'Game of Thrones' puts Northern Ireland on the map

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Giants, dragons and vengeful queens have for generations populated Northern Ireland's folk tales. Now, such creatures are visiting the land in a different version — on the sets for the hit TV show "Game of Thrones." But rather than spells and destruction, they're bringing an economic boost to this British province still healing from its past of political violence.

Fans of the HBO fantasy drama would recognize here the landscapes from the fictional land of Westeros — the castle of Winterfell, the seaside cliffs of the Iron Isles and the King's Road leading to the north. About 75 percent of the show is filmed in Northern Ireland, both in natural settings and in the Titanic Studios in Belfast.

Since the pilot episode began filming in 2009, attracted by the local government's financial incentives, the show's presence has helped foster a film industry that is catching the eye of other Hollywood productions. And Northern Ireland is taking advantage of the attention by promoting the filming locations as tourist destinations.

The latest — and perhaps most illustrious — visitor is Queen Elizabeth II, who will tour the studio sets on Monday. But thousands have already been visiting from across the globe.

Cara and Tom Collins from Springdale, Arkansas, were in Ballintoy Harbour recently to see the rocky coastal setting used in the show for the 'Iron Isles,' a kingdom of rugged sailors.

"You can just close your eyes and picture everybody there," said Tom.

The season four finale of "Game of Thrones" last week was watched by 7.09 million viewers in the United States according to prime-time viewership numbers complied by the Nielson Co. That makes it HBO's most-watched program since "The Sopranos" in 2007.

But the numbers are likely higher since TV audience habits have changed since 2007 and "Game of Thrones" has fans globally who watch on local networks and via DVD or streaming services.

For Northern Ireland's tourism industry, that represents a huge pool of potential visitors. The province hopes to use the show's popularity to increase the number of tourists to over 2 million annually by 2016, from 1.8 million in 2013 — more than the region's population of just 1.8 million.

Coach operators have created "Game of Thrones" tours, for which demand hit a record as the show reached its season finale this month.

"They are using some of our most iconic scenery in 'Game of Thrones' which is excellent," said Arlene Foster, minister for enterprise, trade and investment.

Beyond tourism, the direct employment of local workers has been very important for the local economy, she said.

At the end of series four, HBO is estimated to have spent about 87.6 million pounds ($149.11 million) in the local economy making the show. The benefits are likely much higher when including other factors, such as the knock-on benefits from higher employment.

"This is a sector that we think has the potential to really grow" said Foster. "Around the HBO facility and studios will grow a skills base that others can use."

Holywood — pronounced the same as California's 'Hollywood' — is a small seaside town near Belfast that may lack the glamour of Beverly Hills, but is gaining a movie-making reputation of its own. Yellow Moon, a production facility based there, has enjoyed strong growth and doubled its workforce by being involved with "Game of Thrones."

"HBO were a big catalyst in changing perceptions of what could be done in Northern Ireland. As the Americans say, it was a game changer," said Managing Director Greg Darby.

Five years ago, 80 percent of Yellow Moon's work was for local broadcasters, and just 20 percent for productions based in the U.K. or further afield. Now, 70 percent of their work is commissioned outside Northern Ireland.

"'Game of Thrones' are directly or indirectly responsible for 80 percent of the people that we have taken on in the last three years, because if they didn't come we wouldn't have the other work," said Darby.

Scott Ferguson's story illustrates what "Game of Thrones" means for young creative people in Northern Ireland.

He dreamt of being a film editor, but his first experience in the industry failed to lead to more work, so he took a job in a bank. Then five years ago a government training scheme lead to a placement at Yellow Moon and he is now a colorist on the show, adding mood and tone to the images in post-production, and on his way to becoming an expert in his field.

Ferguson is confident that people like him will no longer need to emigrate to seek work in film and TV, now that Northern Ireland's reputation as a production hub is growing.

"We have world class facilities, and we now have a world class crew. We have a shooting crew and we have a post crew who have worked on the biggest, most watched, most successful TV show that has been around for a while," he said.

Statistics can't do justice to the "Game of Thrones" effect on Northern Ireland's economy, said economist Graham Brownlow, from Queens University Belfast. He says the show is helping to improve the province's international image, which for decades had become synonymous with political violence and economic stagnation.

"The real benefits that Northern Ireland secures are the things that are most difficult to measure" he explained. "By creating a critical mass for film and TV productions it creates a good image for Northern Ireland, which stimulates further production in Northern Ireland, which improves the image of Northern Ireland," Brownlow said.

That 'critical mass' now includes 'Dracula Untold', a Universal Pictures movie with an October 2014 release date and Ridley Scott's new 'Halo' feature, which is also expected to be released before the end of the year.

These and other features will need best boys, wardrobe assistants, carpenters, camera operators and colorists and Northern Ireland's new local talent pool will be only too happy to oblige.

Officials counting on return from investment

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Oxford-Lafayette Sportsplex — Mississippi's newest venue for elite level youth team sports — is wrapping up a tryout of its own this spring.

The newly opened 73-acre complex of four fields for baseball and softball as well as a half-dozen combination soccer/football/lacrosse fields has moved slowly into the growing business of "select" youth sports with just a handful of events so far.

With the arrival of spring 2015, the multi-million dollar complex built by Oxford dentist and Brandon native Dr. Michael Perry should be ready to host a full roster of tournaments and other competitions, said Greg Lewis of P360 Performance Sports, a Ridgeland company Perry hired to line up and schedule team competitions.

"We're still in the process of putting them altogether," said Lewis, whose main responsibility for the Sportsplex involves scheduling baseball and softball tournaments.

The Sportsplex situated just off Mississippi Highway 7 South hosted the U.S. Fastpitch Association's Oxford Sizzlin Summer Blast.

By mid-July, "We'll pretty much shut down," Lewis said. "That will give us time to get the grass going."

The grass that will be growing includes about 40,000 yards of sod

Lewis said some fall tourneys likely will be scheduled on the ball fields, all of which have synthetic infield grass designed to allow or year-round play and help avoid rain-outs.

Also in the interim, installation will begin on a six-tunnel hitting and pitching facility.

Meanwhile, as the new complex ramps up for more intensive use, there's much Perry, Lewis and the rest of the Sportsplex crew must get right. After all, expectations are high for any facility that puts on tournaments and competitions for the best up-and-comers in Mississippi youth sports.

The Sportsplex will be joining the publicly owned FNC Park in Oxford and sports complexes in Southaven, Tupelo, Ridgeland, Pearl and Gulfport as destinations for youngsters who have developed skills sufficient to land them on "travel" teams, which in baseball are categorized by skill levels from Single A to Majors

Chris Snopek, principal of P360 Performance Sports and former infielder for Ole Miss and the Chicago White Sox, has the task of persuading the "select" teams from around the state, region and nation to play at the Oxford-Lafayette Sportsplex. Snopek said the complex won't be hard to sell as a tournament venue.

"It's a beautiful place," he said, and added that combined with FNC Park, Oxford is destined to become a notable destination for elite youth sports competition.

With Oxford already a destination for high profile cultural, academic and athletic events, Perry saw the potential to add another reason to visit Oxford.

Along with the bricks and mortars of new facilities, Perry's plan required creation of baseball, softball, soccer and football teams made up of youngsters with highest of skill levels.

Many of the youngsters come from Northeast Mississippi towns whose sports leagues lack sufficient numbers of elite-level players to form travel teams. So they come from as far an hour or so away to participate in the "clubs" that have been created as part of the Sportsplex plan.

"In today's sports world, there are many kids who want to play at a higher level than recreation sports provide," Perry said.

The complex has separate managers for each sport and licensed coaches for each team, said Perry.

"The most important aspect of competitive sports is coaching. It is no different than having a great piano player," he said.

Clubs participating at the Sportsplex "have an abundance of experience in coaching" to guide and mentor them, he said.

The youngsters practice several times a week and typically play tournaments over the weekend during baseball and softball seasons that run from early spring through the end of June.

More than 125 kids participate on the baseball side and an additional 200 or so take part in the Sportsplex's soccer offerings.

The Yalobusha Giants, a team of 12-year-olds, are among the baseball clubs that practice and play at the faculty.

"We're working to have a softball travel club as well," Perry said. "We'll see how that goes."

For football, the full-contact Lafayette Dolphins use the Sportsplex's converted soccer fields for practices and jamborees.

On the soccer side, the Sportsplex hosts the Mississippi Flood Futbol Club, whose teams often draw college recruiters looking for scholarship prospects.

"This is where the college coaches come to do their evaluations," Perry said. "College soccer coaches don't usually evaluate in school play."

Until now, a lack of opportunity for high-level play has caused a lot of North Mississippi's talented prep soccer players to be overlooked by recruiters, according to Perry.

"We can do the showcase tournaments" that will attract college coaches, he said.

Most evenings after he leaves his dental practice, Perry heads to the Sportsplex to take care of whatever needs done.

"First you have to build it, then manage it and market it," he said.

While he wouldn't say how much money he has invested in the complex, it would not be inaccurate to put the sum at more than $5 million, he said.

The Lighting Emitting Diode, or LED lighting, alone ran $2 million, Perry said.

He said he got the money he needed through Mechanics Bank of Water Valley.

Choosing LED lighting provided by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-based OEM Lighting for each of the fields was among the savviest decisions he has made on the project, according to Perry.

