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Seattle minimum wage increase takes effect and eating out gets more expensive

New High Tech Wages, Washing Dishes?

Eating meals out in Seattle just got more expensive as tens of thousands of low wage workers got a raise this week to $11 an hour. It was the first scheduled pay increase on the way to $15 an hour, the highest minimum wage in the country.
Ivar’s Salmon House, an iconic Seattle seafood restaurant, decided to skip the phase-in period and began paying $15 right away.
It also raised menu prices 21 percent. The famous Fish ‘n Chips will run you $20.60 and the Wild Alaska Halibut is now $43.50. The restaurant also wrote on the menu, "Tipping is no longer necessary…we have changed the way we pay our employees."
But that’s not all. In order to keep servers, who used to earn an average of $27 an hour, from quitting, Ivar’s is now sharing revenue among all workers. Owners believe the new formula will have servers and bartenders making the same amount or more money, while dishwashers, cooks and busboys will get a nice pay raise. Of course, it all depends on the amount of business the restaurant does.
Fast food restaurants are taking it much slower, but they’re still charging more. One Subway in South Seattle that’s now paying workers $11 raised prices four percent.
“I don’t have a choice but to increase prices,” said Subway franchisee David Jones. “I just hope that the public rewards us for giving good service and having good food.”
But not everyone is celebrating a fatter paycheck. Public employers may not be bound by the $15 ordinance. Seattle’s biggest employer, with 39,000 employees, is the University of Washington. Officials say the money is not currently there to pay 2,600 student employees $11 an hour. They still are making the state minimum wage of $9.47.
Student workers protested this week and some say they’ll walk.
“If we can get $15 an hour four blocks from here, we’ll go four blocks from here and get it,” said Eric Riner, who works in the student Hub.
From the Seattle school district to King County, every other public employer said it now is paying the higher wages. None would detail how they will afford the higher labor costs, but the Seattle College District listed some options. That list includes reduction in services, increase in fees/prices and eliminating services such as catering and fitness centers.
Kshama Sawant, the $15 wage ordinance architect who is a Seattle City Councilwoman and a Socialist, said the University of Washington, in particular, has other ways of affording the raises.
“It is disingenuous for them to say they don’t have enough to pay $15 an hour,” said Sawant, “Why don’t they cut the salaries of the top executives and try to pay $15 and try to increase the wages for the lowest paid workers?”
But critics contend there will be plenty of losers and they won’t be the high rollers. Taxpayers may see taxes go up to pay for higher public employee wages. There’s also concern about the number of jobs and who will fill them.
Paul Guppy, policy analyst at the Washington Policy Center, a Libertarian think tank, said some jobs will leave Seattle, and the least skilled will be squeezed out of those that remain.
“Youth unemployment in particular will be higher in Seattle,” said Guppy. “It will be harder for people to find a summer job or students to add to their income when they’re in college.”
Small businesses have seven years to work up to paying $15 an hour, while big companies that employ at least 500 workers must get there in just three years. It’s a wage experiment that will be watched closely across the U.S.

