DAILY NEWS
Longview port strife, work safety, Wisconsin votes…
LOCAL
“By far this is the most intense labor event that I can remember,” said Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson, who stood at the crowd’s center at one point discussing the situation with the union’s leadership. Tensions have been rising between EGT executives and ILWU since contract talks broke down about three months ago. The company’s officials have said they plan to open the terminal this summer with about 50 workers, likely non-union.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Boeing freezes 787 production line in place for 5th time — Boeing has suspended deliveries of 787 Dreamliner airplane sections from its suppliers to the assembly line in Everett and will hold the line in place a month while mechanics catch up on work. A spokesman said the production slowdown won’t affect the first Dreamliner delivery to All Nippon Airways of Japan, now expected in September. But it could mean Boeing won’t be able to meet its delivery target of 12 to 20 Dreamliners this year.
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Selective logging makes Tulalip forest better as habitat, timber resource — By thinning out weaker trees, they aimed to free up space for the remaining trees to grow larger. The work also allows more sunlight to reach the ground so that within a year, the formerly brown and sterile forest floor should sprout with green, giving animals a food source that otherwise would not have existed.
WORK SAFETY
► All week long, John Ryan KUOW 94.9 FM has been running an excellent series of reports called “Danger at Work.” Here are links to the audio clips:
WEDNESDAY — Violence in the ER — Most of us face little risk of being assaulted while we’re on the job. But if you’re a cop, a convenience store clerk or a cab driver, your line of work can quickly turn violent. The same is true for people working in hospitals and nursing homes.
TUESDAY — Workplace safety inspections miss their target — By law, all employers have to provide a safe workplace. Even so, someone dies on the job in Washington state about every four days. Somebody reports being injured at work every few hours. Many more injuries go unreported. A KUOW investigation has found that workplace safety laws are rarely enforced. When state officials do try to enforce the law, they often look for workplace hazards in the wrong places.
MONDAY — Lineworkers bring power to the people, without a net — Three years ago, federal officials called it the most dangerous job in America. The number of people killed while climbing cell phone towers has declined since then, but working on steel towers remains one of the nation’s most dangerous jobs, right up there with commercial fishing. What’s it like to work a hundred feet in the air without a net?
CAREENING TOWARD THE CLIFF
► Saving The Stand the trouble of inserting an “Editor’s Note” after that last link, in today’s Washington Post — Don’t blame “both sides” for debt impasse (Eugene Robinson column) — Washington has many lazy habits, and one of the worst is a reflexive tendency to see equivalence where none exists. Hence the nonsense, being peddled by politicians and commentators who should know better, that “both sides” are equally at fault in the deadlocked talks over the debt ceiling. This is patently false. The truth is that Democrats have made clear they are open to a compromise deal on budget cuts and revenue increases. Republicans have made clear they are not.
► At NewsMax.com — Unions turning on Obama in debt battle — Labor unions are riled about President Barack Obama’s readiness to discuss Social Security cuts in debt talks, further eroding his standing among labor and raising the prospect that they will punish him at the polls in 2012.
► At Huffington Post — Obama reportedly offered to raise Medicare eligibility age as part of compromise — According to five separate sources with knowledge of negotiations — including both Republicans and Democrats — the president offered an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare, from 65 to 67, in exchange for Republican movement on increasing tax revenues.
► In today’s NY Times — Obama grasping at centrist banner in debt talks
EDITOR’S NOTE — Wait. Offering to cut Social Security and Medicare is now “centrist”?!
STATE GOVERNMENT
► At TheOlympian.com — Tax receipts slip another $22 million; state still in black — The two-year budget is $31.7 billion. Overall that revenue drop isn¡¦t a big change and leaves the state still in the black for the rest of the two-year budget cycle that began July 1.
► In today’s Olympian — Film incentive program not a priority in times of tight budgets (editorial) — We agree with lawmakers that at a time when UW tuition is going up 20% a year, when hundreds of state employees will lose their jobs, when the elderly and infirm will lose vital state services and classroom teachers will be expected to do more with less, it was impossible to justify incentives for the film industry.
► At TheOlympian.com — Gregoire names new chief of staff — She has named her director of external affairs and senior counsel Marty Loesch as chief of staff for her final 18 months in office.
POLITICS
► At SeattlePI.com — Romney raises big bucks in Medina — Romney came to the Medina home of venture capitalist and former Microsoft CFO John Conners. The pricetag is $2,500 for a VIP reception and photo session at 5 p.m., $1,000 for a reception held a half-hour later. In his 2008 presidential bid and so far in 2012, Romney has never spoken to a Republican Party event or held a meet and greet with the GOP faithful. As well, he has never met with the local press. Only fundraisers with wealthy donors.
NATIONAL
► In today’s NY Times — AFT’s Weingarten faults teacher reform from ‘on high’ — Amid one of the most contentious periods in recent memory for teachers’ unions, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, on Monday called for education reform that emanates from teachers and their communities, rather than from “those who blame teachers for everything.”
► In today’s NY Times — White House rolls out standards for health insurance marketplace — In a big step to carry out the new health care law, the Obama administration unveiled standards on Monday for insurance marketplaces that will allow individuals, families and small businesses in every state to shop for insurance, compare prices and benefits and buy coverage.
► In today’s LA Times — CalPERS adds $12 billion to California economy, study says — The California Public Employees’ Retirement System pumped nearly $12 billion into the state’s economy last year through benefits paid to retirees and other beneficiaries, making it “a significant economic engine in most California communities,” a new study says.
EDITOR’S NOTE — The same is true of Washington’s pension system, which some legislators insist as treating as a simple liability on a balance sheet.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 9 a.m. Make this electronic “clip service” your first stop each morning! These links are functional on the date of posting, but sometimes expire.