www . TheSkANNer . COm
A priL 6, 2011
S eATTLe , w AShiNgTON
V OLume XXXiii, N O . 23
25
CeNTS
I nsIde
State of Black America
page 4
Tax Dangers
page 7
Let Loose their Chains
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
page 8
Labor,
Biz push
Agendas
THE
BusinEss
Man
As Legislative Session
Ends, Labor, Biz Push
Agendas
By Manuel Valdes
Associated Press
PHoTo BY JulIe keefe
pinkett, the first African-American to win the
competitive reality series, The Apprentice,
served as the keynote speaker during the
mueS winners’ reception held as a special
recognition of the five emerging businesses
at the miller-Coors Corporate headquarters
in Chicago.
Demonstrating their commitment to
economic development, millerCoors has
provided over $1 .5 million in business grants
to more than 100 urban businesses across the
country through the mueS program.
watch Out for utility Bill Scammers
Seattle: Watch Out for Utility Bill Scammers
S
eattle City Light reminds
all its customers to guard
against telephone con
artists posing as utility bill col-
lectors.
In the past week, the utility
received at least two reports of
phone calls from con artists
claiming to be electric utility
employees who were ready to
disconnect their electricity. The
scammers appear to be targeting
residents with Asian surnames
and similar businesses.
“Sadly, there are criminals out
there who will try to take advan-
tage of another with the false
threat of cutting off their elec-
tricity,” Customer Service
Director Kelly Enright said.
“Seattle City Light wants to
help its customers protect them-
selves from scam artists and the
best way to do that is to be
informed.”
In the scam, the callers
claimed there were problems
with payment of the customers’
bill and asked for a credit card
payment to resolve the matter.
In one instance, the caller
claimed to work for a different
IndeX
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utility. This is similar to inci-
dents reported to City Light dur-
ing the past several years.
“If someone asks for your
credit card number or Social
Security number over the
phone, don’t give it to them,”
Enright said. “We never demand
immediate payment to avoid a
shutoff for one late payment or
use Social Security numbers as
part of our billing process.”
If a customer is behind on his
or her bill and at risk of having
the power turned off, City Light
sends at least two written warn-
ings asking the customer to con-
tact the utility directly to make a
payment.
City Light also wants to
remind customers:
Seattle City Light accepts
credit card payments at a cus-
tomer’s request, but never
demands or solicits credit card
information to pay a bill.
Seattle City Light does not
call customers on weekends
about their utility account.
Seattle City Light employees
carry identification with the
olYMPIa, Wash. (AP) _ Home care
and mental care workers will be among
scores of union members and backers
expected to march and rally in Olympia next
week as organized labor mounts a four-day
show of force in the final weeks of the
Legislature’s contentious session.
“We have the goal to show over the course
of the week the Legislature and the wider
community, that we not only have a revenue
deficit, but a social services deficit and we
have a jobs deficit in this state as well,” said
Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington
State Labor Council.
Meanwhile, a prominent business group
has launched a new, long-term campaign to
try to chip away at labor’s key strongholds
in Washington, and to improve certain sec-
tors _ such as transportation, patents and
education _ they see key to advance the
state’s economy.
“In the work of an individual legislative
session sometimes we lose sight of the big
picture and what we’re trying to get in this
state,” said Steve Mullin, president of the
Washington Roundtable, a business group
that includes big hitters like Boeing,
Microsoft, Alaska Airlines and other corpo-
rations with significant presence in the state.
Calling it “Benchmarks for a Better
Washington,” the group rolled out the cam-
paign this past week. In 12 points, the
Roundtable measured the state’s standing
compared to the rest of the nation in various
sectors.
It wants to keep Washington in the top-10
states in patents granted and low electricity
rates. But in the student performance in
math and science, bachelor’s degrees per
capita, road conditions, commuting time
and useful bridges, the group says
Washington has a lot of work.
Mullin said business leaders are worried
about “disproportionate” cut to higher edu-
see BIlls on page 3
see laBor on page 3
through the Federal government. On Sept.
27, 2010, President Obama signed into law
the Small Business Jobs Act (SBJA), the
most significant piece of small business leg-
islation in over a decade. The new law is
providing critical resources to help small
businesses continue to drive economic
recovery and create jobs. The new law
extended the successful SBA enhanced loan
provisions, offered billions more in lending
support and tax cuts, and expanded other
opportunities, such as government contract-
ing, access to capital, and exporting, for
entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Accordingly, SBA will be hosting a Small
Business Jobs Act Tour that will cover 13
cities. The objective of the tour is to provide
information and receive input on SBJA pro-
Small Business
An invitation to a Tour
T
he U.S. SBA Seattle District Office
invites small business owners, entre-
preneurs, and small business resource
providers to attend the Small Business Jobs
Act (SBJA) Tour on Wednesday, April 13th
at the Holiday Inn at Seattle – SeaTac
International Airport. The SBJA has 19 pro-
visions which will directly impact how
small businesses receive the contracting,
financing, and technical assistance available
see BuZ on page 3