Tag Archives: idaho

Fukushima, Idaho

Fukushima – WIPP – Radiation Fallout: Siberian fires prove North America blanketed with Japanese radiation!

23 April 2015 (09:17 UTC-07 Tango 01)/03 Ordibehesht 1394/04 Rajab 1436/05 Geng Chen (3rd month) 4713

Massive wild fires in Siberia, Russia, have been smoking out the Pacific Northwest of North America for days now.  The smoke is now reaching the Atlantic Coast.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the majority of North America is blanketed by the smoke.

The wild fires started about a couple of weeks ago, and have killed dozens of people in Siberia.  If the smoke is already covering most of North America in less than two weeks, then imagine the massive radiation contamination that is still spewing from Japan’s exploded Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors!   The same wind currents that bring the smoke from Siberia are bringing radiation from Fukushima.  Of course, U.S. and Canadian environmental administrators have denied that high levels of radiation from Fukushima has reached North America.

Japanese news media reported that four years after the explosions at Fukushima new data has been released by the U.S. Department of the Navy.  The data shows 75% of  the initial radiation contamination released after the explosions actually took place several days afterward, and was released for much longer than first thought.  Researchers learned that a metal used to make fuel rods, zirconium, continued overheating even after thousands of tons of water was poured into the reactors.  It turns out the water actually acted as a catalyst and could have contributed to what looks like  a slow burn China Syndrome, that is still ongoing.

To prove that radiation contamination is still ongoing, administrators with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) revealed yet more airborne and waterborne leaks, and admitted they knew about one leak a year ago!  TEPCo says airborne radiation levels inside reactor building 1 (Fukushima #1) are so high they will kill you in one hour!  They determined this after two robots sent into the building were disabled by the radiation levels.

The most recent water leaks happened this week, when all the water pumps failed.  An unknown amount of contaminated water went into the Pacific Ocean.

Then there’s the leak TEPCo knew about one years ago, but said nothing until now.  TEPCo described the contaminated water leak as “highly radioactive” and said it’s been pouring into the Pacific Ocean, from reactor building 2 (Fukushima #2), since April 2014!

In a possibly related story, the residence of the neo-imperialist Japanese prime minister was found to have a highly radioactive RC drone on the roof!  Security personnel say nobody had been on the roof for the past month, and they don’t know how it got there.  The drone was carrying a container of liquid contaminated with cesium that comes from nuclear reactors.   The drone was marked with radiation warning labels.

In Takahama, a Japanese court judge has blocked the re-start of two reactors at the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant.  The judge reviewed data and declared the reactors to be unsafe, and that the new national government regulations for nuclear factory safety to be insufficient.  Even government administrators admit a catastrophic accident could still occur even with the new regulations.  It turns out the Takahama nuke reactors, operated by Kansai Electric Power Company, are built over three earthquake fault lines!

The Journal of Ornithology has published a study that shows radiation is killing off Japanese birds.  The journal Environmental Indicators published a study saying the radiation levels around Fukushima are far worse than Chernobyl.

In the U.S. state of New Mexico radiation problems continue at the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP).  The DoE accuses the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory (LANL) of causing the explosions inside WIPP by improperly packing mixed nuke waste in 55 gallon drums.  The DoE investigation confirmed that at least one drum exploded.

The contractor running the site has been hit with $7.3-million USD in fines!  The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) effectively accused Nuclear Waste Partnership of failing across the board, from lack of maintenance programs to outright violations of DoE regulations!

To try and remedy their failed operations at WIPP, Nuclear Waste Partnership has selected a new manager to run WIPP.  He was in charge of the plutonium facility at Idaho National Laboratory, and also worked at the Savannah River Site.

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has also been accused of contributing to the WIPP disaster, as it is one of the users of WIPP for nuke waste storage.  Now the INL is now asking for permission to receive 2-hundred pounds of spent nuclear fuel, for the purpose of researching new ways to store and/or recycle nuke waste.  Former Idaho governors Phil Batt and Cecil Andrus condemned the proposal, pointing out it would violate a 1995 deal banning nuke waste shipments into The Gem State.

Nobody can trust anything administrators say at the INL, it turns out there was a nuclear accident there six months ago, but only now was made public!  It was revealed by the DoE during a local public hearing.  Back in October 2014, at least one employee was contaminated during the re-packing of nuclear waste.  It shutdown the New Waste Calcining Facility for several weeks.

Fukushima – WIPP – Radiation Fallout:  Santa Barbara hit by giant radioactive lobsters?

Business/Economics, Idaho, International

More Economic Decline: Idaho’s failed Hoku leads to 1st Chinese company to default on loan payments? Evidence of economic warfare by United States?

22 April 2015 (10:19 UTC-07 Tango 01)/02 Ordibehesht 1394/03 Rajab 1436/04 Geng Chen (3rd month) 4713

“Our company suffered huge losses in 2014…..Our company has lost financing ability and suffered from a capital shortage. We can’t raise enough money to repay interest, despite all the efforts we have made.”-Baoding Tianwei

For the first time a government controlled Chinese company has defaulted on a massive loan.  Tianwei says it can’t even make the interest payment of 85.5-million yuan ($13.8-million USD)!

If you’ve followed my reports on the failed polysilicon factory in Pocatello, Idaho, then you’d know that Tianwei became the default owner of the troubled Hoku Materials plant, by becoming the only financier of the operation.

Hoku Materials (originally owned by Hoku of Hawaii) was to produce polysilicon for use in solar power products.  The Chinese solar power industry was happy to get involved, but in 2013 market prices for polysilicon hit record lows, then “…the Obama administration jacked up tariffs so high on Chinese polysilicon companies that it wasn’t worth it to do business in the U.S.”

