Workers later this year says car companies' fears about the union's demise are unfounded.

Membership has dropped from a peak of 1.5 million in 1979 to 382,000 at the end of 2012, although it's been rising slightly since 2009. Annual dues, the union's main income source, are down 40 percent since 2006.

Dennis Williams, now secretary-treasurer for the union, concedes that it has been selling off stocks and other assets to balance the budget for the past seven years. But he says it also has cut spending, and more cuts are coming.

Delegates to the union's four-year convention in June will be asked to increase dues to help with the problem, and Williams says rising membership has started to reverse the trend of declining dues.

Williams, who led the union's successful effort to organize an Illinois Mitsubishi plant in the late 1980s, says he's confident the UAW will someday organize another foreign-owned auto plant in the South, even though it narrowly lost an election earlier this month at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Like other UAW officials, he blamed the loss on statements by Tennessee Republican politicians who said VW would add an SUV to the plant if it remained nonunion. Some threatened to cut off state incentives for a plant expansion if the union was approved.

Williams, who joined the union in 1977 as a welder, recently spoke with The Associated Press at his office in Detroit. Here are excerpts, edited for clarity and style:

Q: We've been told that Detroit automakers are scared, in light of the Tennessee vote, that the UAW's finances are weak and it might have to merge into another union that doesn't understand the business. Is that a valid concern?

A: It isn't a valid concern. The UAW is very strong when you look at it both membership-wise and financially. It's because of our history that we have strength.

Q: You still have over $1 billion in assets, but you've been selling them off to pay operating expenses. Can you keep that up?

A: Over the past four years, we've taken that number down considerably and will continue to do so. We plan on balancing our budget within this term (the next four years) I'm not concerned about that. I was concerned four years ago because we didn't really have a long-term plan. Today we do. We're at 400,000 members. We have a strong strike fund. So we're stable. Anytime there's a huge recession, you're going to go through a period of adjustment to get your finances back in order. That's what happened to us. We're back on pace.

Q: Can you bring the deficit spending down even without organizing another auto plant in the South?

A: We've been increasing our membership in two ways. Growth in agricultural, auto and other industries. We've been growing by organizing, mainly in the gaming industry and the truck industry. There's growth. And we've bargained growth (with Detroit automakers). We reopened a General Motors plant in Spring Hill, Tenn. We did about $20 billion in negotiations of products coming back that they had taken out of the United States.

Q: But according to Labor Department reports, revenue from dues has dropped from 2006 to 2012.

A: It actually went up last year. When I look at the trend both on (membership) growth and dues, I see that trend will continue upward.

Q: New hires with the Detroit automakers, and new recruits in casinos, are paid less than older workers at auto plants. How do you make up for the loss of higher-wage workers? Do you have to raise the wage for new hires who are paid "second-tier" wages?

A: Naturally it has to go up. When we did the second tier, we were coming out of a recession, and we tried to bring the industry up to sell vehicles at a rapid pace, and give the companies an opportunity to recover. Our goal is to bridge that gap and start from there, and the companies know that.

Q: Won't that increase their costs?

A: It does. We know that our goal is the same. We want to make sure the companies stay competitive. We think a transparent, fair profit-sharing is part of it. We think also that we have to make sure the companies have enough money to do their research and development, to make sure they stay focused on quality.

Q: Have you had discussions about merging with other unions?

A: I have not had any discussions. Certainly President Bob King hasn't told me he had any discussions. There has not been.

Q: How have you cut spending?

A: We've cut about $16 million in the past four years. We've taken our time now to look at the way we operate. We're using technology a lot more than we used to. We consolidated a region. We plan on consolidating another region this year. We plan on eliminating a vice president this year. As our membership shifts we will sell off the offices or buildings and move to the locations where our membership is, and where the potential growth is.

Q: At the Volkswagen plant, some of the workers said they voted against you because your representative gave a presentation and didn't take questions. They felt like they were being kept in the dark. Is that true?

A: Our agreement with Volkswagen was we would come in and make a presentation. Then we would have staff and UAW members there to answer questions. They thought one-on-one would be better for the associates. The only reason that happened was because of the format. The company certainly wanted us to answer all the questions for associates. So we were available.

Q: Is the political situation now such that it's not possible for you to organize in the South?

A: I started organizing in 1988. I organized the Mitsubishi plant. Every time we organize we find something different. Today for the government officials to come out and attack like that, they caught us a little off-guard. I think the people inside (the plant) were definitely shocked, scared, didn't know what to do.

Q: Does the union's future depend on organizing "transplant" foreign car company plants in the South?

A: It's imperative that we organize within these sectors. Because it gives you the density (of members) you need to have, the strength to have good collective bargaining agreements. Don't confuse survival and density. The UAW can survive a long time. They'll be here far after you and I pass away. We'll get a transplant. It's a matter of time. It took seven years to organize Ford. We tried two or three times to organize the Navistar truck plant in Tulsa, Okla. Last year we organized them. You can organize in the South.

