Closures due to high toxin levels are also occurring in Whatcom and San Juan counties. Continued sampling will determine if the closure area needs to be expanded. Commercially harvested shellfish are tested before being sent to market. For complete beach closure information in other counties, call the Marine Biotoxin Hotline at 1-800-562-5632.

Early symptoms of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning include numbness and tingling around the lips and some loss of motor control. If you should have any of these symptoms after eating shellfish have someone take you to the Emergency Room of your local hospital immediately or call 911 for assistance.

If you have questions please call Jeanne King at the Skagit County Health Department.

Telephone number: 360 336-9380

The classes will be held at the Mount Vernon Senior Center, 1401 Cleveland Avenue, Mount Vernon, WA, 98273.
This eight-hour class, divided into two four-hour sessions, is specifically designed for the senior driver. The sessions will run from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. both days. People 55 years of age and older who complete the program will qualify for a modest reduction in their automobile insurance.

The classes will be held at the Mount Vernon Senior Center, 1401 Cleveland Avenue, Mount Vernon, WA, 98273.
This eight-hour class, divided into two four-hour sessions, is specifically designed for the senior driver. The sessions will run from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. both days. People 55 years of age and older who complete the program will qualify for a modest reduction in their automobile insurance.

There is a $10.00 fee per person for this class.

For more information, or to enroll in an upcoming class, contact Kathryn Bowen directly at (360) 336-9333 ext. 13140# or through Skagit County Public Works Department at (360) 336-9400 ext. 3140. All participants must pre-register.

The amnesty program will offer defendants who have court fines, an opportunity to pay off outstanding fines in full by reducing or eliminating accrued interest and collection costs. In many cases, this will allow participants to re-obtain driver’s licenses that have been suspended due to failure to pay fines. Defendants who are unable to pay their fines in full may also set up payment plans under this program. The District Court and Municipal Courts will participate in this program.
Those interested in the fine amnesty program are encouraged to contact the courts to which they owe fines, or the appropriate collection agency where fines have been assigned to such an agency.

For more information, contact the Skagit County District Court at (360) 336-9319.

As you may recall, our state has one of the healthiest unemployment funds in the country, yet the tax formulas in state law were triggering substantial tax increases for employers in 2011. The Governor asked the state Legislature to revise the tax formulas to reduce tax rates – and to vote on it early in the legislative session so the lower rates could take effect this year.

The legislation was the first to pass and be signed by the Governor this year. It succeeded due to considerable collaboration, spurred by a shared concern for how businesses and jobless workers have been affected by the recession. Not only was it adopted quickly, but it received almost unanimous votes in both the Senate and House.

As a result, tax rates for 2011 will be reduced for 90 percent of Washington employers, and about half of them will pay lower rates than in 2010. The reduction will save employers $300 million in 2011, and an estimated $360 million from 2011 through 2017.

Employment Security will recalculate tax rates and send new tax-rate notices in March to replace the ones sent to employers in December. Employers do not have to request an updated tax-rate notice; all employers will receive one in the mail.

The legislation also made some changes to the benefits side of the unemployment insurance system. It continues federally funded extended benefits through the end of 2011, makes the Training Benefits Program more accessible, and provides a temporary, $25 benefit increase for workers who file new unemployment claims during an eight-month window this year.

Arun Raha, Ph.D.
Chief Economist for the State of Washington and
Executive Director of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council

Thursday, February 17, 2011
5:00 PM Social Hour
6:30 PM Dinner & Program
Location: St. Joseph Center, Mount Vernon
215 North 15th Street
Tickets: $62 each or $480 for a table of 8
Call EDASC to reserve your tickets at 336-6114 or sign up on line at

http://www.skagit.org/skagit-county-calendar-view.php?eventid=121

Arun Raha is Chief Economist for the State of Washington and Executive Director of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. He is responsible for preparation and presentation of quarterly forecasts of Washington’s economy and General-Fund revenues. He also advises state legislative committees and other government agencies regarding economic and revenue activity in the state.
Dr. Raha was formerly Vice-President, Economic Research, at Swiss Re in New York, a leading global reinsurer, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. There he was responsible for forecasts of North American macroeconomic, financial, and property-casualty insurance markets. He also worked closely with Connecticut based Conning Asset Management which was part of the Swiss Re Group.
Prior to that, he was Manager of Economic Analysis at Eaton Corporation, a global diversified industrial manufacturer in Cleveland, Ohio.

Arun has won two national forecasting awards – The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s top overall forecast prize for 2007, and the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting award in January 2005.
Arun Raha has served on the Ohio Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers, and is a former member of the Board of the Automotive Market Research Council.
He has a Ph.D. in Economics from Washington State University, and a Masters from the Delhi School of Economics.

District Court, Superior Court, Clerks Office and the Transfer Station on Ovenell Road will remain open.

The Guemes Island Ferry and the Skagit County Historical Museum will also stay in operation.

Regular business hours for Skagit County offices and departments will resume tomorrow morning.

Performing will be the principal singers from the best of Skagit Opera’s recent productions, including the cast of the highly acclaimed 2010 production of Madam Butterfly. The program includes all-time favorite arias and duets from Carmen, La Boheme, Madam Butterfly, Tales of Hoffman, Lakme, Rigoletto and Don Giovanni.

Tickets for the performance are $30 for General Admission, $50 for Preferred Seating, and $80 for Preferred Seating and an invitation to the post performance reception with the singers. Ticket prices include a tax-deductible contribution.

Skagit Opera is in its eighth season of producing fully-staged professional opera performances using established and up-and-coming singers many of whom have gone on to perform with Seattle Opera and other major companies. Their recent productions have garnered raves from critics.

Proceeds for the concert will go toward Skagit Opera’s production fund for their next opera, Puccini’s popular pot boiler of lust and murder, Tosca, in October 2011.

Tickets for the concert can be purchased at the Lincoln Theatre Box Office, 712 S. First Street, Mount Vernon or online www.skagitopera.org or by phoning the Lincoln Theatre box office 360-336-8955