Unemployment Still on the Rise in DC (DC Fiscal Policy Institute): The District ended 2011 with an average yearly unemployment rate of 10.3 percent, slightly higher than the rate for 2010 and far higher than that for 2007 before the start of the recession. This is a sign that economic weakness continues to affect DC residents.” Workers ages 16 to 24 still have the highest unemployment rate (17.4), but this same demographic also saw a drop from 2010 to 2011 — the only group to do so. On the flip side, the rate for residents with a high school diploma continued to rise: from 9.7 in 2007 to 25.3 in 2011.
The report concludes that “the economic recovery is far from complete, so it is important to consider policies to support these populations with high unemployment rates.”
The Helen Hayes Awards Nominations Are Announced (Washingtonian Blog): Special congratulations to the three Catalogue nonprofit theater companies that received nominations for their 2011 productions. TheatreWashington, also a Catalogue nonprofit, announced the nominations this past Monday. Synetic Theatre nabbed fifteen nominations for a single production, their dynamic and wordless King Lear. Adventure Theatre received thirteen nobs in total, including nine for A Year With Frog and Toad and three nominations in the Outstanding Production: Theatre for Young Audiences category. And Woolly Mammoth Theatre received eight nominations, including nobs for Director, Lead Actor, and Production for A Bright New Boise.
With Few Other Options, More Low-Income Patients Visit ER for Dental Care (PBS via DCentric): “More Americans are visiting the emergency room because of toothaches and other routine dental problems — at 10 times the cost of preventative care and with far fewer treatment options than a dentist’s office,” according to a new report from the Pew Center on the States. From 2006 to 2009, the number of emergency room trips for dental care went up by 16% and the trend seems to be continuing. And the costs of that trend are high: “a routine teeth cleaning that could prevent future dental problems can cost up to $100, as compared to $1,000 for ER treatment for untreated cavities and infections.” You can learn more about our nonprofit free (and mobile) clinics right here.