News that the economy may be heading toward a “double dip” is especially unwelcome for a select group of people in Washington: the “99ers,” who’ve exhausted the 99 weeks of unemployment compensation that state and federal law allows. As Laura Onstot reports in this week’s cover story, thousands more people in Washington will be hitting their 99th week in the coming months. Her story details how 99ers are learning to live with no source of income, and how those who provide the social safety net are bracing for the coming wave.