Q: In Chattanooga, opponents argued that the union drove two Detroit automakers into bankruptcy and caused widespread decay in and bankruptcy in the city of Detroit. Can you overcome the image of Detroit?

A: We have to find a way to overcome that. I think it's real. I think when we quit listening to UAW membership or to the general public, then we're making a huge mistake, because we can learn from it and self-evaluate. We had little or nothing to do with Detroit, most people know that. But if it's an image, perception, we've got to deal with it. I think we have to re-examine, seek some outside advice on it.

Locals concerned as Cuomo pushes municipal mergers

GLENVILLE, N.Y. -- Town court in Glenville is about four miles from village court in Scotia, and combining the two local courts near Schenectady seemed to make sense. But then issues popped up over increased caseloads, conflicting court times and an added financial burden on the town.

"What we found was there really wasn't an efficiency as much as there was a shift of costs to one municipality," said town supervisor Christopher Koetzle.

Combining local services has always been politically and logistically tricky. Now Gov. Andrew Cuomo has upped the ante in Albany's long-running effort to get cities, towns, villages and counties to consolidate or share services such as law enforcement, firefighting and schooling. Under his new plan, if there's no cost-saving agenda from local officials, their homeowners won't get tax rebates designed as incentives to promote action.

The municipal officials who would be on the hook for executing the plans say they support the concept, but foresee challenges.

"I do agree with the governor that there's just too much government out there," said Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli. "But ... it's very, very difficult when you try to do consolidation. I think a lot of people like their town, they like their village."

Cuomo's budget proposal calls for tax rebates this year to eligible homeowners who live in school districts that stay within the 2 percent cap on property tax increases. The rebates would make up for the amount of the property tax increase, creating a tax "freeze."

Cuomo's plan would increase the pressure on schools and municipalities in their second year in the program, when they also would be required to come up with cost-saving plans for consolidating or sharing services. It's the governor's way of pushing along the politically difficult task of paring down duplicative local government operations, which he says are a driver of higher property taxes.

"We have too many local governments in this state and they are suffocating the state in high property taxes," Cuomo said Wednesday on Long Island.

The 2012 federal Census of Governments reported there were 3,452 active local governments — including counties, municipalities, school districts and special districts — ranking it ninth in the nation.

Moriah Town Supervisor Tom Scozzafava predicted the rebate checks will be a powerful incentive for local officials, especially if homeowners in neighboring towns are benefiting.

"If they're getting a $500-$600 check in the mail and the people of Moriah aren't getting a check in the mail, how long do you think I'm going to be in office?" he asked with a laugh.

But like other local officials, Scozzafava hopes the proposal will take into account the efficiencies they have already put in place.

Scozzafava said his Adirondack town has already taken over police and other services for the village of Port Henry — sorts of moves that are common statewide. A survey last year by Cornell University researchers of 946 cities, counties, towns and villages in New York found more than two-thirds shared 911 service and roughly half shared fire, public transit, library or road and highway services.

Cornell's Mildred Warner said sharing services is hugely common in New York. Far rarer is two governments consolidating, such as when voters dissolve a village into the surrounding town. For instance, the village of Altmar in central New York formally dissolved last year.

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said one big challenge is getting local governments on the same page. His central New York county has 26 towns, 19 villages and 3 cities.

"There's got to be a willingness with the multiple jurisdictions to get to the threshold that kicks in the rebate and that's going to be very hard to do, almost impossible in certain areas," said Picente.

Local officials say the new pressure to cut comes as they continue to face costly mandates ranging from preschool to pensions. And both local officials and state lawmakers who are considering the governor's proposal have questioned how the rebate program would be coordinated with so many layers of overlapping government. The Cuomo administration said their plan is solid.

Still, Scozzafava gives Cuomo credit for taking the issue on.

"He's taken on an issue that past governors just touched it but then saw that it was hot, so backed away," he said.

Two soldiers killed in Hermel suicide car bombing

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Jamaican bobsled team faces uncertain future

SOCHI, Russia -- The Jamaican bobsled team was the life of the party once again at the Winter Olympics, laughing and joking its way through a trip to Sochi that was fraught with enough financial hardship and travel hijinks to film a sequel to "Cool Runnings."

They remain as lovable as ever, drawing big crowds wherever they went in Sochi. But they almost never got here at all. And after a 29th-place finish in the two-man competition with a 46-year-old driver, the program faces an uncertain future as it tries to move from novelty act to legitimate medal contender.

"We have the athletic ability. We have shown we can do it," Chris Stokes, president of the Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation, said. "We just have to pull things together in Jamaica itself."

