Gomers: What's going wrong

MORE JOBLESS: Putting more people back to work in the Corridor, one of the state's top two regional economic engines, is still proving difficult in this economy. State officials reported last week that the jobless rate moved up a notch, from 7.3 percent to 7.4 percent, in the Cedar Rapids metro area during March. And the Iowa City metro area climbed from 5.0 percent to 5.1 percent. The latter, however, is still the lowest rate of any metro area in the state and compares favorably on a national scale.

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VACATION POLICY: Allowing managers to accumulate up to two years' worth of vacation credit and be paid cash for half the overage is a Linn County government practice that should be reviewed and revamped. The supervisors agreed last week to review the policy after county Auditor Joel Miller alerted Supervisor Chair Linda Langston that a few managers are taking little or no time off. Veteran managers are eligible for up to 7 1/2 weeks of paid leave. Certainly, skilled, effective managers in important public positions deserve good pay and benefits. However, especially during these difficult financial times, the present vacation practice looks overly generous compared to most other workplaces.