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Underground economy: Tough times bring more subway music

Marjorie Backman — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:00:00 EST

Street musicians seem to be more visible in New York City these days. Could this be a sign of the economy worsening? The other night I saw a guy playing a piano, yes, a whole piano he had hauled into the West 4th Street subway station.

It's almost become a competition for performers to suss out the best spots with the most reverb and passenger traffic. I discovered one magnificent location deep within the bowels of the subway system near Macy's as I descended three steep levels. What makes it ideal is the supreme echoes. Within a five-minute dash, I heard two bands who had staked out the same station. The music was so good I didn't want to get on the train.

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Governors signal stimulus directions in cyberspace

Marjorie Backman — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Economy, Investing

With the president's signing into law the $787 billion economic stimulus plan earlier this week, the scramble has begun to figure out how it gets spent. A new official site, Recovery.gov, shows a time line of how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will unfold and an overview of the major components of spending, with price tags. An interactive map projects the number of jobs created or saved for each state.

Meanwhile the Democratic Policy Committee has posted online fact sheets for every state with dollar estimates, program by program, for highlights of the stimulus package, as proPublica reported. Others have mapped the states' take relative to their economic scale.

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What each state gets under the economic stimulus package

Marjorie Backman — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Energy, Economy

Now that Congress has delivered to the president the economic-stimulus bill for his expected signature, how much aid will your state get in the final compromise package? The Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank updated an online map on February 13 to show state-by-state funding levels according to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Clicking on each state reveals its share, but only for a portion (69%) of the stimulus package. The think tank could figure out state allotments for the programs involving tax cuts, unemployment insurance and food stamps, green energy projects, education spending, state infrastructure projects and Medicaid. But 31% of the stimulus package isn't represented on the map, the center says, because that money "will be distributed through competitive grants to states and localities, or through funding formulas where it is not possible to make estimates at this stage. The remainder is for programs that are distributed at the federal level."

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MGM in Vegas has the luxury of hiring during a recession

Marjorie Backman — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Company News

In this era of pink slips, the prospect of a new four-star hotel, retail, entertainment and residential complex in Las Vegas hiring thousands seems like a mirage in the desert. Yet, the MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) CityCenter complex is seeking more than 12,000 permanent employees, in addition to over 8,000 others working at the peak of construction.

The entire development project, a joint venture with a subsidiary of Dubai World, is billed by MGM as "the largest privately financed development in U.S. history." Recently, however, MGM delayed until late 2010 the launch of one of the four hotels, the Harmon (400 rooms), and scrapped entirely that property's condos -- but only because of construction issues, the company insists. Clark County has required the project's engineer of record to develop a plan to assure the soundness of inspections done by Converse Consultants, the special inspection firm that fell short in detecting the mistakes at the Harmon.

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This Halloween, are plastic products coming up scary?

Marjorie Backman — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: healthcare, Retail, Food

It's getting to be the time of year when young goblins rule the streets, but some everyday items may include more trick than treat. While officials this fall are on the lookout for stores stocking candy laced with the harmful chemical melamine, yard-sale shoppers might be wise to be wary of plastic sippy cups, regardless of festive pumpkin decor. Here's why, along with a short outline of the plastics controversy in recent months.

Last Friday, attorneys general from New Jersey, Delaware and Connecticut wrote manufacturers requesting that they refrain from using a certain plastic, bisphenol A (BPA), in baby bottles and formula containers, reported the Associated Press. Aside from citing concern about BPA's risk to infants, the attorneys general referenced a preliminary study in a September Journal of the American Medical Association article linking high BPA levels in adults to heart disease and diabetes.

In contrast, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared in August and again in September that adults and babies face no threat from plastic products with BPA. About 93% of adults tested in a national CDC survey showed traces of BPA in their urine.

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Free museums on first weekend of month courtesy of B of A

Marjorie Backman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:20:00 EST

Filed under: Daily Deal, Economizer, Fantastic Freebies, Travel

Don't fret if you didn't celebrate Museum Day, the round-the-country free-admission extravaganza arranged by the Smithsonian on September 27. Several corporations have been stepping up so you can steep yourself in culture, admission-free, on other dates.

If you carry a Bank of America card, you're eligible for free entry to more than 70 museums on the first weekend each month. The lineup includes museums in 18 states, but those living close to the coasts will have better luck finding a participating venue nearby. The only states in the country's interior represented are Arizona, Illinois, Michigan and Texas.

This promotion, begun in May, lasts through next April. It's a vast expansion of the bank's sponsorship in years before, which was limited to a month. Either a Bank of America credit or check card gets you in.

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What regular folks can do when their computers crash

Marjorie Backman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Saving Money

Computer meltdowns, data loss, spyware invasions - all the demons of the digital age I'd read about but never thought would visit my home PC. After all, I protected my home computer with a firewall, virus protection software and an anti-spyware program. Plus I had a subscription to Carbonite, an online backup service, that for $50 a year promised to save a copy of all my files, which could be safely sent me via the internet.

So when the hard drive of my home computer crashed a few weeks ago, I was unprepared for my feeling of utter disorientation. It was like the great Northeast blackout of 1965. Or the no-television punishment of my childhood. Or staring at my keys through the sewer grate.

No internet at home to look up a quick answer to a question or a phone number, no e-mail and no ability to work at home. As a freelance writer and editor, I frequently work at the editorial offices of various magazines. But my next assignment was to edit at home some stories that would arrive via e-mail. Plus, all my notations about my work schedule, my assignments and my business contacts were, for now, inaccessible.

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My great little library card, Part 2

Marjorie Backman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:05:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Economizer, Family Money, Saving Money

The life-changing possibilities offered by the humble library card continue. The free classes at New York Public Libraries stretch beyond English literacy, basic computer skills and genealogy research.

Many computer classes are even offered in Spanish. In Queens libraries, instructors teach in Mandarin on subjects ranging from how to start an e-commerce business to avoiding the pitfalls of homeownership.

At some NYC branches, I could sign up for free career counseling or résumé preparation by myself or in a workshop setting. If I wanted to reinvent myself as an entrepreneur, I could attend a seminar at the NYPL's small business resource center on the basics of trademarks, business fundamentals, or creating an advertising plan.

Perhaps knowing I'm often pressed for time, the library also offers free online seminars to download at home (as video files or audio podcasts) on topics like accounting and bookkeeping, starting a fashion line, obtaining credit, selling techniques, conducting market research, exporting, running a restaurant or a store, and pricing one's product.

I could even use the business library as my office and book one of its meeting rooms for free. Or I could just stop by for a free business-solutions counseling session.

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My great little library card, Part 1

Marjorie Backman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Economizer, Family Money, Saving Money

With one card, I gain entree to some of the best consumer values in New York City: a computer with high-speed internet and access to sophisticated search engines, dozens of classes and performances, music, video and research help. My card even lets me access much of this from home.

I'm talking about my New York Public Library card, of course. Its latest offering is an update to the ASK NYPL service, the free program whereby librarians will answer my research questions in Spanish or English. It's now available 24/7. I can query by phone, e-mail or online chat. More complicated questions will cost me. (The NYPL Express service charges about $60 an hour.)

Through a quiet but steady adoption of tech tools, public libraries across the U.S. have become lifelong learning labs for adults and children alike, teaching tech literacy to would-be netizens and bringing culture of all kinds to the masses.

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