Budget cuts cause concerns over digital record preservation - CASEY MCNERTHNEY, SEATTLE Post Intelligencer

State budget shortfalls have forced the Washington State Archives to drastically cut its staff, creating concerns that some electronic state records might be lost and ensuring that access to public documents will be slowed. "Part of it is genealogy, but some of our major customers are lawyers," State Archivist Jerry Handfield said. "We have the records of the Supreme Court as well as the legislative bills – all the major records of the government." In 2007, the State Archives had about 80 employees with the layoffs expected by next summer, that number will be in the 20s.