"These lights are unreal," he said.

He estimated conventional lighting for so many fields would run from $3,000 to $4,000 a month.

"My bills have been $160 or below," Perry said.

Perry shaved project costs in other areas as well, including an irrigation system that relies on water from wells that draw from nearby ponds

The LED lighting, synthetic grass and creative irrigation cost more money going in but will save substantially in the future, he said.

"I know there is not another complex in the state that has the synthetic turf, and I know there is not one that has the LED lights."

Deciding to make the commitment, in terms of both money and time, did not come easy, Perry said.

"My wife and I had some long discussions about this," he said. "I feel like it is a great way to give back to the kids of North Mississippi."

And bring dollars into Oxford, he said.

Hospitals say they won't heed '2-midnight rule'

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- It's called the two-midnight rule, and some hospitals want to avoid it like a measles epidemic.

Federal officials want to make sure that hospitals are admitting only those patients who really need extended expert medical care, which is expensive. So they drafted a plan to audit Medicare claims for inpatients whose hospital stays are shorter than two midnights.

The theory is that any patient who stays in the hospital longer than that legitimately needs to be there.

There are potential benefits to the rule. Cutting hospital reimbursements for one-night stays would reduce federal health care spending. Also, federal officials say the new rule establishes criteria for when a hospital must admit a patient rather than letting the person linger in observation status.

But hospitals fear this is just the government's way of weaseling out of paying for expensive medical care that health care professionals have already provided. They say inpatient status has always applied to patients who stay in a hospital room one night, and the government hasn't made a compelling argument why that should change.

Consumers are caught in the middle. Taxpayers surely endorse lower federal spending on health care. But patients and their families want to ensure that, above all, appropriate medical decisions are being made in their case.

Hospitals could conceivably respond by keeping patients longer to make sure they exceed the two-midnight threshhold that could trigger an audit.

Or they could release patients who would benefit from one overnight in the hospital.

Local hospital officials say that's a trap they won't fall into - even if they risk having more claims audited.

Federal officials adopted the two-midnight rule last year, setting an effective date of Oct. 1, 2013. But they have pushed back enforcement three times to allow federal officials more time to write clear guidance on how to comply. The most recent delay extends implementation until after March 31, 2015.

In the meantime, the American Hospital Association and a coalition of hospitals have filed a challenge to the changes, and Congress is considering bipartisan bills that specifically address the issue.

The difference between how much it costs to be treated in the emergency room and how much it costs to spend one day as a hospital patient is considerable.

Actually, it's less than half.

The U.S. average cost for one day as an inpatient was $1,960, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which used 2011 data. The charge for an emergency department visit that didn't result in admission was $969, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which used 2010 data.

In Indiana and Ohio, the average cost of each inpatient day was even higher: $2,025 in Indiana and $2,170 in Ohio.

When doctors are able to treat 'em and street 'em, as the saying goes, it saves a lot of money for everyone - especially taxpayers. Combined, Medicare and Medicaid paid almost 47 percent of hospital care expenses in 2010, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicare recipients are U.S. residents age 65 and older and younger people with disabilities. Medicaid recipients are low-income individuals and families.

For comparison: Patients paid only 3 percent of total hospital care revenue in 2010, according to the same study. That's less than one-fifteenth as much as the federal government pays, on average.

The challenge: How can hospitals reduce the number of people admitted to the hospital without risking making mistakes by sending home someone who really should be tucked into a hospital bed?

There's a third status besides inpatient and outpatient, said Joni Hissong, director of care coordination, case management and social work for Parkview Health.

An outpatient with observation services can stay in the hospital overnight. The person isn't officially considered an inpatient but receives the same level of care as an inpatient, she told The Journal Gazette (http://bit.ly/1ox7Dgw ).

Hissong, a registered nurse, said Parkview medical staff evaluate patients before a doctor decides the next steps. A clinical assessment includes blood pressure, temperature, pulse, blood-oxygen levels and other vital signs, along with asking numerous questions.

Whether to admit the patient to the hospital can depend on the person's current status and overall health, taking into account chronic conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, she said.

Doctors base their judgment on training and experience. Clinical criteria for when to admit a patient are available, but Hissong described them as guidance only, not rules.

"The decision to admit a patient is always a complex medical decision that the physician makes," she said. "We always make the clinically right decision for the patient. We do the right thing for the patient every time."

The process is similar at hospitals owned and operated by Lutheran Health Network, spokesman Geoff Thomas said. He provided a statement.

"The new two-midnight rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services instructs physicians to utilize their medical judgment to certify and document the criteria necessary for a hospital admission," he wrote.

"If a physician expects a Medicare beneficiary's treatment to require a hospital stay lasting at least two midnights, and admits the patient based on that expectation, the service will be covered under Medicare Part A," Thomas said. "Episodes of care shorter than this will generally be classified as observation status, an outpatient service covered by Medicare Part B."

Medicare and most private insurance companies pay lower rates for outpatient than for inpatient care. Patients with private insurance, including through an employer, could feel the difference in their wallets if their policies call for different co-pays based on whether they are admitted to the hospital or remain on an outpatient status, said Spencer Grover, vice president of the Indiana Hospital Association.

The issue has caused great concern among hospital administrators.

"It's confusing to physicians and patients," Grover said, adding that he and the organization he represents don't support the two-midnight rule.

Thomas said Lutheran will make it a priority to educate staff on the new pending rule. But a national hospital association wonders if that's even possible.

In a 30-page complaint filed April 14 in U.S. District Court, the American Hospital Association alleges that the new standards are "arbitrary and capricious."

By classifying inpatient status as only those patients who are in the hospital two midnights or longer, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will save "millions of dollars because it will convert tens of thousands of inpatient cases, reimbursed under Part A, into outpatient cases, reimbursed under Part B," the hospital association alleges.

Parkview is ready to fight for higher federal reimbursement when necessary.

When Medicare or an insurance company denies a claim after service is provided, Parkview files a petition, citing details of the case, Hissong said. Typically, both the hospital and the auditor are represented by doctors during the appeals process, she said.

"We have a very, very low denial rate," Hissong said. "And we have a very high success rate with our appeals."

Parkview, like all other hospitals, has not yet been audited under the two-midnight rule.

---

Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://bit.ly/1eJmNnu

This is an AP Member Exchange shared by The Journal Gazette.

Demand, aging buildings spur campus housing boom

WICHITA, Kan. -- Universities across the nation are in the midst of a campus housing boom, replacing aging residence halls with gleaming facilities whose technology and other comforts are aimed at attracting students who demand more from college life.

Campus living for students today is a far cry from the cramped dormitories of generations past. New facilities are geared to handle laptops, smartphones and tablets and offer Wi-Fi connectivity and extra room outlets. Suites housing two or more people — with a shared bathroom instead of communal ones — are also popular, and some of the new halls feature computer labs, study centers, cafes and even a gaming room.

Fifty-two new residence halls at private and public schools to house 19,000 students opened last year or will open this year around the U.S., with a price tag of more than $2 billion, according to Paul Abramson, an analyst with New York-based Intelligence in Education who tracks college construction. Overall, the number of new residence hall construction is up from 40 that Abramson counted a year ago for his annual May survey.

The surge comes as U.S. schools are simultaneously trying to attract students with the comforts of home while fighting perceptions that tuition hikes and other expenses are putting college out of reach for a growing number of Americans. But even as costs go up, demand for updated residence halls and other amenities is motivating schools to keep spending.

At Wichita State, a new $65 million residence hall and dining facility at the center of campus has a waiting list while openings are plentiful at the university's older, lower-priced halls. It'll cost between $10,000 and $12,000 a year (including meals) to live in the new facility, compared to $6,800 a year for older residence halls.

Honors student Derick Holmes, 18, has enough scholarship money to afford campus housing, even though his family's home is just 10 minutes from campus. He'll be living in the new, tech-outfitted building, which will house his honors program and a new cafe.

"They have based it around the lives of college students today rather than 60 years ago," Holmes said.

The spurt of construction began about a decade ago and has continued to grow as colleges and universities compete for students — and their money — by offering the "cool" living experience students want and the increased security their parents demand. Plus, many residence halls put up to house the spawn of baby boomers in 1970s and early '80s were cheaply built and are ready to be torn down, Abramson said.

"What we are seeing again is a confluence of colleges stuck with a lot of stuff they didn't want, a demand suddenly from a new group of students beginning to come in — and from their parents for a better student life — and that I think drove a lot of construction," Abramson said.

Each state finances construction differently, but students who live in the new facilities ultimately pick up the tab by paying higher housing rates. Many states, like Kansas, use bonds to finance the projects — making them less dependent on lawmakers passing funding bills.

The boom seems to be spread evenly throughout the nation, according to Abramson's survey: 14 in the Northeast, 13 in the Southeast, nine in the Midwest, 10 in the mountain states and Texas and six along the West Coast.

The University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau hopes its $15 million dormitory project will retain more students in a city with a tight and expensive housing market. And Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau opened last summer a $24.5 million, suite-style housing facility, in which students with similar academic interests and career goals are grouped together on themed floors.

Changes are not confined to residence halls: More universities are now placing greater emphasis on overall campus life, providing nicer student unions and better recreational spaces unrelated to revenue-generating sports programs.

Plus, parents are also demanding better security for their children, Abramson said. More than 70 percent of the new residence facilities are using video surveillance on the exterior and more than half are using it inside, his survey found.

