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Richardson to Unveil New Alternative Energy System

New Mexico – Gov. Bill Richardson will speak at a ceremony to inaugurate a 6-kilowatt photovoltaic system that is now operating at the Southwest Environmental Center. Richardson will participate with city and New Mexico State University officials in unveiling Las Cruces’ first commercial photovoltaic system. The alternative-energy system has been installed on the roof of the Southwest Environmental Center. The system, which was built with help from NMSU, will generate electricity from the sun, cleanly and renewably, without contributing to global warming.
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Manchin, Schweitzer Discuss Important National Issues. In a short ABC News video, superdelegates discuss what issues are important in choosing an ‘08 candidate. DGA Chair Gov. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Vice Chair Gov. Brian Schweitzer (Mont.) are among them.
Watch the video here

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT NEWS

KY – Beshear Announces Crumb Rubber Grants. Gov. Steve Beshear announced recipients of 43 crumb rubber grants totaling almost $1 million today, kicking off Kentucky’s celebration of Earth Week. Crumb rubber, made from recycled scrap tires, is used for mulch on playgrounds, for fitness/walking tracks, landscaping and for reduction in soil degradation on athletic fields. Beshear said the crumb rubber grants program encourages environmental stewardship. “Recycling used to be seen as strictly an environmental action,” Beshear said. “Today recycling has become an economic issue. Recycling isn’t just good for the environment, it makes sense economically.”
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MT – Schweitzer Visits Bio-Diesel Facility. The Earl Fisher Biofuels plant received a quick visit from Gov. Brian Schweitzer as he was out discussing local issues. While the Governor was not out on the re-election trail, several messages he delivered were on the accomplishments of his administration. Key among those issues, as it often has been, was energy. “We have increased oil production by the fastest rate ever,” Schweitzer said. He also noted that electricity production has increased by the highest rate in a long time.
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WY – Freudenthal Tours Chinese Coal Gasification Plant. Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s ongoing trip to China included a tour of a coal gasification plant in Shanxi Province. Freudenthal and the plant’s manager discussed coal conversion technologies and also invited the plant manager for a tour of coal mines in Wyoming, the United States’ biggest coal-producing state. The Freudenthals also met with the governor of Shanxi Province, who invited Wyoming representatives to attend the country’s national mining exposition later this year.
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GENERAL NEWS

AR – Beebe Welcomes New Jobs. An Illinois-based boot manufacturer is opening a new factory in Forrest City that is expected to employ 200 people. Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Co., the largest manufacturer of military boots in the United States, announced plans to locate a new manufacturing facility in a 31,000-square-foot building and expects to employ 200 people within 18 months. “Belleville Shoe is firmly established in Arkansas,” said Gov. Mike Beebe. “We appreciate the company’s decision to expand in Arkansas, and we look forward to Belleville’s continued success.”
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CO – Ritter Orders Recommendation for Child Welfare Improvements. Gov. Bill Ritter signed an executive order creating a committee to recommend changes in the child welfare system, calling the deaths of 13 children last year who had been involved in the system “an outrage.” Ritter also said money from youth corrections programs would be shifted beginning next month to provide training for current and new social workers. He said the committee would be focused on concrete changes, not just studying the problem, and emphasized that the state is making some immediate changes, like the added training.
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MI – Granholm Plans Middle East Jobs Trip. Gov. Jennifer Granholm will embark on her sixth foreign trade mission at the end of the month, this time to Israel and Kuwait. She will meet with business leaders in those countries on a nine-day trip beginning April 30 in an attempt to lure them to locate and create jobs in Michigan. The governor will focus on businesses in alternative energy, advanced manufacturing, homeland security and defense, and water treatment technology fields. “International investment missions are part of our economic plan to go anywhere and do anything to bring jobs to Michigan,” Granholm said.
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NC – Easley’s ‘Learn and Earn’ Initiative Earns National Distinction. Gov. Mike Easley announced that North Carolina’s Learn and Earn Initiative has been named among the top 50 programs in the 2008 Innovations in American Government Awards competition sponsored by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard’s Kennedy School. The program was selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants to represent the best in government innovation from local, county, city, tribal, state and federal levels. “I am proud that North Carolina is leading the way in education innovation in America by changing the way we deliver courses, making high school more relevant and giving students a chance to earn a college degree debt-free,” Easley said.
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