LODI NEWS-SENTINEL

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

15

NATION/WORLD

With new EPA rule, Obama takes executive action

By William Yardley

many questions as it answered. Although the court upheld federal protections for wetlands and streams
In April 1989, a Michigan developer when they connected with navigable
named John Rapanos dumped fill on waters, it left unclear what constitut54 acres of wetlands he owned to ed a connection.
make way for a shopping center. He
Now, nearly a decade later, the Obadid not have a permit, and when the ma administration is seeking to claristate told him to stop, he refused.
fy those ambiguities, and the effort is
Courts found him in violation of the
causing controversy of its own. This
federal Clean Water Act. Prosecutors
wanted to send him to prison. Ra- week, the Environmental Protection
panos took his case all the way to the Agency is expected to release a new
U.S. Supreme Court, which found that rule to protect a significantly larger
the wetlands on his property, about 20 percentage of streams and wetlands
miles from a river that drained into that provide habitat for wildlife and
Lake Huron, did not fall under the sources of drinking water.
The move is another example of
Clean Water Acts jurisdiction over
President Barack Obama taking execdischarges into navigable waters.
Rapanos became something of a utive action on environmental and
celebrity among property rights ad- climate issues regardless of whether
vocates, but the ruling raised as he has the support of Congress. The
LOS ANGELES TIMES

administration has already protected

millions of acres from oil and gas development and is expected to set aside
more, even as it has allowed the expansion of oil and gas drilling elsewhere. It plans to issue new rules this
summer to reduce carbon emissions
from power plants.
EPA officials say up to 60 percent of
the nations streams and millions of
acres of wetlands lack clear protection from pollution under existing
regulations. The new clean water
rule would for the first time clearly
define which tributaries and wetlands are protected under federal law.
There is nothing complicated
about the idea that we should protect
the tributary system that flows into
our nations rivers, said David
Uhlmann, a law professor at the Uni-

versity of Michigan who previously

led the prosecution of environmental
crimes at the Justice Department.
What is more difficult is deciding
when to protect wetlands, which perform essential ecological functions
but often make it difficult or impossible for landowners to develop their
property.
The new rule, drafted by both the
EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been under attack since
it was proposed in draft form last
year, with lawmakers, farmers, business groups and some local governments often coordinating the efforts.
The American Farm Bureau has
led the opposition.
The proposed rule provides none
of the clarity and certainty it promises, the bureau wrote in a letter to

Congress. Instead, it creates confusion and risk by providing the agencies with almost unlimited authority
to regulate, at their discretion, any
low spot where rainwater collects.
That could include farm ditches, agricultural ponds and isolated wetlands,
it said. The farm bureau started a social media campaign, using the Twitter hashtag #Ditchtherule. The EPA
created its own, telling supporters to
#Ditchthemyth. In a blog post in
April, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the agency may need to
look at better defining how protected waters are significant.
A key part of the (new) Clean Water Rule is protecting water bodies,
like streams and wetlands, which
have strong impacts downstream,
she wrote.

Paying for sons college expenses weighs on Seattle-area savers

Jennifer
Ferdinand
with her husband, Todd
Parker, and
their son,
Jonah Parker,
who turns 7
this month.

By George Erb
THE SEATTLE TIMES

KENMORE, Wash. Jennifer Ferdinand and Todd

Parker have steady jobs, pensions and retirement accounts.
They keep their spending in
check and expect to pay off
their home mortgage after 15
years. In short, the Seattle-area
couple are well-positioned for
the future, with a notable exception: paying for their sons
college education.
Jonah, who turns 7 this
month, could enroll as a college freshman as soon as 2027,
or 12 years from now. His parents are committed to paying
for his college, yet they had not
set aside any money to do so.
Ferdinand, 42, and Parker,
46, were stopped by several
things. They found the complexities of college-savings
plans daunting. For a while,
the couple thought they could
cover the cost with their
household cash flow. Then
their own retirement savings
seemed threatened by dramatic increases in the cost of a
four-year college degree.
Tuition and fees at Washington states public-research universities jumped an average 9.5
percent a year for the 10 years
ending in 2014, according to
the state Guaranteed Education Tuition program, or GET.