When John Bardo took over as Wichita State University president in 2012, it became clear to him that the school needed to lure more students to campus living. Other research colleges in similar urban areas house between 18 and 30 percent of their students on campus, but WSU only had 8 percent, he said. His goal is to eventually reach 20 percent as a means of building a culture to support the school's core mission as a major aviation research university.

"You get on average a higher retention rate, a higher graduation rate and more students who are familiar with Wichita and more likely to stay here long term," he said.

RI's 5 things: New budget, toll closed, convention

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A new budget is signed, a contentious toll is shut down and Democrats decide not to choose among the gubernatorial hopefuls. Here are five things to know in Rhode Island:

BUDGET SIGNED

The state will head into the new fiscal year, which starts July 1, with an $8.7 billion budget signed Thursday by Gov. Lincoln Chafee. The spending plan lowers the corporate tax rate from 9 percent to 7 percent, increases public education spending and honors the debt related to 38 Studios. It also includes a plan to address road and bridge projects statewide, in part through an increase in the gas tax and some fees.

TOLL SHUT DOWN

The state's bridge authority shut down the contentious toll on the Sakonnet River Bridge. The new budget eliminated the toll and established a 1-cent gas tax effective July 1, 2015, to help fund bridge and other infrastructure projects. The authority spent up to $5 million installing collection equipment on the bridge for the 10-cent toll, which had been opposed by many residents and lawmakers on Aquidneck Island and in the East Bay.

DEMOCRATS WON'T ENDORSE CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR

When Democrats gather Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center to endorse candidates, they won't choose among the gubernatorial hopefuls. The three leading Democrats running for governor agreed to not accept an endorsement from the Democratic Party. Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, Treasurer Gina Raimondo and former Obama administration official Clay Pell say party unity is crucial to electing a Democrat in November.

GOP DEBATE

Republican gubernatorial candidates Allan Fung and Ken Block met for their first televised debate. Each threw plenty of jabs as they offered their plans to help the state's struggling economy rebound. Fung, the mayor of Cranston, touted his leadership experience, while Block, a businessman, portrayed himself as a political outsider who can fix the state. Last week's debate featuring the three leading Democrats in the race was tame by comparison.

NEW MARITIME STRATEGY

The Navy's top officer asked naval officers, scholars and students at the Naval War College for their help in updating the nation's maritime strategy. It was last revised in 2007 in the midst of two wars and before the economic recession. Adm. Jonathan Greenert, U.S. chief of naval operations, told an audience at the college that he needs their suggestions before he approves the revisions this year.

Utah AG office probing newspapers' JOA deal

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah attorney general's office is investigating the latest changes to The Salt Lake Tribune's joint operating agreement with the Deseret News.

Office spokeswoman Missy Larsen confirmed Friday night the agreement is under investigation.

Citizens for Two Voices, which includes former Tribune employees, issued a statement saying it had met with attorneys from the AG's office to discuss the latest changes and welcomed the investigation.

The group also filed a federal lawsuit Monday to suspend and repeal the deal, saying the terms violated federal antitrust laws and undermine The Tribune's role as an independent voice.

The six-decade-old agreement was changed in October. Among other things, the deal slashed in half The Tribune's revenues from the partnership.

The Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1p37Ec7 ) the U.S. Department of Justice also is scrutinizing the latest changes.

Bacon preservative tested as feral hog poison

NEW ORLEANS -- A preservative used to cure bacon is being tested as poison for the nation's estimated 5 million feral hogs.

Descendants of both escaped domestic pigs and imported Eurasian boars, the swine cost the U.S. about $1.5 billion a year — including $800 million in damage to farms nationwide.

Hunting and trapping won't do the trick for these big, wildly prolific animals. So, the U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked off a $20 million program this year to control feral swine, which have spread from 17 states in 1982 to 39 now.

Sodium nitrite is far more toxic to pigs than people and is used in Australia and New Zealand to kill feral swine. USDA scientists say it may be the best solution in the U.S., but they're not yet ready to ask for federal approval as pig poison.

Vance Taylor of Brooksville, Mississippi, has seen up to 50 hogs in a field at once. He estimates the animals cost him 40 to 60 acres of corn and soybeans a year. They once rooted up about 170 acres of sprouting corn; they trample ripe corn, taking a few bites from each ear.

"It looks like a bulldozer has been through your field," he said. To minimize damage, he hires a hunter and sometimes even heaps corn away from his fields so they'll eat there.

Males average 130 to 150 pounds but can range up to 250, and hogs snarf down just about anything: peanuts, potatoes, piles of just-harvested almonds. Rooting for grubs and worms leaves lawns, levees, wetlands and prairies looking like they've been attacked by packs of rototillers gone wild. Swine compete with turkey and deer for acorns, and also eat eggs and fawns.

Nor is damage limited to their eating habits. Feral pigs' feces were among likely sources of E. coli that tainted fresh California spinach in 2006, killing three people and sickening 200.

To stay even, at least 70 percent of an area's feral pigs must be killed each year, said Fred Cunningham, a biologist at the USDA's National Wildlife Research Center field station in Starkville, Mississippi. Texas alone has an estimated 2 million feral swine.

"The problem will never, ever end until they find a way to poison them," said Cy Brown of Carencro, Louisiana, a weekend hunter who estimates he has shot 300 to 400 a year for farmers.

The USDA program that began in April includes $1.5 million for the research center headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado. Its scientists have made sodium nitrite studies a top priority.

Sodium nitrite, used as a salt to preserve meat, can keep red blood cells from grabbing oxygen in live animals. Unlike people and tested domestic animals, pigs make very low levels of an enzyme that counteracts the chemical. Swine that eat enough sodium nitrite at once show symptoms akin to carbon dioxide poisoning: They become uncoordinated, lose consciousness and die.

But baits so far haven't hit the 90 percent kill rate on penned pigs (feral or domestic, they're all the same species) needed for EPA consideration. Once it does, approval could take up to five years, Cunningham said.

One problem is creating baits in which pigs will eat a lethal dose. Sodium nitrite tastes nasty and breaks down quickly in the presence of air or water, making it easier for pigs to smell and avoid, said Fred Vercauteren, project leader in Fort Collins.

Microencapsulating the powder masks its smell and keeps it stable longer.

"We'll work on that throughout the summer," Vercauteren said.

However, there's another big hurdle: making a bait dispenser other animals can't break into.

Raccoons have pilfered one being tested. "And we'll probably have a hard time keeping a motivated bear out," Vercauteren said.

A solar-powered machine designed to open only when pigs grunt and snuffle is being tested at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area in Hunt, Texas. The HAM (Hog Annihilation Machine) delivers a 15,000-volt shock to animals that touch it when its hoppers are closed — not enough to faze a pig or injure other wildlife but enough to send a bear or raccoon running, said inventor Harold Monk of Denham Springs, Louisiana.

He said it can also be programmed to ignore sounds. When a wildlife camera showed it opening to an alligator's bellow, he took the camera's recording and fed it to HAM's sound card.

"I said, 'That sound is not a hog.' Thereafter, it never opened again on that sound," Monk said.

Lincoln garbage collector says it's being targeted

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A new garbage collecting business in Lincoln says it is being hurt by underhanded tactics of other, long-established garbage companies that resent the new competition.

New company Trash Taxi is crying foul over some of the tactics, The Lincoln Journal Star reported (http://bit.ly/ThzfYp ) Saturday.

Those tactics include cards and notices sent to customers accusing Trash Taxi of providing lousy service and implying that customers have complaints with the Better Business Bureau, even though the bureau lists zero complaints, Trash Taxi owner Dana Houser said.

A few competitors have refused to sign for certified letters canceling service after customers signed up with Trash Taxi, Houser said.

And three recycling processors, which sort and resell recycled products brought in by the garbage haulers, will no longer take Trash Taxi's recycling business, said Houser.

Lincoln's established garbage collecting companies say they are just protecting customers.

"(Houser) is not the victim. He's the instigator," said Steve Hatten, past president of the Lincoln Solid Waste and Recycling Association and owner of Paragon Sanitation.

He and others say Trash Taxi's initial prices were so low — about half the price of other haulers with free service for people older than 80 — that local haulers don't believe the company can stay in business.

Historically, family-owned garbage services have stayed in designated neighborhood under an unwritten agreement, and they have seldom competed directly for residential garbage service. But Houser said that model has become unreasonable and unprofitable as competition grows, so he began seeking business in areas traditionally served by others.

Donna Garden, assistant director for Lincoln's Public Works and Utilities Department, said the city has no power to intervene.

"This is a free market system," she said.

Texas ponders allowing taller roadside billboards

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas countryside could be dotted with billboards up to 65 feet tall under a rule revision being considered by the Texas Transportation Commission.

A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at the Texas Department of Transportation's headquarters in Austin.

Current regulations allow a billboard height of 42.5 feet. The taller billboards would be allowed along Texas interstate and primary highways in rural and unincorporated areas, not places governed by municipal billboard requirements.

Outdoor advertising industry groups told the department that the increase is needed to make the signs visible over treetops and from a distance by motorists driving 70 mph.

But highway beautification advocates say the change would reverse a half-century of progress made since President Lyndon Johnson and first lady Lady Bird Johnson first backed restricting the outdoor advertising signs that blighted the countryside.