The Jamaicans were a sensation when they showed up the Calgary Games in 1988, a fairytale journey from the sandy shores of the Caribbean to the frosty Canadian prairie that inspired the Disney film. They returned the Olympics in 1992, 1994, 1998 and 2002. But they haven't sniffed the podium in any of those trips and needed to bring Winston Watts out of retirement to help end a 12-year Olympic drought and qualify for the Sochi Games.

Watts and Marvin Dixon got the job done, but they needed a last-minute fundraising push that prompted fans from around the world and Samsung mobile to contribute $178,000 in two days to provide the travel budget for the trip. On their way over, some of the luggage they brought was lost, including the runners for their sled and all their sliding gear. The delay kept Watts and Dixon from getting a training run in on the Wednesday before the games.

Their equipment arrived in the nick of time, but the Jamaicans had a rough go of it on the track in Krasnaya Polyana. Their sled almost flipped over on their second run, and the only reason they didn't finish in last place was that Serbia failed to finish the competition.

"Our journey here is not easy," Watts said. "There's nothing easy in life. It was a rocky road to get here. We have been through a lot of obstacles."

And as Manute Bol's basketball career, Michael Jordan's baseball career and maybe even Tim Tebow's football career show, novelty will only take you so far.

History is full of colorful sporting characters who captivated audiences, only to fade into obscurity when when their athletic prowess couldn't match the hype generated by their unique backstories. That's the challenge the Jamaicans face.

They have taken every step of the way with a smile on their faces and the care-free attitude that is a hallmark back home. But there were signs of frustration. The warm reception the Jamaicans received in Sochi stood in stark contrast to the shrugs and indifference they receive at home, where Usain Bolt and the sprinters rule the sports roost and soak up all the local sponsorship money available.

"I've been a little perplexed," Stokes said. "We have been talking to a lot of companies about sponsoring us. They say, 'How do we connect Jamaican bobsleigh to the people we want to buy our products?"

Stokes then mentioned the remarkably successful fundraising effort and all the attention the bobsled team receives overseas and wonders why companies back home wouldn't want to latch on.

In turn, several international sliders, including ones from the U.S., have said they wish they could raise so much money as quickly as the Jamaicans did.

"To me, how do you plug into thousands of people, every state in the US, 57 countries around the world loving a team to the point of going in their pocket to support it?" Stokes said. "That should be an easy business problem to solve."

Stokes is hopeful that the attention they received in Sochi, and the sponsorship from Samsung, will prompt other companies to jump on board and earn them more steadfast support from the Jamaican Olympic Committee that has been so focused on its Summer Games athletes.

"I think we have the athletes, we have the relationships and I expect now to have a new round of funding that will make it a non-issue for us," Stokes said. "And I expect to have an athlete on the podium within the next four years and maybe an Olympic medal in four to eight years.

"We have the athletic ability. I think we need to bring a little more focus, spread our base a little bit."

When asked if Samsung would continue its relationship with the bobsled team beyond the Sochi Games, spokeswoman Brett Cummings said, "We're very happy with our partnership with the Jamaican bobsled team. We are currently focused on the Sochi Olympic Winter Games."

Because of the expense, the Jamaicans haven't sent a four-man team to the Olympics since 1998. And the two-man sled has never finished higher than 28th at an Olympics. With Watts "old as dirt" in his words and expected to drive the sled only for another year or two, the Jamaicans also have to develop a new generation of drivers to give them a chance at taking the next step.

"It's not all about money. It's about athletes," Stokes said. "It's about commitment, dedication, a sense of the program. The argument is not that, if we have money, we will be on the podium. The argument is that we're going to be on the podium with what we have."

Last dry town in Conn. reconsiders Prohibition

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The last dry town in Connecticut is considering whether to give up on Prohibition.

Bridgewater, an affluent bedroom community of 1,700 people tucked into the hills of western Connecticut, may have more at stake in a referendum than bragging rights: The town's average age has risen above 50 and the state is threatening to close the only school.

First Selectman Curtis Read says restaurants that serve alcohol could provide a much-needed boost.

"It would tend to enliven the town," Read said.

Repeal has become the hottest issue in Bridgewater, with dozens attending a November town meeting on the issue. Read said it was clear people were reluctant to "show their cards" and a referendum was chosen in part for privacy, so that voters do not have to reveal opinions to neighbors. The timing of the vote, originally scheduled for Tuesday, now remains to be determined after it was postponed to make sure it complies with decades-old blue laws.

Cynthia Bennett, whose grandmother led an effort to keep Bridgewater dry after Prohibition ended in 1933, said she believes many fellow longtime residents will join her in voting against alcohol sales.

"I feel people moved here because Bridgewater is the way it is and I'd like to keep it that way," said Bennett, 55. "I'm not saying you don't, say, have a game of horseshoes and have a beer. There's plenty of it in Bridgewater."

