schools

Olympia- The  House passed its first bill of the session this week --  a measure that would ask voters to decide whether to create jobs by using $860 million in bonds in order to make schools more energy efficient.

The bill “catalyzes probably about 2.5 billion dollars in work, which gives you 38,000 jobs, and will account in $190 million dollars in savings to the taxpayer every single year,” explained Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, the bills' creator and primary sponsor. If approved by the Senate, the measure, House Bill 2561, would need voter approval in November.

The bill would allow schools and universities to compete for $860 million in grants in order to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. The state will provide the money by selling bonds with a lifespan of 20 years at a cost of around 1.5 billion, which includes principle and interest. Dunshee projects that the cost of the bonds will be recouped by way of job creation, tax revenue, and reduced energy costs.

But with Washington's unemployment rate up to 9.5 percent in December and the state facing enormous budget cuts, the choice for some lawmakers boils down to creating jobs or saving money, while the energy efficiency of the schools lies somewhere in between.

“We need jobs now!”exclaimed an impassioned Rep. Kathy Haigh, D- Shelton, to her colleagues during the House floor debate.

But Rep.

We obsess over getting swine flu. But it’s not the only potentially fatal, highly communicable, treatment-resistant bug we’ve got to worry about this winter.

Andy Dworkin of The Oregonian points to a  new study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases that shows that MRSA – a drug-resistant staph bacterium that has been a particular issue for hospitals -- is now spreading widely in gyms and schools.

MRSA has been a particular issue for hospitals, where people whose immune systems are already compromised, can die from picking the bug up while they’re hospitalized. If you’re curious about how scary that can be, read the Seattle Times’ analysis of MRSA cases in Washington hospitals.

But while the incidence of “hospital- acquired” MRSA cases has been holding steady around the country, cases involving the “community acquired” strain – also antibiotic resistant, and also potentially deadly – have increased dramatically.

Community-acquired MRSA accounted for under 4 percent of staff infections in 1999, and nearly 30 percent by 2006.

Awareness, coupled with hygiene, wiping down equipment, not sharing towels, and other basic infection control practices, is the best defense.

Carol Smith

Despite Oregon's environmentalist image, only one-quarter of the schools approved by voters since 2006 are built to national "green building" standards. Some schools, citing the high costs and paperwork associated with obtaining a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design medallion, are building what they call "LEED equivalent" schools, writes Wendy Owen in The Oregonian. That's pretty much an honor system, though.