24 Sep 2024

Trump wants to lure foreign companies by offering them access to federal land

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By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Donald Trump is expected on Tuesday to pledge not only to stop U.S. businesses from offshoring jobs, but also to take other countries’ jobs and factories.

Among the ideas he is planning to pitch is luring foreign companies to the U.S. by offering them access to federal land. He teased the plan earlier this month when he proposed a cut to the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%, but only for companies that produce in the U.S.

His opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, wants to raise it to 28%. The corporate rate had been 35% when he became president in 2017, and he later signed a bill lowering it.

Trump has pressed Harris on the economy and proposed using tariffs on imports and other measures to boost American industry, even as economists warn U.S. consumers would bear the costs of tariffs and other Trump proposals like staging the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

Members of the crowd dance as they wait for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump to begin speaking during a campaign rally at Ed Fry Arena in Indiana, Pa., Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)

Up until now, Trump has mostly framed his economic approach with measures to punish companies that take their businesses offshore. But on Tuesday, he is set to reveal incentives for foreign firms to leave other countries and migrate to the U.S. The former president wants to personally recruit foreign companies and to send members of administration to do the same.

A senior Trump adviser shared advance excerpts of Trump’s speech, which the former president could still change.

It is unclear whether foreign companies would be attracted by some of these incentives he says he will adopt if elected to the White House. The former president also had a spotty record in the White House of attracting foreign investment. For example, Trump promised a $10 billion investment by Taiwan-based electronics giant Foxconn in Wisconsin, creating potentially 13,000 new jobs, that the company never delivered.

It’s also not clear how possible it is for a president to offer these perks to foreign corporations. The Bureau of Land Management has restrictions on foreign entities looking to lease lands. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry Monday night about whether companies from China would be excluded, given his longtime accusations that China is hurting American business.

The Republican presidential nominee is set to discuss his plan in Savannah, Georgia, which has one of the busiest ports in the country for cargo shipped in containers.

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It is Trump’s first visit in this battleground state stop since a feud between the former president and the Republican Gov. Brian Kemp came to an end last month with the popular Georgia governor finally endorsing Trump.

Some Republicans have said they fear Georgia has gotten more politically competitive in the two months since Vice President Kamala Harris launched her presidential bid after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection efforts. Harris gave a speech in Atlanta last Friday, calling Trump a threat to women’s freedoms and warning voters he would continue to limit access to abortion if elected president.

Trump’s running mate JD Vance is holding a rally later this week in Georgia as well as paying a visit to Macon.

Before Trump’s remarks, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the crowd that the former president is a “successful businessman that gave us the best four years of our life.” Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones assailed Harris for calling Trump a threat to democracy, saying that she secured the Democratic nomination with delegate votes, and not through a primary process.

Jones served as a fake elector and signed on to the “unofficial electorate certificate” falsely claiming that Trump won the 2020 election he actually lost to Biden. A special prosecutor, however, declined to move forward with criminal charges against Jones in the matter.

Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in Indiana, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.

23 Sep 2024

Calling all voters: What is the ‘Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota’? Only 8 products remain.

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More than 100 products threw their proverbial hat into the ring to be crowned the “Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota” and now only eight products remain.

Last week, voters decided Spam, a folding bow saw from Sven-Saw and a Minnetronix Medical device that tests for concussions weren’t among the best the state has to offer, making for even stiffer competition this week.

The competition, hosted by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and BMO Bank, pits products against each other each week in a head-to-head format, with the public voting to decide which product is deserving of the title.

This week voters will determine the final four from these matchups:

Sugar from the American Crystal Sugar Co. versus Action Trackchair, an all-terrain wheelchair, from Action Manufacturing
JonnyPops’ frozen Rainbow Fruit Stacks versus Floating wetland islands from Midwest Floating Island
The leather Beckman boot from Red Wing Shoe Co. versus Industrial 3D printer from Stratasys
A new snowmobile from Arctic Cat versus Scotch Magic Tape from 3M

The top four products will be revealed Sept. 30 and voting is open to the public until Oct. 4.

The winner and titular “Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota” will be announced Oct. 8 at the 2024 Manufacturer’s Summit.

To vote, go to: www.mnchamber.com/coolest-thing-made-minnesota.