Bridgewater has taken up the issue for the first time since 1930s because two developers proposed opening restaurants, as long as they could serve alcohol. Some residents have bars in their garages but the town, which is home to actress Mia Farrow and a large weekend population of people from New York City, currently does not have a restaurant aside from a village store with a delicatessen.

Read won the top job in November after his predecessor, William Stuart, declined to run for re-election to a position he held for 30 years. A leader of a local fox-hunting club, Stuart championed land preservation and kept development at bay. The FBI raided the town hall in 2012, and Stuart said he assumed was the target, but the FBI has since declined to comment on the status of any investigation.

Today, the town 60 miles north of New York has a median household income of about $100,000, but it has a glut of homes on the market and the last census showed the median age is 51. Farms dot the town that is full of picturesque, winding rural roads but has little downtown beyond the town hall and a post office.

A plan for a consolidated regional elementary school, subject to a vote in April, could lead to the closing of the town's only grade school.

"The town definitely needs a boost," said Read, who said the restaurants could provide a bit of local employment and a place to socialize.

One of the restaurant proposals came from Peter and Leni May, part-time residents from New York City who own the century-old building in downtown Bridgewater that hosts the village store. They suggested opening a pub-style restaurant in an adjacent space left vacant by the closing of a bank last June. Their local agent, Greg Bollard, said he was disappointed by the referendum's postponement, and it could even take the restaurant proposal off the table, but the family is committed to finding a business that will benefit the town center.

"We all want see to some positive growth for the town," Bollard said.

Gas fueling station means 70 new jobs

PORT FOURCHON, La. -- A $25 million liquefied natural gas fueling station at Port Fourchon will begin serving offshore oilfield boats this summer.

Harvey Gulf International Marine has broken ground on the first phase of the facility, which will supply a growing number of ships outfitted to run on natural gas. Company and port officials said it will be the first in the country designed to serve offshore boats.

The Courier reported (http://bit.ly/1gheXnw) the company estimates the operation will add 70 new full-time jobs.

Company CEO Shane Guidry said the fueling station combined with an initial order of six LNG-powered ships amount to a $400 million investment. The first of Harvey Gulf's dual-fuel boats was launched in January and is undergoing final inspection and preparation at the Port of Gulfport before delivery this summer.

"I'm investing more in LNG than any government agency or private company," Guidry said. "LNG marine fuel is the way of the future."

The first $25 million phase of the fueling terminal is expected to go online this summer. The facility will consist of two sites with 270,000-gallon, stainless-steel holding tanks that can fuel both boats and trucks.

Plans are still being developed for the second phase.

Guidry said he sees the station as a competitive advantage in the race for the most lucrative oilfield support contracts in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

He estimates that LNG can save his customers up to $9,000 per day in fuel.

Moody's upgrades Spanish govt bond rating 1 notch

MADRID -- Ratings agency Moody's has upgraded Spain's bond rating by one notch, citing improved economic prospects and a rebalancing of the economy away from the construction industry toward export-led growth.

Moody's, which made the announcement late Friday, lifted ratings to Baa2 from Baa3, saying the outlook was now "positive." It also upgraded Spain's short-term rating from Prime-3 to Prime-2.

The agency says the government had made "faster than expected" progress with structural reforms in the labor market and public pensions system.

It also says fiscal measures have improved the stability of the country's debt-laden regional government finances and that Spanish banks now pose "less of a threat."

Moody's says Spain remains encumbered with low fiscal strength because of the government's "significant budget deficit."

Campaign to bring new attractions to Sci-Port

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Sci-Port, Louisiana's Science Center in Shreveport, is kicking off a new capital campaign to create some new attractions.

Robert Stroud, the campaign's chairman, announced plans last week to embark on an $8.9 million push to add several features to Sci-Port's facility, beginning with a new children's museum.

The Times (http://bit.ly/1gheMZz ) reports the campaign will be implanted through three phases, beginning with the Itty Bitty City, a children's museum that will be built on the second floor of Sci-Port. The mock city is expected to cost about $2 million. It likely will open in late fall of 2015.

Following that project will be construction of the Louisiana Gallery, a full renovation of Sci-Port's current Red River Gallery. The final phase is a revamping of the facility's technological needs.

Bossier will fund roads for Kroger development

BOSSIER CITY, La. -- The Bossier City Council has approved using $7 million in revenue derived from riverboat gambling to pay for construction of roads around a proposed Kroger grocery store development off of Airline Drive.

KSLA reports (http://bit.ly/1h79sIZ ) the development is part of a plan by Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. for a 124,000-square-foot store in Bossier City.

Kroger southwest spokesman Gary Huddleston says the company asked city to build roads leading to the store and planned shopping center as part of the development deal.

