02/18/05 Myers back; Probably summer

Last year, his nomination was the subject of a filibuster by Senate Democrats. Now the Bush Administration will try again to have Boise attorney William G. Myers confirmed as a judge on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. It was not just Democrat strategy last year to block several Administration court nominees that kept Myers's name from being confirmed. It may have been fear about the appointment of a noted conservative to what many feel is the most liberal court in the land. If anything is to happen in terms of the still contested Washington State Governor's election, it would be as early as June. That would be the earliest that the Washington State Supreme Court would issue a ruling on Republican candidate Dino Rossi's challenge of the election results and call for a state wide revote. The High Court is expected to hear arguments starting next month, after a lower court ruled it did not have jurisdiction to determine the challenge. Rossi won two prior, and very close, ballot counts, before Democrat Christine Gregoire won a final hand recount by 129 votes. U.S. wheat exporters are gaining some ground in Iraq after years of complaint that that nation needed to buy more of our grain. Private exporters announced last week sales of 100,000 metric tons of hard red winter for the 2004-2005 marketing year. Add that to previous purchases of over 324,000 metric tons, and Iraqi purchases of U.S. wheat have already nearly doubled that from the 2003  2004 marketing year. An Avalanche is being reported to hit Boise next month. In this case it is a Chevrolet Avalanche that will run off ethanol blended gasoline. General Motors is providing E85 capable Chevy Avalanches for use by each of twenty-eight member states of the Governor's Ethanol Coalition. According to Ken Stewart of G.M., his company, G.E.C., and participating states will use the vehicles in various promotions to increase awareness of ethanol and flexible fuel vehicles, and promote increased use of E85. STEWART: If you look at the total equation, what we call from well to wheel, when you start from the ground and work through all the energy required to get to the point where you are driving the wheels of the automobile, when you grow crops of corn or other kinds of feedstock for ethanol fuel, you're already ahead of the game in terms of emissions and CO2's so it makes sense to do so. Participating states in the Governor's Ethanol Coalition include Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.