plus 3, THE INFLUENCE GAME: Toyota's powerful DC friends - San Francisco Chronicle

THE INFLUENCE GAME: Toyota's powerful DC friends - San Francisco Chronicle
Training Innovation: Setting Philadelphia City's Youth on Technology ... - YAHOO!
'Ballistic' BJ Baldwin Takes the Win at BITD Parker 425 - Biloxi Sun Herald
US troops killed in Afghanistan and Africa - Boston Globe

THE INFLUENCE GAME: Toyota's powerful DC friends - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 07:47 AM PST

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They and others on the congressional committees investigating Toyota's massive recall represent states where Toyota has factories and the coveted well-paying manufacturing jobs they bring. Some members of Congress have been such cheerleaders for Toyota that the public may wonder how they can act objectively as government watchdogs for auto safety and oversight. The company's executives include a former employee of the federal agency that is supposed to oversee the automaker.

Toyota has sought to sow good will and win allies with lobbying, charitable giving, racing in the American-as-apple pie NASCAR series and, perhaps most important, creating jobs. Will those connections pay off as it tries to minimize fallout from its problems?

The Senate's lead Toyota investigator, West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller, credits himself with lobbying Toyota to build a factory in his state. A member of a House investigating panel, California Rep. Jane Harman, represents the district of Toyota's U.S. headquarters and has financial ties to the company.

Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has known Toyota's founding family since the 1960s. He was so closely involved with Toyota's selection of Buffalo, W.Va., for a factory that he slogged through cornfields with Toyota executives scouting locations and still mentions his role in the 1990s deal to this day.

"By the time Toyota decided to make Buffalo its new home," Rockefeller said in 2006 during the plant's 10th anniversary, "I felt like a full-fledged member of that site selection team."

Rockefeller's committee is expected to review whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acted aggressively enough toward Toyota. The agency's new chief, David L. Strickland, worked for eight years on Rockefeller's committee as a lawyer and senior staffer.

Strickland has such close relationships with Rockefeller and other senators that Republican Sen. George LeMieux of Florida asked Strickland at his confirmation hearing two months ago whether he could disagree with Rockefeller, his former boss: "The oversight for you in your role will be from the committee that you once served on," LeMieux told him.

"I will be honest with you, sir," Strickland answered. "I've had disagreements with the chairman personally. But he signs the paycheck, and he wins. But I will have no problem with that all, sir."

Rockefeller sees no reason to step aside from his committee's investigation. Consumer protection is a cornerstone of his work as chairman and that is reflected in the steps he and the committee are taking, including NHTSA briefings and plans to hold hearings and seek recall-related documents, Rockefeller spokeswoman Jamie Smith said.

"While this important work proceeds, Senator Rockefeller is encouraged that Toyota is making every effort to minimize the impact on its U.S. work force, especially during these difficult economic times," Smith said. "He hopes and expects that Toyota will remain a strong company and is capable of getting back on the right track with safety and consumer confidence."

Toyota's U.S. operations are based in Torrance, Calif., in Harman's district. She serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is investigating Toyota's recall.

Harman and her husband, Sidney, held at least $115,000 in Toyota stock as of her most recent financial disclosure report. The company to which the couple owes much of their multimillion-dollar fortune, Harman International Industries, founded by Sidney Harman, sells vehicle audio and entertainment systems to Toyota. The two companies teamed up on a charitable education project in 2003, when Sidney Harman was Harman International's executive chairman. He retired from the Harman board in December 2008.

When leading Toyota engineer David Hermance died in a 2006 plane crash in California, Rep. Harman took to the floor to pay tribute, calling Hermance the "Father of the American Prius."

"It was David's passionate approach and commitment to the environment that helped persuade a skeptical industry and auto-buying public to appreciate the enormous potential of his work," Harman said at the time. "In fact, Madam Speaker, my family drives two hybrid vehicles — one in California and the other in Washington, D.C."

Harman didn't respond to The Associated Press' request for comment.

Several other lawmakers on investigating committees also represent states with Toyota factories, including Missouri, Texas, Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. Toyota says it employs nearly 36,000 people in the U.S. and indirectly employs about 166,000 people at dealerships and suppliers.

Republicans also have spoken of Toyota's importance to their states. "Kentucky is still reaping the rewards of its 20-year partnership with Toyota, and we hope to continue to do so for years to come," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in marking the 2006 anniversary of a Toyota plant there.

Still, Toyota has a long way to go to win the wholesale affection of Congress. Democrats criticize it for nonunion shops. Some lawmakers suggest it benefits from unfair Japanese trade policies at the expense of automakers they consider American, such as Ford and General Motors.

Toyota has tried hard to be thought of as an American brand. Its efforts include trying to become part of the nation's car culture.

