Fed needs caution in fighting inflation

Not too many people remember that on Sept. 4 last year theFederal Reserve Board boosted the interest rate it charges bankborrowers. In fact, nobody much took great notice of it at the time.

A couple of happenings on dates immediately following Sept. 4,1987, should be noted. The increase in the Fed's rate, the so-calleddiscount rate, caused the banks to pass the increase along tocustomers. The prime bank rate went up in half-point jumps, to 8.75and then to 9.25 on Oct. 7. The stock market broke wide open Oct. 19with the Dow industrials plunging 508 points.

On Aug. 9 this year, the Federal Reserve bumped the discountrate from 6 percent to 6.5 percent. Two days …

MOVE AHEAD WITH REGULATORY PLAN.(Perspective)

Earthjustice lawyer Deborah Goldberg does her best in an Oct. 20 commentary to lead readers to believe that the state Department of Environmental Conservation review process governing the responsible development of clean-burning natural gas in New York is being rushed.

Never mind that it's been going on now for more than 2 1/2 years -- or that New York has been regulating the development of these resources for more than a half-century.

Of course, what groups like Earthjustice know well is that to delay the DEC's implementation of its plan is no different than banning the exploration activities themselves.

Both options would prevent New Yorkers from …

PUT ANTI-CRIME PROGRAM HERE, RENSSELAER LEGISLATOR ASKS.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON Staff writer

A federally-backed anti-crime initiative at work in Troy's North Central neighborhood could offer similar successes in the city of Rensselaer, county legislative Minority Leader Lou Polsinello Jr., said Wednesday.

Polsinello, a member of the Legislature's Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, said he talked with county Criminal Justice Coordinator Jeff Anderson earlier this week about the prospects of expanding the Weed and Seed program into his hometown.

The national program is based on a coordinated anti-crime strategy that targets portions of a city with concentrated law enforcement and community …

Variant CD14 allele linked to atopy in children, but not adults.

2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A polymorphism in the CD14 gene increases the risk of atopy development in children, but not in adult carriers.

"CD14 influences postnatal switching of T-helper cell responses," scientists in Australia explained. "CD14 C-159T has been associated with altered CD14 and IgE levels in cross-sectional studies."

"Identifying whether associations vary with age requires data from children of the same age followed longitudinally over many years," noted A.R. O'Donnell and colleagues working at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth. In their study, an "unselected population with extensive longitudinal data was used to test the …

Spurs Hold Off Suns for 2-1 Series Lead

SAN ANTONIO - Tim Duncan had 33 points - 13 in the fourth quarter - and 19 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 108-101 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night and a 2-1 lead in the second-round series. Manu Ginobili also had the kind of night San Antonio needed after poor performances in Games 1 and 2. Despite a bloodied eye, he had 24 points, including 10 in less than 2 minutes in the third quarter.

Phoenix point guard Steve Nash was scoreless in the first half and finished with 16 points. He had 10 points in the fourth, but it wasn't enough as the Suns got as close as 99-93 with 3:22 left and 104-98 with 1:42 to go.

Game 4 is Monday night in San Antonio. …

Theater designers get awards of Merritt

Whether created on a budget of $500 or $500,000, the design elements for Chicago theater productions are on the highest level, and at times they live far more vividly in audiences' imaginations than the scripts they serve.

On May 2, the 18th annual Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration (in addition to the Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award and three student scholarships) will be presented at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn.

Walt Spangler, who created the massive sets for Robert Falls' productions of "Desire Under the Elms," "King Lear" and "A True History of the Johnstown Flood," will receive the Merritt Award (named in honor of the late …