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JUNEAU - Sponsors of a ballot initiative to impose taxes and tighter environmental regulations on the cruise ship industry missed the Jan. 12 deadline for collecting enough signatures to put the proposal on the November ballot.
Sponsors said they are close to gathering the required 23,285 signatures. But that's about 6,000 to 7,000 signatures shy of the 25 to 30 percent cushion needed to cover invalid signatures.
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The proposal would institute a $50 head tax on cruise ship passengers and a 33 percent tax on onboard gambling. It also requires the industry to pay a state corporate income tax.
The proposal also would increase fines for illegally dumping waste from $500 to $5,000 and requires all cruise ships to be permitted by the state and have marine engineers on board to monitor wastewater treatment and pollution control equipment.
NATION
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan renewed a warning Jan. 13 that "creeping protectionism" could hurt the flexibility of the global economy, something that has played an important role in helping the United States and other countries weather economic hard times.
"Some clouds of emerging protectionism have become increasingly visible on today's horizon," Greenspan said in a speech delivered in Berlin at an event sponsored by Germany's central bank.
A copy of his remarks was distributed in Washington.
"The costs of any new protectionist initiatives .... could significantly erode the flexibility of the global economy," Greenspan added. "Consequently, it is imperative that creeping protectionism be thwarted and reversed."
Greenspan did not single out the protectionist moves that concerned him.
The Fed chairman's comments come amid a time of tensions surrounding globalization and the world's trading climate.
WORLD
WASHINGTON - U.S. telecommunications companies on Jan. 13 signed $1.4 billion worth of deals to supply equipment and technology to China.
Motorola executives signed a $556 million contract with China United Telecommunications Corp. to provide voice and multimedia services to wireless customers. The company also signed a $510 million contract with China Mobile Communication Corp. to improve and expand the Chinese wireless network.
In addition, Lucent Technologies announced deals worth more than $350 million with Chinese telecommunications companies to provide equipment for both mobile and wired telephone systems.
- Compiled from business wire services.
