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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

WA Minimum Wage Workers Get a Boost with the New Year

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Friday, January 5, 2007   

Washington's minimum-wage workers got a 30 cent an hour cost-of-living increase beginning this week, giving the state the best minimum wage in the nation. John Burbank with the Economic Opportunity Institute in Seattle says the annual increase is good for everyone in the state.

"Low-wage people tend to spend that money in their local neighborhoods, restaurants and grocery stores. So, in fact, what this minimum wage increase can do is bring more money into the local economies."

He adds the voter-approved automatic annual increase is critical because of the rising costs of housing, gas and health care.

"It's good for low-wage workers. It enables them to keep up with inflation."

Critics of the minimum wage increase had argued it will cost the state jobs, but Burbank notes that the restaurant and health care industries, which tend to employ large numbers of low-wage workers, have enjoyed strong job growth since voters approved automatic minimum wage hikes in 1998. The wage now stands at $7.93 an hour.





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