The following is a press release from the state Attorney General’s office.

Following concerted efforts to prevent unnecessary foreclosures, the Washington Attorney General’s Office and a group of other state attorneys general and banking regulators say they’ve seen improvements in programs designed to help homeowners. But they’re concerned that foreclosures continue to outpace loan modifications, and note that most modifications increase the loan balance.

According to a report issued today by the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group, a multi-state coalition, recent loan modifications are performing better. Modifications can include reduced interest rates and other changes to terms that result in smaller payments and, in some cases, lower outstanding balances.

“Some analysts have predicted redefault rates as high as 75 percent but today’s report paints a brighter picture of the future,” Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said. “The newer modifications are holding up better, with fewer borrowers redefaulting.”

The report tracks loan modifications made by nine mortgage companies who were servicing 4.6 million loans as of March 2010. Banks, which are regulated by federal agencies, are not included. Compared to loans modified in 2008, borrowers whose loans were modified in 2009 were 40-50 percent less likely to be seriously delinquent six months later.

The Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency reported a similar reduction in redefault rates in their Mortgage Metrics Report for the first quarter of 2010. The agencies reported that of the 590,000 modifications made in 2009, nearly 52 percent were current at the end of the first quarter of 2010. Only 27 percent of the modifications implemented during 2008 were current.

McKenna and his office have been leading efforts to help homeowners, including cracking down on unethical lenders and fraudsters, advocating for modifications of mortgages that have become unaffordable, urging changes to bankruptcy rules, and seeking state-federal collaboration on bank regulation. The Washington Attorney General’s Office granted $920,000 of its Countrywide/Bank of America settlement payment for local foreclosure prevention programs that provide counseling and pro bono legal services.

Despite the progress made on the sustainability of the loan modifications being made, McKenna said he’s concerned that 6 out of 10 seriously delinquent borrowers are not getting any help.

McKenna encouraged Washington residents facing foreclosure to call The Washington State Homeownership Information Hotline at 1-877-894-HOME (4663) or visit the Attorney General’s Web site at www.atg.wa.gov/foreclosure.aspx for additional resources. He cautioned that loan modifications aren’t miracle cures and not every homeowner will qualify.

The majority of loan modifications (89 percent) tracked by the working group for the first quarter of 2010 showed some reduction in payments, and nearly 78 percent lowered the monthly payment by more than 10 percent.

Redefault rates were lower for loan modifications that reduced the principal balance by more than 10 percent. However, only 1 in 5 modifications reduce the loan amount and, in fact, the vast majority increase the balance by adding servicing charges and late payments.

“When housing prices are low, the lender is going to take a loss if that home is foreclosed and surrounding home values will ultimately be impacted,” McKenna said. “The underlying theory of a loan modification is to enable the lender to get the same value out of the home as if it had been foreclosed. The lender still takes a loss through the reduction of interest or principle. But the net result is better for the community and the borrower because, of course, a house is more than just an asset. It’s a home.”

The State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group consists of 12 state attorneys general (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington), bank regulators for New York, North Carolina, and Maryland, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. The group was founded in 2007 and has issued four prior reports, available at www.csbs.org/regulatory/Pages/SFPWG.aspx.

The following is a press release from David Ammons, communications director, Office of Secretary of State.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle has ruled that Washington state will continue to be blocked from releasing Referendum 71 signatures while challengers mount a federal court case that aims to keep the 138,000 names confidential forever.  The judge, in a brief hearing in his courtroom in Tacoma on Wednesday, agreed to the Secretary of State’s request to an expedited hearing schedule.

The challengers, Protect Marriage Washington, will release a list of its witnesses so the Attorney General and other backers of public release will be able to do discovery.  Both sides will then submit briefs and a trial will proceed as scheduled by the court, possibly in November.

Shane Hamlin, assistant state director of elections, said he was pleased that the court is putting the case on a fast track. The state did not resist the motion for a continuing restraining order, because, as the judge said, to have released the petitions now would have made the whole case moot, he said.

