Morning Fizz
They're Not So Thrilled
1. Mayor Mike McGinn is selling one of his two city-owned SUVs on ebay
. The current bid for the 2006, 4-wheel-drive Toyota Highlander is around $19,000. McGinn spokesman Aaron Pickus says the mayor "really wasn't using" the second SUV. The city's Fleets and Facilities Department is facilitating the sale, and the proceeds will go back to the city.
2. Speaking of green city transportation initiatives, it turns out the city has a little-known (but cool-sounding) bike sharing program. Instead of checking out, say, a Prius from the city's motor pool, city employees can check out a bike, even an electric one. Apparently, the program isn't widely used, although it isn't entirely clear why.
3. Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, the Washington State immigration reform advocacy group, talked to PubliCola about President Obama’s address on immigration issues yesterday. The gist: They’re excited that the President is giving the issue some play, but not so thrilled that nothing actually happened.
“We wanted him to give more of a timeline, and we wanted him to give some concrete actions.”
Full video footage to come later today.
4. If the rate of overtime compensation for Metro bus drivers holds for the rest of the year, King County will end up paying drivers around $18.4 million in overtime pay in 2010. King County Metro, paid transit drivers $7.7 million in overtime pay in the first five months of 2010, the most recent period for which pay data are available. That figure includes about $3.5 million in pay that drivers can collect in time off or overtime pay at a later date.
Metro is facing a budget shortfall of $60 million and the prospect of 400,000 hours of service cuts next year. Drivers receive overtime pay at a rate of time-and-a-half for any shift longer than eight hours and for any week longer than 40 hours, as well as for any work on a day they would ordinarily have off.
2. Speaking of green city transportation initiatives, it turns out the city has a little-known (but cool-sounding) bike sharing program. Instead of checking out, say, a Prius from the city's motor pool, city employees can check out a bike, even an electric one. Apparently, the program isn't widely used, although it isn't entirely clear why.
3. Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, the Washington State immigration reform advocacy group, talked to PubliCola about President Obama’s address on immigration issues yesterday. The gist: They’re excited that the President is giving the issue some play, but not so thrilled that nothing actually happened.
“We wanted him to give more of a timeline, and we wanted him to give some concrete actions.”
Full video footage to come later today.
4. If the rate of overtime compensation for Metro bus drivers holds for the rest of the year, King County will end up paying drivers around $18.4 million in overtime pay in 2010. King County Metro, paid transit drivers $7.7 million in overtime pay in the first five months of 2010, the most recent period for which pay data are available. That figure includes about $3.5 million in pay that drivers can collect in time off or overtime pay at a later date.
Metro is facing a budget shortfall of $60 million and the prospect of 400,000 hours of service cuts next year. Drivers receive overtime pay at a rate of time-and-a-half for any shift longer than eight hours and for any week longer than 40 hours, as well as for any work on a day they would ordinarily have off.