Menendez pleads not guilty to federal corruption, bribery charges

WASHINGTON –  New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of corruption and bribery.
A Newark grand jury indicted the 61-year-old senator Wednesday on 14 counts of federal corruption in a 68-page indictment.
Menendez has been released on his own recognizance but was forced to surrender his personal passport.
A status conference has been scheduled for April 23, with a tentative July 13 trial date.
Menendez’s friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen, was indicted on 13 counts, including eight bribery charges. Melgen also pleaded not guilty.
The case revolves around alleged gifts and favors Melgen did for the senator, who in turn allegedly helped out the wealthy Florida doctor on several occasions.
The indictments against Menendez and Melgen will likely result in a drawn-out court battle between them and a team of federal prosecutors who have spent years building their case against the two men. Menendez, who is a powerful Capitol Hill Democrat and a leading critic of the Obama administration's Cuba and Iran policies, vowed to fight.
“At the end of the day, I will be vindicated and they will be exposed,” Menendez said at a Wednesday press conference. “This is not how my political career is going to end. I am angry and ready to fight. I am not going anywhere.”
Pricey trips, private planes and young foreign models are all at the heart of the federal criminal case. Prior to the release of the indictment, what was known about the case centered on favors Menendez allegedly did for Melgen concerning his business dealings.
But the indictment also claims the senator helped Melgen’s international girlfriends gain entry to the United States. Court records detail extracurricular activities that include the use of a Caribbean villa, luxury hotel stays in Paris but perhaps most salacious, using political power to secure visas for three of those girlfriends, as well as the visa application of the younger sister of one of Melgen’s girlfriends.
“Throughout these efforts, Menendez allegedly engaged in advocacy for Melgen all the way up to the highest level of the U.S. government, including meeting with a U.S. cabinet secretary, contacting a U.S. ambassador, meeting with the heads of executive agencies and other senior executive officials and soliciting other U.S. senators, all in order to assist Melgen’s personal and pecuniary interests,” the government claims.
According to the indictment, in 2007 Melgen's then-girlfriend, a Brazilian national who worked as an actress, model and lawyer, wanted to go to graduate school at the University of Miami near where Melgen lived. The school required her to obtain a student visa. On July 24, 2008, the day before her visa application appointment in Brazil, Menendez’s senior policy adviser allegedly emailed the deputy assistant secretary at Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs:
“The senator asked me to get in touch with you about the following visa applicant. If it is helpful, I can send over a signed letter from the Senator with the details. Thank you for your help with anything you can do to facilitate the following application.”
The email goes on to state: “Sen. Menendez would like to advocate unconditionally for Dr. Melgen and encourage careful consideration of (the girlfriend’s) visa application.”
One day later, the visa was approved. Another email was sent from Menendez’s office: “Thanks a lot (DAS), the senator very much appreciates your help.”
During another incident in October 2008, Melgen asked for Menendez’s help in getting a tourist visa for another girlfriend, a Dominican model, 21, and her sister, 18. Menendez’s office sent a “general letter of support” from the senator on behalf of the two sisters. He also pledged a follow-up call.
On Oct. 28, 2008, the girlfriend emailed Melgen to ask for a copy of the letter the senator’s office sent.
Her email, according to the indictment,  reads:
“Hello my love, I write to remind you that you need to send me a copy of what Senator Bob Menendez’s office sent you, which I need for the embassy. And also remember the bank thing please. Thank you. A kiss.”
The United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic initially denied the visa requests because the women lacked children, cash and employment.
When told the visas were denied, Menendez reportedly said, “I would like to call Ambassador tomorrow and get a reconsideration or possibly our contact at State. Thanks.”
The staffer wrote back to Menendez asking if the senator would rather wait for the outcome of a follow-up letter or call the ambassador immediately.
Menendez responded, “Call ambassador asap.”
The girlfriend and her sister had both of their visas approved.
Two staffers from Menendez’s office discussed the deal via email, according to the indictment.
“2 people from the DR who wants visas to visit Dr. Melgem (sic) GOT THEM,” one staffer wrote.
Another staffer replied, “In my view, this is ONLY DUE to the fact that RM intervened. I’ve told RM.”
Menendez’s staff also reportedly drafted a letter in 2007 on behalf of a Ukrainian model living in Spain. She wanted to come to the U.S. to visit Melgen as well as for plastic surgery, according to the indictment.
“Dr. Melgen is a person of the highest caliber,” according to the letter sent to the consul general. “He is a fine citizen and held in high esteem by his peers.”

Republicans uneasy over Iran nuke 'deal,' lawmakers demand say on any final agreement

The highly touted "framework" for an Iranian nuclear deal, announced Thursday following days of intense negotiations, is being met with mixed reviews on Capitol Hill -- as Republicans voice skepticism and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle reprise demands that Congress have a say.
President Obama, who pitched the framework as “historic,” said he would speak with House and Senate leaders -- he already has spoken briefly with Speaker John Boehner, Fox News has learned. Obama, in the Rose Garden, said the issue is “bigger than politics” and warned that if Congress killed a deal without a reasonable alternative, the United States would be blamed for the failure of diplomacy. He called it a "good deal."
But Boehner, within hours of the announcement, warned that the "parameters" represented an "alarming departure" from initial U.S. goals.
In a statement, Boehner said his "immediate concern is the administration signaling it will provide near-term sanctions relief," referring to a provision calling for U.S. and E.U. sanctions relief once inspectors verify Iran's progress toward the nuclear-related steps of the deal.
"Congress must be allowed to fully review the details of any agreement before any sanctions are lifted," Boehner said.
Obama's warning to Congress and Republicans' early reaction point to a tense few weeks ahead as Capitol Hill lawmakers weigh legislation -- which has been on hold -- demanding congressional review of a nuclear deal, and potentially another bill dealing with sanctions.
Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it is important to see the specific details of Thursday’s announcement and said America should remain “clear-eyed” regarding Iran.
“If a final agreement is reached, the American people, through their elected representatives, must have the opportunity to weigh in to ensure the deal truly can eliminate the threat of Iran’s nuclear program and hold the regime accountable,” he said in a written statement.
Corker and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., sponsored the bill allowing congressional review. A 60-vote threshold would be required before lawmakers could take action. Corker said his committee would take up that legislation on April 14, and said he's "confident of a strong vote."
In a conference call, senior administration officials reiterated concerns about legislation that could derail an Iran agreement but said they are "open to discussions" with Congress on what oversight role they could play. One official said Congress would eventually get a vote, regardless, on whether to lift sanctions.
Menendez, a Democrat who has publicly criticized the Obama administration’s handling of Iran, suggested the White House take its time before agreeing to anything. With the preliminary agreement announced Thursday, negotiators will now try to hammer out a final, comprehensive deal by a June 30 deadline.
“If diplomats can negotiate for two-years on this issue, then certainly Congress is entitled to a review period of an agreement that will fundamentally alter our relationship with Iran and the sanctions imposed by Congress,” Menendez said in a written statement. “The best outcome remains a good deal that ends Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program. That requires a strong, united, and bipartisan approach from the administration and Congress.”
Earlier Thursday, Menendez pleaded not guilty to 14 federal charges of corruption and bribery that some have called political payback for going against the administration.
Obama's biggest allies, meanwhile, seemed to be giving his diplomatic team some space in the wake of Thursday's announcement. California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer seemed cautiously optimistic following the Iran announcement:
“We don’t yet know the details of a final deal, but initial reports are promising, and if the U.S. had prematurely ended talks on nuclear issues in the past, we would never have had historic and critical international agreements like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the New START Treaty.”
Boxer went on to praise the president and his administration for working “tirelessly to reach this point” and vowed to work to “ensure that Congress has the patience to support this diplomatic effort because the risks of walking away from the table are simply too high.”