Was the increase in tariffs by the Obama regime, which finally killed the Hoku Materials factory in Idaho, nothing more than economic warfare against China?

Tianwei operates a group of companies known as China South Industries Group, Tianwei Group, Tianwei USA, Tianwei Solution and Baoding Tianwei Solar Firms.

More Economic Decline: New owner of Pocatello’s Polysilicon factory gives up

Business/Economics, Idaho, Influenza

U.S. Food Crisis, April 2015: “…it hit me like a bag of rocks!” McDonald’s crashing & burning! “…cannot afford another two years of substantial losses.” State of emergency declared over food supply! U.S. ice cream can kill you!

Incomplete list of announced United States food supply shutdowns for the month of April, 2015: Many food suppliers/distributors are consolidating operations and killing jobs due to the collapsing grocery store and restaurant industries, as well as rising costs of food production, and spread of disease.

“We will have to develop stricter bio-security measures to eliminate any possible contact between migratory waterfowl…..and our commercial farms.”-Simon Shane, North Carolina State University, interviewed on Nightly Business Report about massive H5N2 outbreak

China, Republic of Korea (aka South Korea), Taiwan, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda have banned U.S. poultry products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has banned imports of poultry products from Canada.  The USDA implied the H5N2 outbreak in the U.S. might be linked to Canadian poultry.  Taiwan and Japan have banned Canadian poultry.

U.S. based Albertsons-Safeway announced it will shutdown it’s King Edward Street warehouse in Winnipeg, Canada, by 2016.  At least 172 jobs lost!

Bermuda based booze maker Bacardi announced it will layoff about 80 people in North America, including the United States. It’s blamed on crashing booze sales.

Arkansas: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.

California:  Poultry industry hit by H5N2.  Albertsons-Vons announced it will shutdown its Riverside La Sierra Plaza Vons and two Bakersfield Vons in May, because they are “not meeting company goals.”   In Fresno, Charlotte’s BakerEatery sold to competitor Dusty Buns.  After more than 50 years San Francisco’s iconic Capp’s Italian Dinners Family Style shutdown.  The owners blame the greedy landlord and legalities with insurance for their closure.  In Sherman Oaks, Jerry’s Famous Deli issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in June, 60 jobs lost.  In San Jose, NYC Food and Beverage issued a shutdown WARN for June, 144 jobs lost!  Seafood supplier Prospect Enterprises issued multiple WARNs saying at least 130 people will become jobless in July! The seafood distribution ops of Prospect Enterprises were taken over by rival Santa Monica Seafood.

Colorado: In Denver, Texas based Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group announced they will shutdown the 15 years old Wazee Street Sullivan’s Steakhouse at the end of May.  They do not want to renew the lease.

Connecticut: The Carmen Anthony Restaurant Group shutdown two steak restaurants, one in Waterbury and one in New Haven.  At least 70 jobs lost.  The Carmen Anthony Restaurant Group blames Mother Nature, ongoing road construction and the suck-ass economy: “The challenges of this relentless downturn of our fragile economy, in addition to Phase I of road construction that lasted approx 28 months on Chase Avenue, directly in front of my Waterbury Steakhouse, has caused me a tremendous hardship and substantial unrecoverable financial losses. Phase II of this road widening construction has started up again in April 2015 and is projected to last approximately another two years or more to complete this project. I cannot afford another two years of substantial losses. These challenges alone were very difficult to manage but adding this year’s disastrous winter was the last straw that I could not overcome. January, February and March are normally difficult months but this year’s extremely cold weather and snow storms, most of which fell on weekends where I do 30 to 40% of my sales, was devastating.”

Florida:  Albertsons issued a WARN saying they will shutdown their Clearwater grocery store in May, 86 jobs lost.  After 40 years the Siesta Market shutdown in Sarasota.  In Niceville, food service company Sodexo issued a WARN saying 176 people will become unemployed in June!

Idaho: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.  State administrators deny the reports.

Illinois: Oak Brook based McDonald’s crashing & burning in the U.S. of A!  McDonald’s administrators report their profits fell $400-million USD during their 1st quarter of 2015, their biggest profit decline ever!  As a result they will begin shutting down hundreds of U.S. restaurants!   And in Japan McDonald’s is crashing & burning as well. Administrators say the economy is so bad in the east Asian country that they expect to lose between $210-million to $318-million USD by the end of the year (at least triple their losses last year),  so, they will shutdown 131 Japanese stores, more than 1-thousand jobs affected, and they will layoff about 1-hundred jobs at their Tokyo HQ!  They blame logistical problems getting reliable food!  Globally, McDonald’s says they will shutdown a total of 7-hundred stores this year!  In Normal, That’s So Sweet cheesecake shop shutdown, the owner blamed it on her pregnancy which made it difficult to commute to her Normal store.  In East Saint Louis, grocery store Schnucks shutdown on State Street.  Company administrators refused to explain why.  Central Beverage issued a WARN saying 124 employees are now unemployed!  It’s blamed on the company’s takeover by Lakeshore Beverage.   Airline food supplier Flying Food Fare Midway issued a WARN saying 32 people will become jobless in May.   In Old Irving Park, Mirabell German restaurant shutdown after 38 years of operations, apparently due to the death of the chef.

Indiana: Administrators with Marsh Supermarket announced they will shutdown stores in Lafayette, Mooresville, Fishers and Indianapolis!  They claim the grocery stores “do not meet our business requirements regarding sales or future growth potential”.

