Republicans won almost all races Tuesday in the eight states with utility commission seats up for grabs. That means Republican majority commissions in many of these states.
The European Customs Information Portal has previously reported that the transition period for the European Union’s pre-departure information submission requirements for inbound and outbound cargo (security data) will end December 31, 2010.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final rule, effective November 29, 2010, which amends the regulations for the importation of Hass avocados originating in Michoacán, Mexico, into the U.S. by adding the option to ship avocados to the U.S. in bulk shipping bins when safeguarding is maintained from the packinghouse to the port of first arrival in the U.S. and by making it clear that the avocados may be shipped by land, sea, or air. APHIS is also amending the regulations to allow avocados from multiple packinghouses that participate in the avocado export program to be combined into one consignment.
Consumers who have cut their landline connections in favor of using only cellphones still are left out of many national polls, experts said this week. But major polling companies are rethinking whether they should include cellphone numbers in their survey calls.
The Communist Party of China’s Central Committee has proposed guidelines for China's development over the next five years, saying the transformation of economic growth mode should be the priority, and called for the development of seven industries.
Best Buy is extending the Magnolia Design Center format with four new locations in California. The retailer seeks a larger share of the market for step-up CE products and custom installation. Two San Francisco locations, Harrison Street and Mission Valley, are within current Best Buy stores. The additions build on an approach first tested in Costa Mesa, Calif., which opened in February. The other design centers are in Roseville and San Carlos, Calif. Magnolia Design Center, which launched in Chicago, features high-end gear from Bowers&Wilkins, Control 4, Martin Logan, Nuvision, Pioneer Elite and Sonus Faber. The format represents an extension of the Magnolia Home Theater sections deployed in 383 Best Buy stores and builds on a brand acquired in 2001 as a chain of 20 Magnolia HiFi stores in the Pacific Northwest. It changed the name to Magnolia Audio Video two years later, before landing on Magnolia Home Theater for the in-store format. The design centers feature a series of lifestyle vignettes, including a bedroom with a dresser that a HDTV can be raised from with the push of a button, and a bathroom with a mirror that doubles as a flat-screen TV. The standalone design centers have installation staff separate from those in Magnolia Home Theater and the Geek Squad.
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report (R40185) entitled, "The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 111th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices." This report discusses oversight issues and legislation introduced in the 111th Congress to address ESA implementation and management of endangered and threatened species.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has published notice of the following voluntary recalls:
On October 22, 2010, the World Trade Organization issued the dispute settlement panel’s report on "U.S.-Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Certain Chinese Products (DS379), which largely ruled in favor of the U.S.
The Government Accountability Office has issued a report entitled “Southwest Border: More Timely Border Patrol Access and Training Could Improve Security Operations and Natural Resource Protection on Federal Lands." In its report, GAO recommends that steps be taken to help the Border Patrol expedite access to portions of federal lands by more quickly initiating required assessments.