Ind., Ark. pass revised religious objection laws

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. –  Lawmakers in Arkansas and Indiana passed legislation Thursday that they hoped would quiet the national uproar over new religious objections laws that opponents say are designed to offer a legal defense for anti-gay discrimination.
The Arkansas House voted 76-17 to pass a revised bill after Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked for changes in the wake of mounting criticism. Hutchinson signed it only moments after the vote, saying the new version recognizes that "we have a diverse workforce and a diverse culture."
A parallel process played out at the Indiana Capitol as the House and Senate passed changes to a law signed last week by GOP Gov. Mike Pence, who quickly approved the revisions.
"Over the past week, this law has become a subject of great misunderstanding and controversy across our state and nation," Pence said in a statement. "However we got here, we are where we are, and it is important that our state take action to address the concerns that have been raised and move forward."
The new legislation marks the first time sexual orientation and gender identity have been mentioned in Indiana law.
The Arkansas measure is similar to a bill sent to the governor earlier this week, but Hutchinson said he wanted it revised to more closely mirror a 1993 federal law. Supporters of the compromise bill said it addresses concerns that the original proposal was discriminatory.
The Indiana amendment prohibits service providers from using the law as a legal defense for refusing to provide goods, services, facilities or accommodations. It also bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or U.S. military service.
The measure exempts churches and affiliated schools, along with nonprofit religious organizations.
House Speaker Brian Bosma said the law sends a "very strong statement" that the state will not tolerate discrimination.
Business leaders, many of whom had opposed the law or canceled travel to the state because of it, called the amendment a good first step but said more work needs to be done. Gay-rights groups noted that Indiana's civil-rights law still does not include LGBT people as a protected class.
Former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, now a senior vice president at drugmaker Eli Lilly, praised the changes but noted that work needs to be done to repair damage to the state's image.
"The healing needs to begin right now," he said.
Democratic leaders said the amendment did not go far enough and repeated their calls to repeal the law.
"I want to hear somebody say we made a grave mistake, and we caused the state tremendous embarrassment that will take months, if not years, to repair," House Minority Leader Scott Pelath said. "I want to hear one of the proponents `fess up."
The lawmaker behind the original Arkansas proposal backed the changes, saying he believed it would still accomplish his goal of protecting religious beliefs.
"We're going to allow a person to believe what they want to believe without the state coming in and burdening that unless they've got a good reason to do so," Republican Rep. Bob Ballinger told the House Judiciary Committee.
Like Pence, Hutchinson has faced pressure from the state's largest employers, including retail giant Wal-Mart. Businesses called the bill discriminatory and said it would hurt Arkansas' image. Hutchinson noted that his own son, Seth, had signed a petition urging him to veto the bill.
After Hutchinson signed the compromise bill, the House voted to recall the original proposal from his desk. Conservative groups said they would have preferred Hutchinson sign the original bill, but they grudgingly backed the compromise measure.
"The bill that's on the governor's desk is the Rolls Royce of religious freedom bills. It is a very good bill," said Jerry Cox, head of the Arkansas Family Council. "The bill that just passed ... is a Cadillac."
The revised Arkansas measure only addresses actions by the government, not by businesses or individuals. Supporters said that would prevent businesses from using it to deny services to individuals. Opponents said they believed the measure still needs explicit anti-discrimination language.
The original bill "gave us a black eye. This bill ices it," said Rita Sklar, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. "We still need some Tylenol."
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group, called the new law an improvement but said it could still be used be used to discriminate based on sexual orientation.
The revised bill also faced opposition from Republicans frustrated over the governor's request for changes to a proposal he had initially planned to sign.
"I, for one, do not appreciate someone hiding behind this body when they're unwilling to take a stand one way or the other," Republican Rep. Josh Miller of Heber Springs said.
Similar proposals have been introduced this year in more than a dozen states, patterned after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, with some differences. Twenty-one states now have comparable laws on the books.