Iowa: 5.3-million laying hens will be culled due to an outbreak of H5N2, 3.8-million have already died!  Iowa is the largest supplier of chicken eggs to the U.S. food market, gov’na Scott Walker declared a State of Emergency and called up the National Guard: “Anybody that has a poultry operation, whether large or small, whether you’ve got hundreds of birds or one bird, this should be a wake-up call!”-Randy Olson, Iowa Poultry Association

Kansas: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.

Massachusetts: The Look Restaurant shutdown in Leeds.  The owner blamed the bad economy and rising costs of operation.  At one time he had 17 employees, but by the time he decided to shutdown he had only five.

Minnesota: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.  As of 17 April, 1.7-million turkeys have died or been culled due to H5N2!   Wild turkey hunters in five counties are being forced to turn in their kills.  In Saint Paul, after five years Bars Bakery shutdown both of its stores.  The owners say they need more family time.

Missouri: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.  Grocery store chain Schnucks laid off 52 people, and eliminated eight open jobs, at its Saint Louis HQ.   No explanation given.  This comes weeks after administrators spent $1.69-million buying a property that they’ve rented for years.  Administrators admitted they weren’t using the Saint Louis property for anything, and had no future plans for it!

Montana: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.

New Jersey: Freshcut Produce issued a layoff WARN saying 1-hundred employees will become unemployed in June!  Company administrators blamed “economic reasons”.

New York: In Buffalo, Dug’s Dive shutdown. It might have something to do with the new landlord.  In Wayne County, the Heluva Good! cheese factory and shop joining the exodus from The Empire State and moving to Wisconsin in June, 53 jobs lost.

North Carolina: In Asheville, booze maker Blue Kudzu Sake shutdown, blaming the crashing U.S. market for preventing them to “secure a large enough market share to make our operation profitable”.  In Salisbury, famous Rick’s BBQ shutdown, the owner blamed his bad health.  Raleigh’s last registered bed-and-breakfast, The Oakwood Inn, shutdown after 31 years. The owner blames “illegal” competition from internet company Airbnb saying “If I have to [be licensed], why don’t they have to do it? And if they don’t have to do it, then I shouldn’t have to!”

North Dakota: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.

Ohio: Columbus based Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams joined Blue Bell and recalled all their products! The state of Nebraska discovered the bacteria listeria monocytogenes in Jeni’s ice cream.  In Montgomery, after less than one year Verde Salad shutdown  for “personal and financial reasons”!   In Short North, after ten years the Surly Girl Saloon shutdown, the owner indicated that demand for such a bar in Short North is crashing.  New Albany based Bob Evans Farms announced they will shutdown 20 restaurants!  After spending millions of dollars trying to improve their restaurants, administrators decided that at least 20 of them still weren’t “meeting expectations.”  They said most of the failed restaurants were outside Ohio.  Lancaster based EveryWare Global, owner of food preparation products companies Anchor Hocking and Oneida, is now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. They report overall sales crashed 17% in their 4th quarter 2014 (so much for Xmas sales). For the year they lost $4.87-million USD!

Oregon: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.

Pennsylvania: Snack maker Pepsi/Frito-Lay announced they will eliminate 7% of jobs at their Williamsport factory. It’s part of Pepsi’s ongoing plan to slash and burn operating costs (jobs).   After more than 90 years (surviving the Great deflationary Depression) restaurant Cohick’s Trading Post shutdown. One of the co-owners turned evil greedy and actually sued the other co-owner to force them to sell the family business! In Lawrenceville, after six years the owner of restaurant Tamari announced it will shutdown in May, but promised to open a new restaurant in the future. After 65 years Del’s Bar & Ristorante DelPizzo shutdown. The family owners had tried to sell it for the past year, but nobody was interested, the owners say the bad economy sucked them dry: “It’s just time to go, we’ve got nothing left in us.”-Marianne DelPizzo

South Carolina: In Winston-Salem, the owners of New Town Bistro and Bar announced it will shutdown in May.  They said it needs updates and in the current economy “it just didn’t make sense” to spend the money.   The King Street Grille in the Citadel Mall shutdown: “Due to uncontrollable circumstances, we have determined that it is in the best interest of the King Street Grille as a company to close the Citadel Mall location.”

South Dakota: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.  In Roberts County, 66-thousand 6-hundred turkeys dead from H5N2!  In Sioux Falls, after 25 years Valentino’s restaurant shutdown.  The owner said the restaurant business ain’t what it used to be: “This is such a demanding industry right now, and right now most people don’t realize we’re still ranked very high in the nation for restaurants per capita. So it’s gotten more challenging over the years, so it takes a lot. It takes a lot out of you.”-John Jones

Texas:  Brenham based ice cream maker Blue Bell Creameries recalled all their ice cream across the United States!  Company administrators claim they are being pro-active in fighting a listeria outbreak, however, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that ice cream made by Blue Bell has contained listeria for at least five years, beginning in 2010!  The CDC also blames Blue Bell ice cream for three deaths this past year.   Yet another cupcake shop goes down, this time in San Antonio.  The owner of Kate’s Frosting Events announced she will shutdown her last cupcake shop in May.  She shutdown another shop at the beginning of the year.  Her reason is that she wants at least one day off per week.   San Antonio based Food Management Partners shutting down 70 Carrows and Coco’s Bakery restaurants across Arizona, California and Nevada!  Administrators blame the suck-ass economy: “The current market climate has forced us to make difficult decisions about many of our restaurants that are not performing at a competitive financial level.”