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23 Sep 2024

Proposed tax levy won’t cover competitive pay raises for Ramsey County deputies, sheriff says

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As the Ramsey County Board sets next year’s maximum tax levy Tuesday, the sheriff, deputies’ union and city managers are raising the alarm that it won’t be enough to cover competitive wages for deputies.

Sheriff Bob Fletcher said employees are leaving for higher-paid jobs, and it’s “no secret that it is more difficult than ever for law enforcement and public safety agencies across the country to recruit and retain talent,” he wrote in a letter this month to County Manager Ling Becker.

The deputies’ union contract expires at the end of this year and Fletcher wrote that, in order to remain competitive, he believes deputies should get at least a 22 percent raise spread over three years. He said that would be comparable to Minneapolis Police and Minnesota State Patrol salary increases.

But concerns about recruiting and retaining deputies “is unlikely to be addressed” in the county’s proposed maximum tax levy of 4.75 percent for next year’s budget, Fletcher wrote.

Becker said in a Monday statement that “law enforcement officer recruitment and retention continues to be challenging throughout the state, including here in Ramsey County.”

“This is the case despite the historical changes we were able to achieve in collaboration with our law enforcement labor partners during the last negotiation cycle,” she continued. “Upcoming bargaining may present an additional opportunity for us to work collaboratively to balance recruitment and retention issues while at the same time working within the county’s financial parameters.”

The county board votes on the maximum tax levy Tuesday and sets the final levy on Dec. 17, which cannot be over the amount established Tuesday. There was a public hearing on the matter last week, next year’s proposed property tax statement will be mailed to property owners in mid- to late-November and there will be another public hearing in December.

Next year’s proposed budget for the county totals $848.5 million — a five percent increase from the 2024 budget of $808.49 million.

Diversity also affected by pay

The problem of finding and hiring qualified law enforcement is widespread. St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry told the City Council last week that the department was down 60 officers from its authorized strength of 619, which he said wasn’t as bad as some other agencies, but comes at a high price in overtime to fill shifts.

The city of St. Paul approved 13% in wage increase over three years for officers between this year and 2026. The starting pay for a St. Paul officer is $84,365, according to the St. Paul Police Federation.

The sheriff’s office is short 10 deputies from its allowed number of 188. It’s “not a crisis yet but the trend that we’re seeing of people leaving for higher-paying jobs tells us there will be a crisis,” Fletcher said, adding they’re also seeing fewer people applying because of the salary.

Ramsey County’s deputies starting pay is $66,107. They received wage increases of 15 to 33 percent, spread between 2021 and 2024, in their last contract; the most significant increases were for those who made the least, according to the Ramsey County Deputies’ Federation.

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The union’s members “are appreciative of the strides taken with respect to wages in the last bargaining agreement but, unfortunately, there remains a growing disparity between the pay of Ramsey County deputies and their law enforcement counterparts,” President Allison Schaber wrote last month to the board of commissioners.

Over the last two-and-a-half years, 25 Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies left to go to other agencies, with employees citing wages at their primary reason, Fletcher wrote. It’s estimated those previous employees are now making $14,000 to $25,000 more annually.

“As wages have become less competitive, there is a growing disproportionate impact felt by people of color and women,” Fletcher wrote. “Ramsey County and the Sheriff’s Office have made great strides in building a workforce that is reflective of the community. Many employees who left for similar but higher paying positions were people of color and/or female. This is because other organizations have also recognized the importance of a diverse and reflective workforce.”

Union: Deputies among lowest paid in metro

Ramsey County commissioners approved a pay raise for themselves last summer, which will take effect next year, and adds 3% for board members and 5% for the chairperson. The raise — described as a cost-of-living increase — moves commissioner salaries from $101,280 to $104,077 and the chair from $104,477 to $109,338. In addition, each commissioner will be awarded an annual allowance of $7,200 to cover work-related expenses.

“We applaud this wage increase and encourage the County Board and all county employees to be paid competitively within the marketplace,” Schaber wrote in her letter to the county board. “It is worth noting, however, that even before this modest increase, Ramsey County commissioners were the second highest paid commissioners in the seven-county metropolitan area in 2024. That makes sense given that Ramsey County is the second most populous county … in the state. We therefore think it reasonable for Ramsey County deputies to be the second highest paid deputies in the … metropolitan area.”

Ramsey County deputies’ top base wages rank sixth out of the seven-county metro area — $0.19 an hour above Carver County “and significantly below the other 5 metro-area sheriff’s departments,” Schaber wrote.