HOW TO PAY FOR COLLEGE

Ted White, a financial planner at Goddard Financial Planning in
Seattle, has three tips for families who want to help pay for their
childrens undergraduate degrees.
Consider saving for college with one of the 529 plans offered by
every state and the District of Columbia. Parents with young
children and low tolerance for investment risk might consider a
prepaid-tuition plan. Families with older children who are more
comfortable with investment risk might consider a college-savings plan.
Save between 65 and 70 percent of the cost of college in a 529
plan. Put the remainder in a taxable investment account. That
reduces the odds of putting too much money in a 529 plan,
which could lead to penalties for noncollege withdrawals.
Put a higher priority on saving for your retirement. You can get a
loan for your childrens college, but not for your own retirement.

The Seattle Times

MIKE SIEGEL/
SEATTLE TIMES

At the University of Washington, a state-resident freshman could expect to pay

$27,112 to attend the Seattle
campus during the current academic year, UW estimates.
That includes tuition, fees,
room and board, as well as
such things as books, supplies
and personal expenses.
Inflation and tuition increases keep driving the cost
higher. By the time Jonah
graduates from high school,

the expense of earning a fouryear degree at UWs Seattle

campus could exceed $200,000.
Thats just crazy, said Ferdinand, a fisheries biologist
with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
She called the estimate sobering.
To find out how to finance
their retirement and their
sons education, the couple
turned to the Puget Sound
Chapter of the Financial Plan-

ning Association. It referred

them to Ted White, a financial
planner with Goddard Financial Planning in Seattle.
White did a 53-page analysis
of the couples finances that
examined such things as net
worth, cash flow, insurance, retirement and investments.
Theyre in a good spot,
White said. Ferdinand and
Parker combined earn about
$198,000 a year before taxes.
They owe $145,000 on their

home, which has a market value of about $370,000.

Both of them are savers,
with about $709,000 in various
retirement accounts. Just as
important, they are among the
dwindling number of workers
with pension plans. Ferdinands plan is with the federal
government, while Parker, a
teacher, has a pension through
her school district.
White did the math and estimated the couples net worth at
$975,000, nearly three times the
Federal Reserves average for

households in their age bracket. But that didnt solve the

problem of how to pay for Jonahs college education.
White estimated how much
it would cost for Jonah to earn
a four-year degree from UWs
Seattle campus if he enrolls as
a freshman in 2027. Using an
annual inflation rate of 5 percent for college costs, White arrived at a bachelors degree
price tag of $208,990.
It adds up, White said.
The main thing to do is to
start saving.

Biden reassures Iraqi prime minister of U.S. support Charter Comm. plans
By Kevin Freking and
Sameer N. Yacoub
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PAUL W. GILLESPIE/BALTIMORE SUN

Vice President Joe Biden at the U.S.

Naval Academy Commissioning
Ceremony at Navy-Marine Corps
Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. on
Friday. Biden has reassured Iraqs government of U.S. support in the fight
against the Islamic State.

WASHINGTON Vice President Joe

Biden reassured Iraqs government on
Monday of U.S. support in the fight
against the Islamic State group, telephoning Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi with thanks for the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces one day
after Defense Secretary Ash Carter
questioned the Iraqi military commitment.
Bidens call followed harsh criticism
from Iraqi and Iranian quarters after
Carter questioned Iraqi forces will to
fight the surging Islamic State group.
A White House statement on Monday
describing Bidens call said the vice
president welcomed an Iraqi decision to
mobilize additional troops and prepare
for counterattack operations. Biden also pledged full U.S. support to these and
other Iraqi efforts to liberate territory
from ISIL, the statement said, using an
acronym for Islamic State.
In reaction to Carters remarks, which
were aired Sunday in a TV interview, a
spokesman for Iraqs prime minister
suggested the defense secretary had incorrect information, while Gen. Qas-

sim Soleimani, the head of the elite

Quds forces in Irans Revolutionary
Guard, offered his own critical assessment of U.S. forces.
The heated exchanges came after the
loss of Ramadi and amid other gains by
the Islamic State in recent days. The
statements laid bare fissures among
countries that have become allies of
convenience against the militants.
The criticism from both Iraq and Iran
began when Carter told CNNs State of
the Union that Iraqi forces vastly outnumbered the Islamic State group, but
still showed no will to fight and fled
the Islamic State advance on the capital
of Anbar province.
On Monday, Saad al-Hadithi, a
spokesman for al-Abadi, said his government was surprised by Carters comments.
We should not judge the whole army
based on one incident, al-Hadithi told
The Associated Press.
Al-Hadithi said the Iraqi government
believes the fall of Ramadi was due to
mismanagement and poor planning by
some senior military commanders in
charge. However, he did not elaborate,
and no action has been taken against
those commanders.