Utah: Cereal maker Kellogg Company (aka Kellogg’s) announced they are shutting down their Clearfield facility, at least 2-hundred jobs lost!  It’s part of the company’s “efficiency and effectiveness program”.  Idiotic and out-o-touch city officials say they’re confident “Another company will come in right behind, and we’ll still continue to have a lot of employment here in Clearfield.”

Virginia: In Arlington, after 28 years Mother’s Macaroons Bakery shutdown.  The owner blames the death of her husband and the crashing economy saying “It was a series of things, and it hit me like a bag of rocks!”

Washington: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.    It was discovered that the Safeway in Spokane Valley shutdown in March, 60 jobs lost. Company administrators said it was not due to the takeover by Cerberus controlled Albertsons, but that the lease expired and it wasn’t worth renewing it.

Wisconsin: Poultry industry hit by H5N2.  In Barron County, 126-thousand 7-hundred turkeys possibly infected with H5N2!  In Milwaukee, restaurant Nourri forced to shutdown after its chef and its general manager walked out.  The owners blame frustrations with ongoing road construction that is killing off sales.  Food service company Sodexo told state employment administrators that 3-hundred people will become unemployed at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, in June! Sodexo lost their contract.

March 2015: “…sales dropped off a cliff…”

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Business/Economics, Idaho

More Economic Decline: New owner of Pocatello’s Polysilicon factory gives up, starts chopping up the former Hoku Materials factory!

17 April 2015 (15:57 UTC-07 Tango 01)/27 Farvardin 1394/28 Jumada t-Tania 1436/29 Geng Chen 4713

“We did a worldwide marketing effort to sell the plant. We obviously wanted to find a user.  It’s a damn shame!”-Mark Fleischauer,  JH Kelly senior vice president, Idaho State Journal interview

After a little more than a year, the winning bidder for the failed Hoku Polysilicon Materials factory has given up trying to find an operator, and is now chopping up and selling off the factory bit by bit.

JH Kelly is the contractor hired by Hoku to build the factory in Pocatello, Idaho.  Hawaii based Hoku failed to pay JH Kelly about $25-million USD for the work, and then JH Kelly spent their own $8.3-million buying the failed factory (which was valued at $700-million).

The entire Hoku Materials story is an example of optimistic thinking run wild, involving local and state administrators basically giving away the land for the factory, to company administrators failing to understand the polysilicon market and becoming financially dependent on Chinese sources of money, which was finally ended when the president of the United States imposed heavy tariffs on products tied to Chinese solar power companies.

Read More about the Hoku Materials saga, beginning with: Unpaid contractor is winning bidder for abandoned Hoku….again! 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

More Economic Decline: East Idaho Mail Handlers ‘involuntarily’ escape the Hotel California!

15 April 2015 (16:54 UTC-07 Tango 01)/25 Farvardin 1394/24 Jumada t-Tania 1436/27 Geng Chen 4713

On 14 April 2015, Pocatello's Gateway Processing Center Mail Handlers were given this notice of work "release".

On 14 April 2015, Pocatello’s Gateway Processing Center Mail Handlers were given this notice of work “release”. Note that the letter is dated “April 10, 2015”. Why did administration wait until the 14th to hand out the notices?

Welcome to the Hotel California!

Your Post Office Receives Zero Tax Dollars

Business/Economics, Idaho

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 04 – 05 March 2015: Another debt collector bites the dust! Capitalism blamed for killing off Lifestyle Lift! Obamacare to cause “more change than we’ve seen in the past 75 years combined.”

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

What real estate recovery?  Internet based commercial office space seller 42Floors laid off at least 14 people in the cities of New York and San Francisco.  The company halted its commercial real estate brokerage ops and will focus on providing internet searches and listings only: “Over the past few months, 42Floors has experimented with being a brokerage in addition to being a commercial real estate data and search website. We’ve decided today to stick with what we’re best at…”-Jason Freedman, founder

U.S. based barrel maker Greif Incorporated announced it will end metal barrel production in two U.S. states, and in Germany.  The number of jobs to be lost were not made public.

Spain based ‘fast casual’ restaurant Mondatidos chain has placed 1-hundred of its U.S. restaurants into chapter 11 bankruptcy. It should be noted that none of Mondatidos restaurants in other countries are part of the bankruptcy, apparently the economy is that bad in the U.S.

Alabama: Bogue’s Restaurant now chapter 11 bankrupt busted: “A prime motivation factor for Bogue’s filing its reorganization case was to be able to pay its tax debts in an orderly manner.”-Bradley Hightower, attorney

California:  What housing market recovery?  Agoura Hills based InterThink sold off its mortgage division, resulting in at least 70 people being laid off.

Colorado: In Longmont, ‘spy’ satellite operator DigitalGlobe laid off 64 people.   It’s part of the company’s plan to kill 155 jobs across the United States!  Company administrators have been reporting profits but said their outlook for the future of the economy is grim, so they’re cutting jobs now.

Florida:  In Tampa, Ohio Retail Security & Mainstreet Maintenance issued a WARN saying at least 49 people will be laid off by the end of May.

Idaho: Will nuclear power plant operator Areva shutdown their Eagle Rock project?  The French government owned Areva revealed they lost more money.  This time they lost $5.4-billion USD, and as a result they will begin cutting back on their international operations (they refuse to give details about those cuts).

Indiana: In Vincennes, flat glass maker Schott Gemtron laid off 65 employees.  News reports did not indicate why.    hhgregg appliance store chain announced they will shutdown stores in Indianapolis and Richmond, at least 30 employees affected.  Two other stores are being consolidated.

Massachusetts: In Fenway, after four years Jerry Remy’s sports bar and grill shutdown.