All current labor contracts in Ramsey County expire at the end of this year.

“In years where the budget is set before the results of contract negotiations are finalized, the county sets aside a reasonable amount of funding to account for potential increases,” according to Casper Hill, a Ramsey County spokesperson. “Additionally, Human Resources, Finance, the County Manager’s Office and the board are in contact as negotiations progress to ensure resources are identified and plans are in place to fund negotiated contracts.”

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The sheriff’s office provides police services to seven suburbs in Ramsey County and six of their city managers signed onto a letter to Becker late last week, writing that deputies’ need more competitive wages “to maintain a high-quality and diverse law enforcement team.”

“We recognize that achieving wage parity may require additional budgetary considerations, but we strongly believe that the long-term benefits — both in terms of public safety and community trust — will far outweigh the costs,” the letter continued.

Falcon Heights didn’t sign on to the letter; they are in the process of selecting another law enforcement agency after both they and the sheriff’s office agreed a change was needed.

23 Sep 2024

Thousands flee southern Lebanon in search of safety and shelter

by | posted in: Society | 0

By FADI TAWIL and MOHAMMAD ZAATARI, Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of families from southern Lebanon packed cars and minivans with suitcases, mattresses, blankets and carpets and jammed the highway heading north toward Beirut on Monday to flee the deadliest Israeli bombardment since 2006.

Some 100,000 people living near the border had already been displaced since October, when the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces began exchanging near-daily fire against the backdrop of the war in Gaza. As the fighting intensifies, the number of evacuees is expected to rise.

In Beirut and beyond, schools were quickly repurposed to receive the newly displaced as volunteers scrambled to gather water, medicine and mattresses.

In the coastal city of Sidon, people seeking shelter streamed into schools that had no mattresses to sleep on yet. Many waited on sidewalks outside.

Ramzieh Dawi had arrived with her husband and daughter after hastily evacuating the village of Yarine, carrying just a few essential items as airstrikes boomed nearby.

“These are the only things I brought,” she said, gesturing at the three tote bags she carried.

Fatima Chehab, who came with her three daughters from the area of Nabatieh, said her family had been displaced twice in quick succession.

“We first fled to stay with my brother in a nearby area, and then they bombed three places next to his house,” she said.

Some people waited for hours in gridlocked traffic to get to what they hoped would be safety.

The Israeli military warned residents in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of a widening air campaign against what it said were Hezbollah weapons sites. More than 490 people were killed in Lebanon on Monday, officials said, and more than 1,240 people were wounded — a staggering toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices last week.

That attack was widely blamed on Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

Israeli officials have said they are ramping up pressure against Hezbollah in an attempt to force it to stop firing rockets into northern Israel so that tens of thousands of displaced Israelis can return home. Hezbollah has said it will only stop when there is a cease-fire in Gaza.

At a public high school in the capital’s Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood, a few dozen men, women and children were milling around as volunteers registered them.

Yahya Abu Ali, who fled with his family from the village of Doueir in Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, struck a defiant tone.

“Don’t think that an airplane or a missile will defeat us, or that a wounded person or a martyr on the ground will weaken us,” he said. “On the contrary, it gives us strength, determination, and resilience.”

But Abu Ali also admitted that he was worried about his four siblings and their families who remained behind in southern Lebanon.

“God willing, I hope they will make it out,” he said.

Minar al-Natour, a volunteer at the school, said the team on the ground was still in “early stages” of preparations to host the larger numbers expected to arrive.

“We’re securing medicine, water, and of course all the essential supplies,” she said.

In Beirut’s Aisha Bakkar neighborhood — where some residents had received messages instructing them to evacuate — shop owner Mazen al-Hakeem said most had not heeded the call.

“There is no fear but there is anticipation,” he said. “People are filling their tanks with fuel, storing food and groceries. They are taking their precautions.”

Imran Riza, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, said in a statement the international body had allocated $24 million in emergency funding for people affected by the fighting.

With its economy in shambles and Beirut still recovering from a massive port explosion in 2020, Lebanon is “grappling with multiple crises, which have overwhelmed the country’s capacity to cope,” Riza said.

“As the escalation of hostilities in south Lebanon drags on longer than we had hoped, it has led to further displacement and deepened the already critical needs,” Riza said.

——-

Associated Press journalists Abby Sewell, Ali Sharafeddine and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Ahmad Mantash in Sidon, Lebanon, contributed to this report.