Last September, Judge Settle approved Protect Marriage Washington’s initial request for the ban on releasing R-71 petitions, based on his view that release could violate signers’ First Amendment rights of anonymous free speech.  Reed and Attorney General Rob McKenna appealed, asserting that no constitutional rights are abridged and that the voter-approved Public Records Act requires release of all records that have not been specifically exempted by the Legislature.

The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals concurred, and overturned Settle. Protect Marriage Washington, represented by conservative legal activist James Bopp Jr., persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case.  In an 8-1 ruling on June 24, the high court said that as a general proposition, disclosure of petitions does not violate the Constitution.  But the court also left open the option for challenge of release of specific initiatives and referenda, giving sponsors a chance to assert that disclosure would lead to harassment or harm to signers. The court sent the Doe v. Reed case back to Judge Settle to consider such a challenge.

The following is a press release form the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Energy costs in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA area rose 1.1 percent in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden of the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that consumers in the Seattle area faced energy prices in July 2010 that were 8.3 percent higher than a year ago. This over-the-year increase is in contrast to the 26.3 percent decline in energy prices reported during the July 2008 to July 2009 period.

Gasoline prices moved up 1.5 percent for the month and were the primary reason for the 1.1 percent increase in the energy index from June to July. Over the past year, Seattle-area drivers have seen gasoline prices increase by 10.2 percent. The July 2009-July 2010 increase marked a change from the 36.2 percent decrease in gasoline prices reported during the July 2008 to July 2009 period.

Among household energy categories, the index for electricity rose 0.8 percent in July, while the index for utility (piped) gas service was unchanged. On an annual basis, the household energy index moved up 4.7 percent. Over the year, the electricity index rose 9.8 percent, but the utility (piped) gas service index declined 13.1 percent.

Grocery prices, as measured by the food at home index, increased 0.5 percent in July. Higher meat prices contributed to this increase. Over the year, grocery prices decreased 0.6 percent in the Seattle area.

The August 2010 Consumer Price Index for Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton is scheduled to be released on September 17, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (PDT).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 25,000 retail establishments–department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period “market basket” of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Island, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston Counties in the State of Washington.

  Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent
  changes for selected periods

  Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA  (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

                                    Indexes                Percent change from-   

     Item and Group
                          Mar.       Apr.        May       May     Mar.     Apr.
                          2010       2010       2010      2009     2010     2010  

  Expenditure category                                                            

  All items...........         -    226.513          -        -        -        -
  All items (1967=100)         -    690.500          -        -        -        - 

   Food and beverages          -    229.654          -        -        -        -
    Food..............         -    231.152          -        -        -        -
     Food at home.....   226.913    227.664    223.755     -3.3     -1.4     -1.7
     Food away from
         home.........         -    237.975          -        -        -        -
    Alcoholic
        beverages.....         -    214.665          -        -        -        - 

   Housing............         -    233.959          -        -        -        -
    Shelter...........   259.450    258.009    257.607     -3.6      -.7      -.2
     Rent of primary
         residence (1)   253.922    252.538    251.387     -3.3     -1.0      -.5
     Owners'
         equivalent
         rent of
         residences
         (1) (2) .....   273.811    272.087    271.945     -3.7      -.7      -.1
      Owners'
          equivalent
          rent of
          primary
          residence
          (1) (2) ....   273.811    272.087    271.945     -3.7      -.7      -.1
    Fuels and
        utilities.....         -    216.699          -        -        -        -
     Household energy    203.516    209.916    211.667      2.6      4.0       .8
      Gas (piped) and
          electricity
          (1).........   239.281    247.201    249.645      2.1      4.3      1.0
       Electricity (1)   244.130    253.472    256.650      8.9      5.1      1.3
       Utility (piped)
           gas service
           (1)........   184.541    187.171    187.171    -16.3      1.4       .0
    Household
        furnishings
        and operations         -    166.409          -        -        -        - 

  See footnotes at end of table.

  Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent
  changes for selected periods-Continued

  Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA  (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

                                    Indexes                Percent change from-   

     Item and Group
                          Mar.       Apr.        May       May     Mar.     Apr.
                          2010       2010       2010      2009     2010     2010  

  Expenditure category                                                            

   Apparel............         -    137.881          -        -        -        - 

   Transportation.....         -    213.439          -        -        -        -
    Private
        transportation         -    220.791          -        -        -        -
     Motor fuel.......   317.257    325.910    321.439     20.3      1.3     -1.4
      Gasoline (all
          types)......   324.219    332.525    327.879     19.8      1.1     -1.4
       Gasoline,
           unleaded
           regular (3)   355.966    365.070    359.664     19.9      1.0     -1.5
       Gasoline,
           unleaded
           midgrade
           (3) (4)....   250.145    256.931    254.773     20.3      1.9      -.8
       Gasoline,
           unleaded
           premium (3)   287.327    294.300    290.490     19.0      1.1     -1.3 

   Medical care.......         -    348.981          -        -        -        - 

   Recreation (5).....         -     94.373          -        -        -        - 

   Education and
       communication
       (5)............         -    128.184          -        -        -        - 

   Other goods and
       services.......         -    372.608          -        -        -        - 

  Commodity and
  service group                                                                   

  All items...........         -    226.513          -        -        -        -
   Commodities........         -    185.917          -        -        -        -
    Commodities less
        food and
        beverages.....         -    162.789          -        -        -        - 

  See footnotes at end of table.

  Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent
  changes for selected periods-Continued

  Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA  (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

                                    Indexes                Percent change from-   

     Item and Group
                          Mar.       Apr.        May       May     Mar.     Apr.
                          2010       2010       2010      2009     2010     2010  

  Commodity and
  service group                                                                   

     Nondurables less
         food and
         beverages....         -    193.036          -        -        -        -
     Durables.........         -    131.871          -        -        -        -
   Services...........         -    264.538          -        -        -        - 

  Special aggregate
  indexes                                                                         

  All items less
      medical care....         -    220.944          -        -        -        -
  All items less
      shelter.........         -    215.118          -        -        -        -
  Commodities less
      food............         -    164.792          -        -        -        -
  Nondurables.........         -    211.085          -        -        -        -
  Nondurables less
      food............         -    194.554          -        -        -        -
  Services less rent
      of shelter (2)           -    279.368          -        -        -        -
  Services less
      medical care
      services........         -    256.454          -        -        -        -
  Energy..............   266.199    273.893    272.506     12.9      2.4     -0.5
  All items less
      energy..........         -    226.113          -        -        -        -
   All items less food
       and energy.....         -    225.409          -        -        -        - 

    1 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator.  All other
  item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
    2 Index is on a November 1982=100 base.
    3 Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
    4 Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
    5 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
    - Data not available.
  NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

The following is a release from David Ammons, communications director for the Secretary of State.

Protect Marriage Washington is headed back to federal court next week to try to ban release of the 138,000 signatures of people who signed last fall’s Referendum 71, which gave voters the final say on the new “everything but marriage” domestic partnership law. The initial conference, which could result in a temporary restraining order, is set for Wednesday, Aug. 11 in U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle’s courtroom in Tacoma.

http://bit.ly/buTp3o

Also, in San Francisco, a federal judge has struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/us/05prop.html?hp

http://bit.ly/9gLXj2

In Washington, the state’s Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, has been upheld by the state Supreme Court, which referred the question back to the Legislature, where it resides today.  Last year, the Legislature adopted the “everything but marriage” act, conferring all the benefits of marriage, but not marriage equality. Voters approved it 53-47 when Referendum 71 was placed on the ballot by foes of same-sex marriage. As of this hour, 7,778 Washington couples (both same-sex and straight couples where at least one partner is 62 or older) are registered as domestic partners and are eligible for the benefits and responsibilities.  For more information: http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/domesticpartnerships/

Secretary of State Sam Reed on Friday forecast a 38 percent voter turnout for the 2010 mid-term Washington state primary now underway.

Ballots have gone out to nearly all of the 3.59 million registered voters.  They may be filled out and returned right away or voters can hold onto them until closer to the Aug. 17 postmark deadline.

Reed, the state’s chief elections officer, noted that the average of the last seven even-year non-presidential year primaries is 34 percent.  The turnout four years ago, the last comparable year, was 38 percent, and Reed said the state should at least match that this year.

