Hirers eligible for training funds
North Idaho companies that hire disadvantaged workers are eligible for up to $2,000 in training reimbursement through a new Idaho Commerce & Labor program.
Disadvantaged workers include people who meet low-income guidelines; workers displaced through business closures; new entrants to the work force, including homemakers, recent graduates and young people; military veterans and disabled workers. The training dollars can also be used in conjunction with a tax credit for hiring disadvantaged workers.
Potential job applicants must be prequalified for the program before they are hired. Commerce & Labor offices in Kootenai, Bonner, Shoshone, Boundary and Benewah counties can also refer prequalified applicants to companies seeking workers.
For more information, visit an Idaho Commerce & Labor office. A list of phone numbers and addresses can be found at www.cl.idaho.gov.
Spokane
Yoke’s honored for partnerships
Spokane-based Yoke’s Fresh Market was singled out for a national grocery-industry honor recently.
Yoke’s was named “outstanding independent community retailer of the year” by Progressive Grocer magazine, a leading trade publication in that industry.
“Their specialty is working with local resources and other high-quality partners,” said Stephen Dowdell, editor of the magazine, in a press release.
Yoke’s was founded in 1946 and currently has a dozen stores in Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Sandpoint and Kellogg, Idaho. The company has announced plans to open a 13th store in Richland in May.
Washington
Retail sales beat expectations
Consumers, lured to malls by unusually warm weather and eager to spend their Christmas gift cards, boosted retail sales by a much larger than expected amount in January, with sales outside of autos surging at the fastest pace in six years.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that retail sales excluding autos were up 2.2 percent in January, the best showing in this category since late 1999. With autos included, retail sales rose by 2.3 percent, the best showing in 20 months. Overall retail sales had risen by a tiny 0.4 percent in December.
Seattle
Microsoft moves Vista release up
Microsoft Corp. hopes to have the new version of its Windows operating system available in time for the U.S. holiday season, narrowing the time frame for the much-anticipated product’s release.
Microsoft has long said the new system, called Vista, would be available in the second half of 2006, but spokesman Lou Gellos said Tuesday that the company wants to have it in stores in time for the holiday season, which typically begins around Thanksgiving. He declined to give any more detailed guidance.