WASHINGTON - U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes in April, one month after topping the 1 million mark for the first time since 2008.

But most of the decline was in apartment construction, which tends to vary sharply from month to month.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, a 16.5 percent drop from the March pace of 1.02 million.

May 16--BOULDER -- The Boulder County Comprehensive Plan shouldn't explicitly state that the county thinks native wildlife species and ecosystems have the legal right to exist and thrive, county staff members have advised the County Planning Commission.

During a Wednesday afternoon Planning Commission hearing, Longmont resident Ruby Bowman renewed her appeal that the document contain a sentence saying that "all naturally occurring ecosystems and their native species populations have a right to exist and flourish."

But members of Boulder County's Land Use Department and Parks and Open Space Department and a representative of the county attorney's office told planning commissioners that a statement about "natural rights" or "the rights of nature" is a legal principal that a county government may not have the authority to promulgate.

May 17--The name isn't likely to leave riders' lips any time soon, but starting Friday the light-rail line that runs from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America won't be called the Hiawatha Line.

The line is being rebranded as the Blue Line, Metro Transit spokesman John Siqveland said.

As part of the change and to educate riders, transit agency officials will hold a launch party from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Friday at the 46th Street Station in south Minneapolis.

Northern Virginia housing advocates are worried that an unexpected decision by the Alexandria City Council last week to end a funding guarantee for affordable housing could result in fewer options for those who need it the most.

The council, with little discussion, removed the guarantee that housing and open-space funds get a certain percentage of tax revenue when it voted on the fiscal 2014 budget May 6.

"All of us are trying to find out what happened," said Michelle Krocker, executive director of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance.

May 16--LIVERMORE -- A 120-year-old building that once helped link the city to the greater Bay Area and beyond via the Southern Pacific Railroad is itself moving on down the line -- if only a few blocks.

The Livermore City Council in April approved using a $2.5 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to move the historic railroad depot on South L Street to a spot near the Livermore Transit Center and restore it to its original condition.

"Being a historic structure, it's important to preserve this for the city," said Eric Uranga, Livermore's assistant community development director.

May 16--Apopka plans to look for the money needed to take its eco-tourism plan for Lake Apopka from drawing board to reality, said Richard Anderson, chief administrative officer of Orange County's second-largest city.

"We think it's time to press forward with the next phase of that," Anderson told the City Commission Wednesday night.

At an environmental summit in February, city representatives unveiled a conceptual plan for the north shore of Lake Apopka that featured an "eco-village" to lure anglers, birders and other outdoor enthusiasts to the recovering freshwater lake.

May 18--FAIRFIELD -- Federal investigators have ruled out foul play in Friday's Metro-North Railroad crash and say a broken rail on the eastbound track is of "substantial interest."

National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Saturday evening that teams of investigators are looking at everything from maintenance records of the rail cars to the medical history of crew members in the incident, in which a an eastbound trail derailed just after 6 p.m. and was hit by a westbound train.

The derailment injured at least 60 people, including a Metro-North conductor named Helen, who officials say helped passengers even though she'd been hurt herself.

OliverMcMillan, a San Diego-based real estate development firm, and Capri Capital Partners, a real estate investment firm providing institutional capital for development and acquisition of urban commercial and residential communities, announced that construction is underway for The Lofts at 688 13th Street, with a two-year construction schedule.

According to a release, The Lofts at 688 13th Street is planned as a five-story residential building fronting 13th Street between Market and G Streets in the East Village Arts District of downtown San Diego.

"We are excited to be investing in San Diego, and to partner with OliverMcMillan in developing new high-quality residences for the burgeoning community," said Ken Lombard, Partner - Investments, of Capri Capital Partners.

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - A simple test could have alerted officials that the drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated, long before authorities determined that as many as a million Marines and their families were exposed to a witch's brew of cancer-causing chemicals.

The U.S. Marine Corps maintains that the carbon chloroform extract (CCE) test would not have uncovered the carcinogens that fouled the southeastern North Carolina base's water system from at least the mid-1950s until wells were capped in the mid-1980s.

