NEWS ROUNDUP
State budget, Boeing’s 737 MAX, no debt deal…
STATE 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
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 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
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 9 a.m. These links are functional at the date of posting, but sometimes expire.