If you care about the disclosure of public records, campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures, the Public Disclosure Commission wants to see you: Next week on Wed., Aug. 24 they’re hosting an open house for the top two candidates to run the commission.
Andrea McNamara Doyle and Alan Rathbun will be available at the open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 711 Capitol Way, Room 206.
Budget director Marty Brown is asking state agencies to submit more proposed cuts.
The state budget picture must not be looking good: Marty Brown at the Office of Financial Management has sent out a memo on behalf of Gov. Chris Gregoire asking all state agency directors to submit a proposal for 5 percent “first priority” cuts — and an additional 5 percent cut for a total of 10 percent.
The reason? Brown says in the memo that the “near-term economic outlook has weakened since June,” when the last Economic and Revenue forecast was issued. And he says there’s a “distinct possibility” that further revenue losses are on the way in the coming year.
And what will those cuts look like? The Washington Policy Center has the chart from OFM here.
The agencies were asked to assume a January start date for cuts that couldn’t be implemented immediately. And they were warned that, as OFM monitors the economic conditions, the target could be revised.
The next ERFC Economic Review is on Sept. 2 at 2:30 p.m. TVW will cover that, as usual. And we’ll be there two weeks later for the Sept. 15 Economic and Revenue Forecast – when we’ll find out if the forecast is indeed down. But that’s not all: Before session, we’ve also got the November forecast to deal with.
It’s finally summer! And while a blog about state government might not be the first place you’d check for culinary tips, we have some news from the Department of Health you might want to read before whipping up a mignonette: Avoid raw oysters or risk illness.
Yes, it looks delicious. But a total of 22 vibriosis illnesses have been linked to commercial and recreational raw oysters in Washington recently. Vibriosis sets in anywhere from 12 hours to a day after you eat the infected oysters and can cause diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps, headache, vomiting, fever, and chills for up to a week. For those with compromised immune systems, it can be life threatening.
DOH says:
· Put oysters on ice or refrigerate them as soon as possible after harvest.
· If a receding tide has exposed oysters for a long time, don’t harvest them.
· Always cook oysters thoroughly. Cooking oysters at 145° F for 15 seconds destroys vibrio bacteria. Rinsing fully-cooked oysters with seawater can recontaminate them.
Here’s to a healthy, vibriosis-free weekend!
The Employment Security Department released survey results today that they hope debunks the myth that unemployes workers don’t look for jobs until their benefits are about to run out. ESD sent the survey out to anyone who had run out of unemployment benefits since Nov. 2009, and more than 5,000 people responded. The result: Three of four survey respondents who ran out of benefits are still out of work.
“The survey contradicts the perception that unemployed workers wait until their benefits run out, then quickly find work,” said ESD Commissioner Paul Trause. He added that there simply aren’t enough jobs.
The survey was sent to more than 30,000 “exhaustees” — those unemployed workers who have exhausted their benefits, which can last up to 99 weeks. Of those who responded and had found jobs, 80 percent were making less than they had before being laid off. The average pay cut was 29 percent. Survey respondents also said they feel age is a barrier to employment.
You can read the full report here.
