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NEWS ROUNDUP

State budget, Boeing’s 737 MAX, no debt deal…


STATE GOVERNMENT

 

► At SeattlePI.com — Gregoire says she is worn out — At the National Philanthropy Day luncheon in Seattle, Gov. Chris Gregoire said she is “worn out” from all the budget cutting she has been forced to do the last three years. Gregoire had already departed the luncheon when she received a stern message in return.  A husband-wife team, Tom and Sonya Campion, received an “Outstanding Philanthropists” award at the luncheon and Sonya Campion spoke her mind.  “I hope when the governor presents her next budget next week, it is not just cuts but revenues that she proposes.”  She received a strong ovation. “Expanding philanthropy is not replacing government.”

► In today’s Olympian — Cuts to higher education system could well be catastrophic (editorial) — Gov. Chris Gregoire is scheduled to unveil her budget proposal this morning – a plan to close a $2 billion gap in the state’s 2011-13 spending plan. In the area of higher education, this community has a lot riding on the outcome.

► From AP — Gregoire puts school funds on the table — The governor isn’t making any promises to spare Washington schools from budget cuts when she and the Legislature meet this month to figure out what to do about the state’s projected $1.4 billion deficit.

► In today’s Seattle Times — As states make cuts, lawsuits are flying — Overall, the state has been sued more than a dozen times because of cuts lawmakers made in recent years to curtail state spending and balance the budget.

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Some rural mid-Columbia hospitals at risk from state, federal cuts — What looks on the surface like relatively small state and federal budget cuts to hospitals could mean the loss of the Tri-Cities’ largest mental health services provider.

 


BOEING

 

► In Sunday’s (Everett) Herald — 737 MAX: A fight we can’t afford to lose (editorial) — Even amid a budget crisis, the Legislature must acknowledge the fundamental importance of aerospace to our region’s future. We’re in a battle we can’t afford to lose.

ALSO SEE — Washington: The proven choice for Boeing (Nov. 18)

► In today’s Seattle Times — The call for swift, bold action to land the 737 MAX (editorial) — Washington boasts a workforce of high efficiency, quality and productivity, but the necessity to improve and expand our engineering and manufacturing skills is as ceaseless as the competition.

► In Sunday’s Seattle Times — A tax break that actually paid off (Danny Westneat column) — “Gregoire will ask the Legislature to extend an existing aerospace tax incentive for preproduction expenses from 2024 to 2034,” her news release said. “The incentive was first enacted Dec. 1, 2003.” The (South Carolina) insult aside, Boeing’s growth is saving us right now. Would we have had a shot at that, or at being the company’s job center for the coming decades, if we had been principled and aloof back in 2003?

 


LOCAL

 

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Tulalip Tribes program trains American Indians for construction trades — Many students are finding jobs after attending the construction classes in the Native American Career and Technical Education Program on the Tulalip Reservation.

 


SUPERCOMMITTEE!™

 

► In today’s NY Times — The deficit deal that wasn’t: Hopes are dashed — On Sunday, just one week after both sides had begun to feel hope, several members of the bipartisan panel conceded that their weeks of negotiations had failed. In the end the two sides could not agree on a mix of tax increases and spending cuts and — perhaps above all — on the fate of the tax cuts originally signed by President George W. Bush, which are now scheduled to expire at the end of 2012.

► In today’s Washington Post — SuperCommittee!™ failure pushes Bush tax cuts to forefront — Both parties are already positioning themselves to exploit the issue for maximum electoral advantage.

 


NATIONAL

 

► In The Nation — 40,000 rally, more than 100,000 sign petitions, to say ‘Recall Walker’ — As tens of thousands of Wisconsinites rallied in Madison for a mass signing of petitions to recall anti-labor Gov. Scott Walker on Saturday, it was announced that the drive had collected 105,000 signatures in its first four days and that number was expected to go substantially higher through the weekend.

► From AP — Hoffa leads in Teamsters vote count — The Teamsters president, James P. Hoffa, is expected to win another five-year term leading one of the nation’s largest unions.

► In today’s Washington Post — Postal Service, two unions agree to extend negotiations — USPS negotiators and the NALC and NPMU will continue talking for two and half more weeks after current labor contracts expired at midnight Sunday.

► In today’s NY Times — Fixing Medicare (editorial) — Its problems are profound, but beware of anyone promising quick fixes.

 


TODAY’S MUST-READ

 

► At Huffington Post — The lessons of Ohio (by Richard Trumka) —  “Remember Ohio.” Those two words should carry new meaning to politicians in Congress and state houses who think they can respond to unemployment, budget crises and voter anger with faux solutions that serve up red meat to their right-wing base. With their now-famous rejection of a state law limiting public employees’ right to bargain collectively, Ohio voters sent this emphatic reminder to Republicans (and some Democrats as well): Cutting taxes for millionaires and billionaires, scapegoating working Americans and their unions and downsizing Social Security and Medicare may get you a standing ovation from the 1%, but the voters who decide elections will not be fooled — and you may just get more than you bargained for.

 


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