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Who is paying the legal costs for the Port of Los Angeles to pursue the “employee only” model? How much taxpayer money is being wasted on a lost cause that has been reviewed and re-reviewed in the courts?

Things are getting better. That was the consensus most analysts have reached after looking at recent weeks’ economic numbers, and it was the nearly unanimous opinion of people attending the Truckload Carriers Association convention last week in Las Vegas.

After Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) agreed last week to stop blocking legislation that extends the federal highway program, the Senate ap-proved the 30-day extension, allowing state transportation agencies to resume construction projects they had shut down.

Mack Trucks executives said they are pleased with the functioning of their new 2010 selective catalytic reduction engines and will market the attributes of the power plants as the truck maker tries to regain sales volumes and market share through 2011.

The Obama administration said it plans to begin a multimillion-dollar push to crack down on employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors.

TAMPA, Fla. — Less-than-truckload carriers can realize substantial savings if they manage to end the prevailing industry practice of preparing freight bills on paper and convert the process to electronic transmissions, industry officials and experts said.

A unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court clarifies how companies with “far-flung” business operations should establish a home base for litigation purposes, and will probably move some civil suits to federal venues rather than state courts in the future, said lawyers familiar with the case.

Transportation leaders said last week they hoped to complete a long-term surface transportation reauthorization before the end of the year, although paying for the legislation’s increased infrastructure spending remains a major obstacle.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last week that even though it hasn’t set 2010 fees for the Unified Carrier Registration, states may begin collecting some revenue from carriers using last year’s fee levels.