Friday included several meetings with constituents. It is exciting to learn of the new ideas that are being discussed to meet the challenges we face as world competition drives up the price of energy. Reducing our heating and cooling costs at home and work, as well as reducing the cost of our transportation, will increasingly become more important. The United STates is now producing more oil than it burns, and still the price of gasoline climbs as a result of increased world demand and speculation about world events. Saturday included the Fairfield Chamber forum and the Bloomfield forum. It was nice to see so many high school students as guests of local businesses at the Fairfield forum.
Street Corner Symphony, a group whose fame reached national attention after winning second place on NBC's realtiy show, "The Sing-Off," performed at the Fairfield Sondheim Center Saturday night. It was a sold-out performance with FHS choral groups leading off the evening's entertainment and later performing on stage with the group. I'm sure there will be a number of students who will cherish their time on stage with this nationally-known group.
Last week, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that Governor Branstad overstepped his authority last year when he closed 36 workforce centers - including the Fairfield office. Legislators on both sides of the aisle agree that these centers provide critical job training assistance for Iowans looking for work, and also hlep local businesses find skilled workers. As a result of the Governor's action, all state funding for workforce development was invalidated. My colleagues and I are committed to working together to take quick action to make sure unemployed and underemployed Iowans can get the assistance they need to land a good-paying job.
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