With the coming of the New Year came the passing of the biodiesel tax credit. What’s the big deal, you say? Well, companies, not to mention farmers and biodiesel producers, are taking a bit hit right now with the expiration of the $1/gallon credit.

According to NAFA Fleet Management Association, the expiration of the credit has resulted in biodiesel costing more than petroleum-based diesel fuel. While that doesn’t sound like a big issue, it is if you’re fleet that runs on biodiesel. Your cost of fuel just rose 20% or more. That kind of price increase will only drive cost-conscious fleets away from the fuel.

“President Obama spoke of the need for America to be the leader in developing new energy sources and applications,” said NAFA’s executive director, Phil Russo, CAE. “This is a chance for Washington to act on the President’s directive and make biodiesel a realistic alternative that will not only help clean our air, but stimulate American businesses. NAFA members need to let their elected officials know we are holding them accountable for delivering on the President’s promise.”

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB), back in December, released a study that concluded that the loss of the credit could result in a “major job loss” and “decreased demand for soybean oil and lower soybean prices leading to a negative impact on farm income” and “lost tax revenue for states and local governments” as biodiesel plants are idled due to decreased demand.

“Since it was enacted in 2004, the biodiesel tax incentive has allowed the nation to reap the economic, energy security and environmental benefits associated with commercial scale production and use of biodiesel,” said Manning Feraci, vp of federal affairs for the NBB in the report. “Allowing the credit to lapse will compound the already daunting challenges facing the industry and will cost the nation another 23,000 jobs in addition to the 29,000 jobs that were shed in 2009.”

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to extend the credit, but the Senate has yet to act. The House bill is H.R. 4213, the Tax Extenders Act of 2009.

We need the Senate to pass this important legislation lest we lose momentum on the progress we’ve made as a country, and industry, to be greener and less dependent on foreign oil interests.

With so many families in the U.S. affected by the deployment of military personnel around the globe, we sometimes forget the sacrifices these families, not just the members of our military, make on a daily basis to keep us safe and promote the ideals we hold so dear.

Spouses, in particular, are hard hit. They are left behind for months, or even years, as their significant other battle for this country. They may be raising children on their own. In some cases, the spouse may not have been working when their loved one was deployed. Finding a job in this economy is tough enough for someone with experience in a given field; try finding a job if you have no experience.

But a new program approved by the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MvCAA) program will offer up to $6,000 for spouses of active duty military and activated National Guard and Reserve members for training at the National Tractor Trailer School (NTTS) in Liverpool and Buffalo, NY.

“Six grand will cover a portion of [tuition], or all of it in some cases, but if the student is eligible for student aid” that can help as well, Harry Kowalchyk, president of the school, told me. Tuition ranges from $5,395 to $8,295, he said.

The school counts among its clients about 10-15% military or ex-military personnel utilizing educational opportunities afforded them through their service, Kowalchyk said.

“[The program’s] relatively new,” Kowalchyk said. “We do quite a bit of work with Fort Drum, which is located just north of us…We work with those that are transitioning out of the military so that they have a marketable skill when they leave the military and enter into the private sector.”

NTTS trains about 800 students a year and offers a series of courses. The courses are available both on a full-time or part-time basis and include classroom, CDL permit preparation, labs and behind-the-wheel training.

According to the school, “the period of eligibility for spouses of guard and reserve members is from the date of the alert or warning order for military recall or mobilization, through activation and deployment until 180 days following de-mobilization. Spouses of the severely injured, ill, wounded, killed in action (KIA), prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) are also eligible.”

In addition to the $6,000, students are still eligible for any number of grant or loan programs as well. The school is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.

For information courses, schedules and financial aid, contact Kimberly Sather at 315-451-2430 or visit www.ntts.edu.

Millions of Americans watch American Idol each week. I admit, I watch it when I can. Ironically, the train wrecks that are so often the auditions don’t interest me as much as when the show cuts down to the final 12 contestants. At least then, the singing is usually pretty good.

I did watch some of last night’s show and found someone that will likely go quite far and has an interesting story to tell to boot. And he’s tied to the trucking industry. You can watch his audition here.

During the show, which showcased auditions in Orlando, Matt Lawrence came out. As so often happens, the producers put together a brief bio of Lawrence. Turns out he’s a 25-year-old trucking company manager for his father’s business.

