Posts
**Bilingual in Chinese and English is preferred along with work experience.
Requirements:
-Be passionate and enjoy working.
-Genuinely cheerful and optimistic.
-Outwardly friendly.
-MUST BE RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE AND RESPONSIBLE.
Friday, July 5, 2013
HOSTESS AND PART TIME SERVER (Downtown LA - Chinatown)
States consider fees for hybrids to recoup lost gasoline taxes
An electric/hybrid vehicle charges at a public charging station in Chapel Hill, N.C. New fees have been proposed for hybrid and electric auto drivers to make up for the gasoline taxes they're not paying. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)By Chris Kardish
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina is joining a growing number of states exploring new fees for hybrid and electric car owners to help make up for revenue those drivers aren’t paying in gas taxes on their fuel-efficient vehicles.
The proposal strikes many owners of alternative-fuel vehicles and some advocacy groups as a wrong-headed approach to balancing priorities of promoting U.S. energy independence with sustainable infrastructure funding. But policymakers and some experts argue taxing hybrid and electric vehicle owners is a matter of making sure all drivers help maintain the roads they use and construct new ones.
Gas taxes are the most vital source of transportation funding, making up nearly 40 percent of all state highway revenues and more than 90 percent at the federal level, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But those revenues haven’t kept up with rising construction costs, falling 41 percent in real value at the federal level since they were last increased 18 years ago, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The same non-partisan research group estimates that state and local gas-tax revenue fell 7 percent to $38 billion between 2004 and 2010.
Natural gas: Truck company shows off natural gas-fueled big rigs
Many transportation organizations and other groups say an overhaul that moves the system to a tax based on miles traveled is needed, but those reforms come with their own hurdles and for now states are looking for other fixes. At least 10 states are considering or have passed legislation to collect fees from owners of electric or hybrid cars.
“I think so far what we’re seeing is the trend seems to be either an additional annual fee or some type of registration fee seems to be much more popular than the miles-driven tax, because that is a newer technology and raises some privacy concerns,” said Kristy Hartman, a transportation and environment analyst at the NCSL.
New Jersey scrapped a plan to charge vehicles by miles traveled amid pushback from media and legislators, opting instead for a flat fee on electric cars.
North Carolina senators included an additional $100 annual registration fee for electric-car owners and a $50 fee for hybrid drivers. They estimate the new fees will raise $1.5 million annually. The Senate’s provision would have to survive budget negotiations with the House, which is expected to release its full spending plan in the coming days.
Sen. Neal Hunt, R-Wake and a chief budget-writer, argues the policy ensures all drivers are contributing their fair share toward maintaining the roads and services they all use.
“I just seems logical to me that they should pay a small fee for the use of the highways and the wear and tear they put on the highways,” he said.
But that policy, along with the end of a pilot program offering four interstate plug-in stops, is troubling to many drivers of fuel-efficient cars.
Heavy traffic: $225 million would go to oil-impacted county roads
Ryan Turner, an IT professional in Chapel Hill, said he and many other drivers of alternative-fuel vehicles chose their cars because they’re concerned about the environment and the country’s dependence on oil. The Chevrolet Volt driver helped advocate for a statewide plug-in vehicle readiness plan.
“On its face, it’s reasonable for electric owners to contribute toward road tax in some way,” he said. “I think what’s suspect is that, given all the issues we have in this state, given the state’s woeful effort so far to promote electric vehicles as part of some statewide agenda, it is suspect that this vehicle tax is a priority given the small amount of the revenue it will bring in.”
The policy looks especially arbitrary when more and more conventional cars are achieving fuel efficiency that’s comparable to some hybrid cars, Turner added.
Jay Friedland, legislative director for the advocacy group Plug In America, has asked legislators in other states to phase in special fees after the number of alternative-fuel vehicles reaches 100,000, arguing administrative costs make such policies counter-productive before states reach a critical mass.
“We generally say this is a period of time when you should be incentivizing these vehicles, but after a while, yes, everyone should be paying their fair share,” he said.
Truck fleet: Halliburton expanding natural gas use
North Carolina has an estimated 30,000 hybrid and electric cars registered in the state.
Plug In America supports a vehicle-miles tax, and Friedland said his organization swayed Washington lawmakers to include a study of that policy in the state’s own bill targeting alternative-fuel vehicles.