But experts say even this "relatively primitive" test - required by Navy health directives as early as 1963 - would have told officials that something was terribly wrong beneath Lejeune's sandy soil.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The commuter train derailment and collision that left dozens injured outside New York City was not the result of foul play, officials said Saturday, but a fractured section of rail is being studied to determine if it is connected to the accident.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after a Metro-North train heading east from New York City derailed and was hit by a train heading west from New Haven.

"All of the injured people described the really harrowing experience of having the train jolt to a stop, the dust, darkness, other kinds of factors that made it particularly frightening," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who visited several patients in the hospital.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after the crash, which damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast Corridor.

"I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident."

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut -- Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after the crash, which damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast Corridor.

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed at about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, transit and Bridgeport officials said.

May 18--BRIDGEPORT -- Three people remain in critical condition after an eastbound Metro-North commuter train derailed near the Fairfield-Bridgeport line Friday night, colliding with a train heading in the opposite direction.

Metro-North train service between New Haven and South Norwalk is indefinitely suspended, as is Amtrak service between New York and New Haven.

The eastbound 4:41 p.m. train out of Grand Central Terminal in New York derailed just east of the Fairfield Metro station at 6:10 p.m., said Marjorie Anders, an MTA spokeswoman.

It could take weeks to get commuter rail service in Connecticut back to normal following the derailment of two trains Friday, the mayor of Bridgeport said.

CNN said the impact of the crash was compounded by major construction on the only other commuter rail line serving Connecticut and New York.

Many of the injured were treated and released, but about five people were admitted to hospitals with serious injuries, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant said Saturday.

HARTFORD, Conn. - Officials in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office say the governor will meet with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and Connecticut's two U.S. senators at the site of a Metro-North Railroad crash that injured 70 people.

Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and other Connecticut officials will also participate in the tour, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EDT Saturday near Bridgeport.

The delegation will update journalists with the latest details of the crash after surveying the area.

May 18--A state board assigned to protect the environment is taking a second look at a controversial ruling it issued last year.

The Illinois Pollution Control Board will revisit a ruling on groundwater protection at certain dump sites.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Republican leaders in the House and Senate and Gov. Pat Quinn's office have also raised objections to a decision that could endanger the public's health.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, sending 60 people to the hospital, including five with critical injuries, Gov. Dannel Malloy said.

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Station to New Haven derailed about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, MTA and Bridgeport officials said.

The train was hit by a train heading west from New Haven to Grand Central on an adjacent track, MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said.

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut -- Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, sending 60 people to the hospital, including five critically injured and one very critically injured, Gov. Dannel Malloy said.

The Metro-North Railroad, a commuter line serving the northern suburbs, referred in a news release to a "major derailment" near Fairfield.

It said emergency workers were at the scene of the accident, which came shortly after 6 p.m.

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut -- A New York-area commuter railroad says two trains have collided in Connecticut.

The Metro-North Railroad says emergency workers are arriving at the scene of Friday's accident.

Fairfield Police Officer Matt Panilaitis says 20 to 25 people were injured.

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut -- A New York-area commuter railroad says two trains have collided in Connecticut, and there are preliminary reports of injuries.

The rail line referred to it in a news release as a "major derailment."

The railroad says the accident involved a New York-bound train leaving New Haven.

May 17--The La Crosse County Board unanimously approved the sale of the long-idle Park Plaza site on Barron Island after a lengthy debate Thursday night.

West Coast Development LLC will purchase the 5.7 acres for $800,000 but get $50,000 back on credit at signing.

The tentative plan by West Coast Development calls for lots to hold 60 housing units for "mainly the empty nesters," those looking to downsize, Joe Van Aelstyn, a member of the development group, said earlier.

May 17--The eclectic collection of framed art hanging in a condo hallway was carefully chosen and included a mix of sketches, pictures of insects and a poster that simply said "cinema."

"This is the couple that go to flea markets," said Lisa Simeone, principal and owner of Simeone Deary Design Group.

