In Your Backyard - Regional Business News

Idaho
Bankruptcies Up In Construction Industry
Dozens of small business owners in Idaho’s residential construction industry have filed for bankruptcy over the past few months in what appears to be more fallout from the local housing downturn. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Idaho District reports that filings in the state were up 25.7% in August 2008 (the most recent month for which statistics are available) compared to August 2007. At least 35 of those bankruptcies involve small business owners or companies tied to residential construction. Idaho bankruptcy attorneys say they are surprised to see a mostly steady volume of court filings--including a greater proportion by small businesses--at a time of year when filings are generally in decline.
Source: Idaho Business Review

 

Maine
Governor to Unveil New Energy Plan
Maine can create thousands of jobs and cut its dependence on oil through policies that encourage businesses to invest billions of dollars in “energy clusters,” according to an early draft of a comprehensive state energy plan being reviewed by Gov. John Baldacci (D). The plan is being readied along with a package of bills to be introduced in the Legislature this winter by the Baldacci administration. No details are available yet on the proposed laws, and the plan is still in draft form. But the emphasis is likely to be on governmental policies, tax incentives, loans, and other mechanisms that promote conservation, efficiency, and alternative-energy development.
Source: Portland Press Herald

 

Missouri
Candidate Recommends Emergency Business Grants
To deal with the current economic crisis, Kenny Hulshof, the Republican candidate for governor, wants to provide up to $265 million in grants to businesses that create new jobs. Hulshof wants to pay rebates of as much as $6,000 per job to businesses that create new jobs that pay at least 90% of the local average wage. The money would come from Missouri’s Budget Reserve Fund.
Source: Columbia Daily Tribune

 

New Jersey
Republican Leaders Push to Halve Sales Tax For Holidays
Saying their proposal would boost the economy and preserve jobs, Republican leaders called for halving the state’s 7% sales tax during the prime shopping season between Thanksgiving and January 4. Republicans said the tax rollback would make life easier for consumers and help retailers. They speculated that Pennsylvania and New York residents would flock to the state during what would be the longest and broadest sales-tax cut in the nation.
Source: The Philadelphia Enquirer

 

Rhode Island
State Calls on Citizens, Businesses to Buy Bonds
In a further sign of the financial instability gripping states, General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio called on Rhode Island citizens and small businesses to buy millions of dollars in state-issued bonds, a move he said would generate $350 million to help the state pay its bills on time. Rhode Island has issued “tax anticipation” notes in each of the last three years but has never asked its citizens and small businesses to purchase them. Traditionally, the bonds are purchased by financial institutions.
Source: The Providence Journal