House OK for Hansen bills brightens job outlook

Rep. Drew Hansen

The state’s job market would gain strength for the future under four bills by Rep. Drew Hansen that cleared the state House this past week.

“There are signs we’re rebounding from the depths of the Great Recession, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Hansen said. “I want to protect the jobs we have and prepare our young people for opportunities in the 21^st –century economy. It’s very encouraging to me to get the strong, bipartisan support of my fellow legislators in that work.”

The bills are:

House Bill 1247, which makes it easier for small businesses to get money from a key state job-training program designed to help employees upgrade their skills. The bill also ensures that money from this program supports training that leads to degrees and credentials rather than dead-end jobs. The House voted unanimously for it Saturday, 98-0.

House Bill 1472, which helps students train for high-paying jobs in the computer industry by enhancing computer-science education in high schools and creating a statewide task force to address the computer programmer shortage. It was approved Friday 95-3.

House Bill 1245, which protects jobs in the shellfish and recreation industries by getting abandoned vessels out of our waters before they sink and cause pollution. It passed the House Thursday on a 96-1 vote.

House Bill 1660, which will lessen the paperwork burden on hospitals and colleges as they train new doctors and nurses. It won unanimous approval Tuesday, 96-0.

House approval of Hansen’s bills sends them to the Senate for action there.

To read a more extensive account of House action on these bills, click here.

Read this story in Spanish.

Go fish!

Photo courtesy WDFW

You’ve got two weeks till Father’s Day and you’re scratching your head and biting your nails as you try to come up with a great gift idea. Quit worrying, we’ve got you covered: take dad on a fishing adventure!

Dads and fishing go together like peanut butter and jelly, relish and pickles, rock and roll! And the 5,000 triploid rainbow trout the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will be stocking in 14 lakes just before Father’s Day weekend are bound to make it an unforgettable experience for you and your dad, and anyone else who joins in the fun.

According to the WDFW, who know this kind of stuff, the triploid trout average one-and-a-half pounds each and they can grow to trophy size because they are sterile and spend their lives feeding, not reproducing. The 5,000 new trout are in addition to about 42,000 triploids stocked in 117 lakes across the state earlier this year.

So get dad a license and check out all the places where you and dad can catch some of the extra big fish stocked to celebrate Washington fathers.

Fishing licenses can be purchased here or by telephone at 1-866-246-9453; or at hundreds of license dealers across the state.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Legislative Committee heads to Okanogan

The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee will hold a work session tomorrow, Sept. 29, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Okanogan County Courthouse.

“These are difficult economic times and our focus should be not only on creating new jobs, but also on protecting the ones we already have, especially in our core industries like tree fruit growing, mining and logging,” said Rep. Brian Blake, committee chairman and a former logger. “I’m looking forward to getting in-depth information on the current situation, as well as the present and future needs of these basic industries to ensure they continue being strong pillars in our economy.”

Citizens are welcome to attend the work session, but no public testimony will be taken during the meeting. However, written testimony to the committee will be accepted before and after the meeting.

Who: Committee members; invited guest presenters, including regional county commissioners; and the public.

What: House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee work session

When: Thursday, Sept. 29

Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Where: Okanogan County Courthouse, 123 Fifth Avenue North, Room 150, Okanogan

To read this blog post in Spanish, please go here.