Free Republic

.............National Grid has added a small charge on all of their heating customers’ bills for January because the company didn’t deliver as much energy as it expected to......

A federal judge in San Jose refused Wednesday to restrain the California Teachers Association from bolstering its political campaign account by imposing an annual $60 surcharge on its members for the next three years. U.S. District Court Judge James Ware's decision in a case filed by the Virginia-based Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation probably will allow the teachers union to raise and spend upwards of $50 million to contest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives slated for the Nov. 8 ballot, representatives of both sides in the lawsuit said. "This is fantastic," CTA chief counsel Beverly Tucker said. "We...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Driving a super-sized sport utility vehicle on Maryland roads would cost $750 more a year under a measure being considered by state lawmakers. Delegate Bill Bronrott is promoting the registration renewal surcharge for owners of SUVs that weigh more than 6,000 pounds. "This bill is ... about the largest, heaviest passenger vehicles that are the least fuel efficient and the most toxic to our air, land and water," the Democrat told a House committee hearing Tuesday. SUVs covered by the legislation include the Hummer H2, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Lincoln Navigator and the GMC Yukon XL. "They...