Progress Energy has signed a $7.65 billion contract to build two nuclear reactors in Florida, a development that keeps the Raleigh, N.C.-based electric utility at the forefront of a push to build the nation's first new nuclear plants in more than two decades.

The contract with Westinghouse Electric and the Shaw Power Group, based in Charlotte, covers nuclear engineering, procurement and construction.

Progress' ongoing spending on nuclear plants in Florida and North Carolina, along with curtailed spending on power lines, will help the utility maintain its financial goals this year despite a recessionary slowdown in electricity sales. This month Progress raised residential rates by 25 percent in Florida, about $27.28 for a typical household bill, to recover nuclear, fuel and environmental costs. » read more

This editorial appeared in The Fresno Bee.

As the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service approaches in 2016, visitors to those parks increasingly find crumbling roads and historic buildings, outdated displays and poorly maintained campgrounds and trails.

With Congress and President-elect Barack Obama considering infrastructure plans to jump-start the nation's economy, there is an opportunity to change this sad state of affairs. » read more

A gloomy economy may be pinching sales of some segments of the organic food market, but not everyone is feeling the pain.

Produce sales at Kristina's Natural Ranch market in Fresno, Calif., are up 15 percent, said store owner Jim Belcher. And several suppliers of organic produce delivered directly to consumers say they, too, are pleased with their sales. At Abundant Harvest Organics in Kingsburg, Vernon Peterson said his operation has seen steady growth, increasing at times by 1 percent to 2 percent a week. The company supplies weekly boxes of organic produce for nearly 1,600 customers from Fresno to Simi Valley through its Community Supported Agriculture program.

Nationwide, organic food and beverages has grown from $1 billion in 1990 to an estimated $20 billion in 2007. And sales are expected to reach $23.6 billion this year, an increase of 18%, according to the Organic Trade Association. » read more