In recent years it broke into the highest ranks of the beloved U.S. sport of auto racing, fielding cars in NASCAR races in front of millions of die-hard fans. Popular driver Rusty Wallace announced in November that his team would race in Toyotas starting with the 2010 season.

Its U.S. charity doles out millions each year, sometimes in photo opportunities with politicians. It gave $5.6 million to charitable causes from mid-2007 to mid-2008, much of it focused on education and the environment, according to its most recent report. Toyota promised former President Bill Clinton's charity that it would spend $496,000 to sustain forests in the southern United States.

"Words cannot express the generosity that Toyota has shown Kentucky through industry job opportunities and community service," Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said in a 2006 Senate speech.

Toyota's lobbying spending in Washington has risen as its U.S. sales have. Toyota spent $5 million last year lobbying on such issues as industry regulation, energy, labor laws, patents, trade, taxes and government contracting. That's more than five times what it spent a decade earlier, when one of its lobbying reports acknowledged that its mission included "reducing unnecessary regulations." It is active in several trade associations that lobby, including the National Association of Manufacturers.

Its Washington team is well connected.

Its main liaison to the federal government on vehicle safety issues is Christopher Tinto, who worked for several years in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation as a vehicle defect investigator and in its Office of Vehicle Safety Standards, where he mostly worked on heavy-truck braking standards.

Among its lobbyists is Josephine Cooper, who was chief executive of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry coalition to which Toyota belongs, and who also worked at the Environmental Protection Agency and as an aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney when he was in Congress.

Its lobbyists also include Tom Lehner, who was an aide to five senators and was the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's treasurer. Another lobbyist, Robert Chiappetta, organizes an annual event in which Toyota sends employees to Washington to lobby Congress and he was a delegate for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama at the 2008 Virginia Democratic Party Convention. Toyota recently retained Quinn Gillespie & Associates, a well-connected, bipartisan lobbying and public affairs firm that will help Toyota try to contain the damage in Washington, the AP has learned. On its Web site, the firm promises to "limit damage to reputation." The AP also has learned that Toyota has retained The Glover Park Group, a Democratic public affairs-lobbying firm, for crisis management.

Toyota has a diversity advisory board that includes Federico Pena, a Clinton administration Cabinet secretary, national co-chairman of Obama's presidential campaign and a member of Obama's transition team; Clinton administration Labor Secretary Alexis Herman; former Republican Rep. Susan Molinari, now a lobbyist working with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; and Gilbert Casellas, former chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, former general counsel of the Air Force and former co-chairman of the U.S. Census Monitoring Board.

One of Toyota's executives, Tom Stricker, serves on the EPA's Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, and a former executive, Thomas Zawacki, is commissioner of Kentucky's Vehicle Regulation Department.

Toyota also is a federal contractor. Its contracts in the 2008 budget year included at least $3.8 million in business providing the State Department with motor vehicles and trailers, according to figures compiled by OMB Watch, a nonpartisan group that tracks government spending.

Toyota has not been a big player in U.S. campaigns. Its U.S. employees contributed roughly $30,000 to federal candidates in 2007-08, compared with about $880,000 from Ford Motor Co. employees and about $799,000 from GM workers.

Unlike rivals Ford and GM, Toyota doesn't have a political action committee to dole out campaign contributions. Toyota's PAC would have difficulty distinguishing itself from Toyota's Japanese management to the degree needed to be legal under U.S. campaign finance laws.

That makes Toyota an unwitting example of an issue that has become a hot topic in Washington in recent days: foreign companies with U.S. subsidiaries and their involvement in U.S. elections. The Supreme Court ruled last month that U.S. corporations and unions can spend treasury money on election ads attacking federal candidates. Some Democrats including President Obama argue the ruling would let foreign corporations with U.S. subsidiaries sneak into U.S. election activities, and they plan legislation to close such a loophole.

___

Associated Press writers Ted Bridis, Alan Fram and Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

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Training Innovation: Setting Philadelphia City's Youth on Technology ... - YAHOO!

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 06:50 AM PST

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PAT is Changing the Lives of Our Philadelphia City Youth and Answering the Call for Skilled Auto Technicians.

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) February 8, 2010 -- Motivated by staggering unemployment statistics, local businessman Sherman McLeod of Philadelphia Automotive Training (PAT) has expanded his offering and opened his doors for hands-on training in automotive technology and repair with a mission of reaching out to local Philadelphia youth who are ready for high tech careers in auto cars and light truck repairs. Using his eighteen year, international experience as an engineer and owner of the one of the city's largest independent repair shops, Mr. McLeod established a modern educational facility offering a ten week training program to participants. In ten (10) weeks, Philadelphia Automotive Training employs a skilled staff of ASE Certified Technicians, businessmen and women who train and mentor participants in automotive repair, PA State & Enhanced Emission Inspections, diagnosis, electronics, alignments, brakes, exhaust systems, and many other repairs in a hands-on format.