Md. businesses' products make it big on hit show

By BETHANY RODGERS and DANIELLE E. GAINES The Associated Press

FREDERICK, Md. -- When Carol Wilson, co-owner of Elk Run Vineyards, received a call last year to provide all the wine for the second season of Netflix's "House of Cards," she first worried what it might cost.

In the end, the production was only interested in the winery's empty bottles, labels and foils.

The actors aren't consuming real alcohol during taping, after all.

"That hadn't dawned on me before," Wilson said this month.

Her next question was just how the show would turn juice into a realistic-looking version of the Elk Run's Liberty Tavern Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

"Oh, we've done this before," the show's representative responded.

Trailers for the show have offered glimpses of Elk Run labels and other Frederick County products the show has snapped up since last spring.

Eagle-eyed viewers will be able to spot everything from American Indian jewelry and antique Chinese wheelbarrows to window privacy screens bought from Frederick County businesses.

"I'm glad we had some great local products being highlighted," said state Sen. David Brinkley. "We've got some great cottage industries in Frederick and in Maryland."

This boost to local business is one reason it's important to incentivize the film industry, said Brinkley, R-Frederick.

Since producers of the 2006 movie "Annapolis" eschewed the namesake city to shoot in Philadelphia, state leaders have worked harder to draw filmmakers to Maryland, Brinkley said.

Lawmakers in 2011 dedicated $7.5 million annually to tax relief for film producers. Last year, they allowed up to $25 million in incentives, and lawmakers are considering $11 million in tax breaks for the coming fiscal year.

House of Cards has received $11.6 million in tax credit for its first season alone, reported Jack Gerbes, director of the Maryland Film Office. The returns on this investment can range from job creation to business for local companies, according to Gerbes.

"We like to see them employ local talent ... highlight Maryland products and have those jobs and payroll come back here," said Brinkley, who has supported the tax incentives.

Statewide, the first season of "House of Cards" has generated an estimated economic impact of $138 million, Gerbes indicated.

Though much of this money goes to businesses near the city of Baltimore and Harford County shooting locations, the economic benefits spill over into other areas of the state, said Carl Glorioso, director of the Frederick Film Office.

Set decorators for "House of Cards" come to Frederick to peruse antique shops, and when Glorioso knows the show's producers are in town, he makes sure to recommend the best local eateries.

In the past four years, productions filmed completely or partially in Frederick County have generated more than $500,000 in economic activity for the region and state, Glorioso estimated.

Frederick County has been the backdrop for films like "The Blair Witch Project" and "Elf-Man." Film companies have also come to town to shoot recreation scenes for shows like "Nightmare Next Door" and "Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?"

"House of Cards" producers have scouted locations in Frederick County to double for Camp David, but none of the sites has panned out so far, Glorioso said.

He said he is hopeful about some production in the county during the show's coming season.

Sen. Ron Young and Delegate Michael Hough, R- Frederick, are both "House of Cards" fans, though they said real-life politicians are less nefarious than the show portrays. Young, D-Frederick, said he recently rented the first season and watched all 13 episodes within two weeks.

Hough will recognize a prominent set this season. In June, production crews transformed Maryland's House of Delegates chamber to resemble the U.S. Senate.

In season two, the Underwoods, the political powerhouse couple at the center of the show's plot line, continue their ruthless rise to power, all while battling threats past and present to avoid losing everything.

The show has already been renewed for a third season.

Being tied to the show's production has turned some local business owners into fans.

Paul and Joan Berkowitz, owners of Great Stuff by Paul in Frederick, said they make it a practice to watch the movies and shows their products are featured in.

"It's fun," Paul Berkowitz said. "All of the sudden, I'll say, 'Hey, there's my watering can or my buckets.'"

For this season of "House of Cards," Berkowitz sold an antique Chinese wheelbarrow that was specially requested by Kevin Spacey, according to the production assistants who came to his warehouse on East Sixth Street.

"Somebody's going to be working in a garden, they told me," he said.

Berkowitz also sold watering cans, buckets and other garden accessories, he said.

Lauren Huyser works in customer service and online sales for Decorative Films LLC on Cornell Place in Frederick. She said her co-workers were excited when the order for House of Cards came in.

"The majority of our office watches the show, and they all love it," she said.

A Christmas card from the production was a nice touch on top of the orders, she said.

Decorative Films has seen a spike in Hollywood-related sales in the past year as their films have been featured in everything from Beyonce photo shoots to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon sets and other television shows, she said.

"It's pretty neat seeing our product in a show," Huyser said. "It's kind of surreal."

Ben Madrid, owner of Santa Fe Trading Co. in New Market, said he's interested to see where the show may be going with an apparent plot line related to American Indians.

Madrid said production workers came to his shop twice to buy and rent an assortment of jewelry, accessories and decor.

"The baskets and the pottery, I think, will be a lot easier to see on screen," he said. "It will be interesting. I can't wait to see."