"They wanted to preserve the beauty of Texas," said Margaret Lloyd, vice president of Scenic Texas, a nonprofit group that monitors state sign rules. "That's why some people around here are so passionate about it."

Chris Cornwell of Scenic Comal County, a Scenic Texas chapter, also questions the proposed changes.

"Raising the height of Texas billboards serves no public purpose," Cornwell said. "Billboards are already a driver distraction at the current height, cause nighttime light pollution in rural areas and can have a negative impact on natural wildlife habitats. Furthermore, billboards create visual pollution, spoil scenic views and degrade taxpayers' investment in public highways."

But leaders of the sign industry say those feelings are overblown.

"If the size of the sign stays the same but the height increases, I don't see much of a difference," said Mike Perez of Sign City in Webster.

Chinese company demands edits to 'Transformers'

BEIJING -- A Beijing property developer said Saturday it has terminated cooperation with the new "Transformers" movie, wants Paramount Pictures to make edits to it and is asking China to suspend screenings of the blockbuster film.

The company owns the Pangu Plaza, a dragon-shaped hotel, office and mall complex that stretches the length of half a dozen football fields and is featured in "Transformers: Age of Extinction," the latest installment of the hit franchise.

The Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd. said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that Paramount and two Chinese associate partners failed to fulfill their obligations in a sponsorship deal.

"The loss of rights and interests not only caused the Pangu company's original business plan to fail, incurring huge losses, more seriously, it has affected Pangu Plaza's image and reputation," the statement said.

Pangu said it is suing its Chinese partners for contract fraud and demanding that Paramount delete scenes from the movie that feature images of its logo or properties. It said it has also asked the Chinese government's film regulator to suspend or stop screenings of the movie, which is due to open in Chinese cinemas June 27.

Pangu says it provided at least 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in funding and that its Chinese partners never delivered on pledges to hold the movie premiere at Pangu's hotel and feature images of its property in trailers and movie posters.

Instead, the movie's worldwide premiere was held in Hong Kong on Thursday and was attended by stars including Mark Wahlberg and the good-guy robot, Optimus Prime.

The film's debut in the southern Chinese metropolis ahead of its launch in New York next week is the latest sign of Hollywood's increasing focus on China's booming film market. China is the world's second-largest film market, with box-office revenues up by nearly a third in the first quarter after rising 27.5 percent last year to $3.6 billion.

The property developer also said its Chinese partners told Pangu it would be allowed to manufacture and sell "Transformers" merchandise authorized by Paramount and hold an exhibition of the movie's filmmaking equipment on its premises for at least eight months.

The Pangu statement, however, did not say whether Paramount was aware that its Chinese partners were making such promises. It said the hotel hosted senior executives from Paramount and Jiaflix as well as the movie's director Michael Bay and its crew, for whom the company facilitated the shooting of the Pangu Plaza and surrounding areas.

Paramount did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment while calls to the Chinese partners named in Pangu's statement — Jiaflix China and the Beijing Chengxin Shengshi Sports Culture Development Company Ltd. — rang unanswered.

In a separate statement later Saturday, Pangu said it was contacted by executives from Paramount and the U.S. parent company of Jiaflix — which provides movie-streaming services in China — after it announced the contract termination. Pangu said there were significant discrepancies between the contract it signed with the two Chinese partners and a contract that Paramount signed with them.

The Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing, where a lawsuit has reportedly been filed, as well as the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television did not answer calls on Saturday.

Other scenes in the movie that were shot in China feature the Great Wall in Beijing and the southern factory hub of Guangzhou, where a nefarious tycoon played by Stanley Tucci collaborates with Chinese actress Li Bingbing's biotech CEO character to produce robots based on the metal Transformers are made of. Four other minor roles were filled through a talent search on Chinese TV.

ND could benefit from new beef importing rules

BISMARCK, N.D. -- Agriculture leaders in North Dakota say revised rules that will expand exports of U.S. beef to Hong Kong could benefit ranchers in the state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced earlier this week new terms under which Hong Kong will now permit the importing of all U.S. beef and beef products, according to the Bismarck Tribune. Previously, only deboned beef and certain bone-in beef from cattle younger than 30 months old could be shipped to Hong Kong.

Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring told the Bismarck newspaper the relaxed rules will open up another market for ranchers in North Dakota and the rest of the country.

"That's just going to create greater opportunities because we're able to get different cuts of meat in there now," Goehring said.

In 2003, Hong Kong banned U.S. beef and beef products following the detection of a bovine spongiform encephalopathy positive animal in Washington. Hong Kong partially reopened its market in 2005 and expanded that in February 2013. Now it's fully open.

"Hong Kong is already the fourth largest market for U.S. beef and beef product exports, with sales there reaching a historic high of $823 million in 2013," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release. "We look forward to expanded opportunities there for the U.S. beef industry now that all trade restrictions are lifted."

Julie Schaff Ellingson, the executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, said it's hard to tell how much more U.S. beef will be imported into Hong Kong, but said it's still a "huge step" in the right direction.

In the first four months of 2014, Hong Kong has imported more than $307 million in beef.

"And we expect that to grow with the new trade rules," Ellingson said.

Connecticut DCF vows changes after child deaths

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Connecticut Department of Children and Families is promising improvements to help prevent fatalities after a series of child deaths involving families who had contact with the agency.

DCF is expanding its work with child abuse experts from Yale New Haven Hospital and Connecticut Children's Medical Center to improve how investigators, hospitals and primary care providers recognize abuse when a child suffers an injury. The experts are providing education and training and will be more routinely available to the department's care line, which receives reports of abuse and neglect, DCF announced this week.

"Every child death is a terrible tragedy that the family will never forget or overcome," DCF Commissioner Joette Katz said. "But when a child dies in a family that the department was involved with, it causes a lot of soul searching and questions we ask ourselves about what we could have done differently and better. It's my hope that the actions we are taking today will prevent future tragedies."

DCF said there were six child deaths involving allegations of maltreatment during the first five months of this year in a family with prior or current involvement with the agency. There were 10 such cases last year, six in 2012, seven in 2011, three each in 2010 and 2009, and seven in 2008, DCF said.

The Office of the Child Advocate said it was notified of the deaths of 11 children from families involved with DCF during the same period. Those children, mostly infants and toddlers, died from a variety of causes — not just from maltreatment — including a car accident, asphyxiation and possible unsafe sleeping conditions, the advocate's office said.

Of the 11 cases, the child advocate has identified nine for further review.

"The death of a child involved with DCF does not compel the conclusion that the death is the result of a systems failure or that more children should be removed from their homes when there are concerns of abuse or neglect," the advocate wrote in a report this month.

Child fatalities in families with DCF involvement are routinely reviewed to identify lessons, including issues related to interactions with medical providers, schools, law enforcement and the courts, DCF said. The reviews have resulted in learning forums with about 400 DCF employees this year, the agency said.

DCF says it's providing more training for its nurses to improve consultation with pediatricians regarding the identification of physical abuse when a child comes to their office with an injury. DCF is analyzing deaths of children 3 or younger to better understand the factors that correlate with these fatalities.

DCF is starting a public awareness campaign this year to prevent infant deaths by educating parents on how to better keep them safe. In February, DCF announced that a review of child deaths in recent years showed that many were accidental and involved infants and toddlers in unsafe sleeping environments.

Connecticut needs to strike the right balance between protecting children and ensuring that children are not unnecessarily taken from their families, Katz said. The department said it has 657 fewer children in care, a reduction of 13.7 percent, since January 2011.

Obama: Workplace flexibility is a basic need

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says child care, family leave and workplace flexibility aren't frills, they're basic needs.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama is lamenting workplace policies that he says are outdated. He says the U.S. is one of just three countries that don't require paid maternity leave.

Obama says some businesses are pursuing family friendly policies. But he says the U.S. must make it easier for parents and those with sick relatives to stay in the workplace. He says something's wrong when hard workers must choose between work and family.

Obama plans to hold a summit on working families on Monday.

In the Republican address, Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan says Obama's record on energy development is abysmal. He says the U.S. must build an infrastructure that will lead to energy abundance.

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Online:

Obama address: http://1.usa.gov/1fxQMoK

GOP address: http://1.usa.gov/1iY1nGH

Oil, gas project OK'd on Nevada sage grouse land

RENO, Nev. -- Federal land managers have approved an oil and gas project involving hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in a portion of northeast Nevada identified by state wildlife officials as essential habitat for the imperiled greater sage grouse.

The Bureau of Land Management signed a decision record earlier this month on Noble Energy Inc.'s proposal to conduct oil and gas exploration drilling near Wells in Elko County.

Bureau officials say a study concluded there won't be a significant impact to the bird.

Nevada Department of Wildlife officials think the bird can be protected through restrictions imposed on the Houston-based company by the bureau, including limits on construction activities during the bird's mating season.

But the Center for Biological Diversity says the last thing sage grouse need is gas development in their habitat.

The species is being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Officials counting on return from investment

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Oxford-Lafayette Sportsplex — Mississippi's newest venue for elite level youth team sports — is wrapping up a tryout of its own this spring.

The newly opened 73-acre complex of four fields for baseball and softball as well as a half-dozen combination soccer/football/lacrosse fields has moved slowly into the growing business of "select" youth sports with just a handful of events so far.