“We are seeing a surge of interest in politics and campaigns at both the national and state level, with people again talking about a `change’ election,” Reed said. “We have a great U.S. Senate race, some unusually heated legislative contests all around the state, an open 3^rd Congressional District, some Supreme Court races that could be essentially decided in the primary, and much more.

“While a minority of our voters will be deciding our November finalists — and I really secretly hope that we’ll get into the 40s — I’ll predict a reasonably strong 38 percent and just hope it’s even better.”

State Elections Director Nick Handy said the forecast is “at the top of the historic range” for mid-term elections, but can be achieved.

“There a many upward factors,” Handy said.  “A number of voters are being energized by the Tea Party movement, or reaction to it. There is general unrest about government and we hear national reports of anti-incumbency.

“The Senate race is certainly a big draw, particularly now that it is on the national watchlists, and there are many great races all around the state.

“Two other things that should help turnout: First, we will again be using the Top 2 Primary, which is quite popular with voters and allows everyone to participate and vote for their favorite in every single race, without regard to a party label.

“And secondly, nearly all of us will be voting by mail, and that has tended to improve turnout, since it is so convenient and voters will have a period of several weeks to consider their choices, study up on the issues and cast their ballots.”

Populous King County still had poll-site voting back in the last comparable mid-term primary, 2006.  Today, every county except for Pierce has switched entirely to vote-by-mail, and most Pierce voters have signed up for mail voting.

Reed and Handy noted that the primary, recently adopted by California voters, will not produce nominees for the two major parties, but rather voters will winnow the field for each office to two finalists. Typically, that will be a prefers-Democratic Party and a prefers-Republican, but in some districts, voters may be two finalists with the same party preference.  Minor party candidates are also taking part in the Top 2 process and in some cases, could advance.

For a full explanation of the system, you can visit http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/Top2PrimaryFAQ.aspx

Voters can find MyVote, the online voters’ guide, a link to TVW’s video voters’ guide by visiting www.vote.wa.gov

The following is a release from David Ammons, communications director for the Office of Secretary of State.

As Washington’s third running of the Top 2 Primary gets under way in just a few days, Secretary of State Sam Reed notes that the state Elections Division, in partnership with the County Auditors and TVW television, is providing a significant amount of information for Washington voters.

The state’s budget crunch doesn’t allow publication of a state Voters’ Pamphlet for the primary, but there is plenty of good, solid, unfiltered information for voters who want to do their homework, the state’s chief elections officer said Tuesday.

“Through our excellent `My Vote’ customized information service for individuals, our Online Voters’ Guide, our partnership with TVW’s Video Voters’ Guide, and county election websites, great information is just a mouse-click away on home or library computer,” Reed said.

“Certainly this 2010 primary is a pivotal one and I encourage all voters to bone up on the candidates and the issues, using these resources, media coverage, campaign literature, and websites, candidate forums and other opportunities to get informed.”

Although a handful of counties are producing a primary Voters’ Guide, state government typically does not publish one. Lawmakers did finance one in 2008, the first primary using the new voter-approved Top 2 system.  But due budget constraints, the Legislature could not pick up the cost for this year’s primary guide. The cost would have been about $1.3 million.

A printed General Election Voters’ Pamphlet is in the works and will be mailed out in October.

A quick look at the electronic services available:

My Vote

In 36 of the state’s 39 counties, voters can go to www.vote.wa.gov and click on the My Vote icon and fill in your name and birthdate. There you’ll find a variety of information, including your customized Voters’ Guide, including U.S. Senate, U.S. House, legislative and judicial contests, and local government races and propositions. You can click on each race you’ll be voting on and drill down for further information by clicking on the candidates’ names. You’ll find the candidate’s information, campaign statement and phone number, web link and email address.  Three counties host their own voter information links – King, Yakima and Kitsap.

Online Voters’ Guide

The Secretary of State’s official online guide includes the Top 2 contests for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Legislature, and multi-county judicial races.  Go to the Elections homepage, www.vote.wa.gov and click on the first item under Current Topics. Click on the materials you want to view.   The online guide is available in Spanish and Chinese.