Hands-on Automotive Mechanics are in high demand across the city and PAT is working to fill this gap. PAT's Automotive Technicians are trained to work on 80 percent of all car and light truck repairs once they complete the innovative ten (10) week training course. This will allow automotive repair centers and employees a win-win opportunity. Once employed within a company, students will be highly productive on the very first day at work because of the company's new hands-on learning format. "Our mission is real world and work ready training to get our youth employed," said Sherman McLeod.

Qualifications for entrance: High School Diploma or GED, a straight forward aptitude assessment, reading assessment, and drivers license. Students will embark upon a ten week diploma program that begins with a comprehensive curriculum which includes technical hands on training, incorporates safety and customer service skills and ends with resume writing, interviewing skills and includes $2,500 in tools.

After completing the State-of-the-Art training, receiving their diplomas and obtaining their tools, Students then go on to work in major companies like Pep Boys, Goodyear, Firestone, KIA, Mercedes, and others to work in challenging careers.

Call 215-381-9403 and ask for Christina Brown or Coleen Campbell of Philadelphia Automotive Training or visit www.Pattc.com.

PAT is a Post Secondary School, Licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education Private Licensed Schools. PAT also offers a ten (10) week hands-on training diploma program in Manufacturing & Automation Technology which trains students in robotics, electronics, process controls, programmable logic controls, high speed vision systems, GMPs, and ISO and much more for industries such as energy, pharmaceuticals, green technology, food & beverage for examples.

Contact

Christina Brown
Coleen Campbell
Philadelphia Automotive Training
215-381-9403
7446 D Ogontz Avenue
Philadelphia, Pa 19138
www.pattc.com

# # #

Philadelphia Automotive Training (PAT)
Sherman McLeod
215-381-9403
E-mail Information
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'Ballistic' BJ Baldwin Takes the Win at BITD Parker 425 - Biloxi Sun Herald

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 08:15 AM PST

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"This is a very important win for me," stated BJ Baldwin, Baldwin Motorsports. "I felt really good going into the race after driving for several days at Dakar. The tires performed awesome, my crew was on it and I wanted this win bad. This is going to be a great season for Baldwin Motorsports!"

General Tire is again 'unleashing the fury' in off-road performance for 2010, in the third year campaigning its Grabber competition tire. Designed with a tough, three-ply Duragen™-reinforced body construction to stand up to the rigors of off-road conditions, the Grabber also features a newly-developed competition-specific tread compound. In addition, the Grabber name and General Tire logo are prominently featured on the sidewall in red and white letters. The Grabber competition tires are designed in size 37x12.50R17 for class 8 and trophy truck/trick truck and 35x12.50R17 for class 1, 6, 7, 7 S, stock mini and Protruck.

General Tire also has a complete line of Grabber tires for the passenger and light truck market, including the new Grabber DOT-approved off-road tire (to be released later this year); the Grabber HTS, which delivers the perfect synergy of comfort, durability and performance; the Grabber UHP, which sets a whole new standard in performance and ride quality for SUVs, light trucks and crossover vehicles; and Grabber AT2, designed for aggressive all-terrain traction in all weather conditions.

For media information, visit www.ctamedia.com or www.ctamedia.mobi.

General Tire has over 90 years of offers a complete quality line of ultra-high performance, passenger, light truck, off-road and commercial tires to meet all your needs.

General Tire is a proud supporter of Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing, Chili Bowl, Pro-Pulling, Late- Model Dirt Series, Drag Boat Series, Boost Mobile FreestyleMx.com Tour, Spec Tire of Trophylite and Pro Truck. Team GT supports off-road and short course teams including BJ Baldwin, Carl Renezeder, Rick D. Johnson, Jerry Zaiden/Jason Campbell, Jason/Rich Voss, Scott Steinberger, Ed "Clyde" Stout, Tedd Hunnicutt, Marc Burnett, Kent Kroeker, Mickey Childress, Carey Hart, Josh Merrell, Robby Woods and Sean Geiser.

General Tire is part of Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (www.generaltire.com). CTA, based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, is a company of Germany-based Continental AG. With sales exceeding euro 24 billion in 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for the powertrain and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, the corporation contributes towards enhanced driving safety and protection of the global climate. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. The corporation currently employs approximately 134,000 at nearly 190 locations in 37 countries.

SOURCE General Tire

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US troops killed in Afghanistan and Africa - Boston Globe

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 08:15 AM PST

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In 2004, Lengstorf graduated from Elkton High School, where he was a quarterback and safety on the football team. He enlisted in the Army in August 2006. While in Iraq, he reconnected with Jesse, a girl he knew growing up. The two married and 14 months ago, their daughter, Kadence, was born.

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