DAILY NEWS
Ducking you, considering Acosta, RTW fails…
Friday, February 17, 2017
THIS WASHINGTON
ALSO at The Stand — Stand up, be heard at actions next week — Next week, there will be rallies outside congressional Republican offices during the recess week to demand they protect all Washington families from attacks on health care and immigrants.
LOCAL
► In today’s Columbian — State’s wage gap wider than U.S. average — The wage gap between men and women in Washington appears to be wider than the national average. A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the state’s full-time workers who are women earn, on average, 77.8 percent of the earnings of men. The gap in Washington is the 36th-largest among the United States.
► In today’s Tri-City Herald — State Supreme Court rules Richland flower shop discriminated against gay couple by refusing wedding service — The Richland floral shop owner sued over her refusal to make arrangements for a longtime customer’s same-sex wedding had an offer to settle the litigation two years ago by paying a penalty and agreeing not to discriminate in the future. She refused.
► From KUOW — New 520 and hundreds of other bridges labeled deficient — Drive over the 520 or I-90 floating bridges often? Both have made a new list of bridges that are structurally deficient. It doesn’t necessarily mean the bridges are unsafe for travel, but that they need some attention.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Top Port of Seattle executives will return disputed bonuses — Twelve top executives will return the bonuses, the port announced days after the full list of executive payouts became public.
BOEING
► From AP — After failed union vote, Boeing hails Trump visit to plant
THAT WASHINGTON
► From The Hill — AFL-CIO: Trump’s new Labor pick ‘deserves serious consideration’ — “Working people changed the game on this nomination. Unlike Andy Puzder, Alexander Acosta’s nomination deserves serious consideration. In one day, we’ve gone from a fast-food CEO who routinely violates labor law to a public servant with experience enforcing it,” AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said.
► In today’s NY Times — Trump’s inroads in labor ranks have labor leaders scrambling — Some unions, even if traditionally Democratic, have aims that align with Trump’s stated priorities: building infrastructure, rewriting trade agreements, blocking an exodus of jobs. But union leaders are in many cases scrambling to get in step with members who responded to his pro-worker rhetoric — and to tap into that energy.
► In today’s NY Times — One-month report card (by Timothy Egan) — You slap yourself. You douse your head with water. The incompetence, the leaking, the daily indignities. What country is this? Is this behavior normalized?
► In today’s NY Times — Bring on the special prosecutor (editorial) — The Trump administration’s ties with Russia must be investigated immediately and fully. No one else can credibly do it.
NATIONAL
► In today’s NY Times — On a ‘Day Without Immigrants,’ workers show their presence by staying home — Restaurants, from San Francisco to Phoenix to Washington, D.C., were some of the most visible spots affected, with well-known chefs closing some of their eateries for the day in support.
ALSO see local coverage in the (Tacoma) News Tribune, Tri-City Herald, and Yakima Herald.
T.G.I.F.
► Happy 45th birthday to Billy Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day. He wrote this song as a memorial to his father, a Safeway truck driver, who died when Billie Joe was just 10.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.