Washington is spending this country towards its demise. These two companies will hep you put your hard-earned tax dollars back in your pockets.

What does the government have up its sleeves this time? While the president is on vacation (playing golf with shady business connections), the White House put out a report detailing how the economy is much worse off than it originally anticipated.

Of course, Wall Street shrugs it off, virtually saying, “Washington was wrong? What else is new?”

Most intriguing, or alarming, is the White House’s latest deficit predictions. Instead of the $7 trillion estimate predicted in May, our executive branch is now expecting a gap of $9 trillion.

It turns out the notion of higher taxes really does decrease revenues.

With a cost of $2 trillion, it was an expensive lesson to learn for the rookie administration, especially as it tries to prove the benefits of a trillion-dollar healthcare overhaul.

Good luck

Iteris, Inc., leader in traffic management advanced technology, recently announced that it has signed a contract with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works for the second phase of the El Segundo Advanced Traveler Information project. The contract, valued at $3.5 million, starts this month. It is expected to span a period of four years and will include deployment, operations, and maintenance.

Iteris’s project aims to provide commuters who work near the Los Angeles International Airport area with up-to-the minute traffic information to ease employee commute trips. The Phase 1 project results in the deployment of a highly successful pilot system, and Phase 2 will uphold the success by providing access to traffic information such as congestion levels, incidents, cameras via the Internet, automated voice reporting, and community access television. Personalized ATIS services will also enable travelers to register their own commute routes and receive updates on traffic conditions via

Shares of Rentech (AMEX:RTK) are soaring today as word spreads about the company’s latest deal. Shares have more than doubled in less than two weeks.

This is how giants are born, one small advance at a time. It was just eleven days ago I last wrote about Rentech (AMEX:RTK) and its biofuel industry advances.

Shares of the company traded for just $0.62 on the day I wrote, “If done well, Fischer-Tropsch technology could be the transitive fuel source this country needs as it seeks its energy independence.”

Today those same shares traded as high as $2.24. That is a 260% gain in less than eight trading days.

The news keeps getting better for this company. Two weeks ago I was writing about its breakthrough in the aviation industry. A standards-creating board gave the go-ahead to use the company’s fuel in aviation-grade jet fuel.

It was a major step forward for

Organic To Go™ (OTGO.OB) was pleased to announce today its first grab-and-go franchise site at the San Diego International Airport (SDI). Organic To Go is the nation’s first fast-casual chain to be certified by the USDA as an organic retailer. The company’s new, fully branded Organic To Go site is located in the food court of Terminal 1 at SDI.

Organic To Go specializes in providing fresh and healthy “clean” food that is free of pesticides, chemicals, antibiotics, additives, growth hormones, or genetic modifications. Whenever possible, the company uses ingredients that are certified organic and locally sourced. The new site at SDI will feature Organic To Go’s full service menu including pre-wrapped hot and toasted sandwiches, mini-pizzas, hot soup, made-to-order sandwiches, coffee and espresso drinks.

Jason Brown, CEO of Organic To Go, is excited about the launch of the new franchise site and commented, “Showcased in the midst of Chili’s,

As any new business owner has likely found, there are several basic hurdles that need to be crossed as a business gets itself moving. In a general sense, a fledgling company needs to reach a certain critical mass to get past the first year and avoid failure. Once that first year hurdle is crossed, a company’s management can begin to concentrate a bit more on growth and full execution of its business plan.

From an investor’s point of view, this is when becoming involved begins to appear a bit more interesting, as opposed to becoming involved when the company was working to simply survive. Given current economic conditions, finding companies that fit this mold is a bit more difficult, but if they can be found, a solid investment is likely to be available for profit.

Organic To Go Food Corp., a USDA organically certified “grab and go” food retailer/wholesaler, provides organic food