The clients Simeone is referring to -- a couple with children who don't want to leave Chicago -- don't really exist.

May 17--Transit officials in Berks County have come up with a list of goals for improving services and might start looking for some grants to help meet them.

County planners and BARTA officials met with a small group of private and nonprofit transportation providers earlier this month to figure out how public and private transportation services in Berks could better serve the community.

That's a prerequisite for BARTA and other transportation providers to apply for some federal grants aimed at expanding transportation options for people with disabilities, senior citizens and low-income commuters.

A RAILWAY heritage centre is steaming ahead with a new attraction after its plans were formally approved.

Sherwood Forest Railway intends to turn a disused farm building in to a locomotive and rolling-stock shed.

It is part of improvements at the site, which runs one mile steam- train rides near Edwinstowe.

Tokyo, May 17 (Jiji Press)--Japan's House of Councillors passed into law Friday a bill to oblige the government to craft a new plan to combat global warming.

The law requires the government to come up with the new plan before this year's U.N. climate change conference takes place in November.

The new plan will include measures that Japan will take starting in fiscal 2013 that began last month.

May 18--Some 13.37 million tons of cargo were transported by vehicles through the territory of Azerbaijan in January-April 2013, which is 0.01 percent more than in the same period of last year, the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee said today.

According to the report, the export of goods for this period comprised 10.64 million tons and imports -- 2.73 million tons.

During the first four months, some 10.64 million tons of cargo were exported by maritime transport, 850,840 tons by railway, 176,120 tons -- by automobile transport, 24,900 tons by air.

May 17--NEW LONDON -- A last-minute change in how the developer would finance the first new construction in Fort Trumbull is the reason Monday's groundbreaking for the $24 million Village on Thames project was canceled.

The executive committee of the Renaissance City Development Association voted Friday morning to reject the latest proposal, saying the agency could not certify to the state Department of Economic and Community Development that certain terms and conditions were satisfied prior to the scheduled closing, as required by the development agreement.

During its regular meeting Friday, the RCDA said it was informed Tuesday that Riverbank Construction was no longer going to obtain financing from M&T Bank, which is headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., and instead was going to fund the project itself.

May 17--CHESAPEAKE -- The region may see as much as $10 billion in new transportation revenue during the next 20 years, but the prospect of tolls will continue to loom large over Hampton Roads' most expensive projects.

In one scenario, the $3.5 billion project would receive $700 million each from the region, state and federal governments, and users of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel would pay a $2 toll.

The presentation was one of several during a retreat of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization that focused largely on the landmark transportation package passed this winter by state legislators.

May 16--The Ventura County Transportation Commission intends to terminate a lease on Dec. 1 that allows the Fillmore & Western Railway, a private tourist attraction, to use the Santa Paula Branch Line.

But the commission is prepared to negotiate a new lease if it can examine the railway's financial records, VCTC Executive Director Darren Kettle wrote in a letter this week to Fillmore & Western President Dave Wilkinson.

The commission requested the records in mid-April, but Fillmore & Western had not provided them as of Thursday.

May 16--De Anza College's new Media and Learning Center has won a citation for energy performance from the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

The Media and Learning Center was designed to provide flexible and highly tech-friendly classroom spaces for students and teachers.

The building is on the northwest side of campus, next to the Flint Center parking garage.

COLUMN: ALBERT B. SOUTHWICKWorld climate change may be the most dangerous challenge to mankind since the great Ice Age 20,000 years ago.

If you want to know what is known and not known about climate change, get hold of a copy of Clark University's alumni magazine.

It is natural that Clark, with its long emphasis on geography, should be engrossed by the threats and problems of climate change.

WASHINGTON - A Republican-controlled House panel moved Thursday to protect the Department of Homeland Security from the big cuts facing other domestic agencies under the party's budget slashing plan.

The move came as the Appropriations Committee leadership privately circulated plans to drastically reduce spending for labor, education and health programs, foreign and housing aid, the Environmental Protection Agency and transportation.