With the arrival of spring 2015, the multi-million dollar complex built by Oxford dentist and Brandon native Dr. Michael Perry should be ready to host a full roster of tournaments and other competitions, said Greg Lewis of P360 Performance Sports, a Ridgeland company Perry hired to line up and schedule team competitions.

"We're still in the process of putting them altogether," said Lewis, whose main responsibility for the Sportsplex involves scheduling baseball and softball tournaments.

The Sportsplex situated just off Mississippi Highway 7 South hosted the U.S. Fastpitch Association's Oxford Sizzlin Summer Blast.

By mid-July, "We'll pretty much shut down," Lewis said. "That will give us time to get the grass going."

The grass that will be growing includes about 40,000 yards of sod

Lewis said some fall tourneys likely will be scheduled on the ball fields, all of which have synthetic infield grass designed to allow or year-round play and help avoid rain-outs.

Also in the interim, installation will begin on a six-tunnel hitting and pitching facility.

Meanwhile, as the new complex ramps up for more intensive use, there's much Perry, Lewis and the rest of the Sportsplex crew must get right. After all, expectations are high for any facility that puts on tournaments and competitions for the best up-and-comers in Mississippi youth sports.

The Sportsplex will be joining the publicly owned FNC Park in Oxford and sports complexes in Southaven, Tupelo, Ridgeland, Pearl and Gulfport as destinations for youngsters who have developed skills sufficient to land them on "travel" teams, which in baseball are categorized by skill levels from Single A to Majors

Chris Snopek, principal of P360 Performance Sports and former infielder for Ole Miss and the Chicago White Sox, has the task of persuading the "select" teams from around the state, region and nation to play at the Oxford-Lafayette Sportsplex. Snopek said the complex won't be hard to sell as a tournament venue.

"It's a beautiful place," he said, and added that combined with FNC Park, Oxford is destined to become a notable destination for elite youth sports competition.

With Oxford already a destination for high profile cultural, academic and athletic events, Perry saw the potential to add another reason to visit Oxford.

Along with the bricks and mortars of new facilities, Perry's plan required creation of baseball, softball, soccer and football teams made up of youngsters with highest of skill levels.

Many of the youngsters come from Northeast Mississippi towns whose sports leagues lack sufficient numbers of elite-level players to form travel teams. So they come from as far an hour or so away to participate in the "clubs" that have been created as part of the Sportsplex plan.

"In today's sports world, there are many kids who want to play at a higher level than recreation sports provide," Perry said.

The complex has separate managers for each sport and licensed coaches for each team, said Perry.

"The most important aspect of competitive sports is coaching. It is no different than having a great piano player," he said.

Clubs participating at the Sportsplex "have an abundance of experience in coaching" to guide and mentor them, he said.

The youngsters practice several times a week and typically play tournaments over the weekend during baseball and softball seasons that run from early spring through the end of June.

More than 125 kids participate on the baseball side and an additional 200 or so take part in the Sportsplex's soccer offerings.

The Yalobusha Giants, a team of 12-year-olds, are among the baseball clubs that practice and play at the faculty.

"We're working to have a softball travel club as well," Perry said. "We'll see how that goes."

For football, the full-contact Lafayette Dolphins use the Sportsplex's converted soccer fields for practices and jamborees.

On the soccer side, the Sportsplex hosts the Mississippi Flood Futbol Club, whose teams often draw college recruiters looking for scholarship prospects.

"This is where the college coaches come to do their evaluations," Perry said. "College soccer coaches don't usually evaluate in school play."

Until now, a lack of opportunity for high-level play has caused a lot of North Mississippi's talented prep soccer players to be overlooked by recruiters, according to Perry.

"We can do the showcase tournaments" that will attract college coaches, he said.

Most evenings after he leaves his dental practice, Perry heads to the Sportsplex to take care of whatever needs done.

"First you have to build it, then manage it and market it," he said.

While he wouldn't say how much money he has invested in the complex, it would not be inaccurate to put the sum at more than $5 million, he said.

The Lighting Emitting Diode, or LED lighting, alone ran $2 million, Perry said.

He said he got the money he needed through Mechanics Bank of Water Valley.

Choosing LED lighting provided by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-based OEM Lighting for each of the fields was among the savviest decisions he has made on the project, according to Perry.

"These lights are unreal," he said.

He estimated conventional lighting for so many fields would run from $3,000 to $4,000 a month.

"My bills have been $160 or below," Perry said.

Perry shaved project costs in other areas as well, including an irrigation system that relies on water from wells that draw from nearby ponds

The LED lighting, synthetic grass and creative irrigation cost more money going in but will save substantially in the future, he said.

"I know there is not another complex in the state that has the synthetic turf, and I know there is not one that has the LED lights."

Deciding to make the commitment, in terms of both money and time, did not come easy, Perry said.

"My wife and I had some long discussions about this," he said. "I feel like it is a great way to give back to the kids of North Mississippi."

And bring dollars into Oxford, he said.

UM's wood stove creators honored for innovation

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- It was 91 degrees in College Park earlier this week, but it felt even hotter in Taylor Myers' lab.

Myers, a University of Maryland fire science doctoral candidate, and alumnus Ryan Fisher are developing a prototype of a wood burning stove. They've been working on the project for about two years, and now they're gaining national attention from the wood stove industry and from entrepreneurial competitions for the stove's innovative technologies.

Most recently, Myers pitched the wood stove concept to a panel of judges in a Las Vegas collegiate pitch competition. The team's company, MF Fire, earned second place — the latest in a string of awards for the wood stove. Earlier this year, the team won $25,000 in the MIT Clean Energy Prize competition, was a finalist in the ACC Clean Energy Challenge and won a grant from the TEDCO Maryland Innovation Initiative.

"It's been really strange but very exciting," Myers said. "I'm glad people are getting excited because it's something I didn't know about before I got involved in the project. Obviously it's captured my attention, and it's nice to see other people getting excited too."

The concept for the wood stove formed about two years ago, when Myers' fire protection engineering professor, Stanislav Stoliarov, learned of a wood stove competition. Myers joined the team, named Team Mulciber, and became captain.

"And now I have a company," Myers said.

In November, Myers and his teammates brought their initial stove prototype to National Mall in Washington for the Wood Stove Decathlon. Organized by the Alliance for Green Heat, the event looked to see if any team could meet a proposed set of emissions regulations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Team Mulciber was the sole university team, and it faced companies that had been in the industry for decades.

But the university inventors surprised some skeptics and judges and took first place in the particulate emissions category. The levels of emissions were much lower than the emissions of competing stoves. And the results even shocked Team Mulciber, Myers said, because the team didn't have equipment to test emissions beforehand.

"We just threw everything we could at it and hoped that it could work, and it did work. Really, really well," Myers said.

Now, Myers and his team are trying to figure out what made the wood stove so successful and what parts they can eliminate.

In College Park on Tuesday, three Maryland undergraduate students worked on the stove prototype in the department's lab. They were trying to figure out a way to optimize airflow for more efficient burning, said Nate May, a senior fire protection engineering major.

Senior Jeyson Ventura joined the research team two weeks ago. He was interested to learn more about how wood stoves work after his dad decided to buy a wood stove and stop using their Poolesville home's fireplace.

"The research has helped me decide in the future what would be more efficient, more sustainable," Ventura said.

Earlier this month, Myers pitched the wood stove in Las Vegas as part of the RECESS and Global Voice Hall Live Campus Innovator Showcase, an ideas and music festival. The wood stove didn't win, but the Maryland entrepreneurs attracted the attention of competition organizers.

"Taylor in particular is engaging and had a very dynamic personality," said Bianca Nicole, a spokeswoman for GVH. "His story was inspiring."

GVH worked with Myers to create a short video that promoted MF Fire and explained the concept of the wood stove. Myers said the company wants to better the environment and public health through improving fire technology.

Ultimately, Myers wants to sell the stove on the market. What's standing in the way, Myers said, is the small size of the industry and the process of introducing new technology. Some manufacturers, he added, are fighting the passage of emissions regulations and don't want to have to adapt with new technology.

MF Fire's prototype incorporates a fan and a smart controller that blows air and regulates air flow. Other stoves tend to have a simple lever that people can use adjust back and forth, but Myers said the Mulciber stove's technology helps to better regulate the ideal condition for burning. One stove can heat up to a 2,500 square-foot space.

About 10 million Americans use wood stoves, and about 220,000 stoves are sold annually. Myers wants to add more people to the market and to improve the quality of existing stoves, but he sees a challenge in breaking into the market and changing people's mindsets.

"If we can get them to replace their stoves with something cleaner, it's going to make a big difference in air quality, especially in the areas where people use a lot of these," Myers said. "Also, wood is a renewable resource, and it would be nice if people would move toward this and away from fossil fuels."

Myers said departments and groups at the University of Maryland helped him mold his team's idea into a reality. But much of the drive came from realizing he needed to give people a reason why his product was viable.

"Frequently, scientists and engineers all into the trap of believing that people will want to buy something just because it is a cool new technology," Myers said. "The reality is people will buy things because they fill a perceived need. So, if you want to be an entrepreneur, find a problem, dream a solution and work to bring it to life."

Hearings set on Mohegan Sun and Wynn casinos

BOSTON -- State gambling regulators will hold separate public hearings in Revere and Everett this week on the two casino proposals vying for the sole Boston-area license.

