Things began to turn around about a year ago, but it was late in the year.

The main purpose of these hearings is to get an idea on where the budget missed the boat with the community. No budget will ever please everybody. The City Council tries to address the concerns they hear about most. Sometimes, if the city does not get any strong message from these hearings, no changes are made.

They hit a low on their pricing and discounting about three years ago. This was the first year they began to capitalize on that creativity.

I'm sorry that we're late. I'm sorry that we couldn't do this 30 or 40 years ago when some of our candidates were alive. But we're here now to make this right.

It is very hard to find any evidence of a real end to the upturn that began in late 1998. Although we see little to support semiconductor stock prices during the next two months, we strongly believe that the sector will be hitting new highs before the end of the year.

Years ago, fairy tales all began with Once upon a time... now we know they all begin with, If I am elected.