The Pentagon would be spared and a program that provides food aid to poor pregnant women and their babies is likely to escape cuts, but the effects on most agencies would be severe - in the unlikely event the recommendations were to make their way into law over the protests of President Barack Obama and Democrats.

After baseball, my favorite TV watching is the government channel.

Here I can see the local government in action or local government inaction.

Sometimes I will hear a public official say something profound, but more often I hear statements revealing determined ignorance of the workings of the world.

May 17--We Energies customers won't have to foot the bill for pollution controls that will be installed at a Marquette, Mich., coal-fired power plant, under a plan approved Thursday.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission gave the utility the go-ahead to transfer ownership of part of its power plant in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to a Michigan electricity supplier.

As a result, customers of We Energies, both those in Wisconsin and in Michigan, would be spared the expense.

Bellefonte officials took a major step Wednesday toward a plan to sell the historic but roof-less, mold-filled theater on East High Street to a real estate magnate who would raze it to redevelop three downtown buildings that have been hollowed out by fires.

The members of the Bellefonte Industrial Development Authority voted to accept Ara Kervandjian's workforce housing project proposal over a competing proposal from a group of 20 residents in the Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association who promised to repair the building and return it to a theater.

For the officials, rejecting Kervandjian's proposal for the Garman would have nixed the entire redevelopment plan, which calls for two apartment buildings, one in a renovated Cadillac Building and the other on the site of the Garman and Hotel Do De.

May 16--MILLVILLE -- Local officials are developing a new transportation plan that they say will, if eventually implemented, make it easier and safer for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to travel around the city.

A major part of the plan involves improving east-west traffic flow, primarily on Main Street, by creating alternate traveling routes and easing congestion at some downtown intersections.

Local officials are waiting on a final draft of the plan, which City Engineer John Knoop called a mix of new and old ideas.

May 16--Make that two more coal plants to go cold and many more to follow -- all to the loud cheers of environmental groups that don't want fracking for natural gas, either.

The shuttering is part of a settlement between NRG, which acquired the plant, and the states of New Jersey and Connecticut over plant's air emissions.

Separately, NRG announced that it would cease operations at its Titus Station power plant in Cumru Twp., Berks County, by April 2015.

NEW YORK - Canada's prime minister says a controversial oil pipeline from his country to the U.S. Gulf Coast "absolutely needs to go ahead" and warns that the oil will be transported through one way or the other.

The pipeline project carrying oil from Canada's tar sands would need approval from the U.S. State Department.

Harper says "The only real immediate environmental issue here is, do we want to increase the flow of oil from Canada by pipeline or via rail?"

May 16--The time for campaigning is about to end.

Now the hard work -- delivering on promises made to 80,000 daily CTA Red Line customers who will lose a vital transportation lifeline for five months -- is set to begin Sunday.

CTA officials and Red Line South Ambassadors outfitted in bright red shirts are making the rounds at the nine rail stations that will temporarily close, in an attempt to reach riders in Chicago and the south suburbs.

May 15--CARSON CITY --The state Public Utilities Commission today said NV Energy's bill in the Nevada Legislature to close the Reid-Gardner coal-powered plant was fatally flawed and would not protect Las Vegas customers from higher rates.

The commission voted unanimously to support the accelerated decommissioning of the plant -- the target of complaints about air pollution -- but object to other portions of Senate Bill 123, which would permit the utility to build other facilities without oversight of the state.

Commissioner Rebecca Wagner called the bill, now before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Labor and Energy, "more smoke and mirrors."

WORCESTER - A retired state environmental official testified Tuesday that Henry C. Papuga, the former manager of the privately owned Milford Water Co., told him during a 2009 boil water order in Milford that he had "a good feeling" about water samples that had been sent out for testing.

Mr. Papuga has denied the allegations.

Mr. Anderson recounted an Aug. 15, 2009, conversation he said he had with Mr. Papuga in which the water company manager told him he "had a good feeling" about the pending results of testing on samples that had been collected earlier that day.

