Join us on February 9, United Way Lobby Day, to advocate for these issues!

Document Recording Fee HB2048/SB 5952:

Summary:  The document recording fee supports state and county approaches to preventing and ending homelessness ncluding housing vouchers, eviction prevention services, short-term housing assistance, and emergency shelter.  The DRF bills extend the sunset of a $20 real estate document recording fee set to expire in 2013. The $20 fee will be extended for four years and a new temporary $10 fee (set to expire in 2015)…

This blog was prepared by United Way Worldwide for its member organizations

In the budget that has been approved by Congress, and is expected to be signed by President Obama, we are pleased to share that the majority of programs that United Way has prioritized have stayed intact or even increased in funding. Given the conomic and political landscape, this is good news. Please see below for highlights of FY2012 program funding in our building block areas. Note: There is an additional 0.189 percent across…

This is a guest blog by Susie Burdick, CEO of Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center

We at Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center have a distinct evolutionary lens we look through every day.  We believe to be elevant, timely and responsive to both the changing needs in the community and the changing economic  environment, continuous evolution and being nimble is critical to success.  We are always looking for opportunities that improve who we are and what we do.  That perspective has led us to some interesting and…

On November 15, Congress released the final, compromise version of the fiscal year (FY) 2012 funding legislation, H.R. 2112, for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other related agencies.   Compared to FY 2011, the bill cuts $3.8 billion from HUD programs.  The legislation includes some good news and some not so good news, but given the magnitude of cuts facing many programs, those helping to prevent and end homelessness like McKinney-Vento were protected from cuts. The legislation includes:

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The details of the Thursday, November 17 revenue forecast will be summarized by close of business on Friday, November 18.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

Unique recession has led to extended shortfalls in revenue

This recession is unique among recent recessions in the overall loss of jobs and revenue as well as the depth of the loss making the recovery not a swift recovery back to “normal”  but an extended period of high unemployment, rising costs of goods, high foreclosure rate and  overall lack of consumer confidence.  To illustrate, Washington has lost 195,000 jobs since the beginning of the recession and regained only 62,000.

The combination of deficits in anticipated…

Everyone at United Way is deeply saddened by the sudden death this weekend of state senator Scott White. Scott was not only a committed public servant, but someone who was smart, funny and kind. He served on United Way’s public policy advisory group, and we will miss his wise counsel. Our hearts go out to his children and to his wife, Alison Carl White, a member of the United Way board. Go here for details of a memorial fund.

Agreement on increasing the federal debt ceiling was reached on August 2, the final day (identified by Treasury Secretary Geithner) before the federal government would default on its financial obligations because it had run out of money and could no longer borrow to pay bills.  A bipartisan compromise was reached by the House and Senate but neither body, the President, the Pentagon, or interest and advocacy groups was particularly happy with the outcome.   The National Senior Corps Association has done an excellent summary…

Guest blogger, Kelly Rider of the Housing Development Consortium, discusses the benefits of the Veterans and Human Services Levy to our community.

On or around July 29^th, you will receive your 2011 Primary Ballot in your mail. That’s just one week away, and the renewal of the King County Veterans & Human Services Levy is Proposition 1 on that ballot.  

The current Veterans & Human Services Levy was passed by nearly 58% of the voters in 2005, but it is set to expire at the…

Earlier this week, our Public Policy department decided to reach out to community members involved in our Volunteer Reader Program. Via e-mail, we asked volunteers to do more to help support early learning in our state.

 Volunteers were asked to sign on to a letter thanking our King County Legislature for its outstanding bipartisan effort to support early learning in Washington. We were very excited when enthusiastic and highly positive responses came flying in. In all, a total of 35 Volunteer…