Times Leader
Tuesday, December 14, 1999 Page: 9B
Three Pennsylvania professional licensing boards took action against
several Luzerne County individuals between July 1 and Sept. 30., the
Department of State announced Monday.
The State Board of Vehicle Manufacturers, Dealers and Salespersons on July
penalty for engaging in unlicensed dealership activities.
The State Board of Nursing on Sept. 1 automatically suspended the license
of Cynthia K. Williams of Glen Lyon because she pleaded guilty to acquisition
or possession of a controlled substance by fraud, forgery, misrepresentation
or subterfuge, a felony.
The State Board of Funeral Directors took the following actions:
Revoked the license of Betty Jane Cragle, Ralph H. Cragle Funeral Home, of
Wapwallopen on July 8 for failing to maintain the funeral establishment in a
proper and sanitary condition.
Revoked the license of Ralph H. Cragle of Wapwallopen on July 8 for failing
to maintain the funeral establishment in a proper and sanitary condition.
Reprimanded Karen Kielty-Moran of Plymouth and ordered her July 15 to pay a
$750 civil penalty for practicing funeral direction in a facility which did
not have a current facility license.
Dozens of adults and children are injured and killed from accidents that
occur at active and inactive underground mines each year, and the U.S.
Department of Labor is establishing a hot line to fight the problem, the
agency said.
About 17 non-miners have been killed in mine-related accidents since the
beginning of the year, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Citizens can report unsafe access to mines by dialing 1-800-499-1038.
Callers will be instructed to leave a detailed message and a number where they
can be reached.
If a mine is active, the MSHA will conduct an on-site investigation and
take action to remove any hazards.
On the heels of last week’s increase in business-class airfares, industry
watchers predict the major carriers will boost leisure fares again before the
year is out.
American Airlines started the most recent fare hike by raising walk-up
fares 3 percent on most routes, citing higher fuel and labor costs. By Monday,
the seven largest U.S. carriers had all matched the increases.
“Our costs continue to go up whether you have fare sales or fare
increases,” said John Hotard, a spokesman for American.
But an effort by United Air Lines to also raise the price of leisure fares
– lower-priced tickets sold 7 to 21 days in advance – fizzled when other
carriers balked. United, the nation’s biggest carrier, rescinded the increase
over the weekend.
All of the airlines are coping with a giant increase in fuel costs. As a
result, they’ve risen leisure rates as much as 20 percent during the past 12
months, while business rates have jumped at least 10 percent, according to
industry experts.
Airline officials, wary of charges of price collusion, declined to say why
they raised one set of fares but not another.
Traditional retailers are joining forces with state and local government
officials this week to try to prevent the Internet from evolving into a
tax-free sales haven.
But they face an uphill battle in their effort to persuade a government
board, the 19-member Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, to adopt
their position. The commission is deeply divided on the issue, and so is the
political world – though not along partisan lines.
It meets today and tomorrow to hear from retailers and begin considering 37
proposals on taxation of Internet commerce.
Disagreeing with traditional retailers, the commission’s chairman, Gov. Jim
Gilmore, R-Va., advocates a permanent ban on Internet taxation, including
sales taxes.
Gilmore and his allies – top Republican congressional leaders, most of the
GOP’s 2000 presidential candidates, much of the e-commerce industry and
numerous anti-tax groups – argue that taxation would only slow economic growth
by shackling the Internet.
On the other side is the National Governors Association – led by Republican
Gov. Mike Leavitt of Utah, a commission member – as well as cities, counties
and state legislatures that fear growing Internet commerce will erode the tax
base needed to provide services.
Stock prices ended mixed Monday as a profit warning from Xerox rattled the
market but failed to discourage technology investors, who pulled the Nasdaq
composite index further into record high territory.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average was
down 32.11 at 11,192.59. The index had changed course several times during the
session.