Video Voters’ Guide

The state Elections Division and TVW have video clips by U.S. Senate and Supreme Court candidates. You can click on www.tvw.org.

The following is a release from David Ammons, communications director for the Office of Secretary of State.

Initiative activist Tim Eyman and his partners will again appear on the Washington state ballot this year.  Their Initiative 1053, making it harder for Olympia to raise taxes, cleared its last major hurdle on Monday when the state Elections Division announced that the sponsors submitted enough voter signatures to make the November ballot.

I-1053 became the fourth initiative to qualify for the ballot, and two others are widely expected to qualify, too.  That would equal the modern record set in 2000. The all-time record is seven, set in 1914, the first year the initiative process was available.

The I-1053 campaign turned in nearly 338,000 signatures, a large enough pad to allow a 3 percent random test.  More than 80 percent of the 10,325 signatures were valid — 9,187 were accepted and 1,138 were rejected, most because they weren’t registered voters. The error rate was 19.62 percent.

The measure would restore the two-thirds voting requirement for the Legislature to raise taxes. Lawmakers can also refer taxes to the voters.  Lawmakers suspended the supermajority requirement this year when passing $800 million worth of taxes by simple majority vote.

Last week, Secretary of State Sam Reed certified three measures to the ballot:

–I-1098, authorizing a state income tax on high-wage earners and lowering some taxes.

–I-1082, the plan to allow private insurers to offer coverage for workplace injuries.

–I-1100, which would end the state liquor monopoly and allow current retailers to sell hard liquor along with their beer and wine.

Next up: I-1105. This is a rival liquor initiative, supported by wholesalers, to take the state out of the liquor retail business. Whereas I-1100 would let retailers buy liquor stock directly from manufacturers, I-1105 would require use of wholesalers.

The last check will be I-1107. This measure would repeal new taxes on candy, pop, beer and bottled water.

The Legislature has sent three other measures to the statewide ballot this fall:

* Referendum  52 would authorize bonds to finance construction and repair projects increasing energy efficiency in public schools and higher education buildings, and continue the sales tax on bottled water otherwise expiring in 2013.

* House Joint Resolution 4220, known as the “Lakewood Police Officers Memorial Act,” would amend the state constitution on bail requirements for judges.

* Senate Joint Resolution 8225 would amend the state constitution relating to debt limits for the state.

The following is a release from David Ammons, communications director, Office of Secretary of State

The Washington state Elections Division has completed a review of apparent fraud by a signature-gatherer who submitted 349 names on 20 petition sheets in support of Initiative 1098.  The review showed that most of the names – 89.1 percent – were invalid, either because the person was not found on voter registration rolls or the signature and address did not match those on file.

All of the 349 names had been set aside and were none was included as part of the I-1098 signature-check this week.  The random sample showed that over 10,000 of the nearly 11,800 voter signatures were valid, and that the measure has earned a place on the November ballot. The error rate was about 18 percent, the historic average for Washington initiatives.  Because of a pending criminal investigation and a restraining order previously obtained by opponents of disclosure, the Office of Secretary of State is unable to release the petition sheets in question or divulge the gatherer’s identity.

Secretary of State Sam Reed announced that Washington State Patrol John Batiste on Friday agreed to his request to investigate, and then to refer the case to appropriate authorities, as warranted.  Initiative signature fraud is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

“The people of Washington demand and deserve an initiative and referendum process that is free of signature fraud, and we and law enforcement and prosecutors are taking this case very seriously,” Reed said. “This is the worst case of attempted signature fraud we have seen in modern times. It may be only a tiny percentage of the total signatures, but it does represent an attack on the process, which relies greatly on the integrity of the people who circulate the petitions. For that reason, we are bringing the full force of the law to bear.”

The following is a release from David Ammons, communications director, Office of Secretary of State

The state Elections Division has declared Initiative 1098 qualified for a spot on the statewide November ballot. This is the third of six expected ballot measures to qualify.  I-1098, backed by philanthropist and tax reform advocate Bill Gates Sr., and others, would institute a state income tax on high-wage earners and lower the state share of the property tax and exempt more small businesses from the business tax.

