Red Bluff Daily News

April 05, 2014

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Brennan LinsLey — The associaTed Press Job seekers line up to attend a marijuana industry job fair in downtown denver on March 13, 2013. By Christopher S. Rugaber The Associated Press WASHINGTON » The U.S. economy delivered a solid month of job growth in March and signaled that stronger gains could lie ahead: More Americans without jobs are starting to look for one, and paychecks are growing. Yet Friday's government report also showed how far the job market has to go: More than six years after the Great Recession be - gan, private employment has only now regained its pre-recession level. Once you factor in population growth, hiring remains mil - lions short of where it needs to be to reduce unemploy- ment from a still-high 6.7 percent. "We're seeing sustained improvement," said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West. "But we're not really that much stronger than we were last year. And we need more improvement for a stron - ger economy to come into fruition." U.S. employers added 192,000 jobs last month, just below Febr ua r y 's 197,000, which was revised higher. March's f ig ure nearly matched last year's average monthly gain, sug - gesting that the economy has fully recovered from severe winter weather that slowed hiring in December and January. Most economists expect job gains to pick up a bit in coming months, to a pace of 225,000 or more. One rea - son: Americans have re- duced their debts and ben- efited from rising home prices and higher stock markets. Better household finances should translate into more spending. And a major drag on growth — federal spend - ing cuts and tax increases — will fade this year, likely boosting the economy. Bud- get battles and govern- ment shutdowns that have eroded business and con- sumer confidence since the recession ended are un- likely this year. Greater business con- fidence has been good for companies such as Ad- vanced Technology Ser- vices, a Peoria, Ill.-based firm that maintains ma- chine tools, robotics, and computer systems for in- dustrial companies such as Caterpillar, Honeywell and Honda. Jeff Owens, president of ATS, said his clients ap - pear more confident about economic growth and more willing to invest in ma- chinery. He's seeing solid growth in the automotive, food processing and oil and gas drilling equipment industries. "The economy is better than it was a year or two ago," Owens said. "We're seeing that people are more comfortable with executing their strategic plans." The U.S. unemployment rate has been stuck at 6.7 percent since December, but that partly reflects a positive trend: More Amer - icans, particularly younger people, are either working or looking for work. So far this year, about 1.3 million people have started looking for jobs , and most have found them. Last year, by contrast, the num - ber of people either work- ing or looking for work had shrunk by roughly 500,000. Not spectacular bu t st ea dy : Jo bs u p 192,000 in March eCONOmy By emily Schmall The Associated Press DALLAS » After three mass shootings at military bases in the U.S. over the last five years, security experts say the sad truth is that there is probably no practical way of preventing members of the armed forces or civilian em - ployees from carrying guns onto big installations like Fort Hood. The kind of searches that would have prevented Army Spc. Ivan A. Lopez from driving onto Fort Hood with a pistol in his car and killing three fellow soldiers would paralyze access to a major post and create huge traffic jams among the tens of thou - sands of workers commuting to and from their jobs, offi- cials and experts said. "Trying to secure a base from guns is a very, very dif- ficult proposition at best — probably impossible," said Robert Taylor, who is head of the University of Texas- Dallas public affairs pro - gram and has been a secu- rity consultant for the Jus- tice Department and police forces. "You could do spot checks. You could have people walk through metal detectors," Taylor said. But searching so many people would create big practical difficulties, he said. Dan Corbin, mayor of neighboring Killeen, said base workers would have to leave for their jobs four hours early just to get through the base's checkpoints if searches were instituted. The security problem on large bases stems from their dual role as military installa - tions and huge workplaces. Fort Hood, the nation's largest Army post, cov- ers 340 square miles. More than 40,000 soldiers live on the post, and more than 80,000 military and civilian employees and contractors come there from surround - ing communities every day to work at offices, equipment facilities, training sites and businesses. Though the post is ringed by fences with guard sta - tions, it otherwise looks like a medium-size city with neighborhoods of sin- gle-family houses, schools, stores and restaurants. Security was beefed up after the base's first mass shooting, in 2009, in which Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people. Security measures were re - viewed again last September after Aaron Alexis, a mentally disturbed civilian contractor, shot 12 people to death at the Washington Navy Yard. In both cases, the killers had credentials to enter the military installations and brought in guns. After the 2009 attack, Fort Hood