jpodsada@courant.com

In the same week the Metropolitan District laid off more than a dozen support staff, including IT workers, the agency experienced a week-long shut down of its computer system, angering customers and frustrating customer service representatives who did not know when the system would return.

Customers who called the MDC this week with questions about their water bill or related issues were told the computer system was down and were advised to call back later in the week. MDC’s system has been down since Tuesday, and was still inoperative Friday afternoon.

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The Basics:

First impressions can ring true, but if you’re betting the 2011 Ford Escape is a trucky, cramped fuel hog, you’re all wrong. The Escape may look the part of a 7/8-scale Ford Explorer, but its car-based running gear makes it a crossover at heart–an aging heart, but at heart nonetheless.

Blocky looks and a functional cockpit are an appealing counterpoint to the wave of jellybean crossovers that have washed over the market in the ten years since the Escape was brand-new. The upright stance gives the ute decent headroom, despite the relatively high floor.

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(Reuters) Gold prices rose more than 3 percent on Tuesday as a drop in the dollar index helped the precious metal snap a four-day run of losses and after an early rout in the previous session tempted price-sensitive physical buyers back to the market.

Prices dropped more than $120 an ounce in Asian trading hours on Monday, an unprecedented intraday fall in value terms, as a rush for the liquidity of the dollar, losses in other markets and a margin hike on CME gold futures prompted selling.

They had pared those losses to just 1.7 percent by the end of the session, however, and continued their recovery on Tuesday, climbing comfortably back above their 100-day moving average just below $1,640.

Spot gold was up 2.5 percent at $1,672.00 an ounce at 1137 GMT (7:37 a.m.

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A group of Allstate agents voted last week to form a guild after facing a 20 percent cut to commissions, and the vote was ratified Wednesday.

The National Association of Professional Allstate Agents Inc., which says it represents 10-to-12 percent of Allstate agents nationwide, voted in favor of affiliating with Office and Professional Employees International Union, AFL-CIO. Ballots were counted on Aug. 17, and the agents’ group board approved an affiliation with the union starting Sept. 1.

“There is no doubt about it, the 94.4 percent vote by our members is a bellwether and should serve as a wake-up call to all captive carriers throughout the insurance industry,” said Jim Fish, executive director of the agents group. Read more…

Bloomfield — Its a slice of prime real estate in downtown Bloomfield. Some would even call it the “linchpin” of a township project thats dragged on for a decade.

The plans call for building about 220 housing units, 60,000 square feet of retail space and a 440-space parking deck, all on a triangular plot across from the Lackawanna Plaza train station a key transit hub in the heart of a town that bills itself as commuter-friendly.

However, the 3-acre redevelopment known as Bloomfield Center has been mired in legal and money issues for years. The township has spent millions following court battles and now faces yet another lawsuit. B

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Christmas in July!!! The Kindle version of A Trader’s First Book on Commodities is on sale for only $2.99, click here!!

Bargain hunters, profit taking by the bears, and a little bit of short squeezing of yesterday’s late sellers triggered an early morning rally. However, as the day wore on and traders were reminded of the looming debt fiasco, stock index futures faded gains.

I think I speak for all of us when I say, enough already. We’d all like to be able to move on with our lives and our trading…hopefully, a resolution will come along sooner rather than later. Perhaps something will materialize in the next 24 hours but I suspect we will be in the same situation come Monday morning.

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Sauceaholics is a culinary adventure store in Jacksonville, Florida offering over 600 choices of BBQ sauce, hot sauce, rubs, marinades, jams, jellies, chutneys, chips, salsas, simmering sauces, flavored whipped honey, relishes, condiments, t shirts, and smokin wood chunks/chips.

According to the owner, the idea came about a couple Christmases ago when he went online to buy salsas for his partner in their CPA firm.

The further I went, the more this exploded, he said. Theres a whole cult out there of people and their salsas.