Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalKroger Labor Agreement Ratified
The Kroger Co. associates working at stores in the Cincinnati-based grocer’s Mid-South and Atlanta divisions have ratified a new labor agreement with UFCW Local 1995 in Hermitage, Tenn.
The contract covers 10,500 employees working at stores in Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn.; Huntsville, Ala.; and Bowling Green, Ky.
John Hackett, president of Kroger’s Mid-South division, said the deal was “good for our associates and allows us to be competitive in the region,” while Bruce Lucia, president of the company’s Atlanta division thanked associates “for their patience during the negotiation process.”
Kroger employs more than 339,000 associates at 2,422 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under two dozen local banners, among them Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith’s. The company also operates 790 convenience stores, 344 fine jewelry stores, 1,141 supermarket fuel centers and 37 food-processing plants in the United States.
http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/industry-intelligence/id36974/kroger-labor-agreement-ratified/
USAF Museum Aircraft of the Week
SANTA CLAUS SLEIGH - S.C. MK II
The Santa Claus sleigh was the first known aircraft to utilize multiple hoofed animals to propel itself through the air. This sleigh was designed, built and flown by pioneer aviator and generous elf, Mr. Santa Claus of Peoria, Illinois, who had a life long wish to deliver gifts to all the children in the world. The pre-production aircraft flew several successful flights in 1903 until the tenth mission when the sleigh stalled and crashed, sending the rotund pilot into a pile of hay. The propulsion units (62 very perturbed French hens) escaped injury. Post flight analysis indicated the vehicle was underpowered and a search for an alternate form of propulsion was begun.
Santa also began to look for a larger area where he could perform his flight tests safely. He found an ideal area in North Carolina, only to learn it was already being used by two brothers from Ohio. Undaunted, Santa turned to the snow covered expanse at the North Pole. Once settled in, Santa met eight friendly flying reindeer at the local coffee shop. Interested in obtaining meaningful employment (their skywriting company had just gone bankrupt), the reindeer volunteered as propulsion units for the upcoming flight tests.
Flights with the reindeer at the North Pole were satisfactory but the sleigh still proved to be somewhat underpowered, especially when loaded with a bag full of toys. One Christmas Eve an improved model, the S.C. Sleigh Mk II, was developed with the addition of one more flying reindeer who by chance, also had a very shiny nose. The new reindeer gave the sleigh all-weather capability in addition to improved flight performance, allowing delivery of toys even during foggy Christmas Eves.
Santa Claus's sleigh remains in service and flies one mission each year on Christmas Eve. Santa has promised to donate the sleigh to the museum after the Mk III version (essentially a Mk II with anti-skid skids) has completed its flight tests.
More at
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=6198
December 28: National Chocolate Candy Day
enjoying some now, with my morning coffee, but later today a trip to the donut store!
Nixon Administration: Mo. Could Gain From Medicaid
Gov. Jay Nixon's administration is bolstering his plan to expand Missouri's Medicaid program with an analysis estimating that it could save the state money in the near future.
Figures released this past week by Nixon's budget office show Missouri could see a nearly $47 million increase in general revenues during the first year of the Medicaid expansion in 2014. That boost in state revenues would grow to nearly $140 million in 2016 before beginning to decline.
As called for under President Barack Obama's health care law, the federal government would pay the full cost the first three years of the Medicaid expansion before states gradually pick up a 10 percent share.
Missouri's Republican legislative leaders have cited concerns about long-term costs while expressing opposition to the Medicaid expansion.
http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/post/nixon-administration-mo-could-gain-medicaid
A Merry Christmas to all who follow & participate in the Missouri Group
Best Wishes for today (which is National Pumpkin Pie Day btw) and the coming days
A bit of photo history
12/22/1891 – Asteroid 323 Brucia becomes the first asteroid discovered using photography.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/323_Brucia
House approves $633 billion defense bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a $633 billion defense bill for next year despite Pentagon complaints that it spares outdated but politically popular weapons at the expense of the military's ability to fight.
The vote was 315-107 and sent the legislation to the Senate, where leaders hoped to wrap up the measure. The White House had threatened a veto of earlier versions of the bill, and spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday that the threat still stands.
The far-reaching policy bill that covers the cost of ships, aircraft, weapons and military personnel would authorize $528 billion for the Defense Department's base budget, $17 billion for defense and nuclear programs in the Energy Department and $88.5 billion for the war in Afghanistan.
The bill is $1.7 billion more than Obama requested.
http://news.yahoo.com/house-approves-633-billion-defense-bill-235236936--politics.html
They can do this, but not get their self generated fiscal cliff budget done.
As Newtown's impact reverberates, Missouri lawmakers wonder what to do next
For some Missouri state lawmakers, the shooting at a Connecticut elementary school is prompting introspection and a call for action.
For other legislators, not enough time has passed to decide what to do next -- if anything.
At least one Republican has offered up the suggestion of arming school personnel, an idea floated earlier this week by St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch.
But it’s a fair assumption that the Republican-controlled Missouri legislature is unlikely to pass sweeping gun control laws. After all, the General Assembly in recent years approved expansions of the state’s conceal and carry system. They also implemented the so-called “Castle Doctrine” law, which shields from lawsuits people who use lethal force with a gun to defend their property.
https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/28527/newtown_state_legislature?coverpage=2373
In $18 Million Theft, Victim Was a Canadian Maple Syrup Cartel
OTTAWA — It was an inside job of sorts. Thieves with access to a warehouse and a careful plan loaded up trucks and, over time, made off with $18 million of a valuable commodity.
Drums of maple syrup in the global strategic reserve in Quebec.
The question is what was more unusual: that the commodity in question was maple syrup, or that it came from something called the global strategic maple syrup reserve, run by what amounts to a Canadian cartel.
On Tuesday, the police in Quebec arrested three men in connection with the theft from the warehouse, which is southwest of Quebec City. The authorities are searching for five others suspected of being involved, and law enforcement agencies in other parts of Canada and the United States are trying to recover some of the stolen syrup.
Both the size and the international scope of the theft underscore Quebec’s outsize position in the maple syrup industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/business/arrests-made-in-maple-syrup-theft-from-quebec-warehouse.html?nl=todaysheadlines&adxnnl=1&emc=edit_th_20121220&adxnnlx=1355996865-y62XZy2ZZS2Dsw3p1L4UXw
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