State Government

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Today, the State Capitol is as busy as department stores were on Black Friday, as lawmakers convene for a special session. The topic is how Washington will cope with its $2 billion budget shortfall. The choices are familiar: more cuts to state agencies and services, or revenue increases through higher taxes or closing tax loopholes.

Longtime lobbyist Lonnie Johns-Brown expects the session to last at least three weeks.

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State Government

The underemployment rates in Washington state, part-time work instead of full-time for economic reasons, were 6.7 percent in 2010; 6.0 percent in 2009; and 4.3 percent in 2003.

In 2010, Washington State had a 10.2 percent (15th in U.S) unemployment rate. In 2009, it was 9.0 percent (22nd). Going back to 2003, the rate was 7.5 percent (3rd).

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State Government

There are 172 public beaches in San Juan County according to the state Department of Ecology (Ecology). Many are boat access only for example Beach 279 on Orcas Island, Beach 305 on Lopez Island,Beach 334 on San Juan Island and Wasp Passage Beach on Shaw Island.

Directions and other information about all 172 beaches are on the Coastal Atlas found on Ecology's website. The atlas which covers all coastal counties contains a wealth of information. Besides searching by county, city or beach name, searches can also be done by activity desired or by map. 

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State Government

Washington State Parks Foundation awarded Senator Kevin Ranker (D-San Juan Island) its Legislator of the Year award. With state government facing a $5 billion shortfall, significant closures to public lands were proposed.

Even though fishing, wildlife watching and hiking account for $4.5 billion in economic activity and create over 60,000 jobs each year in Washington each year, there was a need for recreational lands to become more self-sustainable. A great deal of this economic activity is tied directly to the state's recreational lands, including state parks, hunting grounds and public fishing areas.

Senator Ranker introduced Senate Bill 5622, an effort to make state recreational lands self-sufficient. The bill created the Discover Pass, a universal parking permit for motor vehicle access to public lands.

The bill was signed into law Thursday, May 12. Projected revenue from the pass is expected to exceed $70 million - enough to keep the gates open.

The foundation cited Ranker's "leadership to keep our outstanding State Park system open for all our citizens in 2011," when declaring him the Washington State Parks Foundation Legislator of the Year atits celebration Wednesday, June 15, 2011.

"Washingtonians across the state depend upon parks and other recreational lands not only for recreation and the protection of natural resources, but also for their livelihood," Ranker said. "Without this law, many public lands across the state would have been closed. When we shutdown these lands, we inadvertently harm the communities that depend upon them for economic activity.

"I'm incredibly grateful for the recognition from the State Parks Foundation. Because of the Foundation and many others who helped, this summer we can all continue to enjoy Washington's public recreational areas... and I'll still be able to go fishing at my favorite State Park."

State Government

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Access to your credit or debit card is the goal of a new robo-calling scam that has cropped up this month around the nation, including in Washington.

The caller claims to be from your bank, informing you that your debit or credit card has been locked or frozen and asking that you enter the account number and 'PIN' to reactivate it. People who are traveling or near their credit limit might think a locked card is a possibility, and punch in those digits. But the Washington Attorney General's office says it's a scam.

Doug Walsh, who heads the attorney general's Consumer Protection Division, says those who have fallen for the scam should consider putting a fraud alert on their credit reports or getting a temporary credit freeze, which should cost less than $20.

"It's a very economical way to ensure that, during that danger period after you've given out your information, that you're not going to be immediately victimized. The other thing is to always alert your financial institutions to this behavior, so that they can put out the word and be as alert as possible on your behalf."

Credit freezes are often free to seniors or people who have been victimized, Walsh says. He notes credit and identity theft are on the rise as social networking becomes more popular with crooks as well as everyone else, and suggests that people be more careful about what they put online.

"They hand out their phone number and their personal information. Their personal relationship information is often transparent. It's a bad combination of two cultures: a criminal culture, and a culture where maintaining your personal information isn't necessarily the highest priority."

He also recommends reporting robo-call incidents online to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC doesn't investigate every complaint, but tracks the scams and shares the information with law enforcement through its Consumer Sentinel Network. The FTC complaint site is ftccomplaintassistant.gov.