Mohegan Sun has proposed a $1.3 billion casino on the Revere side of the Suffolk Downs horse racing track and Wynn Resorts has proposed a $1.6 billion casino on a former chemical plant site in Everett.

"This is a really important part of the process that's required by law," said acting Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner James McHugh. "They are an opportunity for the applicant to present to the local community a final summation of the project and to get feedback from citizens as to how they view the project — its strengths and its weaknesses."

The commission is expected to award the Boston-area license in late August or early September.

Earlier this month, it awarded the casino license for the Springfield-area to MGM Resorts International.

In February, it granted Penn National Gaming the state's sole slot parlor license for its project at the Plainridge harness racing track in Plainville. The commission is also authorized to issue a casino license for the Fall River/New Bedford area. That is not expected until February 2015.

Mohegan Sun's plan, which was approved by Revere voters in February, calls for redeveloping a roughly 40-acre site near the horse racing track.

The development includes a 170,000 square foot casino floor, 500-room hotel and shopping and entertainment space. The casino says the proposal will create at least 2,500 construction jobs and about 4,000 permanent positions.

Mohegan Sun has also reached an agreement with Revere that guarantees the city roughly $33 million during the construction phase and another $25 to $30 million or so in annual payments once the casino is open.

Wynn Resorts' proposal, which was approved by Everett voters last June, calls for redeveloping the approximately 30-acre former Monsanto Chemical Co. site on the Mystic River.

The development includes an approximately 100,000 square foot casino floor, a more than 500-room hotel, and space for nightclubs, restaurants and shopping. Wynn says the plan will create roughly 3,700 construction jobs and more than 4,000 permanent jobs.

The casino also reached a deal with Everett that pays the city $30 million during construction and more than $25 million a year once the casino opens.

Mohegan Sun's hearing takes place June 24 at Revere High School; Wynn's will be on June 25 at the Edward G. Connolly Center in Everett. Both meetings start at 4 p.m.

McHugh says the hearings will be capped at four hours and comments from the public limited to about four minutes each.

Casino and city officials, however, are expected to open the meeting with about an hour to outline the project and take questions from the commission.

If there is more testimony than time allows, McHugh says the commission may consider hosting further hearings.

Rhode Island General Assembly adjourns for 2014

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island's General Assembly adjourned for the year early Saturday after pushing through legislation outlining a plan to expand gambling in Newport and scores of other bills, including one suspending the use of standardized tests as a graduation requirement.

The Senate adjourned at 3:36 a.m., and Speaker Nicholas Mattiello sounded the final gavel in the House at 4:06 a.m. With that, the curtain came down on a six-month session that featured an abrupt House leadership change and — once again — a high-profile debate over whether the state should honor the debt related to ex-Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's defunct 38 Studios.

Legislation related to a proposed $40 million overhaul of Newport Grand held up adjournment for hours. But lawmakers eventually approved a hastily crafted measure that outlined increased payments to the city of Newport from the state — $1.5 million annually for the first six years, guaranteed — if table games are authorized by voters.

Final passage came on many other measures. One would place a moratorium the New England Common Assessment Program, or any standardized test, as a diploma requirement until 2017. Mattiello had earlier been opposed.

Lawmakers also endorsed a measure requiring state courts to submit records to the national criminal background check system used to screen gun purchases. Limited information would be provided only on those who are involuntarily committed for mental health treatment and are deemed a danger, not those who seek treatment on their own.

On a lighter front, calamari won the endorsement as the official state appetizer. The measure died in the Senate last year.

Bills approved by the General Assembly go to the governor for his signature.

The session is likely to be most remembered not for any legislative achievement but rather the resignation of House Speaker Gordon Fox. The Providence Democrat relinquished his leadership post in March, a day after authorities raided his Statehouse office and home as part of a criminal investigation about which little is still known.

Mattiello, Fox's majority leader, was elected the following week in a lopsided vote, promising a "pro-business" agenda focusing on jobs and the economy. The shake-up served as a mid-session reset, with a shuffling of committee chairs just as lawmakers headed into the critical budget-writing time.

The speaker said the session's highlight was passage of the fiscal year 2015 spending plan, which included two of his top priorities: a reduction of the corporate tax rate from 9 percent to 7 percent and an increase in the estate tax exemption to $1.5 million.

The budget creates a fund for transportation infrastructure projects. While the Sakonnet toll was eliminated, the gas tax and some fees will go up to raise revenue.

"I think we had a great session. We passed a bold budget," Mattiello told members before adjournment. "We're moving the state in the right direction."

The spending plan also includes $12.3 million for the next 38 Studios bond payment. But there remains a split among members who want the House Oversight panel — or an independent counsel or commission — to probe the deal, which gave Schilling's video game company a $75 million state-backed loan.

In voting Friday to eliminate the NECAP, critics called the test unreliable in measuring student achievement and said it disproportionately disadvantages students who are poor, have special needs and learning English as a second language. Education Chairman Joseph McNamara called a system that allows superintendents to grant waivers inconsistent and discriminatory.

Education Commissioner Deborah Gist expressed disappointment and said she'd continue to work with districts to prepare successful students.

In other action, lawmakers voted to:

— Raise the minimum wage from $8 to $9 an hour beginning next year;

— Eliminate on state ballots the so-called master lever, which allows voters to select all the candidates of the same party with one ballot mark;

— Boost the pensions of Central Falls retirees who saw them cut — some by 55 percent — during municipal bankruptcy proceedings;

— Create a commission to study the possible redevelopment of the Superman building in downtown Providence.

A measure to restore ethics commission oversight over lawmakers died. Good-government groups had called it watered down and urged members to start over.

5 things to know about Ohio bills signed this week

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. John Kasich signed so many bills this week that it was difficult to keep track. Some he even signed twice just for show.

Here are five things to know about the process and the legislation:

WHY SUCH A FLURRY?

The Republican-led state Legislature passed a pile of bills ahead of lawmakers' summer break. With an election ahead this fall, it's unlikely they'll be called back to session for anything but the most urgent business until after Nov. 4. That leaves a lame-duck window of about six weeks when they return to conclude the business of the session. Kasich had time constraints in signing the bills he was delivered, including 27 this week.

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WHY DID HE SIGN SOME TWICE?

Kasich chose to sign two of the most sweeping bills formally, and then ceremonially, in different parts of the state. It's an election year, and the governor used the signings as an opportunity to promote some key accomplishments. One bill contained a package of tax exemptions and credits that will lower the tax bills of low- and middle-income Ohioans and small businesses. It also accelerated a planned statewide income-tax cut. Critics say the changes will have little real-world impact because of the rates and rules involved. The same bill contained a $10 million student mentoring program known as Community Connectors. So Kasich signed the bill at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank near Columbus, then again at an East Cleveland elementary school later in the week. He signed a midterm education bill privately Monday and again Wednesday during Buckeye Girls State.

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WHAT DIDN'T THE GOVERNOR PROMOTE?

Kasich's three line-item vetoes to the primary midterm budget bill were distributed without fanfare. One veto denied special tax breaks to private water corporations. One prevented school districts with state facilities grants from unilaterally altering construction agreements to lock in lower interest rates. The third blocked disclosure of state sales and use tax information to counties. Vetoes tend not to make supporters of the nixed provisions happy.

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WHICH BILL HAS THE BEST BACKSTORY?

Probably Senate Bill 263, which requires the state tax commissioner to notify taxpayers of tax and fee overpayments and either refund or credit the cash. A spokesman says Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa was stunned when he learned the state was sitting on $30 million that businesses had overpaid over the past four or five years and had never gotten back. The practice came to Testa's attention after a state employee was caught skimming from the overpayment account, which essentially sat dormant for years, then, if unclaimed, was absorbed by the state. Under the new law, that will no longer happen.

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WHAT ARE SOME IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF THE BILLS?

One bill extends Ohio's efforts to crack down on human trafficking. One puts a system in place for creating a list of in-demand jobs around Ohio. Another requires public high schools to publish an annual career decision guide. Other bills set new rules for controlling addictive prescription painkillers and for distribution and coverage of cancer drugs. Two bills lay out new strategies for reporting and studying what's causing Ohio to be fourth in the nation in fetal and infant mortality.

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Online:

Governor's Office: http://1.usa.gov/1yxHb8B

General Assembly: http://bit.ly/1nsey5r

Terrebonne sets up hurricane re-entry system

HOUMA, La. -- Terrebonne Parish has a new emergency re-entry process for companies attempting to reopen after a mandatory hurricane evacuation.

The Courier reported (http://bit.ly/1pC3RSy) placards would replace company picture ID badges and would allow company representatives access to check the status of their businesses as well as prepare them to be reopened after a tropical storm or hurricane.

Approved employees would be part of a system set up by the parish to determine who gets back into an area following a mandatory evacuation.

The first people allowed back into an area would be emergency responders and workers sent to put infrastructure into working order, Terrebonne emergency preparedness director Earl Eues said.

Once Terrebonne streets are cleared of debris or repaired, employees would be allowed back into an area to prepare their businesses to reopen.

"These people can come back in, set up their businesses and make sure they're running so that the general public can have access to lumber stores, pharmacies, banks and grocery stores," he said.

To be granted access to the parish following an evacuation, business owners or representatives will have to register at http://bit.ly/1ik2plA where they'll be asked to fill out information concerning their businesses and the employees they require to be able to return to the area following a storm.

