local news
Investigators identified
nearly 7,000 people last
year who lied, cheated,
scammed and schemed in
order to collect unemploy-
ment benefits.
This small minority of
claimants collected more
than $14 million in unem-
ployment benefits through
fraud – about 56 percent
more than in 2009.
Employment Security’s
investigative team has
expanded and improved its
efforts to cross-match
records with other state
agencies, a strategy that is
paying dividends, Taylor
said.
The cheaters will have to
pay back the money and
face additional penalties,
ranging from fines to poten-
tial jail time. In 2010,
Employment
Security
recovered nearly $11 mil-
lion in benefits acquired
fraudulently.
In one of the odder cases,
an individual was redeem-
ing his unemployment
checks twice. His bank
allowed him to take a pic-
ture of his check and deposit
it electronically. To double
his money, he cashed his
actual checks at a different
establishment.
If that
weren’t enough, he also
used his infant child’s name
to file for additional unem-
ployment benefits. A call to
the department’s fraud line
led investigators to the sus-
pect.
For context, Employment
Security paid $4.6 billion in
benefits to more than a half-
c
million people in 2010. That
means fraud accounted for
about three-hundredths of a
percent of the benefits paid.
Report fraud: Call 866-
810-0210, or visit www.sus-
pectfraud.com.
earth Day River
Restoration
Environmental forces will
join together at the semi-
annual Duwamish Alive!
Earth Day river restoration
event on Saturday, April
16. Starting at 10:00am vol-
unteers will roll up their
sleeves at multiple sites
along Seattle’s industrial-
ized watershed to perform
cleanup and restoration
work in the ongoing effort
to keep Seattle’s only river
alive.
Duwamish Alive! brings
together over 30 conserva-
tion groups, businesses, and
government entities, organ-
izing hundreds of volun-
teers to work at 13 work
sites in the river’s lower
watershed.
Work sites include a river
cleanup by kayak and
canoe, shoreline salmon
restoration, and native for-
est revitalization. Families,
company groups, clubs,
individuals, schools, frater-
nities and sororities are
encouraged to participate,
and no experience is neces-
sary.
These volunteer restora-
tion projects complement
government efforts to clean
up the contaminated sedi-
ments at the bottom of the
Duw amish River.
Improvements in the
health of the river will ben-
efit people, wildlife, and
runs of threatened salmon
o
m
m
u
on the Green/Duwamish
River.
At Duwamish Waterway
Park, volunteers take to the
river in kayaks to remove
marine debris and plastics
which are harmful to both
water quality and marine
life. Also at this site, volun-
teers will conduct park
beautification and pick up
trash in the surrounding
neighborhood. Working at
Duwamish Waterway Park
are Puget Soundkeeper
Alliance, Duwamish River
Cleanup Coalition/TAG,
Environmental Coalition of
South Seattle, Argosy
Cruises, and Alki Kayak
Tours.
2011 Seattle
Reads uchechi
kalu and e.C.
Osondu
Nigerian-born
authors
Uchechi Kalu and E.C.
Osondu will read from their
debut works, “Flowers
Blooming Against a Bruised
Gray Sky” and “Voice of
America,” from 7 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April
20 at The Seattle Public
Library, Central Library,
1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1,
Microsoft Auditorium.
The program is free and
open to the public. Tickets
and reservations are not
required. Parking is avail-
able in the Central Library
garage for $5 after 5 p.m.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
“Flowers
Blooming
Against a Bruised Gray
Sky” is a collection of
poems. “Voice of America”
is a collection of stories set
in Nigeria and America; it
n
I
t
Softball Season
SuSan fried PHoto
investigators
Find more
Benefits Fraud
Nia gosset, 11, celebrates after her teammate gets a hit in a game april
9 at garfield Playfield. On one of the first non-rainy days of spring the
Seattle Central lassies played against the Rainier Rockers.
won the 2009 Caine Prize
for African Writing.
Kalu is a poet, teacher and
activist. Her work has
appeared in several publica-
tions, includin “Revo -
lutionary Voices.” She lives
in San Francisco.
Osondu’s short stories
have appeared in The
Atlantic, Fiction and The
Kenyon Review. He is
assistant
professor
of
English at Providence
College in Providence, R.I.
For more information, call
the Library at 206-386-
4636.
y
c
a
l
‘the Big Shift’
author Speaks
at Seattle
library
Marc Freedman will dis-
cuss his book, “The Big
Shift: Navigating the New
Stage Between Midlife and
Old Age,” from 7 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April
27 at The Seattle Public
Library, Central Library,
1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1,
Microsoft Auditorium.
The program is free and
open to the public.
Registration is not required.
e
n
d
a
Parking is available in the
Central Library garage for
$5 after 5 p.m. Doors will
open at 6:30 p.m.
“The
Big
Shift:
Navigating the New Stage
Between Midlife and Old
Age” discusses ways to
transform America’s com-
ing midlife crisis into posi-
tive opportunities for indi-
viduals and society.
The program is presented
in partnership with The
Elliott Bay Book Co. Books
will be available for pur-
chase and signing.
r
S eattle a pril 2011
B ulletIn B oard
library, 1000 Fourth ave. Seattle
Friday april 15
taX DaY FuN DaY! You have been stressed and
had to rush to get your taxes completed, now
come relax with your favorite little people at
Ravenna. $1 per person: 6:30 – 8 p.m. Ravenna
– eckstein Community Center 6535 Ravenna ave.
Ne.
If you have an event you want to share
with the community, email it two weeks
in advance to The Skanner at
info@theskanner.com
thursday april 14
meet authOR e. lOCkhaRt aND eNJOY
CuPCakeS! this is a teen event with e. lockhart,
raffles and cupcakes from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Participants should look for flyers with a treasure
map on the back prior to the event day at any
library location. level 3, teen Center, Central
Page 2 The Seattle Skanner april 13, 2011
Saturday april 16
YOuth egg huNt! ageS 12 aND YOuNgeR:
hippity, hoppity along montlake’s bunny trail and
join the hunt for eggs. 10 a.m. – Noon montlake
Community Center, 1618 e. Calhoun St. Free for
children 12 and younger.
thursday april 21
the Seattle maYOR’S OFFiCe FOR SeNiOR CitiZeNS
SeNiOR COFFee hOuR! this coffee hour will
feature Diane Sugimura, Director of the Seattle
Department of Planning and Development. 10
a.m. Downtown Central Building 810 3rd ave.
Saturday april 23
SPRiNg egg huNt! Rain or shine, kids scramble
for goodies in age appropriate hunt areas.
Please bring a basket for collecting. the hunt
starts at 10 a.m. for kids 3 and younger. 4-6 year
olds 10:30 a.m. 7-9 year olds and 10-12 year
olds 11 a.m. garfield Community Center 2323 e.
Cherry St.
Saturday & Sunday april 16 & 17
BOOk ON OVeR tO WaRReN g. magNuSON PaRk:
Friends of the Seattle Public library spring book
sale: more than 250,000 books, CDs, DVDs and
much more. Saturday hours 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday hours 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. 7400 Sand Point
Way Ne Building No. 30.