“Read Comments(4) - Post-Crescent” plus 3 more

Read Comments(4) - Post-Crescent
Plans for idled plant brings hope of ‘green’ - Oakland Press
Vance COMBS provides, maintains parts for aircraft - Enid News & Eagle
The Hartford Courant - Hartford Courant

Posted: 11 Oct 2009 06:30 AM PDT

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Weve experienced increases in demand since 2002, but the last three years have been astronomical with a 77 percent increase overall in the amount of food distributed, said Pat Leigl, social services director for the Salvation Army-Fox Cities. The economy has definitely taken a toll.

The agency gave out 913,000 pounds of food during the fiscal year that ended in September compared with 493,000 pounds in the previous year.

Monica Clare, operations manager at St. Joseph, said the number of clients started rising significantly late last summer and increased every month since. New-client interviews have risen 12 percent during the past year.

We knew when the economy took a plunge that we would be busy, but I think it took a while before peoples unemployment ran out before they started coming in, Clare said.

Karen Ziemke, St. Josephs development director, worries about what will happen as the pantry moves into its typically busiest months.

If these numbers continue to climb and we see no evidence of an end in sight we could significantly cut into our reserves, particularly if donations do not hold steady, Ziemke said. Because the need for food is year-round and donations of staple goods fall significantly in the summer months, our food supply is very low.

'A little bit of hope'

Food pantries rely on a variety of resources for their inventory, from church, civic, corporate and private donations to government commodities and grants. Many programs heavily depend on cash and food drives run throughout the year.

We couldnt survive without donations, New London City Clerk Sue Tennie said of the New London Community Cupboard.

Tennie and most of the other pantry operators said they manage to keep their shelves stocked thanks to a generous public that anticipated the rise in need. Our community takes care of us very well, she said.

But its a struggle, she added. Its like running a grocery store. You have to continually stay on top of it.

Leigl said demand is overtaking contributions at Salvation Army.

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Plans for idled plant brings hope of ‘green’ - Oakland Press

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 10:09 PM PDT

By NANCY McCAULEY BRANSTETTER
Special to The Oakland Press

Hope can take many forms. For a group of 11 businesses located across from the former Ford Wixom Plant, hope is new tenants for the facility, closed for more than two years.

Their vision of hope includes workers who will once again visit their shops, grab a bagel or do lunch.

"If the businesses can just hang on, the plant will get a $14-million face lift," said Wixom Mayor Kevin Hinkley. "One-thousand construction jobs will be created."

Excitement began swirling through Wixom with the announcement last month that the idled plant will be transformed into one of the nation's largest renewable-energy manufacturing parks. The redevelopment plan is projected to create more than 4,000 jobs, each a potential customer who will need lunch or perhaps their nails or hair done. For the struggling stores and restaurants, it was a prayer answered. But the question remains — will it happen in time to save the businesses whose survival hangs by a thread?

There were tears of sadness on May 28, 2007, as the Ford Wixom plant ended 50 years of operation. Auto workers said goodbye to each other and to friends operating businesses on the west side of Wixom Road. On that day, restaurant and store owners wished their former customers good luck, fearing a future without a steady stream of Ford workers.

"My business dropped off immediately," said Moe Leon, owner of Bullseye Sport Bar. "If that was not bad enough, the road closed in 2008 for repair and no one could get to my place."

Leon changed the theme of the restaurant twice and finally had to close his doors a couple of weeks ago, saying it broke his heart but he could not afford to stay open. Many of his business neighbors also are struggling. Some stores are operating with its owner as the sole staff member. These people are thrilled by news of the plant's rebirth as a center for green technology, but have questions about how fast things will unfold.

Last week, two green-technology companies, Xtreme Power and Clairvoyant Energy, received tax credits totaling $125 million. Texas-based Xtreme Power produces large batteries that collect and store renewable energy for use in traditional delivery systems like the current power grid. California-based Clairvoyant Energy is an industry leader in solar technology.

Clairvoyant was approved for a photovoltaic Michigan Business Tax credit valued at $25 million over two years, and Xtreme Power Inc. was granted an advanced-battery credit valued at $100 million over four years. The credit can be used once production begins in 2012.

"We are very excited about the news," said Tony Toma, owner of Papa Romano's Pizza. "I just hope it happens soon. My business is down 50 percent."

Clairvoyant Energy and Xtreme power are investing more than $750 million to redevelop the 320-acre plant. The companies will use half of the plant and hope to attract other green-energy manufacturing companies to lease the remaining space.

Leon is making plans to reopen his restaurant in November so he can offer free Thanksgiving meals to the community as a thank-you for Wixom's good fortune. But construction on the former Ford plant likely will not start until early next year.

In the meantime, Leon and the other business owners continue to cling to their thread of hope that better days are coming soon.

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Vance COMBS provides, maintains parts for aircraft - Enid News & Eagle

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 08:43 PM PDT

Published: October 10, 2009 10:41 pm

Vance COMBS provides, maintains parts for aircraft

By Jeff Mullin, Senior Writer

If a shade tree auto mechanic needs a starter for a 1994 Buick, he or she can go to a local auto parts store.

But if one of the aircraft technicians at Vance Air Force Base needs a starter for one of the 71st Flying Training Wing's 49 T-1A Jayhawks (which range in age from 14 to 20 years), where do they turn?

The Vance T-1 Contractor Operated and Maintained Base Supply, or COMBS, warehouse.

The expansive warehouse, housed in Vance's Bldg. 174, is a treasure trove containing every part one would need to build an entire T-1A, save for the fuselage and wings.

The building is dominated by row upon row of shelves that stand taller than most men and contain bins filled with thousands of tiny parts.

