Electric League News

Recognition Luncheon for Eddy Award Winners

The first annual Thomas Edison Electrical Awareness awards (Eddy's) will be presented at the Electric League safety recognition luncheon May 16. The Eddy's are part of an electrical education program aimed at high school students. The purpose of the awards is to raise awareness of the electrical industry and safety issues.

Students entered into the contest must work together to create a five to 10 minute video on one of three topics related to electricity - careers in the electrical industry, electrical safety, and/or how electricity has changed the way we live. The gold award winning videos will be shown at the recognition luncheon.

The Eddy's are sponsored by Aquila, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), and Western Extralite.

Reserve May 12 for Golf!

One of the most popular events for Electric League members and guests is just around the corner - the Electric League Spring Golf Outing! So, dust off your clubs, shine those shoes, and get ready to golf at Shirkey's Golf Club in Richmond, Mo. on May 12! Members and guests who have played this course will agree that it is one of the premier courses in the Kansas City area. As in past years, the format for this outing remains the same - a four person scramble. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. with the shotgun start at 10 a.m. Lunch will be served on the golf course.

So, mark your calendar for May 12 and plan to spend the day with other Electric League members and guests out on the course. A registration form for this popular event was enclosed in your newsletter.

Future Trends in the Voice/Data/Video Market - Topic of June Luncheon

The June Electric League luncheon is scheduled for Friday, June 27, at the Holiday Inn in Mission, Kan. Our speaker will be Thomas Glavinich, D.E., P.E., from the University of Kansas. Tom is Chairman and Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering at KU. During his presentation he will discuss future trends and opportunities in the voice/data/video market. He will identify the challenges that accompany these trends and suggest strategies for capitalizing on these opportunities and overcoming the challenges.

Mark your calendar for Friday, June 27 to attend the Electric League luncheon in Mission.

Electrical Code Change

A reminder that Leawood, Kansas, has amended the 1999 National Electrical Code (NEC). The only permitted conductors are Copper. Ref. Leawood Building Code, section 4-304/ amends section 110-5 NEC. “Conductors normally used to carry current shall be of Copper unless otherwise provided in the Leawood Building Code.”

Regulatory Burden 50 Percent Higher for Small Business

Federal regulations cost small businesses nearly $7,000 an employee last year, compared with compliance costs of $4,320 for medium-sized companies and $4,460 for big businesses, according to a recent study released by the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. Regulations cost U.S. businesses a total of $451 billion in 2000, the study found.

The regulatory burden is heaviest for small manufacturers, whose per-employee regulatory costs are twice those of larger manufacturers, the study found.

Source: Kansas City Business Journal, Nov. 9, 2001.

Plan Now To Enter Annual Lighting Awards

Has your company worked on a unique lighting project this year? If so, consider entering that project in the annual Electric League Lighting Awards competition. Now in its 35th year - the Lighting Awards competition is the longest running event for the League! Many of the most notable places in the Kansas City area have been entered into the competition over the years. Some of these area landmarks include: The Country Club Plaza, Starlight Theatre, The Kansas City Zoo, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Commerce Bank.

Electric League members, architects, engineers and lighting designers in the Kansas City area will receive entry forms for the competition in early June. The competition is open to all commercial lighting projects completed in the past year. To reward the industry's effort to promote new and creative approaches to lighting, the Electric League will present a special award that encompasses innovative lighting technologies. The Lighting Innovation Technology (L.I.T.) Award will be a single distinguished project.

A slide presentation of winning entries will be shown at the Lighting Awards Banquet scheduled for Monday, Nov. 3 at the Downtown Doubletree Hotel in Kansas City.

Additional Lighting Awards information will be included in the May Electric League newsletter.

Iowa Soon to Have World's Biggest Wind Farm

Officials with MidAmerica Energy Company, which supplies electrical power to parts of Iowa, South Dakota and Illinois, announced plans to build the world's largest wind energy farm in Iowa. The exact location has not been selected yet, but a site in north central or northwest Iowa will be chosen soon. The first wind turbines will be in place and operating next year, the company said, and the project will be fully operational by 2006 according to @griculture News.

At that point, it will include 180-200 wind turbines on 200-foot-tall towers. Each turbine will produce 1.5 to 1.65 megawatts of electricity per year, meaning the whole wind farm will produce about 310 megawatts per year. That's slightly more than the current world leader, a wind farm in the Pacific Northwest. It will produce enough energy to fully support 85,000 homes.

