- Democrats are moving America forward while Congressional Republicans admit they want to take us back to the “exact same” failed policies of Bush that drove us into the ditch.
- Congressional Republicans are protecting Wall Street, Big Oil, health insurance companies and corporations who use tax loopholes to ship U.S. jobs overseas -- voting against investments that put Americans to work building roads, bridges, broadband, wind turbines, and solar panels that will help America lead the world -- and voting against tax cuts for small businesses to help create hundreds of thousands of local jobs.
Yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $1.2 billion in Recovery Act funding, along with $117 million in private investment, for 126 broadband infrastructure projects that will create jobs and provide improved service to rural communities. [White House, 8/4/10]
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin) - 16,347 Wisconsin jobs funded by stimulus in second quarter
Federal stimulus money funded 16,347 jobs in Wisconsin in the second quarter of 2010, according to newly released federal data.
The number of jobs funded in Wisconsin is up significantly from previous quarters, when that number hovered around 10,000 jobs.
The area that saw the most substantial jump was in education. The number of jobs funded by the State Fiscal Stabilization Education grant nearly doubled to 7,391 last quarter after the U.S. Department of Education awarded $236.7 million more to the state this spring. That grant is aimed at saving education positions, from teachers to bus drivers, and is also intended to help avoid cuts.
Wisconsin's $208 million stimulus grant for Education of Children with Disabilities funded 1,225 jobs in the second quarter - up from 762 in the first quarter. Also, the $141.5 million state grant for weatherization funded 632 jobs, which is an increase from 444 jobs the previous quarter. [8/4/10]
WKBT CBS-8 (Wisconsin) - Fort McCoy in the middle of 45 million dollar upgrade [MEMBER MENTIONED: Ron Kind (WI-3)]
Fort McCoy is the middle of a 45 million dollar upgrade project thanks to the federal stimulus bill. Congressman Ron Kind got a firsthand look at the upgrades Tuesday.
The base received a little more than 31 million dollars for barracks renovation and another 14 million for construction and renovation of Army Family Housing.
The Army says the project is allowing them to upgrade buildings that are more than 60 years old, something Congressman Kind says is helping create jobs. 'Not only is it creating jobs in the short term, all local contractors doing these renovations, updating barracks that date back to the 2nd World War, but it's a long-term investment, showing the importance of Fort McCoy,' says Kind. [8/3/10]
Sacramento Business Journal (California) - Energy-efficiency program brings 200 jobs to California
An $18.8 million contract awarded to Portland, Ore.-based PECI by the California Energy Commission aims to create jobs, stimulate the economy and save energy in California.
The company's EnergySmart Jobs program, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is focused on making commercial refrigerators, found in grocery stores and convenience stores, more energy efficient.
Members of the California Conservation Corps will be hired to survey stores with commercial refrigeration to determine opportunities for energy savings, and contractors will then be hired to deliver the energy savings…
The 18-month program kicks off this month in areas with high unemployment, including Sacramento.
The program is expected to create more than 200 jobs in California, provide job skills training in energy efficiency to 400 people, and retrain more than 200 contractor and energy surveyor positions. [8/4/10]
St. Louis Business Journal (Missouri) - Big River to add 70 jobs with $24M stimulus
Big River Telephone Co. of St. Louis plans to more than double its 70-employee work force following Wednesday's announcement that it received $24.4 million in funding to extend high-speed Internet service to seven Missouri counties in southeast Missouri, around Cape Girardeau.
Big River…expects to add 75 people when work on the broadband buildout is complete…
Eight firms in the state received awards totaling $81.6 million. [8/4/10]
WRAL CBS-5 (North Carolina) - USDA to fund $83M in broadband upgrades in N.C.
North Carolina won five federal grants Wednesday to pay for $83 million in upgrades to its broadband infrastructure in rural areas.
“Critical infrastructure improvements, such as increasing broadband access, are key to boosting local economies and creating jobs,” Gov. Beverly Perdue said in a statement. [8/4/10]
Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Minnesota) - Rural state phone companies get federal funds for broadband
Six telephone companies in rural Minnesota will receive more than $42 million in federal grants and loans to provide broadband Internet access to more than 23,000 customers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the financial assistance, part of $3.8 billion in last year's economic stimulus law that was earmarked to improve Internet service in rural areas nationwide, many of which have lacked high-speed access that has become common in many urban and suburban areas. [8/4/10]
Other Headlines:
- The Herald Journal (Utah) - Stimulus at work: Wescor Inc. credits federal funds as key to success
- The Sacramento Bee (California) - Stimulus funds go to broadband expansion in Sacramento, San Joaquin counties
- Dayton Daily News (Ohio) - National Soldiers' Monument repaired with federal funds
- Atlanta Business Chronicle (Georgia) - More stimulus coming for Ga. Broadband
- KTVZ NBC-21 (Oregon) - Stimulus Broadband Grant for Warm Springs
- The Associated Press - USDA awards $11.3M to expand broadband in SE Neb.
