Severe staffing shortages and the pandemic were largely responsible for record overtime at the Seattle Fire Department last year.
The nearly $38 million Seattle Fire payout last year was a roughly 50% jump from 2019 and the highest on record in the department’s history. A Seattle Times analysis found that based on paid work hours, the top 30 employees in the city were all firefighters.
The top 10 have worked more than 4,000 hours in 2021 – that’s two years of 40 hours a week in a single year. In at least four cases, Seattle Fire has acknowledged that a firefighter likely violated the rules by working multiple consecutive 24-hour shifts without mandatory rest between shifts.
Much of the overtime was related to additional duties taken on by the SFD during the pandemic, such as the administration of COVID vaccines.
The SFD has also lost nearly 100 retired or fired firefighters – at least some of them due to the vaccine mandate.
Inslee halts leveling of four dams along Snake River
Governor Inslee wants to knock down four dams on the Snake River to save salmon and rainbow trout, but to the surprise of some, he’s not pushing to do so anytime soon.
Even though some fish runs are on the endangered species list, Inslee said alternatives for the hydropower, transportation and agricultural benefits that dams provide must be in place first.
But Columbia Riverkeeper’s Miles Johnson told us it might be too late.
Most power and agriculture officials in the region said it would ruin the Northwest’s economy to remove the dams with no alternatives in place.
A rate hike demanded by PSE could be cut by almost half
The UTC Commission will seek public comment on the proposed rate hike during a virtual meeting on September 28.
Puget Sound Energy had proposed higher rates over the next two years for electric and gas customers who would have totaled more than $600 million in revenue over the next two years. It would have cost consumers about $16 more per month for electricity and $12 for gas.
A consumer unit in the state attorney general’s office opposed the request, arguing that it would lead to unfair profits. Now Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission staff have said there is a potential settlement that, if approved by commissioners, would greenlight $350 million in two-year revenue increases for PSE. . This equates to a monthly increase of about $11.50 for average electric customers and just over $6 for gas.
Ichiro inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame
It was a love party at T-Mobile Park on Saturday night.
Former mariner and baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki has been inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame.
Ichiro paid tribute to his former teammates and, of course, his devoted fans.
Unfortunately, after leading for eight innings and producing three solo home runs, the M’s couldn’t pick up a win on that special night, falling to the Cleveland Guardians 4-3.
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