Bouncing back: State and local governments are in their best financial shape since the recession, giving them leeway to cushion the U.S. economy from federal budget cuts with spending and hiring of their own. After slashing their workforces by about half a million in the past five years, state and local authorities will add employees in 2013, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. Their payrolls in the fourth quarter will be 220,000 larger than in the same period for 2012, he projects. Bloomberg has the full story is here.
Getting an eyeful: The race to make TVs larger and larger has created a colossal problem for manufacturers: As screens grow, picture quality worsens, unless the viewer moves farther away from the screen. New ultrahigh-definition sets being unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by LG Electronics, Sharp, Sony and Samsung attempt to solve the problem. Read the full story and see photos of the new sets here.
Did you hear that? Electric vehicles and hybrids are quiet—a little too quiet for the U.S. Department of Transportation. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the agency on Monday announced proposals for minimum sound requirements on hybrid and electric vehicles. Without an internal combustion engine running, many vehicles can operate under full or partial electric power and generate little to no sound, which has the unintended effect of giving no audible warning to pedestrians, cyclists, and others who most rely on traffic sounds, such as the visually impaired. The full story is here.
Today’s poll question: Do you think curfew laws in Baton Rouge pertaining to those 17 years old and younger need to be strengthened, as Mayor Pro Tem Chandler Loupe is proposing?
