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In Vermont, Gravel And Road Business Is Up

Credit Nina Keck / Vermont Public Radio

Chris Carl, foreman of the Shelburne Limestone Corp. quarry in South Wallingford, says Vermont's weather woes helped to more than double the quarry's business.

Credit Nina Keck / Vermont Public Radio

Steve Wilk says that the need to rebuild and repair roads in 2011 led his Rutland, Vt.-based paving company to hire two extra employees and more than a dozen subcontractors.

By Nina Keck

Federal, state and local spending on roadways is down nearly 6 percent. That's made it a tough year for many in the road-building business — but not in Vermont. There, pavers, excavators and other companies have had one of their busiest years ever, thanks to a storm named Irene.

For the past several months, Steve Wilk and Doug Casella have spent a lot of time in and out of their pickup trucks, checking on their road crews. For a business meeting, they just pull off onto the rocky shoulder to talk about new guardrails and blacktop for a job they're working on.

11:01 pm

Mon December 26, 2011

No U.S. Troops, But An Army Of Contractors In Iraq

Credit Lucas Jackson / Reuters/Landov

As many as 5,000 private security contractors will be protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The U.S. Embassy compound (above) and several consulates will have about 15,000 workers, making it the largest diplomatic operation abroad.

By Tom Bowman

The U.S. troops have left Iraq, and U.S. diplomats will now be the face of America in a country that remains extremely volatile.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, along with several consulates, will have some 15,000 workers, making it the largest U.S. diplomatic operation abroad. Those diplomats will be protected by a private army consisting of as many as 5,000 security contractors who will carry assault weapons and fly armed helicopters.

3:15 pm

Mon December 26, 2011

With 'Occupy' Protests, Police Aimed For Restraint

By Martin Kaste

This fall American police were confronted with something they hadn't seen in 40 years: prolonged, simultaneous political protests across the country. In most cities, police showed restraint. But there have been exceptions — sometimes involving copious amounts of pepper spray. Those flashpoints have become a cause for concern.

3:00 pm

Mon December 26, 2011

What's Holding Back One 'Job Creator'? Not Taxes

Credit Frank Morris / KCUR

"We've got the space, we have equipment, we've got the cash, we've got the customers, we have the product," says Tim O'Keefe, owner of G.L. Huyett. "We have everything we need — except the people."

By KCUR-FM: Frank Morris

There aren't many people on the broad Kansas prairie, but there is industry.

At G.L. Huyett, boxy machines jammed into a big metal building grind steel into heavy transmission parts.

"We're a supplier of last resort," says Tim O'Keefe, who owns the company. If you have disruptions in the supply chain and someone can't meet a shipping time, he says, G.L. Huyett can step in.

2:31 pm

Mon December 26, 2011

It Was A Good Year For Swag

Credit Courtesy of the artist.

Lil B.

By Sami Yenigun

2011 was a good year for the word "swag". Not trinkets, or party favors, not an acronym for Stuff We All Get, "swag" comes from swagger. This year a term that hip-hop artists have been using for nearly a decade enjoyed a moment in the spotlight.

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