Michigan: Byron Township based grocery chain owner SpartanNash announced they will shutdown ten grocery stores in their “western store base”. They say it’s necessary as part of their plans to “expand”.   In Flint, Kroger shutdown yet another grocery store. They shutdown their Davidson Road store, 65 jobs lost.

Minnesota: Bus operator SmartLink Transit announced they will layoff employees, including all its drivers, due to the loss of several contracts.  Company administrators say they will now contract out all the jobs, for less pay and no benefits.

New Jersey: Kean University announced it will layoff 54 janitors and grounds keepers.  The jobs will be contracted out.  University administrators claim they’re trying to cut $3.4-million per year, yet this didn’t stop them from spending $219-thousand on a conference table made in China!

New York: In Cortland, fishing materials supplier Cortland Line shutdown their three years old Riverside Plaza store.   In Orleans County, Brown’s Berry Patch shutdown its retail berry picking ops.  At LaGuardia Airport Terminal D, Airserv issued a shutdown WARN saying they lost their Gate Aviation contract and 178 people will become jobless at the beginning of June!  News reports claim that call center operator Sitel issued a WARN on 02 March, saying 120 people at their Painted Post call center will become jobless by April, however, I checked the New York Department of Labor’s WARN site and couldn’t find any such notice dated 02 March.  The same news reports said Sitel also WARNed in January they would layoff 278 people, but again, I couldn’t find the WARN on the New York Department of Labor’s website.   Pioneer Credit Recovery lost their federal contract to harass people who owe money on student loans.  4-hundred debt collectors to become jobless (That’s good news)!

North Carolina: Thinking about getting that plastic surgery?  Lifestyle Lift suddenly began shutting down their clinics, with no notice or explanation.  News reports say employees have been working without pay!  One doctor blames capitalism: “The more it’s treated like a commodity, the more you’re going to see failures like this.”-Stephen Finical

Ohio: The Buckeye State losing at least five CPS Operations owned Sears Appliance & Hardware stores, and possibly two Abtroit Limited Partnership owned Sears Appliance & Hardware stores by May (or until merchandise is sold out). They employ about 15 to 20 people each. Apparently the franchise owners of Sears Appliance & Hardware did not want to renew their contracts with Sears Holdings.

Pennsylvania: In Saint Marys, hospital Penn Highlands Elk announced they will eliminate 43 jobs and reduce the hours for 25 employees.   A local news report blamed “systemic changes implemented under the Affordable Care Act”.  Hospital administrator Raymond A. Graeca said “We’re facing a very different healthcare delivery environment today than we were five years ago, and the American Hospital Association is projecting that the next five years alone will hold more change than we’ve seen in the past 75 years combined.” 

Virginia: In Bristol, the soon to be officially owned by Staples Office Depot announced it will shutdown its customer care center, causing 140 people to become jobless by the end of May!  According to local news reports the shutdown was actually planned after Office Depot and OfficeMax merged in 2013.   In Fredericksburg, home decor store This and That shutdown their brick-n-mortar op.   One of the co-owners is pursuing a job in healthcare.  Apparently they still sell on the internet.

01 – 03 March 2015: “We weren’t expecting this at all!”

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shutdown. It doesn’t count people who get a severance for being laid off.

Business/Economics

Warren Buffett to kill off $1-billion worth of jobs, because he “likes them”! Welcome to Zero Based Budgeting, the wave of the future?

26 March 2015 (15:45 UTC-07 Tango 01)/06 Farvardin 1394/05 Jumada t-Tania 1436/07 Ji Mao 4713

“…these are brands that I like 30 plus years ago and I like them today, and I think I like them 30 years from now.”-Warren Buffett, after merging his Heinz with Kraft and then announcing $1-billion USD in job cuts

Yes, apparently if you like a company’s products you take them over and layoff the people who make those products, at least that’s the philosophy of Warren Buffett and his vulture capitalist ‘investment’ schemes called Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital.

In 2013 they took over Heinz, then immediately began killing jobs in the U.S. and Canada.  In November, Buffett’s partners announced that little ol’ Pocatello, Idaho, would lose 610 jobs in 2014, because Buffet decided to give the local Heinz plant the axe.  That was a major blow to communities (Pocatello and Chubbuck) with a combined population of less than 80-thousand, and already suffering from at least a decade of job losses.

Reports say that so far 6650 Heinz employees, worldwide, have become jobless!

This latest Buffett deal will make Kraft-Heinz the 5th largest food company in the World.  According to Nightly Business Report the “first order of business” is to kill $1-billion worth of cost, mainly in marketing and manufacturing, that’s translates directly to job killing.  ‘Investors’ loved the news of job killing (as they always do) and pushed Heinz stock prices upward by 35%.

The Wall Street Journal explains that Buffett’s current plans are corporate austerity measures, or Zero Based Budgeting.  Basically companies are taken over then the employees are forced to justify every little thing they do, and if ‘investors’ don’t like what they see those employees get fired.  And that’s the kicker, everything is done from the point of view of an ‘investor’, not somebody who’s on the front line trying to run a business making and selling products or services.  If you’ve worked the front lines of business you know there are things you have to do that just wouldn’t make sense to a bean counter who’s only interest is the “bottom line”.

The Wall Street Journal reports Zero Based Budgeting has become the norm for almost all publicly owned (they issue stocks to the public) food companies.  This can only mean a snowballing of job cuts.

Now realize that unAmerican Buffett reportedly spent $10-billion on the Kraft-Heinz deal, and his Brazilian based 3G Capital reportedly spent $49-billion to merge Heinz and Kraft!  That could have created a lot of jobs!