Economic Outlook

The economy grew at a sluggish 1.4 percent clip in the fourth quarter 2002, as fading consumer spending and a big drop in exports overshadowed a pickup in business investments and profits, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a separate report, the Labor Department said new claims for unemployment insurance for the last week of March fell by 25,000 to 402,000. Even with the drop, claims are at a level that suggests the job market remains sluggish.

The Commerce Department's final report on gross domestic product, a measure of all goods and services produced in the U.S., was unchanged from its estimate given a month ago, when GDP was revised from a 0.7 percent growth rate. The 1.4 percent rate marked a sharp slowdown from the 4 percent clip registered in the third quarter. Since the end of 2001, growth has been jagged, with quarters of strength followed by quarters of weakness.

Business spending rose a revised 2.3 percent as companies added $25.8 billion in inventory in the fourth quarter, the largest addition in two years. Real final sales, GDP minus the change in inventories, rose at a revised 1.1 percent rate. Inflation remained subdued. The price index for gross domestic purchases rose at a revised 1.8 percent rate in the fourth quarter.

Source: Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association, Shortliner, April 2, 2003

Mid-America Safety, Health & Environmental Conference and Exposition

The Missouri Safety Council and the Safety & Health Council of Western Mo & Ks will sponsor the Mid-America Safety, Health, & Environmental Conference and Exposition May 6-9, 2003. The conference will be held at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach, Missouri on the Lake of the Ozarks. Contact the Missouri Safety Council for more information at 573-636-8167.

Federal Legislative News

House Budget Resolution Authorizes $550 Billion in Tax Relief
Following several weeks of tough negotiations, the House and Senate reached an unusual agreement recently on a 2004 budget that allows $550 billion (over 10 years) in economic growth tax cuts that could include an increase in the small business equipment expensing allowance from $25,000 to $75,000. The joint House/Senate conference committee on the budget resolution that has been meeting over the last few weeks would normally agree on a final number for tax cuts. However, that conference committee could not broker a deal and ultimately agreed to a budget resolution that contains two separate figures. The House tax cut figure is $550 billion while the Senate tax cut figure is $350 billion. A final decision on the size of the tax cut and economic growth incentives has essentially been deferred to some later date.

Norwood Bill Would Ease OSHA Burden On Small Business
Congressman Charlie Norwood (R-GA) introduced legislation recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Fairness Act, HR 1583, that aims for fair treatment of small businesses in the administration of health and safety rules. The bill raises the bar on plaintiffs who argue that the small business committed a willful violation of OSHA rules and would allow small businesses to fully recover attorneys fees and legal costs in court proceedings brought against them. According to Congressman Norwood, the bill “promotes fairness for small business owners who are making good faith efforts to comply with all health and safety laws.”

Bankruptcy Bill May Pass House
The House is considering a bill to change the nation's bankruptcy law. This same bill failed last year due to abortion-related language attached to it by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). This year's bill doesn't contain the Schumer language and House conservatives are working to keep it out. At the same time, a Senate version is getting close to being introduced - again without the Schumer language. In its present form, the bill would force more debtors to repay their debts instead of receiving relief under bankruptcy protection. The American Bankers Association supports the bill.

Bill Addresses Internet Sales Taxes
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) is introducing legislation to give states who agree to simplify sales and use tax systems the authority to collect sales taxes on remote purchases. His bill would also extend the ban on state Internet access taxes and new multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.

The People Column

Best wishes to John Kelble, our President Elect, and his wife, Janice, on the engagement of their daughter, Samantha.

Happy Birthday in April to: Brenda Danner at Wesco, and a huge happy birthday to Harold Barber at Rains Electrical Sales for The Big, Big One! Enjoy .... and remember, the older you get, the longer you get to celebrate.

Congratulations to a couple of NEMRA scholarship winners: Lindsay Meglio, daughter of Michael Meglio, Sr. who is the recipient of the Wilfred B. Goldschmidt $2,500 award. She is majoring in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Missouri. Julie McGough, daughter of Doug McGough, received the Donald Egan Award in the amount of $3,500. She is majoring in Elementary Education at Kansas University. Nice job ladies! Shawnee Mission East Honor Roll students include: Victoria Launder (of the Independent Electric family) who is on the 9th grade 4.0 Honor Roll. Allison and Kate Isenberg (of the Western Extralite family) who are on the 10th grade Honor Roll. A trio of awesome Lancers... Keep those e-mails coming in, this is your column, send us your news and we'll be glad to share it with your industry.

Keep your e-mails coming in - this is your column and we're here to print your news. Send your news to: peoplecolumn@electricleague.org

Home