Hit the links at the Tom Jones Memorial
Classic Golf Tournament
IEC National
Want to get a little peace and recreation in before the start of the 54th Annual IEC National Convention? Then sign up for the Tom Jones Memorial Classic Golf Tournament, taking place Tuesday, Oct. 11. Sponsored by The Home Depot, the event will take place at the beautiful Covered Bridge Golf Club in Sellersburg, Ind. Proceeds from this event go towards the IEC Foundation Scholarship Fund, which will help fund young electricians going through the IEC Apprentice Program. For more information, please visit the IEC National website.More

In Boeing case, House passes bill restricting labor board
The New York Times
The House voted recently to approve a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board from trying to block Boeing from operating a new $750 million aircraft assembly line in South Carolina. The largely party-line vote was 238 to 186.More

The IEC Foundation announces 2011 Special Grant Awards
to IEC chapters
IEC Foundation
The IEC Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of its 2011 Special Grants competition. Grant funding was made possible by proceeds from the IEC Foundation Endowment Fund. This year's competition allowed chapters to request up to $1,000 in funding to upgrade their apprentice training labs and classrooms for items not ordinarily covered in IEC Foundation Equipment and Cash Grants.More

New job growth numbers tell the larger story of solar
The Huffington Post
Let's face it: Solyndra wasn't a winner. But it was the company's inability to keep up with rapidly declining solar panel costs — not its focus on clean energy technology — that led to its demise. Nevertheless, the associated job losses and pique of political scandal have overshadowed the real story of the U.S. solar industry. The larger picture shows that solar businesses are growing — and creating boatloads of jobs.More

Emergency power for fire, life safety systems
Consulting-Specifying Engineer
For many years there were no accepted standards for the design of emergency and standby power systems, even though these systems have been in use since World War II. Recognizing this need, NFPA formed the Technical Committee on Emergency Power Supplies in 1976. Although the committee developed a report proposing adoption of NFPA 110: Standard for Emergency and Standby Power Systems, it wasn't until the 1984 NFPA Fall Meeting that the document was adopted as a standard and became the 1985 edition.More

Facebook to court small business with free advertising
PC World
Facebook is set to unveil an ambitious plan to attract more small businesses to set up shop on the social network. It plans to offer $50 in free advertising to as many as 200,000 small businesses to demonstrate the power of marketing on Facebook. Sheryl Sandberg is bringing the experience she gained from helping to build the Google online ads empire to Facebook, and she has a strategy to establish Facebook as the de facto place to be.More