One major concern was the appropriateness of a costly new initiative in the face of a possible budget crisis.

But the most costly initiative would be to keep taxes low.

Instead, he used the National Economic Council, which he once directed, to come up with a series of less costly urban initiatives.

Besides Hammer, the campaign has hired Kool and the Gang and other American pop groups as part of its costly "cultural initiative."

A less successful and costly initiative was a settlement of Maroons from Jamaica who were instead resettled in Sierra Leone.

The news coincided with Mr. Spano's announcements of some costly initiatives, including a $50 million plan over five years to acquire open space.

Skeptics wonder if, for all their idealism, Greens can make any more of a difference on local issues than conventional politicians, because so few costly initiatives can be addressed without state support.

Environmental groups called the proposal a thinly veiled and costly initiative to elevate industry profits above health and safety concerns.

As we talked in the Oval Office, Obama acknowledged that the succession of so many costly initiatives, necessary as they may have been, wore on the public.

In addition to its costly local initiatives, the company has suffered an erosion in its core long-distance business.