NEWS ROUNDUP
Judicial activism, offshored Walgreen, truck safety…
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
HEALTH CARE
► In today’s Seattle Times — White House says health subsidies will continue — The Obama administration immediately declared that those policyholders will keep getting financial aid for their premiums as it seeks review of the ruling. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the decision would have “no practical impact” on tax credits as the case works its way through further court appeals.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Washington health exchange sounds the alarm, questions Deloitte — One message came through loud and clear at today’s meeting of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange’s Operations Committee: It may not be time to panic about the health exchange’s problem-riddled invoicing and payments system, but it is time to sound the alarm and get all hands on deck.
STATE GOVERNMENT
► In today’s Olympian — Washington loses bid to avoid sending out failing school letters — Washington state won’t get a pass this summer on telling parents that their kids attend failing schools, the federal government says.
LOCAL
► In the (Longview) Daily News — Temco grain terminal expansion on track for fall completion, officials say — A $50 million expansion of a Port of Kalama grain terminal is running behind schedule, but owners say the project should be completed in time to load crops from the fall harvest.
► In today’s News Tribune — Rep. Denny Heck undergoes surgery to remove gallbladder — First-term Democratic congressman from Olympia moved up his surgery from August due to undisclosed symptoms, aides said.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
ALSO at The Stand — More jobs created in states that have raised minimum wage (July 8, 2014)
► In today’s NY Times — Obama calls for ban on job bias against gays — President Obama, declaring himself on “the right side of history,” called on Congress on Monday to ban job discrimination against gay Americans as he signed an executive order doing so for workers of federal contractors.
► At AFL-CIO Now — Trumka: Working families stand with Obama against workplace discrimination — “It is wrong for any employer to discriminate against or fire a worker based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Discrimination in the workplace has no place in the United States. That’s why it’s difficult to believe that in many parts of the country, it’s legal to fire workers for their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
► In today’s NY Times — Obama’s bold order on bias (editorial) — The president rightly used his executive authority to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against gays, lesbians and transgender people.
NATIONAL
► At AFL-CIO Now — Tell T-Mobile to stop exporting American jobs — Employees who has been speaking out against T-Mobile’s job exports and anti-worker practices aimed at employees seeking a voice on the job since 2012 now fear even more jobs will be lost because of a possible T-Mobile-Sprint merger. But you can help by signing a petition demanding T-Mobile improve working conditions and stop shipping America’s jobs overseas.
► In today’s NY Times — Detroit retirees vote to lower pensions, in support of bankruptcy plan — Coming to terms with what came to be seen as inevitable, this city’s public-sector retirees have voted to lower their expected pension benefits, a crucial step in the city’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy before the end of the year.
► In the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram — Mechanics, ground workers from US Airways approve new contract with American — The three-year contract, which covers 11,000 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists, includes furlough protection and raises in each year.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
► In today’s News Tribune — Focus on economics, not electronics, to fight trucker fatigue (by Karen Levy) — Economist Michael Belzer has compared trucks to “sweatshops on wheels” because of the low rates of pay, long working hours and unsafe conditions. To be sure, we should implement sensible rules that restrict drivers’ work hours to reasonable standards, and electronic monitoring may be a useful tool for doing so. But electronic monitoring is an incomplete solution to a serious public safety problem. If we want safer highways and fewer accidents, we must also attend to the economic realities that drive truckers to push their limits.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.