Once the information is filled out and approved by the agency, employees listed in the application would receive an email when a mandatory evacuation is called. The email would include a printable placard granting them access to the parish.

The new system will bring Terrebonne in line with a similar system introduced last year in Lafourche Parish by its Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Eues said.

"It's a better system as far as accommodating the people who need to get back in to the area. The old system where they would just show their company photo ID was more difficult. If they lost their ID, there was no way for them to get a replacement and get back into town. This way they can just go to their email and print out a new placard," he said.

Bastrop looks for ways to add jobs, keep people

BASTROP, La. -- Jeweler Susan Plonnigs says Bastrop's downtown is vibrant, although outsiders think the city has been dying since the International Paper mill shut down in 2008.

Her downtown store, a city landmark for 27 years, has quadrupled its space in recent years. Located just off the square on Washington Street, Arnett's Jewelry still has paper charge accounts. Plonnigs knows her customers by name.

Arnett's isn't the city's only diamond in the rough, said Plonnigs: the challenge is spreading the word that Bastrop's downtown is alive and well.

"There's so many things that people don't recognize on a daily basis. We need to find a better way of letting people know what we do have," Plonnigs said. "There are still a lot of people here that do love it and will continue to be here."

However, recent numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show the city tied for steepest population decline of any in northeastern Louisiana. Both Bastrop and Tallulah lost 164 people from last year.

The population is now about 10,950, down more than 2,000 from its peak while the mill was open.

Morehouse Parish as a whole didn't fare much better: nearly 400 residents left since last year.

The city's business owners, Chamber of Commerce and political leaders are determined to change that. Main Street USA is alive in Bastrop, they say.

EVERYTHING BUT THE BIG CITY

Bastrop is a Main Street Community, a distinction awarded by the National Main Street Center and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The distinction makes it eligible for different types of assistance.

Main Street Director Marc Vereen has made the most of the title. The town has been working since 2000 to reinvigorate the square and nearby areas with new siding, benches, plants, sidewalks and lighting.

The iconic courthouse has been renovated and nearly every building is occupied by some type of business.

"These big cities make these town center shopping centers now. They're trying to recreate little bitty main street towns. Well, we've got the original," Vereen said.

Vereen is also the code enforcement officer. Now that the heart of Bastrop is beating again, he said, the city is looking to make its entrances more inviting.

The city must also deal with property abandoned over the last several years.

Plonnigs and Vereen believe Bastrop can satisfy most shoppers' desires and cut a half-hour each way from shopping trips for people who now drive to Monroe from extreme northeastern Louisiana and southern Arkansas.

"We offer a lot of different things here as reasonable and as good as what Monroe offers. People just need to realize that," Plonnigs said. "People need to realize every time they go out of town to shop for something it affects their police, their firefighters, their schools. We know people can't get everything here, but when you can, they need to shop locally. It would help everybody."

Sales tax numbers show the city is on pace to collect the same amount or more than it collected when International Paper was still open. The tax rate has remained the same.

"Sales tax numbers don't lie. That's telling us something's being done right in Morehouse Parish," said Dorothy Ford, executive director of the Bastrop-Morehouse Chamber of Commerce.

Ford said the chamber is working on a tourism plan to better market the city. She couldn't provide details because the plan isn't final.

STOPPING THE SLIDE

Mayor Arthur Jones knows Bastrop must give people reasons to stay in town.

He said the biggest concern is retaining young adults who are moving to find jobs. Jones said he'd love to have a big employer move in but is concentrating on bringing smaller companies to help provide jobs.

"We know we won't get anything as big as International Paper was, but even small industries, mom and pop jobs, things like that will help," Jones said.

Jones said he's working with state and federal leaders to find businesses. One success is Drax Biomass, a United Kingdom-based company which is building a $60 million to $90 million plant about 15 minutes north of Bastrop to make wood pellets that will be used for fuel. The plant will create about 50 jobs, Gov. Bobby Jindal said in 2012. It is expected to open at the end of the year.

Morehouse Economic Development Director Kay King said the plant is a great way to help fill two voids left by International Paper: the lack of jobs and the surplus of timber.

"It's a huge impact on our economy. When the mill closed, we had a surplus of timber. Now we can use that surplus," King said. "One strength of our rural area is we have a lot of raw materials, and this is finding new markets for those materials."

Jones said in addition to jobs, the city needs to improve the quality of life by investing in recreation. He said many of the city's facilities were not maintained, and he's working to return them to usable condition.

One of his first goals when he became mayor last year was opening the 450,000-gallon East Madison swimming pool, which successfully opened in July.

Now he's looking at repairing the tennis courts and attracting more restaurants.

From tourism, shopping and incoming jobs, Plonnigs believes the collective efforts of the dedicated people of Bastrop will pay off for the city. For her, the future of her home is bright.

"Bastrop has a great outlook," Plonnigs said. "We just need more people to be progressive and maintain a positive outlook instead of a negative outlook."

Week capsulizes changes buffeting Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A luxury casino goes bankrupt and threatens to close, struggling to survive in a cutthroat market. The world's largest poker website renews its efforts to operate in New Jersey. A new agency ramps up its drive to attract more midweek convention business.

That all happened this past week, showing three of the major changes buffeting Atlantic City and reshaping the nation's third-largest gambling market.

The biggest development came Thursday, when Revel Casino Hotel filed for bankruptcy for the second time in a little over a year. But this time, the casino that cost $2.4 billion to build warned that it will be forced to close this summer if a buyer can't be found through a bankruptcy court auction.

It is the latest manifestation of a problem that has been afflicting Atlantic City since 2007, shortly after the first casino opened in neighboring Pennsylvania: close-by competition in an increasingly saturated market taking customers and dollars away from Atlantic City. The casino that many had hoped would be a game-changer when it opened just two years ago didn't change the game after all; it just lost it.

"They did so much in the early days to be a resort hotel that had a casino rather than a casino hotel and that turned off a lot of casino customers," said Steve Norton, an Indiana casino analyst who was vice president of Resorts when it opened in 1978 as Atlantic City's first casino. "They've done a lot since then to change that."

If a buyer can be found, Revel is expected to sell at a steep discount. Such a buyer could succeed where two previous sets of owners have failed, Norton said.

"They'll be getting it for pennies on the dollar, and coming in that low, as long as their varying revenue can cover their expenses, they'll do well," he said.

The day before Revel's bankruptcy filing, a Canadian company that's buying the PokerStars website began talks to get it licensed for Internet gambling. PokerStars, the world's largest poker site, had tried twice to get approved in New Jersey, one of three states that have legalized Internet gambling.

PokerStars tried to buy the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, but the deal fell apart, and the casino closed in January. PokerStars then teamed with Resorts as its online partner, but New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement suspended PokerStars' application for up to two years, citing an unresolved indictment against the company's founder for the alleged violation of federal gambling statutes and the involvement of certain PokerStars executives with Internet gambling operations in the United States after they were outlawed.

But now that Amaya Gaming Group is buying PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker for nearly $5 billion, the PokerStars executives who concerned New Jersey regulators are stepping down. Amaya began talks with the gaming enforcement division Thursday, and its director, David Rebuck, said he is optimistic Amaya could get PokerStars licensed by fall.

The presence of PokerStars, which had 70 percent of the U.S. Internet gambling market before it became illegal, could breathe new life into New Jersey's fledgling Internet gambling market, which has hit a wall after just six months. The online market has declined for two months in a row and is taking in a fraction of the $1 billion that Gov. Chris Christie predicted for its first year of operation.

And Meet AC, a new group set up to attract meeting and convention business to Atlantic City, hired an executive director with experience running convention bureaus in Kentucky and Rhode Island.

Atlantic City has been working for eight years to try to diversify itself and not rely solely on gambling revenue, which has been plunging for seven straight years. Attracting more meetings and conventions would help fill casino hotel rooms during the week, when hotels are much less busy and rooms sell for break-even prices or even at a loss.

Caesars Entertainment, which is building a $126 million convention center near Harrah's Resort Atlantic City, estimates Atlantic City gets 1 percent of the $16 billion Northeast U.S. convention and meetings market.

St. Tammany Parish getting new marina despite glut

SLIDELL, La. -- The owner of a delayed subdivision development in Slidell is pouring the foundation for a $17 million marina he hopes will increase its appeal. It will add 170 boat slips to a segment of the North Shore real estate market that is trying to figure out how to stay afloat.

Developer Robert Torres plans the Lakeshore Estates marina to eventually have 500 boat slips, dry boat storage, a fueling dock and restaurant. The marina has been planned since before Hurricane Katrina as part of a $200 million residential project Torres has been building just outside Slidell.

More than a dozen marinas already are open on the North Shore. And, for the past couple of years, occupancy has been falling.

With 85 percent of its 150 slips in use, Marina Beau Chene west of Mandeville is at its lowest occupancy in 18 years, manager Norma Roberts said. It is working to replace revenue lost from fewer year-round leases.

"When we were full, I never rented transient slips out," Roberts said. "Now if someone needs a slip for the weekend, I'm able to accommodate them."

Roberts said occupancy rates at Beau Chene began falling in 2012, a drop she attributes to people getting away from boating as the area came out of the recession.

"We always have empty slips right now, unlike in the past when we were full and had a six-page waiting list," Roberts said.

