Most of Sacramento's 90,000 state workers had Friday off without pay by order of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The morning commute on "Furlough Friday" was light. Parking downtown was a breeze. But Highway 99 was jammed with traffic in the early afternoon.

Maybe everyone was out and about running errands: The parking lot at Costco in south Sacramento was filled with cars, as shoppers with kids in tow loaded up on huge bundles of staples.

Somewhat surprisingly, many small cafes downtown - though reeling from the loss of weekday business as a result of newly economy- minded state workers packing their own lunches - were busy at noon. Even so, TV crews made sure to get footage of the sign on the door of Goodie Tuchews, a cookie shop on L Street: "Closed for Furlough Friday."

The statewide government shutdown was the first of three Furlough Fridays the governor has imposed each month to save $1.3 billion in wage costs between now and June 30, 2010.

For the state worker, the days off amount to a 14.2 percent pay cut. Those affected include:

Michael Welch

The screech of a buzz saw a few houses down joins the sound of the drill Michael Welch wields as he fastens screws into the redwood fence he's repairing.

The morning in Land Park is crisp and clear. And Welch, 58, an analyst with the Integrated Waste Management Board, is hard at what he calls "basic hustle work."

"I could give a hoot about the furlough," he said. "I'm glad I have a job. I'm glad I'm not pushing a grocery cart on the streets."

He props a ladder amid the black-eyed Susans and overblown roses in the backyard where he's working. Call him a jack-of-all-trades: A former chef turned state employee, he also washes windows, cleans gutters, paints houses – all sorts of handyman tasks that help him make up the difference in lost salary.

"A lot of state workers are out there hustling," said Welch, who lives in east Sacramento.

He joined the state work force a decade ago for the benefits and stability, after long years of working with neither health insurance nor the prospect of a financially secure retirement.

Now he and his wife, who works for Sacramento County, have cut back on the extras. And he rides his bike to work instead of taking his truck.

"But I can't manage on cuts alone," he said. "I've got to have more income."

So every now and then, he barters his chef services with a downtown Sacramento deli, whipping up a big urn of gazpacho in return for a free meal or two. And he does handyman work for a network of friends in Land Park.

A neighbor, Jackson Hedden, helps him clamp loose boards into place. The drill whirs again.

"There's a heck of a market niche out there for this," Welch said. "I'm not kidding you. If I wanted to do it full time, I could."

– Anita Creamer

Eddie Hard and Emily Alejandrino

State workers Eddie Hard and Emily Alejandrino spent "Furlough Friday" morning emptying their Rosemont home for a move into a new place in Carmichael.

But the married couple's sense of excitement at moving is tempered by a creeping worry. They had factored in losing two days of pay each month when they went shopping in Sacramento's notoriously dismal housing market, not three. And certainly not four.

"If (the governor) adds another day, I don't know what would happen with (a) new mortgage," said Hard, who works for the state's Little Hoover Commission.

The couple pounced on the $560,000 Carmichael house earlier this year. It's an upgrade from their current home – optimistically appraised most recently at $250,000 – with a good school district for when their 2-year-old daughter starts kindergarten.

"It's a gamble," Hard admitted of the purchase.

But they did the deal, said Alejandrino, who is a scientist with the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board, "because home prices are incredibly low, and so was our (loan) interest rate."

Escrow closed last month, just before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger added a third furlough day to both of their monthly schedules.