Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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Washington News Service SEATTLE - Operators of food banks and soup kitchens across North America, including some from Washington, met this week at the Closing the Hunger Gap conference in Portland to brainstorm ways to make the emergency food system more effective. The conference ended Wednesday, with the message that hunger-relief organizations can do more to fight the root causes of the problem and engage the people they serve to help make the changes. Miguel Jimenez, resource development coordinator with Rainier Valley...
Washington News Service SEATTLE – About 23,000 homes and businesses in Washington are on the list to receive a broadband Internet connection, some for the first time. The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund started three years ago, for broadband service expansions that could take up to six years to complete. According to FCC spokesman Mark Wigfield, the goal is to get higher-speed Internet service to sparsely-populated areas, by adding some financial incentive for providers to install or upgrade the tec...
In the Northwest, a new U.S. Department of Energy report could mean a resurgence of interest and investment in wind farms. It says energy from wind has hit a record low price, with the performance rising and the cost of installing turbines falling 20 to 40 percent in the last five years. Washington ranks seventh among states for installed wind capacity, but much of the power generated here isn't used here. Cliff Gilmore, communications director for Renewable Northwest,...
As people who are uninsured or self-employed start the process of getting health coverage through the state’s online insurance marketplace, there’s one stop they might want to make first. The SEIU Washington State Council, made up of unions that represent some nurses and home-care workers as well as other professions, has launched its own website, which it’s describing as a simple first step with details about what types of information to get together to make the sign-up process easier. Vicky Neumeier is a nurse and SEIU memb...
The new school year is underway in Washington, and four-year university students are paying 16 percent more than last academic year for tuition and fees, compared to a national average hike of just over eight percent. State budget cuts are to blame for much of the increase, as well as competing priorities for fewer education dollars. State Representative Chris Reykdal (D-Dist. 22) of Tumwater, on the House Education Committee, says the next year will bring more tough choices for lawmakers. “We have a new, I would say p...
The term “spring planting” takes on a whole new meaning when the crop is a biofuel. While it may finally put some types of weeds to a productive use, a report from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) cites the need for careful selection and monitoring of the crops being grown for energy production. In states with warmer climates, it says some are overtaking native species. It hasn’t happened in the Northwest, although the fast-growing giant reed has been planted for biofuel use in the Columbia Gorge near Boardman, Ore....
The minimum wage in Washington state goes up 37 cents January 1, 2012 to $9.04 an hour. Washington is one of only 10 states that ensure by law that their minimum wage keeps up with inflation, which was calculated at just over 4 percent this year. Whenever there’s a minimum wage hike, some employers claim the extra cost will put them out of business. But that has not happened, says John Schmitt, a senior economist with the Center for Economic Policy Research, who studies wage trends since the 1930s. “What the evidence see...
