Sequester

Federal Sequester Turns Employment Workers Into Job Seekers

Jessica Robinson — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:58:09 +0000

In the next couple of months, many employment office workers in the Northwest will join the unemployed. State labor agencies are having to make cutbacks in staffing. It's due to a combination of the economy getting better and federal budget cuts known as the “sequester” setting in.

Staffing at the local employment office usually moves in the exact opposite direction as the rest of the economy.

Budget Cuts, High Fire Potential Could Mean Tough Wildfire Season In the West

Samantha Wright — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:21:31 +0000

Federal budget cuts and above normal fire potential could mean a tough wildfire season in the West. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack got a look at the fire picture Monday at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. Predictions indicate that Idaho, Oregon, California, Arizona, and New Mexico will have an above average fire season this summer.

Sequestration Brings Reduction of Some WA Unemployment Benefits

Sara Lerner — Wed, 08 May 2013 23:52:58 +0000

Some Washington residents who receive unemployment benefits will soon get significantly less money from the government.

Air Force Says New Air Refueling Tanker Program On Track

Tom Banse — Mon, 06 May 2013 23:08:39 +0000

Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane is planning a public memorial service for three of its airmen killed in a mid-air explosion over central Asia. The cause of the air refueling tanker accident last Friday remains under investigation. The crash renews attention on a Boeing Company contract to replace the Air Force's aging tanker fleet.

The doomed Fairchild Air Force Base crewmates were flying a KC-135 Stratotanker built by Boeing in the early 1960s.

Control Towers At Smaller Northwest Airports Likely To Get Reprieve

Tom Banse — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:54:26 +0000

The White House says President Obama will sign a fast-tracked Congressional bill to end the furloughs of air traffic controllers. Operators of smaller Northwest airports hope the measure also stops the planned closure of their control towers.

As of now, more than a dozen of the less busy airport control towers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho remain on a list to be deactivated in early June.

Some Northwest Cities Explore Ways To Keep Airport Control Towers Open

Tom Banse — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 23:29:24 +0000

Some Northwest cities and counties are exploring whether to use local or private money to keep their airport control towers open. By mid-June, the federal government plans to close the control towers at 13 small to medium sized airports across the region.

Song About Hanford Furloughs Picks Up Viewers On YouTube

Anna King — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:11:00 +0000

RICHLAND, Wash. -- Jason Strickling and his wife Lana of Pasco, Wash. are planning some extra time with the kids this summer. That’s because she works for a Hanford Nuclear Reservation contractor in southeast Washington and her employer is requiring her to take about five weeks of unpaid leave before September.

The federal budget cuts known as the sequester are forcing a total of 2,500 workers at Hanford to take unpaid time off.

Sequester Suspends Tuition Assistance For Troops

Tom Banse — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 23:27:31 +0000

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. - The Defense Department has suspended a workplace benefit cherished by many soldiers, airmen and Coast Guardsmen. The agency has put tuition assistance on indefinite hold because of the automatic federal budget cuts known as the "sequester."

Sequester To Result In 4,800 Hanford Layoffs, Furloughs

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 01:49:56 +0000

RICHLAND, Wash. – As many as 4,800 workers could be furloughed or laid off at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington. It’s the result of the federal spending cuts known as the sequester. Hanford will need to cut $182 million in cleanup work according to a federal letter to Washington Governor Jay Inslee released Tuesday.

The Hanford cuts could begin as early as April 1, but it’s no April Fool’s joke.

Regional Airlines Intend To Keep Flying If Control Towers Close

Tom Banse — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 00:41:13 +0000

According to an airport industry association, control towers at 14 small to medium sized airports around the Northwest will close on April 1 in response to automatic federal budget cuts: Four in Idaho and five each in Oregon and Washington. But regional airlines intend to keep flying to those cities they now serve.

The Federal Aviation Administration pays a government contractor called Serco to staff the control towers at smaller Western airports.