Although state officials are investigating apparent fraud by one of the campaign’s signature gatherers, the state Elections Division announced late Thursday that a 3 percent random check of the huge number of unchallenged signatures showed easily enough valid signatures to assure a spot on the ballot.

The campaign had turned in about 385,000 signatures and 11,786 were reviewed, with 10,090 accepted. The others were turned down because no registration could be found for the signer, the signature didn’t match the one on file or there was no usable image on file for the signer, or because they were duplicates.

The fraud investigation involves about 350 signatures on 20 petition sheets. The state Elections Division set these signatures aside and did not include any in the signature verification. The division is continuing a probe of the apparent fraud, and on Thursday requested the Washington State Patrol to investigate as well, and to turn over the case to local authorities as warranted.

The error rate for the signature check was 18.15 percent, or about the same as the historical average.

It is the third voter initiative to be cleared for a statewide vote, and three more await signature checks.

On Tuesday, Reed certified I-1082, the plan to allow private insurers to offer coverage for workplace injuries. Currently the state runs the main program, although some large companies are allowed to self-insure.  The plan is backed by the Building Industry Association of Washington, and opposition also has formed.

On Monday, Secretary Reed certified I-1100, which would end the state liquor monopoly and allow current retailers to sell hard liquor along with their beer and wine.

Next up for a signature check is I-1053, Tim Eyman’s proposal to re-establish the two-thirds vote requirement for the state Legislature to raises taxes.  It turned in about 338,000 signatures.

After that: I-1105. This is a rival liquor initiative, supported by wholesalers, to take the state out of the liquor retail business. Whereas I-1100 would let retailers buy liquor stock directly from manufacturers, I-1105 would require use of wholesalers.

The last check will be I-1107. This measure would repeal new taxes on candy, pop, beer and bottled water. Backed by the American Beverage Association, it brought in 395,000 signatures in only three weeks.

The Legislature has sent three other measures to the statewide ballot this fall:

* Referendum  52 would authorize bonds to finance construction and repair projects increasing energy efficiency in public schools and higher education buildings, and continue the sales tax on bottled water otherwise expiring in 2013.

* House Joint Resolution 4220, known as the “Lakewood Police Officers Memorial Act,” would amend the state constitution on bail requirements for judges.

* Senate Joint Resolution 8225 would amend the state constitution relating to debt limits for the state.

Washington’s unemployment rate fell to 9.1 percent in May, the lowest level since the same month a year ago.

The state economy also picked up an estimated 8,600 jobs in May, the bulk of which were federal Census jobs. With the May job gains, Washington has added jobs in four of the first five months of 2010, for a net gain of 25,800 so far this year.

“It’s refreshing to talk about job growth and a falling unemployment rate,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee. “The momentum seems to be shifting in the right direction.”

In April, the unemployment rate decreased for the first time since March 2007. The rate went from 9.5 percent to 9.3 percent (earlier reported as 9.2 percent, but revised after more analysis).

Industries that added jobs in May were government, with a net gain of 8,400 (including 9,000 census jobs); construction, up 800; professional and business services, up 800; retail trade, up 600; other services, up 500; wholesale trade, up 100; and education and health services, up 100.

Jobs were lost in financial activities, down 1,100; manufacturing, down 600; leisure and hospitality, down 400; transportation, warehousing and utilities, down 400; and information, down 200.

Year over year, Washington had 27,000 fewer jobs last month than in May 2009, a 1 percent decrease.  Nationally, employment declined by 0.4 percent over the past year.

An estimated 310,069 people (not seasonally adjusted) in Washington were unemployed and looking for work, and more than 265,000 people received unemployment benefits from Washington in May.

Employment Security is a partner in the statewide WorkSource system, which offers a variety of employment and training services for job seekers, including free help with interviewing skills, résumés, and job referrals.

WorkSource also can help employers recruit and screen for qualified workers and provide information about federal tax breaks for hiring eligible unemployed workers.

Locations of local WorkSource offices are listed online at www.go2worksource.com.  Assistance also is available by phone at 877-872-5627.

In addition, more than 21,000 job openings are posted online at www.go2worksource.com.