THE LACONIA DAILY SUN, Wednesday, March 2, 2011— Page 13
Fire breaks out on roof of Gadhafi forces retake towns near Libyan capital TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi’s forces adding that the Gadhafis are ready to implement middle school in Wolfeboro battled poorly armed rebels Tuesday for control of reforms.
WOLFEBORO (AP) — Fire officials in New Hampshire say a school in Wolfeboro had to be evacuated after a cutting torch ignited a fire on the roof of a middle school. No injuries were reported. The fire broke out on a roof at the Kingswood Regional High School complex about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday but was brought under control within an hour. Wolfeboro Fire Chief Butch Morrill says workers from Northbranch Construction, a contractor for a school renovation project, helped extinguish the blaze, which was confined to a small area of the roof and wall, where the existing middle school connects with a new addition being built. The students were evacuated to nearby Kingswood Arts Center. WISCONSIN from page 2 out-of-business sale,” said state Rep. Cory Mason, a Democrat from Racine who criticized Walker’s proposed cuts to education. Walker’s budget places “the entire burden of Wisconsin’s budget shortfall on our children, our most vulnerable citizens in need of health care and longterm care, and our dedicated public employees,” said Robert Kraig, director of the consumer-advocacy group Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Doing so is Walker’s “own value choice, not an economic necessity forced on him by others,” Kraig said. The governor released his two-year spending plan in part to support his argument that public-worker concessions are essential to confront a projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall. His proposal to eliminate most collective bargaining remains in limbo after Senate Democrats fled the state to prevent a vote. Wisconsin “cannot grow if our people are weighed down paying for a larger and larger government, a government that pays its workers unsustainable benefits that are out of line with the private sector,” he said. “We need a leaner and cleaner state government.” By eliminating most collective bargaining, Walker says, state agencies, local governments and school districts will have flexibility to react quickly to the cuts. The budget will put tremendous pressure on schools and local governments, which will be asked to shoulder huge cuts without raising property taxes to make up the difference. Walker’s budget includes a nearly 9 percent cut in aid to schools, which would amount to a reduction of nearly $900 million. from preceding page a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Not counting Ricky and Patty, they expect to employ about nine people between their two stores. The Spa traces its roots back to 1925, when Gus Regas started the business on Main Street. It’s been on Church Street since 1955. Patrick Collins had owned the store most recently. He owned a handful of similar stores in New Hampshire, and when a store he owned in Pittsfield failed in late 2010 he was forced to liquidate his assets to resolve his debts.
towns near the capital trying to create a buffer zone around his seat of power. The increasingly violent clashes threatened to transform the 15-day popular rebellion in Libya into a drawn-out civil war. Amid the intensified fighting, the international community stepped up moves to isolate the longtime Libyan leader. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he ordered two ships into the Mediterranean, including the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, and he is sending 400 Marines to the vessel to replace some troops that left recently for Afghanistan. Military leaders weighing a no-fly zone over Libya said it would be a complex task that would require taking out Gadhafi’s air defenses, and Russia’s top diplomat dismissed the idea as “superfluous” and said world powers should focus on sanctions. Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, warned Western forces not to take military action against Libya and said the country is prepared to defend itself against foreign intervention. “If they attack us, we are ready,” he told Sky News,
Facing an unprecedented challenge to his 41-year rule, Gadhafi’s regime has launched the bloodiest crackdown in a wave of uprising against authoritarian rulers in the Middle East. Gadhafi has already lost control of the eastern half of the country but still holds Tripoli and other nearby cities. An exact death toll has been difficult to obtain in the chaos, but a medical committee in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the uprising began on Feb. 15, said at least 228 people had been killed, including 30 unidentified bodies, and 1,932 wounded. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has cited reports that perhaps 1,000 have died in Libya. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress that the U.S. must lead an international response to the crisis, including expanding already tough financial and travel sanctions against Gadhafi, his family and confidants and possibly imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. “In the years ahead, Libya could become a peaceful democracy, or it could face protracted civil war. The stakes are high,” she said.
CONGRESS from page 2 ing deep cuts in spending and other steps to reduce the federal government. On the House floor, Democrats sharply attacked Republicans in the run-up to the vote, but much of their criticism was aimed at an earlier $61 billion package of spending cuts that had cleared on a party-line vote. “The sooner we can agree on a long-term package of smart cuts — not reckless, arbitrary, job-destroying cuts — the sooner we can stop funding the government in disruptive two-week increments that undermine efficiency and spread economic uncertainty,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, secondranking in the Democratic leadership. When it came time to vote, Democrats split, 104 in favor and 85 against. The leadership was similarly divided, Hoyer supporting the legislation and the party’s leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, opposed. Republicans voted 231-6 in favor. Hoyer’s reference to reckless cuts was a reach back to the earlier measure, written to satisfy 87 first-
term conservative Republicans. It called for $61 billion in cuts while funding the government through Sept. 30, and would also have blocked enactment of proposed federal regulations on an array of private industries and prohibited the use of funds to implement the year-old health care law. Confronted with a veto threat by Obama and strong opposition in the Senate, House Republicans announced quickly they would follow up with the interim two-week bill to avoid a shutdown while buying more time for compromise talks. As such, the two-week measure is loaded with symbolism, although the $4 billion in cuts are not particularly controversial. About $2.7 billion was ticketed for earmarked projects, and the balance for education and other programs that Obama had proposed terminating or reducing next year. The day’s events marked the culmination of a slow-motion retreat on the part of Senate Democrats, who had hoped to use the past few weeks to make the case that House Republicans are radicals bent on closing down the government.