May 16--Kings County opponents of high-speed rail are battling the California High-Speed Rail Authority to keep their legal fight on track.

Hanford farmer John Tos, Hanford homeowner Aaron Fukuda and the Kings County Board of Supervisors have a court date May 31 in Sacramento for the suit they filed against the rail agency in 2011.

"One is about issuing the bonds, the other is about using the money from the bonds," said Stuart Flashman, an Oakland attorney representing the Kings County plaintiffs.

May 15--ON SUNDAY, May 5, Casey Cattie, 18, an aspiring country singer with a big-league voice, left her Chadds Ford, Delaware County, home in plenty of time to make her pregame sound check at Citizens Bank Park so she could sing "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch.

Packed into her car with her mom, dad, kid brother and boyfriend, the Unionville High senior became nervous when Route 322 merged into a bumper-to-bumper crawl on I-95 North.

I-95 North was still a parking lot.

The repositioning of underperforming assets is a major source of real estate opportunity in California's metropolitan areas.

Swinerton Builders' San Diego division recently had the opportunity to test that idea, transforming a vacant industrial storage facility into a 24,000-square-foot, single-story office space.

From the beginning, Swinerton's goal was to honor its commitment to green building practices by converting the existing tilt-up structure into a highly functional, net-zero energy building, for which they are currently seeking LEED Platinum certification.

May 15--Public transportation in the Ruidoso area will be cut to a five-day per week offering.

Ruidoso Downs city councilors were unanimous Monday in taking the move to address red ink at its Lincoln County Transit.

Lincoln County Transit Manager Patty DeSoto had been asked earlier this month, during a meeting regarding a fiscal year 2013-14 budget for the city, to get revenues and expenditures in unison.

May 16--The little crab on the corner of Virginia "Friend of the Chesapeake" Bay license plates that motorists pay $25 annually for became relevant to Henrico County on Wednesday afternoon.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Floating Island Southeast of North Carolina installed a floating wetland garden in lakes at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and Belmont Golf Course on Wednesday to absorb harmful fertilizer runoff.

The floating wetlands, which cost about $4,000 each, were funded by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund fueled from sales of the license plates.

LAUDERDALE LAKES - The Broward County Housing Authority is about to invest $1.4 million to strengthen three of its multi-family rental communities to better withstand storms.

Grant funding awarded by Broward County Housing Finance and Community Development Division in iate February will cover the cost of upgrades to the affordable properties of Highland Gardens, Park Ridge Court and College Gardens.

Damage sustained during recent hurricane seasons made establishing a culture of preparedness one of Florida's highest priorities.

May 15--Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday that the commonwealth's newest six-year transportation projects plan included an additional $4 billion that will be generated by the comprehensive transportation funding package passed by the General Assembly in February.

That includes $1.3 billion dedicated solely to the Hampton Roads region from additional local taxes generated in the area under provisions of the transportation plan.

Specific Hampton Roads projects include improvements to 163 lane miles on portions of I-64 and I-264, with work scheduled to start in early 2014.

May 15--East Contra Costa's bus line is considering increasing its fares for some of its longer bus routes with limited stop, along with cutting and changing several others that have a limited number of riders.

Under the proposal, the single ride fare for Tri Delta Transit's routes 200 and 201, which go from the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART Station to the Martinez Amtrak and Concord BART Station, would increase from $2.00 to $2.50, and $.85 to $1.35 for seniors.

"We're just trying to be efficient and align fares with the correct routes," said Steve Ponte, chief financial officer.

May 15--Gov. John Hickenlooper must weigh whether to attempt to reduce the state's carbon dioxide emissions and consequently raise utility rates in rural Colorado during a recession and drought as he considers whether to sign Senate Bill 252.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat who got his start as an oil and gas geologist, said last week he is mulling the bill that would require two rural-electric cooperatives to generate 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020; the standard is now 10 percent.

Scientists announced last week that carbon dioxide levels are the highest they've been in millions of years, coming in at an average daily measurement of 400 parts per million or .04 percent of the earth's air.