Gov. Chris Gregoire signed two consumer protection bills this afternoon. House Bill 2428 protects families who have lost their homes because of an inability to pay property taxes and H.B. 2429 protects used car buyers.

H.B. 2428 regulates firms and individuals who contact owners of foreclosed properties offering to obtain money remaining after the auction on their behalf – in return for a cut. The new law places a 5 percent cap on such finder's fees, the same amount allowed for other kinds of unclaimed funds. Previously, individuals who provided such services kept as much as 70 percent of the former homeowner's money.

Temporary, part-time jobs remain available at numerous census offices in Washington, including Pierce and Thurston counties.

2010 census questionnaires are scheduled to begin arriving in the mail March 15. The U.S. Census Bureau has asked that each household fill out the form and mail it back in the postage-paid envelope as soon as it arrives, ensuring that the nationwide headcount is accurate.

Check out Exit 133 for the latest talk about Cheney Stadium, the Elks project and Tacoma's Stormwater Management Program.

Online navigation isn't just for four-wheeled, internal-combustion engine directions anymore. OlyBlog has an interesting post about the new bicycling layer on Google Maps.

Should the Wedge neighborhood become a historic district? The public will have an opportunity next week to provide feedback about the matter to the Tacoma Planning Commission.
 
The area of the proposed district extends from Division Avenue to South M Street to Sixth Avenue and to Sprague. The North Slope Historic District – established during 1994 and listed on the Tacoma, Washington and National registers of historic places – borders the proposed Wedge District.

The deadline for the U.S. Small Business Administration's ability to provide small business loans that are enhanced with special provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including a higher guarantee of SBA-backed loans and a waiver of loan fees normally paid by borrowers, has been extended to March 28.

SBA estimates the additional funding will support about $1.8 billion in small business lending.

The Liquor Control Board today adopted revised rules that will restrict outdoor alcohol advertising at licensed locations.

The revised rules are based on public input requesting that the board restrict the size, amount and location of alcohol advertising at liquor-licensed locations.

There's an interesting equation on Exit 133 this week: Running + Beer + Friends = The Tacoma Runners.

Check out the BIA Blog for more information about the City of Tacoma seeking advice about paid on-street parking.

Seven months after the Washington Attorney General's Office sued Rent-a-Center and accused the national lease-to-own chain of crossing the line with its collection tactics – including cussing at customers, pounding on doors, peering into windows and threatening arrest – the company agreed to settle the case.

"Rent-A-Center maintains it has done no wrong but agrees to comply with all the terms of our settlement, which makes it clear that harassing customers for payments won't be tolerated," Attorney General Rob McKenna said.

Government is more likely to affect companies' economic value than any other group of stakeholders except customers, say executives in response to a McKinsey survey.

The results also indicate that most executives expect government involvement in their industries – which in most cases has skyrocketed since the global economic crisis began – to continue increasing.

Progress on the Belfair Bypass took an important step forward this week when the House Transportation Budget was amended to include $750,000 for an environmental assessment of the project.

It was during 1966 that the state Department of Transportation first identified the need for a new roadway near Belfair to improve traffic flow.  Since then, numerous studies have been done about how to best address the needs of this transportation corridor, but the bypass itself has yet to be built.

The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions is working with the Washington Jump$tart Coalition to promote Washington Saves Week (Feb. 21-28) as part of the national America Saves Week campaign.

Organizations throughout the state are coordinating activities next week aimed at changing behavior among individuals and families. Last year's campaign resulted in nearly 20,000 people who opened or added to savings products, saving $47 million.

The State Senate has unanimously passed Senate Bill 6524, which would ease the penalty for businesses that fail to pay their unemployment insurance (UI) tax in a timely manner.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, said reducing that burden will help small businesses that are struggling to survive.

The State Oral Health Coalition has developed Washington's first Oral Health Improvement Plan. Input was collected from community groups, the public, health professionals, educational institutions, businesses, and government agencies.
 
The plan provides guidance to the private and public sectors about areas that need urgent attention — oral disease prevention, oral health promotion, access to care, oral health data and system improvements.

The Live Wire has an interesting posting about "Grading Small Business Success."

WashACE Blog looks at a lawmaker's reform proposal in response to a judge's ruling that the state isn't living up to its education funding responsibilities.

Two bills passed by the Washington legislature will not impact the State Productivity Board's Employee Suggestion and Teamwork Incentive programs.

Substitute House Bill 2998 would suspend certain monetary awards and salary increases. Substitute Senate Bill 6382 would reduce the cost of state government operations by restricting compensation.

For families struggling to make their mortgage payments, as well as the hundreds who already lost their homes, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna offered hope today: more than $1.8 million for local foreclosure prevention programs and cash for directly impacted consumers.



The money is part of the $150 million Bank of America will spend nationwide on foreclosure relief. It comes from a settlement that McKenna and five of his state attorney general colleagues negotiated during October 2008 concerning the unfair lending practices of Countrywide Financial. Bank of America acquired Countrywide during June 2008.


Bruce Hawkins, a disbarred attorney who used to practice in Gig Harbor, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to mail fraud.

An eight count indictment returned under seal during April 2009 says that Hawkins promoted a fraudulent debt elimination scheme from 2003 to 2005. It also says he took fees from more than 1,000 debtors after falsely representing that he could eliminate their credit card debt.

Raising Washington's cigarette tax by $1 per pack would bring in $80.7 million in new annual revenue to help close the state's budget shortfall, while also reducing smoking and saving lives, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.

In Washington, a $1 cigarette tax increase would also prevent 38,400 kids from becoming smokers; spur 19,200 adult smokers to quit; save 17,300 residents from premature, smoking-caused deaths; and save $854.4 million in health care costs.

Check out Exit 133 for the unofficial results of Tuesday's special election in which Tacoma residents voted for schools, and an overview of what happened during last night's city council meeting.

The Business Improvement Area Blog offers perspective on "Why property owners and businesses should care about the City's Urban Forestry Program."

Washington consumers filed more complaints about collection agencies with the Attorney General's Office during 2009 than any other industry.
 
Gripes about collection agencies have been rising during recent years but it took a single complaint to ultimately move the industry into pole position and bump telecommunications, which previously held the top spot for at least a decade.