CITY ENGINEER MUST QUIT FOR LACK OF LICENSE.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: YANCEY ROY - Staff writer

The city engineer will leave City Hall by Nov. 1 because he has not secured a state license, the mayor said Wednesday.

Greg Fowler, one of the highest-paid city employees, has held the post since 1988 but does not have a New York license, officials said. Mayor A.C. Dake said she became aware of the situation in February.

"I then issued an October 31 deadline for him to secure a license," Dake said. "If he had not received (a license), he'd have to leave the city payroll."

Dake did not say whether Fowler attempted to obtain a license or simply refused, saying she would not discuss publicly a personnel …

Man rebuffs plea deal in NY Kennedy kin stalk case

NEW YORK (AP) — A would-be New York taxi driver charged with inundating Caroline Kennedy's daughter with unwanted romantic e-mails and flowers has turned down a plea deal that would free him from jail.

Naeem Ahmed rejected the offer Monday as prosecutors revealed he's been found mentally fit for trial.

Prosecutors said they'd agree to a 60-day jail sentence if he pleaded guilty to stalking. The …

Obama grapples with memories of 2008 hope, change

DENVER (AP) — Remember when Barack Obama first ran for president and people were really into him?

Obama remembers it, too, but not the same way some of his supporters do.

Bidding for re-election in tough economic times, Obama says there is some "revisionist history" going on about how great that first race was.

His strategy is to bring disillusioned supporters back into the fold by addressing their feelings of discouragement head-on and reminding them they signed up for something tough to begin with — even if now they just remember the "hope" and "change" posters.

And he's telling them bluntly they will have to be even more determined and find different sources of …

Now is the right time is now

All those roster-shaking, payroll-juggling moves the Cubs made over the winter were all about this, right now. This seven-game stretch of games that starts tonight in Colorado.

Well, mostly they were about October. But that's what these seven games are about, too.

Four full months into the season, the Cubs are finally on the right side of the .500 mark and firmly in contention in the division -- but with no more idea if they're a legitimate pennant threat than when they swooned in June against American League teams.

''Look, if we play well enough, we have plenty of time,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''And if we don't play well enough, it's not going to make a …

Editor's note.(Editorial)

Exploring "Art from Around the World" is a great. way to engage students in learning about history, and help them gain a better understanding of how art plays a part in every culture. Our Cover Story, "Understanding Culture and Diversity ... Australian Aboriginal Art" (page 20) travels "down under" on a creative journey where elementary and middle-school students research Australian Aboriginal culture and artistic practices, discover the significance of symbols and icons in Aboriginal art, and use icons to tell their own story. They even get to make their own didgeridoo!

"Paper Moccasins: Stepping Toward Learning" (page 22) offers a way for upper-elementary kids to …

FOSTER, RICHARD V.(CAPITAL REGION)

ALBANY -- Richard V. Foster, 59, died suddenly, Tuesday, October 17, 2000. Born in Albany, he was a delivery man for DHL, Albany. He was a member of the Albany Elks. He was the father of Suzanne R. Nadeau of Walpole, MA and Vicki M. Foster of Delmar; son of Irene Clow; stepson of Leo Clow, both of Cocoa Beach, FL; grandfather of Colby, Austin, Haley and Allison; nephew of Joyce Mason of Knox, Norma Fagmant of Castleton, Aileen Alling and Gloria …

401(k) auto-enroll rules clarified; No special max limit on auto compensation deferral percentage.(News)

Byline: JERRY GEISEL

WASHINGTON-New Internal Revenue Service guidance will give employers with 401(k) plans more flexibility in automatically enrolling employees in the plans.

Such programs address a real-world problem: employees who haven't told their employer whether they will participate in the 401(k) plan. In some cases, as many as 20% of employees don't say one way or another if they will participate.

To address that problem, roughly 15% of employers now offer so-called automatic enrollment plans, which the IRS first gave its blessing to about five years ago. Such plans pass muster provided they are explained to employees and employees have the opportunity to opt out.

But since that initial IRS green light, new questions have arisen about how employers can design the plans, which the IRS has addressed in its most recent guidance. The guidance was provided in an …