DAILY NEWS
17th nailbiters, fiscal cliff update, Hostess strike…
Monday, November 12, 2012
STATE ELECTION
EDITOR’S NOTE — In the same district, Monica Stonier (D) has a 81-vote lead over Julia Olson (R). Clark County still has about 7,500 votes left — not all of them are in the 17th LD — and the county will next update results on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Get the latest 17th District tallies here.
► In the Spokesman-Review — Wyman will be Secretary of State — The Democratic candidate for secretary of state conceded Saturday, making Kim Wyman Washington’s next top election officer and the only Republican to win a statewide election this year.
► In the (Ellensburg) Daily Record — Hinkle resigns from state House seat — State Rep. Bill Hinkle (R-Moses Lake) resigned Thursday, and his successor, Matt Manweller, might take office in late November. Manweller, a CWU political science professor and a Republican, defeated Moses Lake Democrat Kaj Selmann in Tuesday’s general election.
LOCAL
► In the Columbian — Build that bridge, CRC backers say — Supporters of the Columbia River Crossing on Friday hit back against Republican calls to overhaul the $3.5 billion project, saying there’s too much invested in the process to turn back. In a joint statement, about 50 local CRC backers responded to opponents’ stance in the wake of this week’s election, and asked elected officials to “re-commit” to the I-5 Bridge replacement plan.
► In the PS Business Journal — Charleston, SC, not Seattle, attracting big aerospace conferences — Big industry conferences are important, because they attract aerospace executives from around the globe, and can often lead to decisions to establish facilities in a region, or at least to work with companies that are already there.
► In the PS Business Journal — Fishing vessel construction work surges — A wave of new fishing vessel construction is buoying Western Washington shipyards, with promise of more to come.
VETERAN’S DAY
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Helping veterans find work — About 24,500 veterans are employed at Boeing and many continue to serve in the National Guard and Reserves. In the past 21 months, the company reports having hired 3,000 veterans, and it is a sponsor of Hire America’s Heroes, a Redmond-based nonprofit that works to increase employment of military service members.
► At AFL-CIO Now — AFL-CIO Union Veterans’ Council says ‘Welcome home and thank you’
FISCAL CLIFF
► At AFL-CIO Now — Another poll shows Americans reject ‘grand bargain’ cuts to Social Security, Medicare — Fully 70% of respondents said that protecting education, Medicare and Social Security was more important than broad cuts to reduce the deficit. More than half also said that any plan to address the deficit should start with raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, not by reducing Social Security and Medicare benefits.
TAKE A STAND — What should Congress do? 1. Congress should let the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. 2. Congress must make no cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Sign the petition!
► At TPM — Rep. McMorris Rodgers: GOP doesn’t need to ‘become more moderate’ — Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the highest ranked House Republican woman, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Republicans need to become more “modern” but not “moderate.”
► Today from AP — Obama to meet with labor, business leaders — The White House says Obama will meet with labor representatives as well as other progressive groups Tuesday regarding the fiscal cliff. He’ll hold separate meetings with the business community Wednesday.
► In today’s NY Times — Business chiefs step gingerly into a thorny budget fight — The chief executives taking part in two advertising blitzes set to begin today and Tuesday are walking a delicate balance. They plan to press Congress to act quickly, even as they publicly steer clear of the political firefight surrounding the details of any far-reaching deal to cut the deficit.
► In today’s NY Times — Hawks and hypocrites (by Paul Krugman) — The “deficit scolds,” while posing as the nation’s noble fiscal defenders, have in practice shown themselves both hypocritical and incoherent. They don’t deserve to have a central role in policy discussion; they really don’t even deserve a seat at the table. We should be having a serious discussion about America’s fiscal future. But a serious discussion is exactly what we haven’t been having these past couple years — because the discourse was hijacked by the wrong people, with the wrong agenda. Let’s show them the door.
NATIONAL
► At AFL-CIO Now — BCTGM members at Hostess strike baker — Workers at Hostess Brands — who in September overwhelmingly rejected a contract that cut wages and benefits by as much as 32% — began a strike on Friday against the maker of Wonder Bread, Twinkies and other well-known baked treats. Hostess has imposed the terms of the rejected contract.
► In today’s Washington Post — Fix immigration now (editorial) — Both parties would be wise to realize that standing pat carries its own risks. Every poll suggests that large majorities of Americans want the immigration system fixed. Congress should heed that message.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 9 a.m.