Benefits for jobless will get lift
OLYMPIA – If anyone needs a little good news, it’s people without a job. So here’s some: Starting Monday, the weekly check for most people getting unemployment benefits will increase about $70.
The increase – $45 of which comes from the state and $25 from the feds – was a high priority for Olympia. It was the first bill signed into law this year by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Lawmakers also increased the minimum check to $225. The maximum is $611.
Some Social Security recipients will get $250 in stimulus funds
About one in six Americans is eligible for a one-time $250 economic recovery payment, according to the state Department of Social and Health Services.
Who qualifies? People who receive Social Security checks, supplemental security income, veterans benefits and railroad retirement checks. People eligible for any of those things from November 2008 to January 2009 may be eligible for the payment.
The payment is automatic; you don’t have to do or fill out anything. If you and a spouse both qualify, each will get $250. The money – which will be separate from regular benefits – will arrive the same way other benefits do: by check, direct deposit or debit card.
The money should arrive by the end of May. If you think you’re eligible and don’t see the payment by early June, contact the Social Security Administration.
State workers: Brace for ‘tough times ahead’
Among those getting an unwanted letter from the boss this year: state workers. Gov. Chris Gregoire recently e-mailed all state employees, warning of tough times ahead.
“In the weeks, months and years ahead, all Washingtonians will feel the impacts of the hard decisions the Legislature made” to balance the budget amid “the Great Recession,” Gregoire wrote.
“For instance, we may be asking employees to take unpaid furloughs to save jobs and money,” she said. “The funding for our health care benefits is not sufficient to cover health care inflation, so we may pay higher co-pays.”
And she again asked workers to send her their ideas for saving money.
Who missed votes?
Every year, the Web site washingtonvotes.org releases a tally of “missed votes” by every lawmaker in Olympia. How’d our locals do? Pretty well, actually.
Reps. Don Cox, Joel Kretz, Timm Ormsby, Joe Schmick and Alex Wood had perfect records, voting – or having someone else press the button for them – on all 887 House votes.
Reps. Larry Crouse missed 28 votes, John Driscoll 31, Kevin Parker 13, Matt Shea 40, and Shelly Short 25. Reasons included delayed flights out of Spokane (Parker) and brief illness (Short).
In the Senate, the rules are stricter. There are no voting buttons. Everything’s done with an old-fashioned roll call.
That means that legislative leaders, who spend most of their days and nights in negotiations with the governor and House, tend to miss a lot of votes. This year was no different: Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown missed 205 votes. That’s about 25 percent.
“These duties require that I be off the Senate floor for periods of time during floor action, especially near the end of the legislative session,” Brown said in a written explanation to washingtonvotes.org. “I am always nearby in a conference room and available if there is a close vote or an uncertain outcome that necessitates my presence.”
Other local senators had mostly low numbers. Mark Schoesler missed two votes; Chris Marr missed six. Bob Morton missed 24, and Bob McCaslin missed 45.
Ten lawmakers missed 50 to 164 votes. Most had good excuses: a wife’s illness, urgent business back on the farm, a family funeral, the flu.
“I underwent a noninvasive heart procedure after suffering a mild heart attack,” wrote Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-Wenatchee.
WorkSource offices to get new computers
The state Employment Security Department is about to spend about $1.3 million replacing hundreds of “slow, clunky” computers at WorkSource offices around the state.
These are the computers – some a decade old – that people looking for jobs use to tune up their resumes or look for job openings.
All told, 1,500 computers at most of the 68 offices will be replaced, along with the monitors.
In addition to computers with Internet access, WorkSource provides phones, fax machines and other help finding a job.