Torres has been working on the marina for a year and a half, but only recently filed a permit with the parish to begin pouring the foundation. He expects the work to be finished within three months.

The entire development was lowed by Katrina and the recession. Torres said there are no reservations yet for the boat slips, though he has yet to begin a marketing campaign. The marina will not be limited to residents of the 300-home development, he added.

Even with downshifts in the market and established competitors, it might make sense for Torres to build the marina to jumpstart his $200 million residential development.

"I think that is going to be very important to bring that subdivision back to life," said Lynnette Boudet, a Realtor for Latter & Blum's Mandeville office.

As the economy improves she believes more people will spend money on recreational luxury items such as boats. A marina within a development like Lakeshore Estates adds value to a home, Boudet added.

"The homes are beautiful in there," she said. "I think that anything they can do to . that kind of development is going to call for that kind of amenity."

Curtis Raymond, supervisor of nearby Oak Harbor Marina, said he and the owners of the adjoining waterfront subdivision, Warren Properties of Escondido, Calif., are monitoring the Lakeshore Estates development closely.

"I'm waiting to see what they have to offer," Raymond said. "It's going to create competition for me obviously."

Oak Harbor, which has 97 slips, is about 75 percent full and isn't making money right now, he said. Raymond is looking at new ways to turn a profit at the marina, including offering more transient slips.

For Mary Eirich, owner of Slidell Marine, running a marina in St. Tammany Parish has been a struggle since she bought the business in the years following Katrina. Although it is still turning a profit, she said it's much less than it made before the storm.

Slidell Marine, with just 12 slips, is far smaller than other North Shore facilities. But Eirich, like her competitors, has been exploring new ways to make money on the property.

One is dry storage, which is also a part of Torres' plan for the Lakeshore Estates marina. The buildings provide boaters with a space to take their boats out of the water for safekeeping or repair. The spaces are a "hard sell" right now, Eirich said, because many boaters she knows have resorted to do-it-yourself solutions for loading their boats and making engine repairs.

David Stapler, owner of Salty's Marina in Madisonville, has kept his 100-slip operation near capacity by charging below-market rents. Keeping the spaces full is a priority, he said, noting 95 were taken as of this week.

Salty's charges $210 per month for a slip that can accommodate up to a 30-foot boat and $500 monthly for a floating covered dock.

"The business in western St. Tammany Parish is very competitive because there are so many marinas," Stapler said. There is another facility a stone's throw away in Madisonville, the nearby Beau Chene Marina and four marinas in Mandeville.

"I'm someone that welcomes competition," he added.

Information from: New Orleans CityBusiness, http://bit.ly/1gDTMhn

Airline offers nonstop Boston-Beijing flights

BOSTON -- A Chinese airline has begun offering the first nonstop service from Boston to Beijing.

Hainan Airlines is offering a least four nonstop flights a week in each direction between Boston and Beijing on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with connections offered to other cities in China including Shanghai.

Flight 481 touched down at Logan International Airport on Friday, becoming the first direct service ever linking Boston and mainland China — and shaving about six hours off of current travel between the two cities. Flight 482 left the Massachusetts capital later Friday and was scheduled to arrive in Beijing Saturday evening.

The Massachusetts Port Authority says the route will meet the strong demand for travel between Beijing and Boston's tourism attractions, higher education institution as well as health care, finance and the biotechnology industries.

Faster FAFSA: New bill would speed up financial aid application

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., on Thursday announced plans for a bill that would dramatically simplify the 108-question FAFSA.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the form students must fill out every year in college to see if they qualify for federal financial aid. Colleges and universities also use it to determine financial need.

Alexander and Bennet want to whittle the FAFSA form to two questions: What is your family’s size? And, what was your household income two years ago?

The FAFSA now is many pages of detailed questions. The senators propose reducing it to the size of a postcard. They say the current FAFSA form is too complicated and long for families to fill out, and discourages some students from applying.

“What we’re doing is starting from scratch to try to turn 108 questions into a postcard and get some money to where it should go to the eligible students who want to go to college,” Alexander said.

The legislation also makes some other changes, including allowing low-income students who qualify for Pell grants to use them year-round and simplifying student loan repayment options.

Alexander and Bennet discussed their goals at a press conference Thursday and outlined them in an op-ed in The New York Times. They projected that their proposed application form would cover 90 to 95 percent of students.

Congressional interns were invited to the press conference and asked some questions. Some wondered what would happen with the estimated 5 to 10 percent of applications that required more detail, such as when a family has more than one child in college.

There’s a tendency in policy-making to “think of every single eventuality or every single circumstance,” Bennet said. “If we can take care of 90 or 95 percent of folks, then we can worry about what to do with 5 percent in the end.”

Kim Cook, executive director of the National College Access Network, a non-profit profit organization that helps low-income students apply to college, said there are other forms beyond FAFSA that can help students and parents to clarify their particular circumstances.

Alexander is the ranking Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a former secretary of education. Bennet, who’s also on the Senate education committee, is a former Denver superintendent of schools.

Bastrop looks for ways to add jobs, keep people

BASTROP, La. -- Jeweler Susan Plonnigs says Bastrop's downtown is vibrant, although outsiders think the city has been dying since the International Paper mill shut down in 2008.

Her downtown store, a city landmark for 27 years, has quadrupled its space in recent years. Located just off the square on Washington Street, Arnett's Jewelry still has paper charge accounts. Plonnigs knows her customers by name.

Arnett's isn't the city's only diamond in the rough, said Plonnigs: the challenge is spreading the word that Bastrop's downtown is alive and well.

"There's so many things that people don't recognize on a daily basis. We need to find a better way of letting people know what we do have," Plonnigs said. "There are still a lot of people here that do love it and will continue to be here."

However, recent numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show the city tied for steepest population decline of any in northeastern Louisiana. Both Bastrop and Tallulah lost 164 people from last year.

The population is now about 10,950, down more than 2,000 from its peak while the mill was open.

Morehouse Parish as a whole didn't fare much better: nearly 400 residents left since last year.

The city's business owners, Chamber of Commerce and political leaders are determined to change that. Main Street USA is alive in Bastrop, they say.

EVERYTHING BUT THE BIG CITY

Bastrop is a Main Street Community, a distinction awarded by the National Main Street Center and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The distinction makes it eligible for different types of assistance.

Main Street Director Marc Vereen has made the most of the title. The town has been working since 2000 to reinvigorate the square and nearby areas with new siding, benches, plants, sidewalks and lighting.

The iconic courthouse has been renovated and nearly every building is occupied by some type of business.

"These big cities make these town center shopping centers now. They're trying to recreate little bitty main street towns. Well, we've got the original," Vereen said.

Vereen is also the code enforcement officer. Now that the heart of Bastrop is beating again, he said, the city is looking to make its entrances more inviting.

The city must also deal with property abandoned over the last several years.

Plonnigs and Vereen believe Bastrop can satisfy most shoppers' desires and cut a half-hour each way from shopping trips for people who now drive to Monroe from extreme northeastern Louisiana and southern Arkansas.

"We offer a lot of different things here as reasonable and as good as what Monroe offers. People just need to realize that," Plonnigs said. "People need to realize every time they go out of town to shop for something it affects their police, their firefighters, their schools. We know people can't get everything here, but when you can, they need to shop locally. It would help everybody."

Sales tax numbers show the city is on pace to collect the same amount or more than it collected when International Paper was still open. The tax rate has remained the same.

"Sales tax numbers don't lie. That's telling us something's being done right in Morehouse Parish," said Dorothy Ford, executive director of the Bastrop-Morehouse Chamber of Commerce.

Ford said the chamber is working on a tourism plan to better market the city. She couldn't provide details because the plan isn't final.

STOPPING THE SLIDE

Mayor Arthur Jones knows Bastrop must give people reasons to stay in town.

He said the biggest concern is retaining young adults who are moving to find jobs. Jones said he'd love to have a big employer move in but is concentrating on bringing smaller companies to help provide jobs.

"We know we won't get anything as big as International Paper was, but even small industries, mom and pop jobs, things like that will help," Jones said.

Jones said he's working with state and federal leaders to find businesses. One success is Drax Biomass, a United Kingdom-based company which is building a $60 million to $90 million plant about 15 minutes north of Bastrop to make wood pellets that will be used for fuel. The plant will create about 50 jobs, Gov. Bobby Jindal said in 2012. It is expected to open at the end of the year.

Morehouse Economic Development Director Kay King said the plant is a great way to help fill two voids left by International Paper: the lack of jobs and the surplus of timber.

"It's a huge impact on our economy. When the mill closed, we had a surplus of timber. Now we can use that surplus," King said. "One strength of our rural area is we have a lot of raw materials, and this is finding new markets for those materials."

Jones said in addition to jobs, the city needs to improve the quality of life by investing in recreation. He said many of the city's facilities were not maintained, and he's working to return them to usable condition.

One of his first goals when he became mayor last year was opening the 450,000-gallon East Madison swimming pool, which successfully opened in July.

Now he's looking at repairing the tennis courts and attracting more restaurants.

From tourism, shopping and incoming jobs, Plonnigs believes the collective efforts of the dedicated people of Bastrop will pay off for the city. For her, the future of her home is bright.

"Bastrop has a great outlook," Plonnigs said. "We just need more people to be progressive and maintain a positive outlook instead of a negative outlook."