“Fundamentally, the mechanism exists (for charging a miles-traveled tax), but I don’t know of any states that are currently doing that yet,” he said. “We’re really on the edge of this, because we’re for once actually watching fuel consumption going down, and that’s why we’re watching these taxes come up.”
Berry Jenkins of the Carolinas Association of General Contractors said bigger reforms are ultimately needed to address infrastructure in the long term. He’s part of a coalition of businesses and regional transit groups that endorses miles-traveled taxes. The problem, he said, are concerns that they system would require intrusive new technologies and that fuels apprehension among political leaders.
“It’s never going to be a convenient time to ask people to pay more for infrastructure,” he said.
Also on FuelFix:
Truck company shows off natural gas-fueled big rigs
Ryder touts natural gas-fueled rigsEM groups look to bonds rather than banks
Companies borrowed half as much from banks in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, while market borrowing has risen by two-thirds
Read more from Financial Times
Service Rep / Driving
Posting ID: 3629734732Posted: 2013-02-19, 4:55PM PSTEdited: 2013-02-19, 4:55PM PSTemail to a friendSorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
Cnooc in joint bid for Arctic oil
Eykon Energy to help Chinese group bid for exploration licence off the northeast coast of Iceland as interest in the polar region increases
Read more from Financial Times
Border Grill Downtown LA wants you!! (Downtown LA)
Posting ID: 3629786596Posted: 2013-02-19, 5:20PM PSTEdited: 2013-02-19, 5:20PM PSTemail to a friendSorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
SEC chief counsel comes under fire
Former Deutsche risk manager filed a discrimination complaint with the US Department of Labor, naming Robert Rice, along with four other executives, as a respondent
Read more from Financial Times
administrative assistant / accounting data entry / bookkeeper (P/T) (West SFV / Calabasas)
Posting ID: 3629750069Posted: 2013-02-19, 5:03PM PSTEdited: 2013-02-19, 5:03PM PSTemail to a friendSorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
Obama-Xi summit lays out big questions
It is unclear if the summit will mark a reset in a distrustful relationship between an established power and a rising rival, with all the dangers that entails
Read more from Financial Times
Drumbeat: June 8, 2013
OPEC’s slipping grasp on the world’s oil market
At OPEC’s home base in Vienna last week, Saudi Arabia’s powerful oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, played down the impact of the light, sweet crude that is gushing in record volumes from beneath North Dakota’s bald prairie and the scrubby landscape of South Texas.
“This is not the first time new sources of oil are discovered, don’t forget history,” he said. “There was oil from the North Sea and Brazil, so why is there so much talk about shale oil now?”
Secretary-general Abdalla El-Badri was even more blunt: “OPEC will be around after ...
Read more from The Oil Drum
UX/UI Designer (Calabasas)
Job Responsibilities
? Create new web pages and user flows that follow existing web standards
? Improve current user interface design to promote better experience for end users
? Develop and design web page layouts and landing pages
? Collaborate with design team to develop user flows and wireframes for new and existing features and functionality
Skills Required
? Minimum 3 years of UI/UX experience leveraging a variety of technologies for multiple digital channels (web, mobile, tablet), including a understanding of HTML 5/CSS and major web browsers for design purposes
? Solid knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, and familiarity with InDesign to produce pixel-perfect Photoshop comps for web pages
? Solid understanding of UI/UX best practices, website and UI, and e-commerce design
? Comprehensive knowledge of typography, color theory, spatial relations and proportion
? Well-versed in web optimization and ins-and-outs of JPEG, GIF, and SWF formats
? Comprehensive knowledge of W3C standards compliant front-end HTML, CSS, jQuery, JavaScript
? Advanced knowledge of cross-browser compatibility
? Advanced knowledge of web page optimization including ins and outs of jpeg, gif formats
? Knowledge of tableless design
? Knowledge of responsive design
? Mobile/Tablet development experience a plus
Other Requirements
? Attention to detail a must
? Strong communication skills
? Must be self-motivated, proactive and able to utilize time allotted efficiently
? Pro-active and respectful of file management skills a must
? Excellent verbal and written communication skills
? Proven problem solving skills
? Ability to work with various departments to resolve issues
? Ability to work well under pressure with short deadlines
Benefits
? Competitive salary
? Health insurance (medical & dental)
? 401(k) plan
? Paid holidays and vacations
Please email your resume, portfolio and/or samples of your work as well as salary history for immediate consideration.
Posting ID: 3629807719
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)