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The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$30M loan to Panama for a rural electrification programme, which will encourage investment in renewable energy projects such as small hydro power. The programme will promote public and private investment to provide service for 30,000 rural households, increasing rural electricity coverage by 10%. It includes a system of subsidies for new investments that will motivate private enterprise to invest in rural electrification, through either grid extension or renewable energy projects in isolated areas. In line with the new IDB initiative 'Building Opportunity for the Majority', the programme includes government incentives for the private sector to expand and supply electricity to the poorest communities in rural areas.
The new home at 590 Orchard St. in New Haven, Conn., offers many of the extras you would expect in a house designed by Yale-trained architects. From its edgy roof with solar panels to the basement with its high-efficiency furnace, numerous practical and aesthetic touches set this house apart from its slightly shabby Victorian-era neighbors. The Marvin windows are gigantic. The ceiling is cathedral. The floor is engineered maple. The bathroom floors are tile, and the custom staircase leading to the second floor has its banister built into the slanting wall. Nothing in the house suggests the bland, low-cost chock-ablock design usually associated with urban renewal. But the house was purchased this year by a low-income single mother who moved her family from public housing to the first home of her own.
Deer alert -- 'Tis the season for deer on the move, increasing the possibility of collisions with the animals. Most occur between dusk and dawn. To report dead deer on state-maintained roads, call 800- 349-7623. PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE
Findlay Connector -- The 6.5-mile toll road between Route 22, Robinson, Washington County, and Route 60 at Pittsburgh International Airport opened on Wednesday. Signed as "PA Turnpike 576," it's the first section of a proposed Southern Beltway. The toll for cars is 50 cents. E-ZPass accepted. INTERSTATES
I-79, Allegheny County -- All three lanes are being opened today in both directions between Bridgeville and Crafton, including rehabilitated ramps at the Kirwan Heights, Carnegie and Parkway West interchanges. Some night work will continue on various ramps through early November.
Home prices fell 1 percent in the Wichita area in the first quarter of 2006 versus last year, according to a National Association of Realtors study. The study, released this week, said the "weak" Wichita market bucks a national trend during which prices rose more than 10 percent. The median Wichita home price fell about $1,000 in the first quarter of 2006 from a high of $108,000 last year, the NAR reports. However, those average prices are affordable and low mortgage servicing rates make further price growth likely. However, a return of high oil prices could plunge the national economy into a recession, the NAR warns, which could produce "severe" manufacturing job cuts. Also, rising home construction risks oversupplying the market. -- Bill Wilson WSU to honor former ad agency partner Vaughn Sink, former partner in the local agency Sullivan Higdon & Sink, will be honored as the outstanding alumnus by Wichita State's Elliott School of Communication next week during the school's Communication Week activities.
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