Dazed and Confused?

Employers may be wondering what Initiative 502 (Marijuana legalization) may mean for their employees. Fortunately for us, NMTA friend (and attorney) Bill DeVoe has created a white paper for us. You can access that info here:

I-502 - Dazed and Confused?

Why should boaters care about the Fiscal Cliff?

It's hard not to watch the news and not be deluged with the latest non-news on the Fiscal Cliff. As to how it could affect boating, Nicole Wood from Boat U.S. provided some perspective:

"If we think of sequestration in court terms, it is when a group of jurors get sequestered and can’t leave until they arrive at a decision. The $43 million of Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund monies that are on the block for being sequestered will be affected in just that way. As boaters and anglers buy gear and marine fuel, monies will continue to flow into the trust fund but the funds will not be able to flow out of the funds in the way of state grants and program dollars.

BoatU.S. has been working with several of our Angling and Boating Alliance members as well as the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to try to figure out which programs could be negatively impacted by this sequestration dam. The timing really doesn’t help the situation either. As most states gear up for their legislative sessions to begin in January, they will be drafting their budgets. Most of the grant money received by state agencies that oversee state boating and angling programs has to have a state match of 25 percent. If states are weary that these funds might be unavailable, it could change the way they write their budgets.

 The user-pay, user benefits variety of Trust is very rarely exposed to budget cuts and sequestration so there was some initial shock when the Administration included them in their proposal to congress. However, for the folks here inside the beltway, I think that surprise has worn off and we are all in a “wait-and-see” mode as negotiations continue with the White House."

If you could use a primer on the Fiscal Cliff, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV3LBiivTxw

Islands Marine Center employee named Washington's first Yamaha certified Master Technician

NMTA is pleased to congratulate and recognize Tim Slattery of Islands Marine Center on Lopez Island, WA, for recently completing Yamaha Outboard Master Technician training. Slattery becomes the first in Washington to be named a Yamaha Master Technician. To earn the title, he completed six-week long courses after which he passed the company's Master Technician Certification test. The program covers Yamaha's outboard engine operating systems, proper installation, service and maintenance procedures, and troubleshooting skills. Slattery was named a Master Technician by Yamaha along with only six others in the country in October.