Among the more easily spotted items he sold will be a large brown glazed pot with a black hummingbird design and squared edges, he said.

During the two visits by show assistants, they also picked up some personal items, boosting business, Madrid said.

"It was all very exciting," he said.

Carol Wilson said she just finished the first season and is planning watch parties at the vineyard for episodes of the second season.

She's hoping the wine's appearance on the show can create some new fans for it as well.

When she packaged the empty materials for the show, she also threw in a few full bottles, she said.

"I'd be interested to know who got those bottles," Wilson said with a laugh. "I think it's really cool that they went to such trouble to feature local purveyors."

Information from: The Frederick (Md.) News-Post, http://bit.ly/1js3Qun

Communist party head shows banner at Sochi Games

SOCHI, Russia -- The head of Russia's Communist Party held up a hammer-and-sickle Soviet banner during a flower ceremony at the Winter Olympics, leading to a confrontation with staff over violating Olympic rules that bar political statements at the games.

A series of photographs taken Friday night shows Gennady Zyuganov in a group of five men in the stands displaying the historic Soviet Banner of Victory toward the podium while medals were being awarded in three short track speedskating events at the Iceberg Skating Palace.

The banner was a replica of the flag raised by Soviet soldiers in Berlin in 1945, in victory over Nazi Germany. It is a symbol of victory in World War II under communist leadership, bearing the name of the unit that raised it.

It's not clear how many political displays have been attempted inside venues during the Sochi Games. But few if any have been noticed.

"It happens all the time," International Olympic Committee spokesman Anthony Edgar said Saturday when shown the photographs. He said the IOC would look at the situation no differently than other displays that aren't allowed, like athletes wearing arm bands to honor dead loved ones. The symbol of communism, he said, is no more or less offensive than other displays.

Sochi organizers said they considered the matter closed because the men took down the banner when asked and planned no further investigation. They declined an interview with The Associated Press.

Communist Party officials did not return messages seeking comment on Saturday.

The men, including Russian lawmakers Nikolai Kharitonov and Yuri Afonin and Zyuganov spokesman Alexander Yushchenko, held the banner for about 10 minutes before a brief confrontation with arena staffers. It ended with the staffers standing in front of the banner to block its display and the venue manager, Russian speedskating gold medalist Svetlana Bazhanova, intervening and asking again that the banner be taken down.

"They weren't supposed to do that," Sochi 2014 spokeswoman Aleksandra Kosterina said of the men displaying the banner.

Rule 50.3 of the Olympic Charter prohibits "display of any sign, banner, poster, piece of equipment or clothing which could be perceived as any kind of demonstration or propaganda," according to official guidelines provided to national organizing committees.

The confrontation started with one venue staffer asking the group to take down the banner. The photos show the staffer grabbing the flag, then Zyuganov and three other men grabbing her by both her wrists to keep her from taking it down. Zyuganov then pointed his right index finger at a second staffer, the arena's deputy venue manager, when he approached the group.

The confrontation was broken up by Mikhail Kusnirovich, the founder and chairman of Bosco Di Ciliegi, the official clothing manufacturer of the Olympics. The photos show Kusnirovich speaking with the staffers, then the staffers backing off the confrontation and the original staffer standing in front of the flag with her arms crossed. Zyuganov waves to the crowd as Bazhanova arrives and asks that the banner be taken down, while the two staffers stand in front of the banner with their arms behind their back.

Associated Press writer Nataliya Vasilyeva and AP photographer Vadim Ghirda contributed to this report. Oskar Garcia can be reached on Twitter at http://bit.ly/1ckPc6B

Mixed signals over in-flight use of cellphones

WASHINGTON -- When it comes to deciding whether airline passengers can use their cellphones in flight, federal agencies are sending different signals to consumers.

The Transportation Department, which regulates aviation consumer issues, indicated in a notice posted online Friday that it is considering retaining the 23-year-old ban on the calls, and asked for public comment.

Two months ago, the Federal Communications Commission voted to pursue allowing the calls. The FCC has responsibility for determining whether the use of cellphones in flight would interfere with cellular networks on the ground.

Polls show that many passengers, particularly frequent fliers, oppose allowing in-flight calls from passengers' cellphones. Echoing their concerns, the Transportation Department said it believes allowing passengers to make cellphone calls "may be harmful or injurious" to others.

"People tend to talk louder on cellphones than when they're having face-to-face conversations," the department said. "They are also likely to talk more and further increase the noise on a flight, as passengers would not be simply talking to the persons sitting next to them but can call whomever they like."

Some planes already have seat-back phones, but they are rarely used, the department said, adding that the concern "is not about individual calls, but rather the cumulative impact of allowing in-flight calls in close quarters."

