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Estate tax
compromise possible
WASHINGTON -- A bi-partisan compromise on the estate tax
debate appears promising in 2008, the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling
Contractors -- National Association reports.
A year ago the estate tax legislation seemed to be dead, a victim of
Congress's inability to deal with the issue. However, on Nov. 13, 2007,
Sens. Max Baucus (D-Wyoming), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,
and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), ranking member on the committee, resurrected the
estate tax debate. This has created talk of a bi-partisan compromise
between Baucus and Kyl.
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28 Low Cost Ways To
Get Customers
BY MATT MICHEL
1. Accept Trade-Ins
Every spring one of the last remaining independent hardware stories in
the area runs a special. Bring your old mower and they'll give you $100
trade-in.
Wow!
You mean, you would really give me hundred bucks for this old thing? No
kidding?
The hardware store's got guys like me figured out. As long as I can get
the old mower to start, I'll be darned if I'll get a new one. It's like
leaving food on your plate when there are starving children in the third
world (oh, and for the record, broccoli doesn't count as food).
If the hardware store offers me a hundred dollar discount, it doesn't
motivate me to take action. As long as my mower still runs, it's
wasteful to get rid of it. But... give me a hundred dollars for it and
I'm thrilled. I'm going to pat myself on the back about how smart I was
to get money for my old mower.
Offer trade-ins for old equipment. Give the trade-in a sense of urgency
by limiting the trade-in to old equipment that's still working.
2. Advertise In Church Newsletters
Most churches, and all large churches, mail newsletters to members. The
newsletters are better read than your typical newspaper, and most carry
advertising. The advertising is surprisingly affordable and the
newsletters' readers are inclined to buy from newsletter advertisers,
assuming they are members of, or supporters of the church. By
advertising in the newsletter, you are supporting the church.
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Industry
groups fight 'unenforceable' Albuquerque code
Albuquerque, N.M. -- Industry groups, including the
Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute and Heating,
Airconditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International sent a letter
to Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez referencing federal laws and national
standards that make much of the new Albuquerque Energy Conservation Code
unenforceable.
The new commercial and residential building codes signed into law by the
mayor on September 25, 2007 scheduled to become effective on April 1,
2008, attempts to establish mandated minimum appliance efficiency
standards to reduce energy consumption by buildings and homes by at
least 30% compared to national standards but promise few benefits
without enforcement capability.
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for the full story
GreenPlumbers
workshops debut in California
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. -- The amount of water on planet
Earth has not changed in the last two billion years -- but in the last
century, water use increased at twice the rate of the world population.
The U.S. flushes 6.8 billion gallons of water down the toilet every day,
while more than half of our states anticipate freshwater shortages in
the next 10 years. These are just a few of the facts plumbers learned
when they attended one of the workshops held in California this fall to
introduce the new GreenPlumbers program.
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Magazine
names EMCOR among 'best big companies'
NORWALK, CONN. -- EMCOR Group Inc. has been named one of
"America's 400 Best Big Companies" by Forbes magazine. This is the sixth
time EMCOR has been included on the annual list, published in early
January.
Companies in 26 industries were chosen for the list by the magazines'
editors and reporters based on benchmarks for financial growth rates and
returns, corporate governance, accounting standards and background
checks.
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for the full story
Energy
efficient buildings encouraged through free download of advanced energy
design guide series
ATLANTA -- To encourage energy efficient design in a
range of building types, ASHRAE and its partnering organizations are
making available for free the Advanced Energy Design Guide series.
Electronic versions of the newest book in the series, Advanced Energy
Design Guides for K-12 School Buildings, as well as the existing guides
on small office and small retail buildings are available for free
download at www.ashrae.org/freeaedg. Future guides, including one
focused on warehouses to be published this spring, will be available for
free electronic download as well.
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for the full story
United
Association endorses Barack Obama
WASHINGTON -- The United Association of Journeymen and
Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United
States and Canada on Jan. 9 became the first international union to
announce its endorsement of U.S. Senator Barack Obama for President of
the United States.
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for the full story
Industry
Events
Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigerating Exposition,
New York, January 22-24
International Builders Show, Orlando, Fla., February 13-16
Construction Contractors Alliance meeting, Dallas, February 27-29
Mechanical Contractors Association of America Convention, Palm Springs,
Calif. March 2-6, 2008
13th Annual HVACR & Plumbing Instructor Workshop, National Conference
Center in Lansdowne, Va., March 5-7
Quality Service Contractors Power Meeting, Palm Springs, Calif. March
6-8, 2008
Comfortech Roadshow, Minneapolis, March 11
Illinois Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Convention, Oak Brook
Terrace, Ill., March 14
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