Nestled along the Salt River, out on the far-eastern flanks of the Valley, there exists an oasis. The Saguaro Lake Ranch Resort is fewer than three dozen miles from downtown Phoenix, as the crow flies. Yet it feels like another world. Craggy cliffs soar hundreds of feet into the sky. Lining the Salt River is a ribbon of riparian greenery where rustic casitas are scattered around a spacious lawn. "Everybody who comes out here says the same thing: 'I never knew this existed,' " says Casey Thompson, an intern at the ranch, who is studying commercial recreation at Central Michigan University. "I'd never seen anything like it. You're driving out here and it's desert, desert, desert. Then you drop down into all this," he says, a sweep of his arm taking in the river and trees and grass.
Built for the dam The resort began in 1927 as a camp for workers on the Stewart Mountain Dam.

German company to open new plant in Syracuse suburb

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Gov. Eliot Spitzer says a German company that makes compressors for industrial air conditioning and refrigeration equipment will open a new manufacturing facility in suburban Syracuse.

The governor says the Bitzer Scroll plant will employ nearly 300 people in high-end engineering and manufacturing jobs. The plant will open in a former General Motors factory in the town of Salina.

Bitzer officials promise to invest $30 million into the new facility over the next five years.

The Talleys get their lift

This is an updated version of a story posted earlier on Thursday. GRANDVIEW — Robert Talley could not believe it. By about 3 p.m. on Thursday, he had the lift that he and his wife, Ann, had been waiting for, a gift from the Barstow Senior Center. "I just felt, well, if we had that, why not?" said Ethel Bussman, the office manager at the senior center. Ethel said after reading about the struggle Robert and Ann have been through to try to get a lift so Robert could be set upright and clear the mucus and fluid from his lungs, she wanted to be able to help. The senior center often accepts donations of equipment to help ailing senior citizens in the area, and Ethel felt certain they had a lift for Robert. She found one and made arrangements for her husband, Larry, to deliver it. The Talleys, she said, were in tears.

2nd Slaughterhouse Worker Arrested In Recall Case

A second fired worker has been arrested in a case involving alleged abuses at a Chino slaughterhouse that led to the nation's largest beef recall.

Watsco, Incorporated Earnings Conference Call (Q4 2007)

Watsco, Inc., along with its subsidiaries, distributes air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States. Its products primarily comprise residential central air conditioners; light commercial air conditioners; gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment and systems; and other specialized equipment. The company also offers various parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors, and other component parts; and supplies consisting of thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies. Watsco operates through approximately 380 locations in 32 states. It distributes its products to contractors and dealers who service the replacement and new construction markets.