DAILY NEWS
‘Not on target’ for schools, Fast Track hamster wheel, reuniting rivals…
Friday, January 10, 2014
STATE GOVERNMENT
► From AP — Issues with 520 bridge, viaduct replacements loom over transportation talks — The problems facing two state transportation “megaprojects” will loom large over discussions in the Legislature this year to raise the gas tax to pay for roads, bridges and transit throughout Washington.
► In today’s Columbian — Lawmakers: Washington not revisiting CRC — A panel of legislative leaders signaled Thursday that there’s no interest in bringing Washington back to the table on the Columbia River Crossing.
► In today’s News Tribune — Gov. Jay Inslee unveils health-care agenda — Gov. Jay Inslee wants to convince the Legislature to address health care purchasing and children’s obesity.
► In the PS Business Journal — State Rep. Cody suggests converting health exchange, OIC into state agencies — State Rep. Eileen Cody is planning to introduce a new bill that would convert the state health exchange into a state agency instead of the public-private partnership structure it has now.
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Spokane Valley businessman selected for 4th LD seat — Leonard Christian, an Air Force veteran and Spokane Valley real estate businessman, was selected Wednesday to fill the 4th District legislative seat vacated by former Rep. Larry Crouse.
► In today’s Olympian — Republicans announces nominees for 2nd LD seat
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Eyman’s latest initiative looking for a problem (editorial) — Tim Eyman has a new idea, his worst ever, and that’s saying something. the initiative puts a $1 billion gun to the head of legislators. Eyman calls the incentive “oomph.” Blackmail is more like it. This is not about protecting taxpayers. I-1325 is about keeping Eyman in business.
LOCAL
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Everett IAM business rep to run for national union office — Jason Redrup, an IAM District 751 business representative of 2,500 workers at the Everett Boeing plant, says he is joining a national reform ticket seeking to oust the top leaders of the IAM. He will run for general vice president of the international.
MORE coverage in the PSBJ and Seattle Times.
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Deaconess, Valley hospitals abandon ethics investigation request — Deaconess and Valley hospital officials are abandoning their request for an ethics investigation of three Spokane City Council members who used city letterhead to express concerns about medical staffing levels during an ongoing labor dispute.
► In today’s Oregonian — Portland teachers union to send latest offer by Saturday — The Portland Association of Teachers is expected to send Portland Public Schools its latest proposal by Saturday, responding to an offer sent by the district yesterday afternoon. Both sides are still talking after failing to reach an agreement after a 21-hour mediation session on Monday.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
► At AFL-CIO Now — Trumka: Fast Track trade promotion ‘undemocratic’ and ‘bad for American workers’ — AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: “It is past time for the United States to get off the corporate hamster wheel on trade. This legislation renews the undemocratic “trade promotion” process and completely fails to provide the transparency, accountability and oversight necessary for the far-reaching trade and investment agreements that the administration is negotiating, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.”
ALSO at The Stand — Call Congress to urge renewal of unemployment benefits — Call your U.S. Representative at 877-318-0483 and urge him or her to renew the emergency unemployment insurance benefits immediately!
► In The Hill — Unemployment talks stall in Senate — The Senate left town Thursday without a deal for renewing federal employment benefits after bipartisan talks over an offset reached an acrimonious impasse.
EDITOR’S NOTE — After decades of bipartisan support for reauthorizing unemployment benefit extensions — which are needed both for struggling families and for local businesses in their communities — Republicans are holding the UI extension hostage in their ideological quest to “offset” its cost with other cuts in government spending. Meanwhile…
► From the Tribune — Federal deficit takes sharp drop — The latest figures from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicate that the red ink for the first quarter of fiscal 2014, which began Oct. 1, dropped by almost 40 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. The deficit has gone down so much that the federal government actually ran a surplus for December.
► In The Hill — Congress to vote on three-day measure to fund government, prevent shutdown — The measure is necessary because lawmakers have yet to agree to a $1 trillion omnibus budget bill.
NATIONAL
ALSO at The Stand — Urge Port of Seattle officials to enact Prop 1 at Sea-Tac Airport — Sea-Tac International Airport workers and their community supporters are calling on the Port of Seattle to stop standing in the way of good jobs and to implement SeaTac Prop 1 as approved by voters.
► In today’s LA Times — Insurers under fire as Obamacare kicks in — Consumers are easing up on criticism of government exchanges and turning their frustration and fury toward some of the nation’s biggest health insurers. All too often, new policyholders say, the companies can’t confirm coverage, won’t answer basic questions, and haven’t issued identification numbers needed to fill prescriptions or get medical care.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Let’s see if the Republicans direct their ire at their corporate benefactors with the same zeal with which they blasted the government website snafus.
► From AP — U.S. jobs report brings disappointing news — U.S. employers added a scant 74,000 jobs in December, the fewest in three years. The disappointing figure ends 2013 on a weak note and raises questions about whether the job market can sustain its recent gains.
► From ABC News — Hospitals overcharging patients, nurses union says — New data released by National Nurses United revealed that not only do a handful of hospitals charge patients more than 10 times the actual cost of treatment but that prices have been steadily increasing for nearly two decades.
► At TPM — Poll: Americans identifying as liberal reaches all-time high — The percentage of Americans identifying as liberal ticked up to a new record high, according to a new poll released Friday.
T.G.I.F.
► This week, the Coachella lineup was announced and the biggest news is the confirmed reunion of the Entire Staff of The Stand’s all-time favorite hip-hop duo… OutKast! André 3000 and Big Boi went on hiatus in 2007. They’ve done solo albums and made many guest appearances since then, but haven’t worked together. (Remixes featuring both don’t count, fact checkers.) The two appeared headed in different musical directions 10 years ago (!) when they released what were essentially two solo albums under the OutKast name: Big Boi’s Speakerboxxx and André 3000’s The Love Below. Their combined effort was the first hip-hip album to win the “Album of the Year” Grammy. The debate among fans and critics over which album was better was parodied in this West Side Story-inspired video about their “rivalry.”
We hope their Coachella reunion in April is a big success and OutKast returns to the studio soon.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.