Washington will receive up to $6.2 million in federal funds to go toward a rebate program for consumers who purchase new Energy Star qualified home appliances.

The funds were announced today by the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu. They come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Appliances consume a huge amount of our electricity, so there’s enormous potential to both save energy and save families money every month,” said Secretary Chu. “These rebates will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making purchases that will directly stimulate the economy and create jobs.”

The program is state run and state's must file their intent to participate by Aug. 15. States and territories will receive 10 percent of the funds after submitting the initial application with the balance awarded after their program plans are approved, according to the news release.

Participating states will be able to select which residential ENERGY STAR qualified appliances to include in their programs and the individual rebate amount for each appliance.

DOE recommends that states and territories focus their program efforts on heating and cooling equipment, appliances, and water heaters as these products offer the greatest energy savings potential.

The Recovery Act appropriated funds for the program to help achieve the national goals of spurring economic growth, creating jobs, saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. States and territories can use these funds to leverage the utility companies and energy efficiency program sponsors in their area.

For more information on these and other Recovery Act related funding opportunities, visit www.energy.gov/recovery .

By Kelly Kearsley
The News Tribune

Pierce County’s unemployment rate dipped ever so slightly to 9.7 percent in June and added 700 jobs over the month, according to a report released by the state’s Employment Security Department Tuesday.

That’s good news – at least for now.

“When you put these two things together – for the moment, we are plateauing. We’re not really going up, but we’re not really going down,” said Paul Turek, the ESD economist for the area.

The county’s revised unemployment rate for May was 9.9 percent. The county numbers are not adjusted for seasonal changes in employment.
Though the number of jobs in the county was 12,300 less than last year at this time, several industries actually posted improvements over the month. The most notable was professional and business services, which grew by 600 jobs. Construction, manufacturing and leisure and hospitality also posted gains.

The June employment report is encouraging, but whether it means that the county has reached the bottom of this recession is anyone’s guess.

“On one hand, the positive side says we may be ready to start climbing the hill –or we could just be in a holding pattern,” Turek said.
The county counted a total of 270,400 jobs last month – the figure hasn’t changed much from January, but remains well below the total of 282,700 jobs the county counted last year at this time. The total number of job in the county peaked in December 2007 at 285,800.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has stopped – or maybe just paused – the run up it’s been on over the last year. The jobless rate in June 2008 was 5.7 percent.

The state’s unemployment rate ticked up to 9.3 percent from a revised 9.1 percent last year. The state’s figures are seasonally adjusted.

The state lost an estimated 10,500 jobs over the month and posted 117,800 fewer jobs over the year.

“I am confident the steps we are taking at the state and federal levels will help us pull out of the most challenging economic times since the Depression,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a news release.

“We are beginning to see signs that our economy may be stabilizing and recovery efforts are working, but it will take time,” she said.

Industries recording the largest declines were government, retail trade, education and health services and construction.

An estimated 329,983 people in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in June.

Kelly Kearsley: 253-597-8573
Kelly.kearsley@thenewstribune.com

There’s good news – if you’re a developer with a sewer permit and you find yourself with a bit too much recession and not quite enough calendar.

According to a release from Pierce County Public Works and Utilities, “Due to the downturn in the building industry, some developers need to delay projects until market conditions improve. Pierce County is taking steps to help those developers keep from losing their original investment in fees and applications.”

A sewer permit extension window that expired June 30 has been extended, this time through December 31, the release said. “The action allows all sewer applications, approved plans and permits that would expire by the end of the year to remain valid for an additional 12 months.”

Last fall, as part of an economic stimulus package, the County Council passed an ordinance that allowed the Planning and Land Services Department to offer a 2-year time extension on active building permits, vesting rights, and other land-use development applications and approvals. Through a policy revision, Public Works and Utilities offered a similar, but shorter extension to active sewer applicants.

“The original policy change applied only to sewer applications that would have expired before July 1,” the release said. “Now those that will expire by the end of the year are also eligible for the one-year extension.”

He circumnavigated the globe, finishing in 2007. He helped create the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. It was his donation that fostered the UW’s Dempsey Indoor Training Stadium.

And now Neal Dempsey – managing general partner at Bay Partners, a Palo Alto, Calif. entrepreneur incubator – has been named as a member of the LeMay Automobile Museum board of directors.

“Over the past 20 years, Dempsey has guided more than two dozen start-ups to obtain highly successful outcomes – either through an IPO or by acquisition. He currently sits on the Board of nine technology companies,” according to a release from the museum.

Dempsey “is as passionate about investing in technology as he is about giving back to the community. He approaches both with the same enthusiastic, hands-on manner,” the release said.