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See These Four Broadway Shows for roa cLuau in the d buy tickets, be inspired Brazos Valley! THE SOUND OF MUSIC The hills are alive! October 8-9 A TUNA CHRISTMAS Starring Joe Sears & Jaston Williams November 19-21 CATS Broadway’s longest running show! January 27-28 FAME - the musical Remember my name! March 9-10 Broadway Series Sponsored by: Central^fexOSEINJ.r. ORDER TICKETS NOW at www.MSCOPAS.org or request a free brochure by calling 845-1234. Order tickets to these FOUR Broadway blockbusters for one low price. Logon to www.MSCOPAS.org to order your tickets to these performances and all other performances (Main Stage, Intimate Gatherings and OPAS JR) on the 2003-2004 season, Tired of +his guy? £o are we... And -fhaf s why we joined Pi Kappa Phi. We are scholars, leaders, gen+lemen, and a+hle-fes. In shod, we do no+ fulfill Ihe -typical Tra+ guy” s+ereo+ype. We are building beffer men, and mos-f imporfan+ly, we are recrui-Hng •fhe leaders of lomorrow. if you'd like +o join us, look for us a+ Open House or con+act one of our rush chairmen. John Herring+on President 979-492-0706 Russell Carby Rush Chairman 469-855-7000 visit us online at gggiepikaf>p*org 6A Thursday, September 4, 2003 na| I HE KATt v , Increased construction spendiuj offers hope for economic reviva By Jeannine Aversa THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Business conditions perked up in the summer and construction spending climbed in July to the highest level seen since the beginning of the year, promising signs for the economy’s antici pated second-half rebound. Reports from the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts “indicate that the economy continued to improve in July and August,” according to the Federal Reserve’s latest snapshot of business activity released Wednesday. “In some districts, improvement occurred in select ed sectors and in others it was broad-based,” the Fed said. The Fed added that even in the Dallas district, where activ ity remains generally weak, business contacts were more optimistic about the economic outlook. The economic impact of the nation’s worst blackout was muted thus far, the Fed indicated. Although business contacts said a comprehensive assess ment at this point was prema ture, “the effects were general ly small,” the Fed survey said. “Even where firms were closed for several days, affected con tacts suggest they are not anticipating difficulties in making up for lost production or shipments.” In a second report, the value of construction projects under way clocked in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $879.8 billion in July, representing a modest 0.2 percent increase from June’s level, the Commerce Department said. Although July’s increase wasn’t as big as the 0.5 percent rise that economists were pre dicting, June’s performance turned out even better than the government previously esti mated. Revised figures show that construction spending went up by a brisk 0.7 percent in June from May, compared with the 0.3 percent advance first estimated. The $879.8 billion pace of construction spending in July marked the highest level since January, when such spending stood at $883.2 billion on an annualized basis. Recent economic reports have flashed signals that the economy is healing and on track to stage a material rebound in the second half of this year. Consumers are spending, manu facturing appears on the mend and businesses are slowly boost ing investment, although they are cautious about hiring. In the Fed’s survey Wednesday, 10 of the Fed’s 12 districts reported increases in manufacturing activity. The exceptions: Dallas. which showed little change, and Richmond, where factor) activi ty weakened. Some economists believe economic growth in the final six months of this year will be in the range of around 3.5 percent to just over 4 percent. Others think it will be closer to a 5 percent pace. In either scenario, such a pace would be far better than the 2.3 percent growth rate seen in the first six months. Economists believe the Federal Reserve will probably hold a key short-term interest rate at a 45-year low of l percent when it meets next on Sept 16. At the Fed’s previous meeting in August, policy-makers not only held this rate steady but also hinted that it could stay there for some time. Economists hope that low short-term interest rates and President Bush’s third tax cut will motivate consumers and businesses to spend and invest more, thus lifting economic growth. The construction spending report showed that spending by private builders on all types of Construction spending Here is a look at monthly construction spending A S O N 0 J F M AH. 2002 2003 projects rose by a solid cent in July to a $ei> adjusted annual rate of: billion, the highest lev: March. communications and ft facilities. Those gains pc red by w eakness tisf>p including declines in sp# on hotels and motels, an:ii buildings. “The long nightmare ; || ble digit declines in pi® non re s i de nt i a 1 coo vr.fi seems to have ended. Mf still a little early to ck upward climb had taken said Ken Simonson, chie'fl otnist at Associated Cap Contractors of America. Spending by the goverv. on big public works pr- meanwhile, dropped byO-: cent in July to a rate of Si billion. The govemmer spending on schools, higi" and streets. That outwe increased spending on projects including public U facilities and hospitals and^ health-care buildings. Welfare recipient numbers fal By Nancy Zuckerbrod THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — The Health and Human Services Department said Wednesday that the number of individuals on welfare dropped more than 4 percent between March 2002 and March 2003, to about 5 million people. The number of families receiving welfare dropped about 2 per cent, to a little more than 2 million. Congress significantly overhauled the welfare system in 1996, allowing states to impose tough new rules on recipients. Since then, there has been about a 60 percent reduction in the number of individuals on wel fare and almost a 54 percent reduction in the number of families getting assistance, the gov ernment said. The Virgin Islands saw the biggest decrease, a 41 percent drop among individuals, followed by Illinois, with a 28 percent drop. Maine had the biggest increase to its welfare rolls, at 42 percent. The reasons people stop receiving welfare vary. For example, they could have found jobs, married a wealthier partner or reached state-imposed limits on the amount of time they are eligible for welfare. The government did not offer a bread Wednesday explaining the latest declines ’■ Horn, the assistant HHS secretary for chi and families, said the agency should havea^' down by year’s end. But Horn called it "very reasonable” tocodl that most people who got off welfare gotj# said that assumption is based on past studies Critics were skeptical, citing high unef\ ment numbers. The unemployment rate w percent in July, a nine-year high. Augusi 1 ’ will be released Friday. “It’s alarming news, not good news,be’ we know that needs are rising,” said ; Sherman, a senior researcher at the Chili Defense Fund, a Washington-based nonpros Congress is working to renew the 199b fare law. The House has approved a billtoi it, endorsing changes proposed by the administration. But the Senate has not foil suit, requiring the 1996 law to be temp' extended several times to keep the pro- operating. The administration’s proposal would requir ( to impose tougher work requirements on welfare ents. Senate Democrats say the president's po* doesn't provide enough money for child care. • ' • unique aggie t-shirts NEWS THE BA1 Oi Junior tire or cor o IRS he incorr WASHIh establishe their tax answers - percent c Treasury posing as The inve a million given wro and Dece Internal ees gave i of the que unanswer do their o tions. In c get quest could not “We rec of 67 per inadequat commissi tax return The auc chance o when IRJ through r probing q The qt answered earned ir credit anc “The IR ceptable,’ Committe Grassley, The Tre tor gener error rate assistanc showed t mous visf answers t questions The IRS record an questions percent c a de frs