Cleveland part of HUD pilot project


Cleveland part of HUD pilot project

DETROIT

The Obama administration is launching a pilot program designed to spark economic growth in urban America by partnering federal officials with local decision-makers in six cities, the U.S Housing and Urban Development secretary announced Monday.

The idea, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, is to create what he called Community Solutions Teams, which will include employees from several federal agencies, and have them work directly with local officials in Detroit; Chester, Pa.; Fresno, Calif.; Memphis, Tenn.; Cleveland and New Orleans.

The federal staffers will, in effect, be embedded in the cities, working on issues the mayors have identified as important, such as developing transportation infrastructure, improving job-training programs and the like. In Detroit, Donovan said, up to a dozen “federal folks” will be in town for a year or two.

Clear Channel takes swipe at Pandora

LOS ANGELES

Radio station giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. is revamping its website and mobile products to imitate the personalized music offerings at Pandora, an online service that is growing in popularity.

Bob Pittman, chairman of media and entertainment platforms for Clear Channel, said the success of Pandora Media Inc. proves that people like being able to stream songs according to their personal tastes on mobile devices.

Clear Channel plans to add a similar feature over the coming months to its website and mobile application, called iheartradio. The products allow listeners to hear the feeds of stations outside their market and to certain channels that stream music along specific genres.

With the new offering, Pandora gets a strong competitor. Clear Channel, which operates more than 850 radio stations nationwide, said its service will be able to offer listeners access to more songs than Pandora can.

Alcoa doubles sales in 2nd quarter

NEW YORK

Alcoa Inc.’s second- quarter earnings rose as improvement in the manufacturing sector brought higher sales and prices that offset rising raw-material costs.

The aluminum- manufacturing giant reported double-digit increases in sales to the packaging, commercial transportation, and building and construction industries. It also sold more to customers in industrial products, aerospace and automotive businesses.

Alcoa capitalized on a 6 percent increase in aluminum prices, although part of that gain was offset by higher costs for energy and raw materials as well as foreign- currency exchange rates.

Alcoa’s performance can reflect broader economic trends because its products reach across a range of businesses from the aerospace and automobile industries to beverage cans and construction.

Associated Press

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