How can these ‘investors’ expect to sell the products they “like” if they’re killing jobs for many of the customers who buy those products?   Reality check; those ‘investors’ don’t really “like” the products you and I buy in a market place called a grocery store. The ‘products’ they “like” are called stocks, or shares or even corporate bonds, and they sell them in a market place called Wall Street!

(Wall Street is an actual place, but in this case it refers to all stock market trading houses)

Tim Hortons was recently taken over by Warren Buffett’s crony Brazilian vulture capitalist buddies at 3G Capital 

Kraft Foods announced they are killing 285 jobs!

In Pittsburgh, Wall Street wunderkind Warren Buffett killed 775 more Heinz jobs. 

In Pittsburgh, 350 people lost their jobs with Heinz. 

According to the latest reports, Buffett’s current five faves for stock investments involve Archer-Daniels Midland Company, which is involved with cooking oil and food commodities trading. He also likes Kraft Foods, a major user of cooking oil 

3G Capital is known for “cutting up” companies (typical Romneyite vulture capitalists)

…discontinuation of its T.G.I. Friday’s frozen meals, Heinz conducted a thorough evaluation of the production needs at its Pocatello, Idaho factory. 

Warren Buffett says the Elites have won, his propsed tax on the Elites is first step to increasing taxes on everyone else 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

More Economic Decline: Pathetic turnout for east Idaho Mayor’s last ditch effort to save Postal Processing Center!

17 March 2015 (16:10 UTC-07 Tango 01)/26 Jumada I-Ula 1436/26 Esfand 1393/27 Ji Mao 4713

Only one city council seems concerned with the shutdown of east Idaho’s only mail sorting and processing center; Pocatello.  This is despite the fact the closure will affect all of eastern Idaho!

What’s worse it seems that even the residents of Pocatello don’t give a damn.  According to local TV station KPVI, only 50 people showed up to the mayor’s “11th Hour Town Hall to Reverse USPS Plant Closure” meeting.

A lot of blame can be placed on east Idaho news media for failing to explain the situation, as I’ve written before most east Idahoans are oblivious to the whole situation.  Even in the latest lazily done KPVI report no mention of the fact that this shutdown will affect all of east Idaho is made, they only mention Pocatello and “the county”.

The time of the Pocatello mayor’s meeting was set right at the height of operations at the Gateway Station; 18:00 hours to 20:00 hours, when trucks filled with the days mail from all over east Idaho (and even trucks from Boise) come in and employees are busy “hashing” everything out in time for outbound shipments after midnight (actually postal workers are busting butt right up ’till deadlines, but the mayors meeting was set for 6pm to 8pm, the time when the trucks roll in to dump their mail).  But, if anybody is wondering why Postal Employees haven’t spoken up or gone on strike it’s because they’d be instantly fired from their job, or fined or imprisoned (starting in 1947 with the Taft-Hartley Act which was replaced with the 1955 Act and several other Acts down the road, however, that didn’t stop a massive postal strike in 1970 that actually worked).

Either the people of east Idaho are so stupid as to not understand the importance of their only Postal Processing Center being shutdown, or they take their Postal Service for granted thinking it’s one of those things that will always be there.  Several countries in the European Union have fully privatized their postal systems in the past decade, and with disastrous results.  I remember reading about when Italy shifted to a fully privatized postal system just a few years ago, and the initial result was total chaos when it came to deliveries, and prices went up.  Many U.S. ebay sellers stopped selling to Italian buyers, it was so bad.

Ponder this east Idaho: You never know how good you had it ’till you lose it.

East Idahoans oblivious to shutdown of their only Postal Processing Center! 

Idaho, International, U.S.

U.S., Mexico & Canada Measles, 15 February 2015: New mystery outbreak in Wisconsin community that’s 94% vaccinated! Christians locked down! Most California 7th graders 95% – 100% vaccinated!

Canada

Ontario has 11 cases of measles.  Of note is that none of the infected Canadians traveled outside Ontario.  It has been confirmed that at least one of the infected adults, in the Greater Toronto Area, had been vaccinated for measles!

Manitoba health administrators report an infant is infected.  The infant is too young for full measles vaccination.  The family had traveled to India.  The Manitoba case is considered a different strain of measles from the Ontario cases.

Mexico

The New York based World Bank reports that measles vaccination rates for children 12 months to 23 months, in Mexico, dropped in 2013 to 89%.  In 2012 the vaccination rate was at 99%.  It should be noted that the World Bank considers a child vaccinated after only one dose, even though it actually takes more than one dose over several years.

Despite declining vaccination rates Mexico has reported only two measles cases, so far.

United States

“To date there are 22 confirmed cases in Los Angeles County, 17 of which are linked to the Disneyland Parks. As the outbreak continues to unfold, it is likely that new measles cases will occur among those who have had contact with persons in the initial wave of infection.”-Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, California

Orange County, California, confirms 35 cases.

