GOOD DAY FOR: Volunteer work, as a Spokane, Wash. distillery is having no trouble filling three-hour Saturday shifts with workers who don’t mind being paid in shots of the company’s gin and vodka. The Dry Fly Distilling also offers the workers free lunch. “Those volunteers find us,” says co-owner Don Poffenroth. Dry Fly is already getting calls for volunteering in 2010. (Spokane Spokesman-Review, in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

BAD DAY FOR: California, after the apparent defeat of several state-finance-related ballot measures leaves a $21.3 billion budget gap for state lawmakers to fill. With tax increases voted down, California faces steep spending cuts in everything from critical services to education. If those fail to fill the gap, California may need federal assistance. (Reuters)