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Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation have said the state should pump an additional $200 million into its roads and bridge fund, at a minimum, to maintain the current system.In response to the DOT’s request, lawmakers this year are considering a hodgepodge of road-related fee increases, including a boost in the cost of Iowans’ annual vehicle registration fees, to generate the needed funds. But getting a majority of lawmakers to vote to increase fees on taxpayers during an election year may prove to be difficult.If funding isn’t increased, the state’s bridges will continue to deteriorate, DOT spokeswoman Dena Gray-Fischer said.The DOT replaces or makes significant repairs to about 20 bridges each year, although only 15 are slated for such improvements this year.At the same time, the DOT estimates that between 20 and 30 bridges become structurally deficient each year.
Middle-class autoworkers cling to way of life amid benefit cuts
Just two weeks after his 18th birthday, Randy Horter started his first factory job, helping make clutches and air conditioning systems at an auto parts plant. Since then, the 49-year-old Chrysler line worker has cobbled together a career working at various manufacturing plants and made a nice, middle-class life with his wife, Candace, who works at the same Chrysler plant in Belvidere, Ill. The couple earns about $75,000 a year, unless one or the other is laid off. They own two used cars and their home. Between them, they raised five children, now grown, and were hoping to start preparing for retirement. .
Author Q&A: Michael Franzini
These days, a life without a mobile phone, Sidekick, wireless internet and an iPod would be unbearable for youngsters. Whether you're working, balling or even flying, access to divergent online or mobile information is only one hand click away. Instant messaging with multiple friends while requesting that information has become out .
Toyota troubles
Q. When I try to fill my 2003 Toyota Camry with gas, the nozzle clicks off. I have to fill the tank as slowly as possible, or else gas backs up the spout and stops the gas pump. What's wrong? A. The most common problem is with the evaporative emissions system. A vent line runs from the fuel tank to the charcoal canister. This line can become become clogged. Or it may have been clamped off during some diagnostic testing. Q. I recently got involved in a front collision with a 2007 Nissan Altima sedan, in which the crash-zone sensor broke. I hit this car at 35 mph. Should the airbag have deployed? A. For an air bag to deploy, it generally takes a combination of speed, angle of impact and velocity of the crash. If one of these criteria were not met, the airbag may not deploy.
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