Contra Costa County, California, reports one case of measles.  The person had ridden on a Bay Are Rapid Transit (BART) bus before getting sick: “…we don’t know yet where this person was exposed.”-Erika Jenssen, Contra Costa Public Health

“As of 2-13-2015, Ventura County Public Health has confirmed 13 cases of measles. The age range of the cases is 13 months to 59 years of age. One case previously reported does not meet the case definition for this outbreak. No measles cases were confirmed in Ventura County in 2014.”-Ventura County Health Care Agency, California

Ventura County health administrators announced the following locations as being measles hotspots:  Gold’s Gym, 1357 E Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley. Target, Simi Valley. Sycamore Square, 2907 Cochran St., Simi Valley.  Oxnard West Target, 2850 N Oxnard Blvd.  Dickey’s’s BBQ Pit, 2902 Tapo Canyon Rd., Simi Valley.  Costco Simi Valley, 2660 Park Center Dr.  Costco Oxnard, 2001 E Ventura Blvd.  BG’s Restaurant, 428 S. A Street, Oxnard. Vons, 1291 S. Victoria Ave., Oxnard. El Torito, 1720 E. Ventura Blvd., Oxnard. Andrea’s Seafood, 1449 Spinnaker Dr., Ventura.  Albertson’s, 920 N. Ventura Rd., Oxnard.  Carl’s Jr., 2301 N. Oxnard Blvd., (corner of Vineyard).  Century RiverPark 16 Theaters, 2766 Seaglass Way, Oxnard.  Little Explorers Preschool, 5165 Cochran Street, Simi Valley.  Cal Lutheran University, 1 University Dr., Simi Valley.  Toppers, 2701 Peninsula Road, Oxnard.  CitiBank, 430 Arneill Road, Camarillo.

Ventura County health officers claim they’ve screened all employees at those locations, and have “excluded from work” those who are “at risk of coming down with measles” (code for locking down unvaccinated people).

Alameda County Public Health Department, California, confirm six cases.

California’s Shots for Schools reports most schools with 7th grade students have a 95% – 100% vaccination rate, and most kindergartners are 80% – 94% vaccinated!

Elko County, Nevada, health administrators suspect a measles outbreak in local schools and as such has locked down at least 12 unvaccinated elementary students in their homes!  Four people are confirmed infected.

Since September 2014, western and northern Idaho has seen 21 cases of mumps.  Mumps is covered in the measles vaccine known as MMR.  So far no cases of measles have been confirmed.

Washington state confirms two cases of mumps can be traced to Idaho.

King County, Washington, reporting the following locations as possible measles hot spots: Sheraton Hotel (common areas), 1400 6th Ave, Seattle.  SeaTac Airport, Main Terminal and Concourse D and Rental Car Facility.  Dicks Drive-In, 115 Broadway Ave. East, Seattle.

In Port Angeles, Washington, Clallam County health administrators quarantined several Olympic Christian School students after a 5 years old was found infected: “All students who cannot demonstrate proof of immunity to measles have been excluded from Olympic Christian School until February 27, 2015, and placed in quarantine.”– Clallam County Health and Human Services

Cook County, Illinois, reports 13 cases, however the Chicago Sun Times reports those cases might not have anything to do with ground zero at Disneyland in California: “Illinois health officials are still trying to figure out how the people became infected with the measles virus. No ties have been found to the December outbreak at Disneyland in California, health officials said.” 

Madison County, Illinois, now says a reported case of measles was a “false positive”, proving that even the tests for measles can be wrong.

Portage County, Wisconsin, has locked down two people on suspicion of having measles.  If confirmed as measles the two children would be the first cases in that state.  Portage County health administrators say 94% of residents are vaccinated!

U.S. news media spreading lies about vaccine

Business/Economics, Idaho

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 18 – 21 January 2015: “…like ripping off a band aid…” More than 17-thousand jobs lost! Increased use of credit cards results in massive layoffs! Proof you’re worth more dead than alive; corporate America even sells your impending death to investors!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

Alabama: In Huntsville, Colorado based Sports Authority announced they will shutdown their Bridge Street Town Centre store in February.  JCPenney announced they will shutdown their Cullman Shopping Center store in April, 25 jobs lost.

California: In Los Angeles, old style clothing store Revival Vintage shutdown, the owner did not want to renew the lease.  San Jose news sources report that ebay administrators have confirmed they will sell off their PayPal ops, resulting in at least 2-thousand 4-hundred people becoming jobless! The sale of PayPal is being pushed by ‘activist’ (more like vulture capitalist) investors who now control most of ebay’s stock.  DreamWorks Animation announced they will eliminate 400 to 500 jobs and shutdown their Redwood City studio in 2015!  DreamWorks laid off 350 people in 2014!  Company administrators say their revenues have fallen by tens of millions of dollars. In Moreno Valley, G2 Secure Staff issued a WARN saying they will layoff 39 people in March.  In Willows, Johns Manville issued a WARN saying they will layoff 40 people by March. In Vista, Zodiac Pool Systems issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in October, at least 97 jobs lost.  In Vandenberg AFB, taxsucker InDyne issued a WARN saying they will layoff 541 people in March!   In San Ramon, California oil company Chevron finally issued a WARN revealing they laid off 100 people back in December!   I doubt it’s really about oil prices, Chevron is at least the second oil company operating in California to issue a WARN about massive layoffs after the fact (a violation of WARN regulations)!

Colorado: After 25 years Pismo Fine Art Glass shutdown, the owner wants to retire.  Renewable bio-fuel maker Gevo laid off 23 HQ employees and the CEO claims he’s cutting his base pay by 25%: “Gevo has determined this to be an opportune time to scale down the team to focus primarily on technology optimizations…”

Connecticut: The Milford Board of Education is planning to layoff 18 teachers for the 2015-16 school year, “primarily stemming from continued enrollment decline”.  The University of Connecticut admitted they laid off employees, but refused to say how many.

Florida: 289 employees of rail company CSX have accepted early retirement buyouts! CSX was hoping for 300, which means the other 11 employes will probably be forced out.

