Local wage increase lagging nation
Weekly average 279 of 358 large counties
SHERRY SLATER | The Journal Gazette
Allen County s average weekly wage in the fourth quarter was $1,048, a 10% increase from 2019 s fourth quarter, according to data the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday.
But don t get too excited by the bigger paychecks.
Of the 358 largest U.S. counties, Allen ranked 279th for wage growth over the one-year period that included significant economic effects from widespread shutdowns imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Rachel Blakeman, director of Purdue University Fort Wayne s Community Research Institute, said she typically doesn t pay much attention to quarterly wage releases.
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Money as motivation
Christer Watson
The news is filled with stories of managers complaining about difficulty in hiring. These stories usually highlight the idea that unemployment benefits discourage people from accepting jobs.
There are several aspects of these stories I find incredibly frustrating.
Most important, this story is a clear scientific hypothesis. This hypothesis needs to be tested before it is passed around as if it were true.
That is, this idea could be wrong. Instead, it could be true that people collecting unemployment benefits are mostly concerned about finding their next good job. The benefits might be helpful for tiding over a hard stretch, but not something that changes their behavior.
Determined reader wins bike, helmet
ASHLEY SLOBODA | The Journal Gazette
Lynn Flick wasn t surprised one of her Glenwood Park Elementary School students earned the top prize in a statewide reading competition for third graders.
Kapmuan Sang was determined to get the bicycle and helmet given to top readers, she said.
“He was so far ahead of everybody,” Flick said.
As Kapmuan paged his way through books including the “Dog Man” and “Zeke Meeks” series, he tracked his progress in Read to the Final Four through a digital literacy platform powered by Renaissance myON. He logged more than 355 hours of reading during the months-long competition.
Courtesy John McGauley
Allen Superior Court Judge Charles Pratt talks with two of more than 30 children united with “forever families” at an Adoption Day event in 2019.
Pratt
Courtesy John McGauley
Sunday, May 16, 2021 1:00 am
Putting families first
MATTHEW LEBLANC | The Journal Gazette
It s mid-afternoon on a recent Thursday, and Judge Charles Pratt is taking a break to chat.
He has been in cleanup mode – ridding his second-floor office at the Allen County Courthouse of case law printed long ago and stacked on a table toward the back of the room; emptying filing cabinets; preparing to write the final orders of a legal career that s spanned four decades.