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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2003)
SENIORS Time is running out! Don't miss your opportunity to be in the 2003 Aggieland yearbook. Get your picture taken at AR Photography by Feb. 13 404 University Dr. E„ Ste. F (in shopping center across from Albertson's) Questions? Call 693-8183 or 845-2682 Aggieland 2003 Christian Woodworks "Custom Designed & Made with Pride" Custom built rustic furniture. Start collecting that next step furniture now. Build senior lofts, Beds, dressers, entertainment centers, dinning tables, also bootcases for those senior boots. Juniors order your senior loft now, save 10%! Christian woodworks, quality built, reasonably priced. 695-8807 Student Counseling mBkuJHetpjtin ;Stressed out over grades?” Worried about what's going on at home? Has a relationship got you down? Call us...845-2700 (v/tty) Available 4 PM to 8 AM weekdays, 24 hours a day on weekends Society of Women Engineers General Meeting When: Wed., Jan. 29 th Time: 6:45 p.m. Where: Rich 101 What: Building Robotic Legos with N.I. FREE FOOD! 12 NE\I Wednesday, January 29, 2003 THE BATTALIO Just hangin’ around |j Volume Texas esponded s ibout securi he other fit Texas has be legal battle ' ney general nformation to the public In Octot Texan repor records on tl Randall Ford • THE BATTALION Seventy-year-old College Station resident Bart Braden hangs on a pole while taking a run ning break at the corner of Wellborn Road and George Bush Drive. Braden is a veteran of three wars and the oldest basketball referee in the history of Texas. By La THE Ay Job outlook remains bleak in U.S SPRING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES FAIR ©rowing Through Service, Cultivating Your Community January 29 & 30, 2003 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. The Vintage House at Messina Mof Winery & Resort * Introduces Three Great Weekday Evenings Enjoy three special menus served in the most romantic restaurant in the Brazos Valley. Wednesdays... An Evening In Tuscany Every Wednesday evening, it’s just a short drive to Tuscany and traditional Tuscan cuisine served with a vineyard view. It’s four courses for only $49.95 per couple, plus tax and gratuity. Romantic Thursdays Every Thursday evening from 5 to 10pm, the Vintage House offers a new, special menu just for couples. You’ll love everything, including the price. Enjoy four courses for only $49.95 per couple plus tax and gratuity. Fridays: Aggieuand Strip & Shrimp Special Every Friday evening, get the perfect 12 oz. strip and the freshest Gulf shrimp...combined to make this four course evening the highlight of your week...just $59.95 per couple, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations or more information, please call 778-9463, ext. 31 or check out www.messinahof.com. The Vintage House 4545 Old Reliance Road • Bryan, TX USA Only Ten Minutes From Campus If By Leigh Strope THE ASSOCIATED PRESS West Coast states are being battered by the ail ing economy, leading the country again in high unemployment rates last month, while the Dakotas and Nebraska posted the lowest jobless rates. The new data, released Tuesday by the Labor Department, shows that the job outlook in much of the country remains bleak. But no states reported wild swings in their unemployment rates, suggest ing some stabilization — at least for now. Finding a job is taking longer for people out of work. Last year, jobless workers spent an average of 16.6 weeks looking for employment, up from 13.2 weeks in 2001. The economy’s uneven recovery poses chal lenges for President Bush, who is pushing for another round of tax cuts to stimulate growth and create jobs. The nation’s unemployment rate has hovered around 6 percent since April 2002. The bumpy recovery is similar to the last reces sion, when Bush’s father was president. High unemployment that failed to start dropping until almost two years after the recession ended helped cost the first President Bush a second term. Though jobless rates aren’t reaching the levels of the last recession, voters who can’t find jobs could spell trouble for Bush, particularly in key battle ground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia — which had among the higher unemployment rates of 5.9 percent, 6 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, in December. But the West Coast has been particularly hit hard, and Bush, who has viewed political opportu nities in that Democrat-backing region, may be forced to shift focus. Many economists predict the nation’s jobless rate will continue to rise in com ing months, hitting as high as 6.5 percent this sum mer and ending the year at current levels. “The economy is flat — there is no new job growth,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com Alaska posted the highest state unemployment West Coast sees higher unemployment Some western states led the country In unemployment rates dins December, clearing the national average of 6.0 percent accowc to Labor Department statistics released Tuesday. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for December2M 6.5% or more fll II 5.5% to 4 5% to 3.5% to 3.4%cr 6.4% 5.4% 4.4% less SOURCE Department of Labor rate last montli at 7.4 percent, rising from 6.8 pc cent in November. A drop in tourism and loweitf gy prices earlier this year are major factors forte state’s job troubles. The technology bust, the 2001 energy crisis® the weak travel and aviation industries have taker major toll on West Coast states. Oregon’s joblc rate was second highest at 7 percent after droppr from 7.1 percent in November. Washington post an increase in December to 6.8 percent, upfront percent; California saw a rise to 6.6 percent, upfri 6.5 percent. Also among the highest rates wfl Mississippi at 6.7 percent and the District Columbia at 6.6 percent. The upper Midwest has consistently posted! lowest unemployment rates in the country. N# and South Dakota had jobless rates of 3 percentt month, and Nebraska had 3.4 percent. Those states have benefited from large agrict ture subsidies that helped keep their econo®: afloat, Zandi said. Many workers laid off by cot panics in those states return to farming and are» counted as unemployed. Three-ye looks thi of the B By Mel THE I * • ■■ “ wild wooly MONDAYS? I WEDNESDAY mayhem? That's Right! Every " ' . and Wednesday ; . botli: & Wild Wooly Wednesday Large 1 Topping Pizza $5.99 Take out Large 1 Topping Pizza $6.99 Delivered ^ or Our Great All You Can Eat DoubleDave's buffet 5:30-9:09 pi $6.00 per person includes soft drink or 1st draft! Additional drafts 500 An art through e-m daiming the announced p] A&M is a h< "'Oman Fntertainmer Production o “The girls >ng their SAT an entire year the spokeswo The forwa t0 be a post o (CNN.com). other articles complete wii twins and me Fin By I Tt WASH] that distrit °f student; cducationa federal ch laws by s< Car d, insui governmer Educaf America Marketing ordered by to destroy