World briefs
A bold and joyful people: Ireland
backs gay marriage in landslide
Irelands citizens have voted in a landslide to legalize gay marriage, electoral
officials announced Saturday a stunningly lopsided result that illustrates
what Catholic leaders and rights activists
alike called a social revolution.
Fridays referendum saw 62.1 percent
of Irish voters say yes to changing the
nations constitution to define marriage
as a union between two people regardless
of their sex. Outside Dublin Castle,
watching the results announcement in its
cobblestoned courtyard, thousands of
gay rights activists cheered, hugged and
cried at the news.
With todays vote, we have disclosed
who we are: a generous, compassionate,
bold and joyful people, Prime Minister
Enda Kenny proclaimed as he welcomed
the outcome. Beside him, Deputy Prime
Minister Joan Burton declared the victory a magical moving moment, when the
worlds beating heart is in Ireland.
Ireland is the first country to approve

gay marriage in a popular national vote.

Nineteen other countries, including most
U.S. states, have legalized the practice
through their legislatures and courts.
The unexpectedly strong percentage of
approval surprised both sides. More than
1.2 million Irish voters backed the yes
side to less than 750,000 voting no.
Only one of Irelands 43 constituencies
recorded a narrow no majority,
Roscommon-South Leitrim in the boggy
midlands.
Associated Press

Malaysia: camps used by traffickers

contained 139 suspected graves
Malaysian authorities said Monday a
cluster of abandoned jungle camps used
by human traffickers contained 139 suspected graves as well as barbed-wire pens
likely used to cage migrants, shedding
more light on a regional trade that
preyed on some of Southeast Asias most
desperate people.
National police chief Khalid Abu
Bakar said forensics experts were ex-

huming the suspected graves found at 28

vacated camps in the hilly jungle area on
the border with Thailand where trafficking syndicates were known to operate.
It is a very sad scene, Khalid told reporters at a police outpost in the town of
Wang Kelian several kilometers (miles)
from the camps, one of which appeared
large enough to hold about 300 people. I
am shocked. We never expected this kind
of cruelty.
At one forest camp, police found several parts of a decomposed body inside a
wooden pen.
The parts were placed into white bags
and brought to Wang Kelian, and district
police chief Rizani Ismail said they
would be examined by forensics experts.
Police said they would begin digging up
other suspected graves mounds of
earth, covered with leaves and marked by
sticks on Tuesday.
We have discovered 139 of what we believe to be graves, Khalid said. We believe they are victims of human trafficking.
Associated Press

to buy Time Warner

By Meg James
LOS ANGELES TIMES

Charter Communications
is near a deal to acquire Time
Warner Cable for about $195 a
sharefurthering its quest to
build one of the nations
largest cable TV and Internet
service companies.
The deal, valued at more
than $55 billion, is expected to
be announced Tuesday, according to a person close to
the companies who did not
want to be identified discussing sensitive negotiations.
Bloomberg News first reported that Charter was
poised to buy Time Warner
Cable, its long-coveted prize.
The combination also
would include Bright House

Networks, according to the

Bloomberg report. The threecompany merger would create a juggernaut cable company with about 20 million subscribers. Charter also would
become the largest pay-TV
provider in Southern California with nearly 2 million customers in Los Angeles, San
Diego and Ventura counties.
Charter chief executive
Tom Rutledge would run the
new company, according to
Bloomberg.
Charter,
the
nations
fourth-largest cable company,
nearly two years ago made its
first approach to Time Warner Cable executives. But Time
Warner Cable spurned Charters advances and instead
turned to Comcast Corp. to
buy it instead.