Village of Tully to cut taxes by 6 percent

Although members of the Onondaga County Legislature have indicated that the new tax revenue sharing plan will give less to villages and towns, the Village of Tully unveiled a new budget plan today that will cut taxes by six percent.

According to 9WSYR.com, Village Mayor Beth Greenwood says village board members worked to make sure they were absolutely as efficient as possible in this year's budget.

"Times have been very difficult for many people.  Fiscally, we are a very small village," Greenwood said.  "We have a very small tax base.  Many people are on fixed incomes."

Although Greenwood says little changes helped cut taxes in this year's budget, she says it will be more difficult to keep property taxes down in future years.

United and US Airways discuss merge

The New York Times has reported that the parent company of United Airlines, the UAL Corporation, and US Airways are currently discussing a merge which could create one of the world's largest airlines.

This is the third time in the last ten years that the two airlines have considered a merge, the last time being in 2008, when talks ended after several months of negotiation.

Both companies have called for more consolidation within the airline industry to help combat a decline in revenues.

Although a deal is not expected to be struck for several weeks, airline officials say union opposition (a factor that led to the collapse of a $4.3 billion deal between the two airlines in 2000) could be a potential obstacle.

High gas levels prevent rescuers from entering West Virginia mine

Federal officials said Wednesday that gas levels from inside the Upper Big Branch South Mine in West Virginia are preventing rescuers from being able to enter the mine, in which there are still four unaccounted-for miners.

According to CNN.com, Mine Safety and Health Administration official Kevin Stricklin said a drill pierced the area of the mine where the four men are believed to be located in order to collect a gas sample.

Although Stricklin says the 3 percent methane level by itself is not dangerous, the combination of methane with high levels of carbon monoxide and hydrogen could put the mine "close" to being explosive.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin says the only chance they still have is if the miners made it into the mine chambers, which are equipped to keep 15 miners alive for 96 hours.