Liberty Bay Bank has announced the promotions of Rhonda Morris to senior vice president of operations, and Kathy Thibeault to assistant vice president and controller. read more »

Kitsap Bank announced that Rebecca Lantz was named Employee of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2014. 

Lantz has worked in the Deposit Support Department since April 2013, and previously worked as a financial service specialist and a teller.  read more »

PR Newswire

WASHINGTON — The Partnership for a New American Economy and the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform released a new report showing how American families are eating more imported fresh produce today than ever before, in substantial part because U.S. growers lack enough labor to expand their production and compete with foreign importers.

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Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant is now offering to let small businesses and human service agencies phase in a $15-an-hour minimum wage over three years.

Sawant, a socialist who won a council seat by campaigning to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, is standing by her proposal to require big businesses to pay a $15 wage in 21015, but on Wednesday she issued a statement that said that “to make progress” she would allow a phase-in period for small businesses and human service agencies.

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The odds that Congress will pass an increase in the U.S. minimum wage before the November elections are so low that even the nation’s lobbyists are largely ignoring it.

The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest union group, won’t gear up for a push in Congress until a vote on an increase is scheduled in the Senate, said chief lobbyist Bill Samuel. His group, and business organizations that oppose raising hourly pay, are giving more attention to wage proposals in the states.

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Business Examiner

Two significant changes were announced recently for government employees whose health insurance is provided by the state Public Employees Benefits Board program. And both include possible cost increases.

Beginning July 1, persons covered will face a $25 per account surcharge if they or any of their covered family members use tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff or other forms. To avoid the financial levy, they can enroll in a PEBB sponsored tobacco cessation program.

There will also be a monthly $50 surcharge if enrolled spouses or domestic partners have chose not to enroll in a medical plan from their own employers that is comparable to a PEBB medical plan. read more »

Boeing Co. announced it will end the traditional pension plans for about 68,000 nonunion employees in 2016 and transition them to a company-funded defined contribution retirement savings plan.

Boeing employees, including managers and executives, who participate in the main Boeing and subsidiary defined benefit pension plans are affected by the change.

Starting Jan. 1, 2016, Chicago-based Boeing (NYSE: BA) will make cash contributions each pay period through a new component of the 401(k) plan. When they retire, employees will receive all benefits earned in the current traditional pension plan prior to the transition, and Boeing said it will continue to match employee savings in an existing 401(k) plan. read more »

It is rare that someone with deep roots in Washington state has his obituary published in the New York Times, but when Joe Dear died, the newspaper ran an extensive story.

Dear, who was raised on the East Coast and migrated to Olympia to attend Evergreen State College, was the powerful chief investment officer at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) in Sacramento until losing his battle with prostate cancer on Feb. 26. He was 62.

Joe Dear was an anomaly. In this age of partisan vitriol, where the motives of politicians and bureaucrats are routinely suspect, Dear acted with integrity and humility.

Perhaps best known for his work at CalPERS, most of us remember him for his days in our state. read more »

After a week in which state Sen. Jan Angel drew strong criticism for blocking action on a bill to extend a funding source for programs that help the homeless, the Port Orchard Republican issued a press release trying to change the focus.

The press release issued March 7 noted that Angel’s decision to “hold” the bill — HB 2368, which would extend a temporary $40 fee on real-estate transactions to fund homeless assistance - “has caused a flurry of controversy and inaccurate accusations, despite her good intentions.”

The Seattle Times published an editorial March 6 that began: “State Sen. Jan Angel’s willingness to kill a bill that would help the homeless is wrong read more »