Idaho: An independent investigation revealed that recently re-‘elected’ Pocatello mayor Brian Blad farmed out city road crews to other cities, for free and without permission of the city council (as required by law).  The cost to Pocatello taxpayers is at least $15,773 in labor!  To add insult to injury the city council said they aren’t going to pursue the matter, even though Idaho laws allows them to call in the Attorney General!  The investigation was done by Deaton and Company, who submitted a seven page report to the city.  Local news media refer to the scandal as ‘PaveGate’.

Illinois: Chicago based United Continental joins other airlines in contracting out thousands of in-house jobs, as many as 2-thousand jobs now going to cheap-o contractors!

Massachusetts: Kickass Cupcakes now chapter 7 bankrupt busted. The cupcake company has been shutting down stores since 2013. The owner refused to talk to local news media.

Michigan: God refuses to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ Christian bookstore, Kregel Parable.  The owners of Restaurant Mediteran announced it will shutdown in March.  Two of the co-owners want to retire and the third owner says he can’t handle more than one restaurant at a time.  In Dearborn, The Mediterranean Chef shutdown and being liqudated.

Montana: Washington based Revett Mining shutting down their copper and silver Troy Mine, blaming low prices.  70 jobs lost.

Nebraska: In Scottsbluff, after six years female clothing store T & Company shutdown.

New Hampshire: In Nashua, the owners of Silverlight Candle & Gift Shoppe announced they will shutdown in February.  They blame the unexpected shutdown of next door Aubuchon Hardware for the final nail in their coffin.

New Jersey: Belgium-Brazil owned Anheuser-Busch laying off 60 people and cutting beer production in Newark. It’s probably because this year’s malt barley crops in three states has been killed off by mother nature. 

New York: In Valley Stream, after 30 years Sunrise Multiplex Cinemas shutdown, they sold out to a shopping mall developer.  Despite reporting “substantial” quarterly gains (due to increased credit card use) NYC based American Express announced it will kill off 4-thousand jobs by the end of 2015!  Company administrators also credited their better than expected quarterly results on past job cutting, so they are ramping up job cuts as part of their plan to “reinvent” the credit card company!  Grocery store 173 Food issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in April, at least 30 jobs lost.  Another NYC based company, AOL (formerly America OnLine) announced they will kill off 150 advertising jobs! Business Insider is also reporting that their sources say dozens of AOL employees have been voluntarily quitting since December: “Media and technology are drastically evolving to keep up with today’s consumer. The lines are becoming blurred, and as you well know, our industry is converging at a faster pace than anyone predicted.”-Bob Lord, president AOL

North Carolina: Mitt Romney’s wunderkind Staples shutdown their Greensboro store on Golden Gate Drive.  After 30 years family owned Prime Sirloin buffet shutdown: “The building is old and the money to keep up the 30-year old property, which we leased, was simply going to be too much for us to keep on operating. We decided it was time to make the decision and like ripping off a band aid, there wasn’t any good way to do this.”-Lisa Martin, general manager

Ohio: ShurTech laid off 20 people at its Avon HQ: “The company needed to make these employment adjustments due to retail changes and the high cost of doing business in areas such as freight.”-Patti Sack, media manager

Oregon: What automotive industry recovery?  Commercial Vehicle Group issued a WARN saying they are shutting down their interior parts factory, 117 jobs lost!

Pennsylvania: In Philipsburg, bowling alley Moshannon Valley Super Bowl shutdown after seven years, they were evicted for failure to pay their mortgage.

Puerto Rico: Sears Holdings announced they will shutdown their 25 years old Vega Baja Kmart in March, 206 jobs lost!  Switzerland based legal drugs pusher Novartis announced they will shutdown operations in Humacao over the next three years, 270 jobs lost!  The Federal Bank of New York blames it on the expiration of tax incentives.

Texas: In Garland, Valspar issued a WARN saying they will shutdown subsidiary Engineered Polymer Solutions between March and May, 54 jobs lost.   In Austin, video game maker Lightbox Interactive laid off an undisclosed number of people, and might even shutdown.  Evil Waco based Life Partners Holdings now chapter 11 bankrupt busted.  They buy the rights to life insurance policies and then sell them to investors, that’s evil.  In other words, unAmerican corporate America, and their investors, love to bet on your death!  Oklahoma based Laredo Petroleum shutdown their Dallas office without warning, 75 jobs lost. Company administrators also claim $60 per barrel oil prices forced them to cut their operating budget in half, from $1-billion USD to about $525-million!  In Houston two mega oil service companies announced massive layoffs; Halliburton (already reported in one of my previous reports) and Baker Hughes.  Dumb-ass news media blames low oil prices but it’s really because Halliburton is taking over Baker Hughes!  At least 7-thousand Baker Hughes employees will be let go because of the $35-billion Halliburton takeover, not the oil prices!  Another Houston based oil company, Apache, announced it will kill off 250 jobs, after it hired on the former Baker Hughes CFO!

Virginia: In Old Town, after 64 years the Giant Food grocery store will shutdown. Company administrators say it’s because the town is too small to continue supporting it, and it’s not worth it to spend money on expanding it. News reports implied that there are too many Giant Food stores in the area around Old Town anyway.

Washington: A chapter 11 bankrupt busted company that loves to hit your smartphone with advertisements, Bellvue based Hipcricket, has been taken over by competitor SITO Mobile for $4.5 million.  As in all such cases you should expect layoffs, despite the fact that Hipcricket administrators said their sale to SITO would “protect human capital”, corporate weenies always say things like that.

Wisconsin: In Racine, two Vanity clothing stores shutdown, despite increased revenues for the North Dakota based company.

16-17-January-2015: U.S. oil company kills 9-thousand jobs, then pumps $1.7-billion into Russian oil! 

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shutdown. It doesn’t count people who get a severance for being laid off.