NEWS ROUNDUP
Senate skirmishes, port delays, how they voted, IBT free…
Thursday, January 15, 2015
STATE GOVERNMENT
► In the Seattle Times — State at critical crossroads, Inslee tells split lawmakers — Gov. Jay Inslee used his State of the State address to double down on sweeping budget proposals to spend more on education and transportation, and to tax carbon pollution and capital gains.
EDITOR’S NOTE — As Goldy points out, the Times considered the past two year’s Majority Coalition Caucus pretense involving two Democrats siding with Republican to be “bipartisanship,” but when two Republicans side with Democrats… not so much.
ALSO at The Stand — Senate GOP moves to shield rich, corporations from state taxes (editorial)
► In today’s Bellingham Herald — Democratic Rep. Morris: Inslee carbon tax more flash than substance — Not all Democrats are behind Gov. Jay Inslee’s carbon tax.
► In today’s Bellingham Herald — Ericksen, Ranker introduce dueling oil transportation safety bills — Two legislators who represent parts of Whatcom County have introduced dueling oil transportation safety bills in the Senate.
► In today’s Olympian — More supervision, less prison for property crime — A new report announced by Gov. Jay Inslee Wednesday recommends Washington put more property-crime offenders on supervision instead of relying exclusively on prison.
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Shine a light on dark money in politics (editorial) — Sen. Andy Billig’s bid to illuminate secret political contributions died in the last Legislature. But subsequent campaign shenanigans that threatened the Republicans’ hold on the Senate have drawn more bipartisan support for the idea.
PORTS
ALSO at The Stand — Shippers admit congestion not workers’ fault
► From Reuters — U.S. shippers cancel overnight loaders at California ports — Negotiators for shipping lines and terminal operators at 29 ports on the U.S. West Coast on Tuesday said they would no longer assign crews to load and unload cargo ships overnight at the massive Los Angeles and Long Beach docks. The move comes a day after the Pacific Maritime Association said the region’s five largest ports had seen backups “approaching complete gridlock,” as contentious contract talks with the dockworkers union have stalled.
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — $3.8 million port upgrade will allow it to handle heavier cargo — Construction workers are driving massive steel piles deep into the seabed below the Port of Everett’s South Terminal as part of a $3.8 million upgrade. The improvements will allow the terminal to support the port’s behemoth mobile harbor crane and to handle heavier cargo that can be directly rolled on or off a waiting freighter.
LOCAL
► In today’s P.S. Business Journal — Why Beverly Wyse’s move is a big win for South Carolina and Boeing’s plans there — Wyse’s inclusive and supportive management style could help empower workers at Boeing’s North Charleston facility. One way that technology companies have avoided unions is by adopting more inclusive management styles that bring people together more naturally and empower them. Wyse might be just the person to do that in North Charleston.
► In today’s P.S. Business Journal — Elon Musk looks to poach Microsoft, Boeing workers as SpaceX plans huge new Seattle office — Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and founder of Tesla Motors, said that the company would soon have a satellite engineering office in the Seattle area that may employ up to 1,000 people.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Facebook doubling Seattle engineering office — Persistent rumors about Facebook needing more space for its fast-growing Seattle engineering team were correct but it isn’t moving to a new building just yet.
► In the P.S. Business Journal — Legion of (economic) Boom: Downtown Seattle to get $6 million boost from Seahawks playoff games
SOCIAL SECURITY
► At TPM — White House weighs in on GOP Social Security ploy — The White House says that it generally opposes measures that limit Congress’s ability to transfer revenue between the Social Security funds… The program’s advocates are wary because Obama has shown a willingness to entertain cuts to the program in some past budgets and during the 2011 debt-limit negotiations.
► At Huffington Post — On Tuesday, will Obama stand up for Social Security? (by Richard Eskew) — The president will deliver his State of the Union speech next Tuesday amid a new flurry of Republican attacks on Social Security. Will he stand firm and defend the popular program, or step aside and let the attacks continue?
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
EDITOR’S NOTE — Washington GOP Reps. Dave Reichert, Dan Newhouse, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Jaime Herrera Beutler all voted for the overall bill killing immigration protections, and all Washington Democrats voted “no.” Newhouse, McMorris Rodgers and Herrera Beutler also voted for the amendment killing DACA, but Reichert sided with Democrats in voting “no.”
► In The Hill — Poll: Majority backs Obama on immigration — A majority of Americans say President Obama’s executive actions on immigration should be allowed to stand, according to a new poll released a day after House Republicans voted to choke off funding for the administration’s deferred action program.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Washington Democratic Reps. Derek Kilmer and Rick Larsen sided with Republicans, voting to support the bill relaxing Wall Street reforms. Reps. Suzan DelBene, Jim McDermott, Adam Smith and Denny Heck all voted “no.”
► From AP — Obama to renew push for paid leave for working parents — President Barack Obama on Thursday will call on Congress, states and cities to pass measures to allow millions of workers to earn up to a week of paid sick time a year, the White House said. He’ll also ask Congress for more than $2 billion in new spending to encourage states to create paid family and medical leave programs.
NATIONAL
► From AP — With end of Teamster supervision, an era passes — The U.S. government is ushering in a new era for the Teamsters, ending its 25-year supervision of a union once infamous for its ties to organized crime. The union and a U.S. attorney have jointly filed an application in Manhattan federal court to phase out the terms of a 1989 consent decree giving the federal government extensive control over the Teamsters. The 1989 agreement imposed a weighty financial burden, because the union was required to finance much of its federal oversight. Over the years, the Teamsters estimate, the accumulated cost reached $170 million. Ending the agreement will free the union of that expense.
► At Huffington Post — Who needs lobbyists? See what Big Business spend to win American minds — Forget lobbying. When Washington, D.C.’s biggest trade associations want to wield influence, they often put far more of their money into advertising and public relations, according to a new Center for Public Integrity investigation.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.