He also has spent time in jail. Lawrence, it appears, had one of those “youthful indiscretions.” He robbed a bank when he was 15 and then spent four years in jail for the crime. Americans love underdogs and comeback stories, and Lawrence may just have that quality to attract viewers as he appeared humble and contrite for his past. Those qualities are most important for contestants as they battle each week for Americans’ votes.

As for his audition, which featured Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble,” judge Randy Jackson summed it up best. “You’re so genuine and that’s what it’s all about, you you’ve got vocals,” Jackson said. Similarly, judge Kara Dioguardi loved him as well, telling him he had “such control of your voice” and that he’s “the real deal.”

But with any American Idol performer, America cares most about what controversial Simon Cowell has to say. Cowell called him “brilliant” and when sending him on to Hollywood, said it was “the easiest yes I’ve said today.”

Lawrence said he just wanted to make good with his life. Now he has that chance.

Journalists receive hundreds, if not thousands of press releases each year. Some are very well written; some not so much. Some are quite relevant to the markets we serve, in my case trucking; some not so much.

I have been following the whole Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien NBC debacle. I confess, I am a fan of Leno, although mostly his show becomes background noise as I toil around the house. So it was quite amusing to see a press release show up in my in-box yesterday with the following subject line: “Jay Leno demos his new MaxJax on jaylenosgarage.com.”

Initially, the words Jay Leno jumped out at me. Jay Leno has a product dedicated to the trucking market, I thought. Interesting. Then, the thought quickly went to, what is a MaxJax? So I opened the release to learn more, just what any good pr person would want.

Turns out the MaxJax is a vehicle lifting system from Dannmar and the company was promoting the fact that Leno, who owns hundreds of classic automobiles, uses the product in his own garage. He displayed that fact on his web site, www.jaylenosgarage.com, and even included a video, which you can watch here.

The MaxJax, it turns out, is a mid-rise two post portable and stowable vehicle lift with ceiling clearance of just eight feet. The release goes on to list other famous owners of the product: former NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace, NASCAR driver Austin Dillon, reality TV stars Ryan Friedlinghaus and Duane Mayer, as well as famed fabricator Eddie Paul.

With a lifting capacity of just 6,000 lbs., trucking is not the right fit for the MaxJax. But Jay Leno is. And after all, isn’t one of the functions of a good pr representative’s job to get their product mentioned by the press? Consider it done.

With all the focus lately on distracted driving and the ways the dangers can be mitigated, someone forgot to tell Google and Intel.

Lawmakers are feverishly working to craft legislation to ban cell phone usage in vehicles unless it is hands-free. Many states have banned texting while driving. Now, debate is growing over what the real distraction is: the use of the phone, or the outside distraction of a conversation in general.

Everyone seems to be in agreement over texting, though. But as more and more levels of distraction enter vehicles, be they phones, computers, GPS, etc., it’s obvious something needs to change. Now, here come firms like Google and Intel that hope to take distraction to new levels.

Not on purpose, of course, but rather as a new form of revenue for their enormous financial coffers.

According to an article in the New York Times last week, the two companies are leading the way in creating the Internet dashboard. The article says the dashboards would be interactive, showing everything from 3D maps to web pages and even videos.

Peter Rodger, chief examiner at the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), is quick to point out the dangers of this new technology. “If drivers were tempted to use the internet or watch videos on the move, the results could be deadly,” he says. “If it’s not acceptable to read a novel while driving, how can it be acceptable to read a multimedia display? Just how much information can a car driver absorb and still drive responsibly? There is a fine line between providing useful extra information and causing a dangerous distraction. This system appears to cross that line.”

I couldn’t agree more. According to the Times article, Audi is planning on unveiling a similar system this fall. It includes the following message: “Please only use the online services when traffic conditions allow you to do so safely.”

The point is, it’s probably not safe to cruise the Internet while cruising the highway. The reality is, of course, that most Americans never follow directions. You see people all the time talking on their cell phones while driving, even when it is against the law. Why would this one little sentence produce a different result?

To make this really work, the systems should be equipped to only work when the vehicle’s engine is either idling or off completely. The technology is there to do this. Whether Google or Intel want to take the chance that people will still want to purchase their product if it can only be used when the vehicle is stopped is another thing. Afterall, we already have that technology, it’s called a laptop.