"It's about 6,000 line items," said Karla Herring, in charge of inventory data control for L3 Communication Vertex Aerospace, the contractor tasked with supplying T-1 parts at Vance. "It's everything from the tiniest little washer to a (1,040-pound) jet engine, and everything in-between."

"The only thing we don't supply is petroleum products," said Ray Reynolds, L3 Vertex T-1 COMBS manager at Vance, "no fuels or oils or paint or solvents. Other than that, anything it takes to put the T-1 together, we've got. It's all right here in this building."

Keeping track of that inventory is not a job for the disorganized. Every part is counted, cataloged and placed in its assigned bin, or in the case of large parts like tires and jet engines, in the designated area of the warehouse.

"We are very well organized," said Rey-nolds. "There is, actually, a place for everything, even our documents to track the parts' movement from one bin to another and to another location."

Parts are moved prior to being picked up by whoever requests them. All parts must be picked up by whoever requests them, since the COMBS warehouse does not deliver. Every time a part is moved it is tracked and its new location recorded.

"You have to do that in order to keep track of exactly where the part is," Reynolds said, "just so we can tell, at a glance, where we are with any part. You have to be that well-organized in order to keep the kind of rate that we do."

From January until this month, Reynolds said, Vance's T-1 parts warehouse has an average Non Mission-Capable Supply rate of 0.48 percent. That means Vance's T-1s are grounded for want of a part only 0.48 percent of the time. The minimum rate acceptable under the contract is 3.0 percent.

"That is awesome," said Reynolds. "We strive to be the best in the command and I believe that we are."

"We strive to make a better percentage of the rest of them with downed aircraft," Herring said. "That's all part of doing what it takes to get that extra oomph to keep them flying."

Paperwork follows each part processed through the COMBS warehouse, but the information is stored on computers, as well.

When many larger parts, such as instruments or en-gines, are removed from an aircraft, they are sent off for repair or overhaul, some to L3 Vertex's headquarters in Madison, Miss., and others to the part's manufacturers. The people in the Vance T-1 parts warehouse know how many flying hours each of these 382 different parts has.

"We can tell you how many landings and hours that part's got on it," Reynolds said.

T-1 COMBS employees also track the shelf life of smaller parts, such as rubber O rings, that can dry out over time and outlive their usefulness.

Parts must be regularly removed from the aircraft and overhauled — every 1,000 flying hours for a starter, 4,500 hours for an engine, for instance.

"The history continues to build from day one on every serialized component," said Herring. "We can tell you which aircraft it's been on, which aircraft it's been off, how long it was on each aircraft."

When an aircraft technician needs a part for a T-1, a call is placed to the COMBS parts phone. If the part is in the warehouse, the technician is told to come pick it up. If not, an order is placed in order to get the part to Vance as soon as possible.

If a part containing a serial number is replaced, the COMBS employees ship it off to be repaired or overhauled. Trucks constantly are coming and going from the warehouse's loading dock.

"You have to get parts back in here before the next telephone call," Herring said.

L3 Vertex has the T-1 COMBS contracts for Randolph AFB, Texas; Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.; Columbus AFB, Miss.; and Laughlin AFB, Texas. Parts often are sent between the various warehouses.

"If we didn't have or parts on hand, we'd get them from a sister site if it was available," said Herring. "We share and we ship them out overnight to support each other."

Every part is counted, by contract, once a year, Reynolds said, but inventory is conducted much more often than that. Every time a part is ordered and pulled from the bin, "we count the remaining quantity," said Herring. "We have to stay on top of it."

There is a similar COMBS operation for T-6A parts at Vance, also manned by L3 Vertex, albeit under a separate contract. Most parts of the T-38s at Vance come from government sources.

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The Hartford Courant - Hartford Courant

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 10:30 PM PDT

Here's a list of what to do and whom to call if you think a con artist, company or contractor has delivered shoddy goods or workmanship, taken your hard-earned money or otherwise misled you.

>> Go to the state Department of Consumer Protection website ( www.ct.gov/dcp), and click on "File a complaint."

The agency provides online forms if you have a complaint involving auto dealers, licenses or repair shops, insurance, banking, lending, credit cards, cable, electricity, gas, water, cellphone or telephone service.

>> Got a question about state or federal regulations or a complaint related to auto mechanics, extended warranties, rebates, bait-and-switch schemes, Internet fraud or work-at-home offers?

• Go to www.ct.gov/dcp, and click on "Information Index" for instructions on how to, and whom to, contact if you have a complaint.

• Go straight to the top: Log on to the Federal Trade Commission site ( www.ftc.gov).

>> Do you think your identity or financial information has been stolen?

•Go to www.antiphishing.org, and click on "Consumer Advice" for a checklist of steps to take.

• Go to the state of Connecticut Attorney General Office at www.ct.gov/ag, and click on "Consumer Issues," or e-mail your complaint or inquiry to the state attorney general's office: attorney.general@po.state.ct.us.

>> Need to check out a local business? Go to the Better Business Bureau's website ( www.bbb.com), and type in your ZIP code for the nearest chapter. Or call the Connecticut Better Business Bureau in Wallingford at 203-269-2700.

•Want to get the lowdown on Internet scams? Visit www.securitycartoon.com for an illustrated tour.

Changed Your Mind?

• Connecticut residents have a three-day right to cancel (72 hours) a home-improvement contract, dating services, health-club or diet-program contract or service agreement.

• The three-day right-to-cancel law does not apply to the purchase of new or used automobiles, real estate, new home construction or the purchase of home heating fuel.

— Janice Podsada ( jpodsada@courant.com)

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