At the FCC, Chairman Tom Wheeler has said he wants to repeal the ban on cellphone use in flight, calling it restrictive and outdated. He also wants the airlines, not the government, to have final say on in-flight calling. He declined to comment Friday on the Transportation Department's notice.

In an Associated Press-GfK poll three months ago, 48 percent of those surveyed opposed letting cellphones be used for voice calls while planes are in flight, while 19 percent were in favor and 30 percent were neutral. Among those who'd flown four or more times in the previous year, the rate of opposition soared to 78 percent.

Delta Air Lines told the government last year that 64 percent of its passengers indicated that the ability to make phone calls in flight would have a negative impact on their onboard experience.

The FCC has already received more than 1,200 public comments on its proposal, almost all of them opposed to lifting the ban.

"Nobody, absolutely nobody, wants to be the involuntary audience of another passenger's telephone conversation," one commenter said Friday. "It is the equivalent of torture to be forced to listen to the incessant prattling of a seatmate, compounded by the impossibility of escape."

Among the most ardent opponents of lifting the ban are flight attendants, who worry that phone conversation will spark arguments between passengers and even acts of violence.

"Allowing passengers to use cellphones during commercial flights will add unacceptable risks to aviation security, compromise a flight attendant's ability to maintain order in an emergency, increase cabin noise and tension among passengers and interfere with crew members in the performance of their duties as first responders in the cabin," said Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, responding to the department's proposal. The association represents nearly 60,000 flight attendants at 19 carriers.

Congress, inhabited by some of the nation's most frequent fliers, is also getting into the act. Lawmakers are pushing legislation to require transportation regulators to implement a ban on calls.

"When it comes to cellphones on planes, tap, don't talk," Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said last week as the committee gave bipartisan approval to his bill.

The FCC ban was adopted in 1991 based on concern the calls from planes might interfere with cellular networks on the ground, but technological advances have resolved those worries. In 2005, the FCC cleared the way for airlines to begin offering Wi-Fi in flight.

Last October, the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates safety, dropped its ban on the use of personal electronic devices such as tablets, music players and smartphones during takeoffs and landings as long as devices are set to airplane mode. Passengers can send email, text or surf the Internet when planes are above 10,000 feet in altitude.

The agency said it is no longer worried the devices will interfere with cockpit electronics. However, phone calls during all phases of flight are still prohibited under the FCC ban.

Early House race tests Obamacare as election issue

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The candidates are Alex Sink, Democrat, and David Jolly, Republican, but Obamacare is on the ballot in a big way in a competitive House race in Florida that offers a preview of the nationwide campaign for Congress this fall.

Republicans and their allies wouldn't have it any other way as they test the issue's potency, even though their candidate may muddle the message, and other issues like Social Security may command a bigger role in deciding the winner.

"Seniors are losing their doctors because of Obamacare... but Alex Sink still supports Obamacare," read one Republican Party mailer in a congressional district where voters over age 60 may cast more than half the ballots.

Because of the health care law "300,000 Floridians will lose their current health plans, $700 billion (was) cut from Medicare for seniors and now nonpartisan government analysts say Obamacare will cost our economy up to 2.5 million jobs," says an ad paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee. "Yet Alex Sink still supports it."

Sitting in a sparsely furnished room in her campaign office, Sink says of Republicans, "I guess they believe" it will work. "That's their signature issue in this election cycle."

Republicans don't quarrel with that assertion, which makes Sink something of a campaign pioneer — the Democratic candidate in the first race of 2014 to test her party's recommended response to Republican assaults on the health care overhaul that President Barack Obama and Democrats pushed through Congress four years ago.

"We can't go back to letting insurance companies do whatever they want," she says in a television commercial that's recently aired. "Instead of repealing the health law, we need to keep what's right and fix what's wrong."

Says the announcer of Jolly, "His plan would even require seniors to pay thousands more for prescription drugs."

No matter the winner, Democrats appear to have little chance to capture the 17 seats needed to win a House majority in November. Yet this race has drawn national attention also because Obamacare figures prominently already in races in the Senate, where enough seats appear competitive nine months before Election Day to give Republicans an opportunity at winning control.

The candidates took different paths to their March 11 matchup to serve out the term of the late Republican Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young, who died last fall.

Sink, 65, had a career in banking before she was elected the state's chief financial officer in 2006. A longtime resident of Tampa in next-door Hillsborough County, she is attacked by Republicans and their allies as a carpetbagger for moving over the county line into the district in preparation for the campaign.

Jolly, 41, was born in the congressional district. Yet he has long experience in Washington, first as an aide to Young, whom he features in his advertising and public remarks, and then as a lobbyist. Democrats seized on his lobbying work, saying he was retained by a special interest that wants to privatize Social Security.

The race to serve the balance of Young's term has attracted outside groups on the left and the right even though evidence is spotty at best that so-called special elections can predict which party will win a nationwide fall campaign.