posted more guards, armed them with long-barreled weapons and added training on insider attacks. The military also stepped up efforts to iden - tify troubled service mem- bers and joined an FBI in- telligence-sharing program. While visitors are re- quired to check in at a wel- come center outside the fence line to get a pass or an escort, soldiers who are sta- tioned there and authorized base employees are usually waved through checkpoints if they have Department of Defense credentials and a car sticker, though some are subjected to spot checks. Even with quick access for those with credentials, long lines of cars can form at the gates in the morning. "It would not be realis - tic to do a pat-down on ev- ery employee and soldier for a weapon on a daily basis," said Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, Fort Hood's senior officer. After driving onto the post, Lopez shot his first vic - tims at the medical battalion building, then moved on to a building across the street. He shot himself in the head after being confronted by a military police officer. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said authorities will review security procedures at Fort Hood again, in light of the latest rampage. The investigation will also focus on Lopez's mental con - dition and the treatment he received. Lopez had received psy- chiatric care for depres- sion and had reported that he might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disor- der, officials said. He served as a truck driver in Iraq for four months in 2011. Officials said he was not in combat. mILITARy No clear security fixes for Fort Hood violence Keeping firearms from entering bases largely impractical, say experts eric Gay — The associaTed Press according to Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, ivan Lopez, the shooter, purchased his weapon recently at Guns Galore, seen Thursday in Killeen, Texas. By Donna Cassata The Associated Press WASHINGTON » Stymied on comprehensive immigration overhaul, House Republicans are pushing a plan to give young immigrants brought to the country illegally by their parents a path to res - ident status if they join the U.S. military. Rep. Jeff Denham said Friday he would press for a vote on his legislation, known as the ENLIST Act, either as a free-standing bill or as an addition to the de - fense authorization measure that the House will consider in May. The Californian from a competitive, increasingly Hispanic district is one of a handful of GOP proponents of reform whose hopes for a vote have been quashed this election year. "This is a way to improve our national security," Den - ham told reporters in argu- ing for his legislation. D e n h a m immediately faced a con - certed effort from conser- vative oppo- nents to scut- tle his move. R e p . M o Brooks, R-Ala., circulated a letter among his colleagues opposing any attempt to add immigration legislation to the defense bill. His intent was to collect as many signatures as possible and deliver the letter to House leadership. Brooks, a member of the House Armed Services Com - mittee, vowed to challenge any move on immigration, either when the committee writes its bill on May 7 or on the House floor. "If another member tries to give illegal aliens pref - erential treatment and put them on equal footing with American citizens for jobs in the military, I will fight it and all hell will break loose," Brooks said in an interview. In a blow to Denham, the chairman of the Armed Ser - vices Committee — and fel- low Californian — said in a statement that he would not include the immigration leg- islation in his initial version of the defense bill. Repub- lican Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, who is a co-spon- sor of Denham's legislation, said the defense bill should not be the original venue for an immigration debate. McKeon, who has an - nounced plans to retire at the end of his term, would prefer to avoid any contro- versial issue that could un- dermine speedy passage of his last defense bill, accord- ing to congressional aides. The measure that sets pol- icy for the Pentagon and military traditionally enjoys strong bipartisan support and has cleared Congress every year for the last half century, a rare occurrence in the deeply divided legis - lature. Denham is not a member of Armed Services, but his is working with Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., who is, and several other Republi - cans on the issue. Coffman could try to force a commit- tee vote to add the immigra- tion legislation. The latest maneuvering comes as the comprehensive, Senate-passed bill that pro - vides a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million im- migrants living in the coun- try illegally and tightens bor- der security remains stalled in the House. WASHINGTON GOP immigration backers see service path to status Denham "Trying to secure a base from guns is a very, very difficult proposition at best — probably impossible." — Robert Taylor, head of the University of Texas-Dallas public affairs program Lassen House 705 Luther Road, Red Bluff (530) 529-2900 www.Emeritus.com Respite Care There are serveral reasons to take advantage of short term respite care From Emeritus www.redbluff.mercy.org /veincare Get a Leg up on Your Health With the St. Elizabeth Center for Vein Care. 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