Okay, so I'm not sure how that joke would end, but possibly it would involve the governor and the senator giving loads of money to the librarian, who would use it to amazing effect, helping all that they met. Hey, I never said humor was my forte.

Gov. Gregoire announced today in a press release $23 million in economic grants to help pay for summer employment and training programs for at-risk youth and young adults. In her statement, Gregoire said:

“It’s especially hard to find a job right now if you are a teen or young adult who dropped out of school and has few work skills,” Gregoire said. “This funding will boost local programs that guide our young people onto successful paths and away from a life of poverty.”

The services are arranged through WorkSource, but there seems like a good chance here for libraries to be involved. If you're interested, I recommend contacting your local WorkSource office and seeing how you can participate.

On the senatorial side of the fence, Patty Murray has put out some helpful economic information recently. Perhaps most noteworthy is a "One-Stop Economic Resource Center", similar to our own effort, with a good list of web resources to help your users meet various needs. Something else to keep an eye on is legislation to "help improve American's financial decision making skills." Should this bill pass, it will provide $250 million in grants annually to states to "support teaching financial literacy in K-12 and 2- and 4-year colleges."

On a more local level, a list of projects in the State supported by recent spending legislation. From her newsletter, Murray states:

"At a critical time, the projects in the bill will help to create and protect jobs in our state and address the needs of many communities. With our economy ailing, I believe it’s important to bring federal funding back to Washington state to invest in job-creating projects in our own backyard."

Check out project in your area via the links below:

Pierce County | King County | Snohomish County | Whatcom County | Southwest Washington | Olympia | Eastern Washington | Central Washington | Tri-Cities | Walla Walla | Olympic Peninsula | Salmon | Northern Border | Hanford/PNNL