Each one "has its own particularly unique and hyperlocal dynamics," said New York Rep. Steve Israel, who heads the House Democratic campaign organization.

And for all the attention paid to Obamacare, Republicans betray concern that Sink's persistent attacks linking Jolly to efforts to privatize Social Security are paying dividends.

The NRCC attacked Sink recently when she made a vaguely positive reference to a bipartisan 2010 deficit-cutting blueprint that proposed gradually raising the Social Security retirement age and slowing the growth in benefits, while also cutting Medicare.

Sink, who did not endorse the plan in her initial remarks, said in a statement: "I am opposed to any changes that would raise the retirement age, reduce the guaranteed Social Security benefit or privatize Social Security in any way."

The slice of Florida that is ground zero in the battle over Obamacare is anything but representative of America. In addition to the presence of tens of thousands of retirees, relatively few blacks or Hispanics live in the district and median income is several thousand dollars below the national average.

That combination might ordinarily tilt the district Republican. Yet while Young carried it with ease, Sink won it in a losing campaign for governor in 2010, and Obama carried it narrowly in 2008 and 2012.

Early voting by mail points to a close race. Throughout this past week, about 63,000 ballots had been returned, slightly more by Republicans than Democrats, with about 15 percent of the total cast by independents.

Nor is it clear what will motivate voters to side with one or the other contender.

Buddie Berger, 93, and a resident of The Palms of Largo, says she's for Sink because "Social Security should not be privatized."

Helen Eden, an even 100, says with a smile she is "not necessarily" going to vote the same way. A Mitt Romney supporter in 2012, she says she is worried about "mainly the budget and our president and how he is bankrupting our country."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Republican Congressional Committee and Jolly have invoked Obamacare in television commercials. "Cancelled health plans, higher premiums, Medicare cuts, people losing their doctors, a disaster for families and seniors," says the announcer in the Chamber of Commerce ad.

In one of his own campaign's ads, Jolly says, "I'm fighting to repeal Obamacare right away."

Private polling in both parties says that while the health care law is unpopular, outright repeal is trumped by a rebuttal like Sink's — that parts must be fixed, but simply eliminating it would empower the insurance industry.

In another ad, Jolly says, "Let's replace Obamacare," a position that is broadened on his campaign website. It says Obamacare "should be repealed now, and then Congress and the administration should begin to consider private sector solutions that address very specific problems in the health insurance industry."

Salam hopes for consensus on policy statement

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam expressed hope Saturday that the country’s rival factions would reach a consensus over the policy statement, adding that the committee drafting the statement has made progress.

“We hope that the consensual spirit that resulted in the formation of the Cabinet will be reflected in the policy statement,” Salam said in a statement.

“The panel drafting the ministerial policy achieved progress in its work.”

The ministerial committee working on drafting the policy statement held its third meeting Friday at the Grand Serail.

Salam also said the Cabinet should work towards holding the presidential election on schedule in May 2014.

“The biggest challenge facing the cabinet is carrying out the presidential elections within the constitutional timeframe,” Salam said.

“If the government is able to successfully carry out the presidential election, this will fortify the country's democratic system.”

Eid: Ultimatum aimed at defusing tension

BEIRUT: Arab Democratic Party Secretary-General Rifaat Eid said Saturday that the 48-hour ultimatum he gave Lebanese authorities following the assassination of a party official in the northern city of Tripoli was aimed at "defusing tension" among his party's supporters.

“When we announced the 48-hour ultimatum following the killing of Diab, we were trying to cool down the Alawite community and to defuse people’s anger,” Eid said during a news conference.

“Those hoping that we will strike Tripoli are wrong,” he added.

The killing of Abdel-Rahman Diab Thursday triggered violence that left two people dead and five others wounded. Eid had warned that if Diab's killers were not arrested by the 48-hour deadline, " Tripoli will bear the consequences."

The pro-Assad ADP official said his group “supports the judiciary and the [Lebanese] Army and calls for reconciliation in Tripoli.”

The ADP leader emphasized that his party was not responsible for the twin bombings that targeted the northern city of Tripoli last year.

“We join our voice to those calling for referring the case and that of the residents of Jabal Mohsen who have been murdered to the Judicial Council,” he said, referring to residents of the largely-Alawite neighborhood where the party is based. Recurrent clashes between Jabal Mohsen and the predominantly-Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh have claimed dozens of lives over the past three years.

“We are sure of our innocence as a party ... and we have evidence against those who tried to implicate us in the blasts," said Eid.

A Republican View: U.S. Military Should Play No Role Syria

Audio for this story from Weekend Edition Saturday will be available at approximately 12:00 p.m. ET.

Some in Congress believe sending aid to Syria's opposition forces will drag the U.S. into a war it can't win. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., about his adamant stance.