Airport work under way

Work has begun on a $1 million project to improve a 40-year-old Lawrence Municipal Airport runway.

Construction crews with Kansas City, Mo.-based Emery Sapp & Sons were working Friday on adding a five-inch layer of concrete to smooth the shorter of the airport’s two runways.

Lloyd Hetrick, fixed-based operator at the city-owned airport, said the project would make the runway safer by eliminating several large cracks. The project also will include upgraded lighting for the area.

The work follows a 2002 project that repaved and added 700 feet to the airport’s main runway.

“Now we really have everything up to standards,” Hetrick said.

The city is using a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to pay for the work. Hetrick said the city plans to apply for a future FAA grant to help pay for a new taxiway at the airport.

Above, Mitch McConkey, of Emery Sapp & Sons, sprays pressurized air to clean the runway surface. The project is expected to be completed in about two weeks.

Investigation

Former Boeing executive reportedly to plead guilty

A former Boeing Co. manager has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to charges related to the theft of sensitive documents from rival Lockheed Martin Corp. during a competition for a $1.88 billion satellite launching contract.

No documents have been filed in a Los Angeles federal district court but sources told the Wall Street Journal that an agreement has been reached between prosecutors and the former executive, Kenneth Branch. The plea bargain could strengthen the government’s position in negotiating a corporate settlement with Boeing, the newspaper reported in its Friday editions.

International

Mexico, Japan seek to boost free trade

Mexico and Japan signed a free trade agreement Friday that Mexicans hoped would ease their reliance on the United States while encouraging Japan to build more factories in the Central American country.

Japan is counting on the accord to reduce and eventually eliminate tariffs on electronics, auto imports and steel. President Vicente Fox welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the National Palace before they signed the pact.

Mexico has signed 11 free trade agreements with 42 countries, including the European Union, in an effort to balance its economic ties. But the agreements so far have failed to dent its dependence on the United States, which takes nearly 90 percent of Mexico’s exports.

Automotive

Ford predicts profit boost

Ford Motor Co. raised its third-quarter and full-year earnings forecast for 2004 citing continued strong performance Friday at its financial services arm, even as the company’s car business in the key U.S. market struggles.

The news came on the same day Ford announced about 1,150 job cuts in England to streamline its Jaguar unit.