| • Super Bowl Attracts Super Scams
With the Chicago Bears and the neighboring Indianapolis Colts set to square off Sunday in Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is urging fans of both teams purchasing tickets and making frantic travel to exercise caution and not be fooled by shady, last-minute deals. "With both regional fan favorites, the Bears and the Colts, in the Super Bowl, Illinois and Indiana consumers need to be on guard against fraudulent ticket and travel scams," Madigan said. She offered the following tips and information regarding ticket sales and travel arrangement. Tickets Fans attempting to purchase tickets online from a third party run the risk of receiving a counterfeit ticket or no ticket at all. Consumers should follow several rules in responding to sellers offering ticket deals:
• If dealing with a ticket broker, determine whether the broker is a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers -- -- and the Better Business Bureau, www.bbb.org.
Report: Ney campaign continued to pay wife's salary
WASHINGTON - Former Rep. Bob Ney continued paying his wife's salary through his campaign until the end of last year, despite ending his congressional race in August, a report filed this week with the Federal Election Commission shows. Elizabeth Ney was paid $20,457.51 by the campaign last year, including more than $8,000 after Ney called off his re-election bid Aug. 7. .
REVIEW: first Microsoft Vista PC tests
It's been a long wait, but Windows Vista PCs are here. We evaluated the first batch of desktop systems preloaded with Microsoft's new operating system -- and the results of our exclusive benchmark performance tests show that even sub-£600 systems can ably handle Vista. But some of the new OS's highly touted features aren't present in these first Vista desktop systems. .
General who led Iraq war takes criticism from McCain
WASHINGTON The Army general who led the Iraq war for 2 1/2 years came under fire Thursday from a leading supporter of President Bush's new strategy in Iraq as two other influential senators sought to gain GOP support for a compromise resolution against Bush's troop buildup. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., criticized Gen. George Casey for what he called misjudgments about the prospects for progress toward stabilizing Iraq during his tenure in Baghdad. McCain said he has "strong reservations'' about Casey's nomination to become the next Army chief of staff. "While I don't in any way question your honor, your patriotism or your service to our country, I do question some of the decisions, the judgments you've made over the past two and a half years,'' McCain said. "During that time things have gotten markedly and progressively worse.'' The proposed Senate resolution is likely to pose a threat to the White House because of its potential appeal to Republicans who have grown tired of the nearly four-year war and want a chance to express their concerns.
Rogers Gets Private Money to Help Fund Teacher Merit Pay
ROGERS --A private source is providing money to match a federal grant to help fund a teacher merit pay program and a group of Rogers teachers plan to file a grievance protesting how the merit pay program bypassed the district's Personnel Policy Committee.The announcement about the private funding came Tuesday as teachers gathered at Grace Hill Elementary School to work out details and draft the grant.However, Deputy Superintendent Mark Sparks declined to name the source providing the matching money for the $5 million federal merit pay grant available under No Child Left Behind legislation.Some questions about the merit pay grant still remained Tuesday and teachers will meet again at 4 p.m. Jan. 30 to work out more details.It was decided Tuesday teachers will get merit pay based on students' improvement in test scores, Sparks said.A handout on merit pay indicates 50 percent of participating teachers could get a maximum of $4,000; 15 percent of teachers could get a maximum of $3,000; 15 percent of teachers could get a maximum of $2,000; 15 percent of teachers could get a maximum of $1,000; and 5 percent of teachers would get no merit pay bonus.
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