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Green-tech op-ed in the NYT hits home locally

By Lissa Harris
1/18/11 - 5:02 pm

Image: Solar panels at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Today on Economix, the New York Times's economics blog, Harvard professor Edward Glaeser stakes out a controversial proposition -- controversial, that is, among non-economists, who aren't used to having the misery of the American worker discussed with the detatchment of a weather forecast.

Glaeser's point? Efforts to support American manufacturing are beating a dead horse, with or without the help of a government-subsidized green-tech movement.

Green tech may be worth investing in, Glaeser writes, but not because it's going to create American jobs. To make the point, Glaeser points to a recent high-profile failure for the green energy movement -- the closing of the heavily-subsidized Evergreen Solar plant in Devens, Massachusetts, and the outsourcing of its 800-odd manufacturing jobs to China.  Read more

Banks refusing to lend on gas-leased properties?

By WP Newsroom
4/20/10 - 10:54 pm

That's what a tipster claims over at Breathing Is Political:

I had a customer inform me two days ago that the home equity loan they were obtaining in order to purchase a small investment piece near them was turned down by GMAC because their home property was under a gas lease. I dug a little further and found through mortgage brokers that that they are encountering the same reluctance on the part of some local and some bigger banks to lend on leased properties. I hope those who have signed leases have figured this into the equation. A similar example would be as in the case of Flood Zone properties for whom the Flood Insurance program was withdrawn, banks would also not lend on those. In the real estate world, things like this are a huge consideration in factoring property values. Just thought some people might not be aware of this trend by lenders.

In the comments, realtor Jennifer Canfield names lenders she says are not lending on properties with gas leases:  Read more

Trustbuster wants to hear from NY dairy farmers

By WP Newsroom
3/17/10 - 10:33 pm

Federal antitrust top cop Christine Varney has been talking to farmers across the nation lately about anti-competitive agricultural markets. On March 29, she'll be at Genesee Community College to get an earful from New York's dairy farmers.

Farmers apparently have Senator Chuck Schumer to thank for the visit.

Varney is making the trip at Schumer’s request, according to WICZ, a Binghamton, N.Y., television station. “For too long farmers have been receiving rock-bottom prices for their product, while prices have not dropped commensurately for consumers at the stores,” Schumer said. “It just doesn’t add up.”  Read more

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