Headlines from June 17, 2024:
Spokane renters to get more heat relief options
Next month, a new section of city code will take effect in Spokane. Under the ordinance, rental tenants will have more leeway to install their own air conditioning units.
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown signed the measure Friday, four days after the city council gave it unanimous approval.
Penned by first-term councilmember Kitty Klitzke, the measure applies to window units and free-standing air conditioners.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Council President Betsy Wilkerson said the rule is a response to increasingly hostile summer weather that makes life dangerous outside and inside.
"We need to look at how we could help people stay cool in their homes," Wilkerson said. "Not just for our elderly but people with children or people who lack transportation. It just makes good policy, and it makes good sense."
There are several exceptions: Landlords could prohibit an air conditioning unit if it would violate building codes, overwhelm the building's electrical wiring, block an entrance, or cause "unreasonable" damage to the rental property — though the ordinance doesn't spell out what "unreasonable" means.
Property owners can also insist that they be the ones to handle installation and any subsequent removal.
Average wage in Washington rises by 5.9%
The average wage in Washington state grew by nearly six percent last year, according to data recently released by the Employment Security Department.
In contrast, wages increased by just two percent in 2022.
There are a number of reasons for this year’s increase – one of which is low unemployment, which means fewer job seekers — Chief Labor Economist Annaliese Vance-Sherman said.
“One of the things that employers have available to them is wages as far as how they're going to compete for that workforce that's a little bit scarce and hard to secure," she said. "So the tight labor market absolutely contributed to increasing wages.”
The average wage is used to calculate things like unemployment benefits and paid family and medical leave benefits.
Washington economy sees slowdown, per assessment
A quarterly assessment of Washington state's economy reflects an expected slowdown in jobs, wages and economic growth, but a cooldown isn't automatically bad news, say experts.
Economists have expected a slower pace for a few years now because the bounce-back seen after the pandemic recession couldn't last forever.
A modest slowdown helps temper inflation, reduce pressure on wages and makes the labor market a little roomier.
Job growth has been stronger than expected since February, according to Dave Reich, the executive director of the Washington Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.
And more than four years after coronavirus severely curtailed restaurant, bar and travel business, the leisure and hospitality sectors have finally regained the jobs lost.
"This sector got hit so hard during COVID. There were roughly 350,000 jobs. When COVID hit, it dropped to about 200,000," Reich said. "So almost a 150,000-job loss, and then a really long, kind of tortured path to where it was pre-COVID."
In keeping with the more modest pace of economic growth so far, Reich said the forecast council's prediction calls for more of the same the rest of the year.
Job growth may rise 1.5%, including some expansion within aerospace businesses. Home prices may stabilize or even retreat slightly, and personal income growth may rise a bit more slowly than predicted earlier this year.
Idaho's graduation requirements could change in 2025
For the first time in over a decade, Idaho's high-school graduation requirements could change.
After senior year, students can do a lot of things: college, trade schools, military service. But as workforce demands shift, state officials are considering current graduation requirements to ease the transition.
Idaho EdNews reports, some of the changes include focusing coursework on life after high school, like choosing technical training or college entrance exams.
If approved, the changes would go into effect next summer.
The Idaho Department of Education is hosting a series of public meetings to prepare the revisions for the State Board of Education in hopes students will be better prepared for their futures, no matter what path they choose.
Washington's carbon allowances aren't as lucrative as they were last year
Revenue from Washington carbon allowance auctions is falling short of projections.
Under a recent state climate law, companies that produce a lot of greenhouse gases buy the allowances. Over time, the available allowances shrink, in theory forcing producers to reduce their emissions.
After a hot start for the auctions last year, it’s unclear why prices for the carbon allowances are falling now. Crosscut reports the decline could reflect uncertainty over the future of the climate law, which could be repealed by voters in November, or it could mean the auctions are simply stabilizing to a different price level.
Reporting contributed by Brandon Hollingsworth, Owen Henderson, Mónica Esquivel and John Stang.
