DAILY NEWS
Ben drops his bid, BPA for sale, unions in court’s crosshairs
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
THIS WASHINGTON
► From CrossCut — WA’s Mainstream Republicans hope to survive Tweeter-in-Chief — So what are reasonable GOPers to do? That was one of the big questions for the weekend at the Mainstream Republicans’ annual Cascade Conference. If Democrats are hunkering down into resistance mode, these Republicans are trying to show their fellow Americans that there’s a better way to be conservative, holding on to civility and common sense. Both parties want to model how to do things better in the face of an unpredictable and perhaps incompetent central government.
INFRASTRUCTURE
► In the Columbian — Northwest lawmakers oppose selling BPA transmission lines — The Trump administration’s proposal to sell the Bonneville Power Administration’s transmission system is meeting strong opposition from both Washington and Oregon’s congressional delegations.
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — BPA grid sale tied to fantasy budget — Simply put, privatizing the BPA grid would devastate the Northwest economy. And for what? Another budget proposal that isn’t grounded in reality.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Privatizing air-traffic control won’t fly (by Jon Talton) — If it ain’t broke, break it? … Counterintuitively, the privatization scheme is the rollout of Trump’s infrastructure initiative — recall he promised to spend $1 trillion on it during the campaign. But there are no plans for the high-speed trains that other advanced urbanized nations have — indeed, Trump’s budget wants to gut Amtrak. No plans for investing in the water systems of cities such as Flint, Mich. Instead, “infrastructure” is Trumpian newspeak for “giveaway to the private sector.”
ALSO at The Stand — America for sale — CHEAP! (Needs work.)
THAT WASHINGTON
► In today’s NY Times — U.S. presses China to free activists scrutinizing Ivanka Trump shoe factory — China faces growing pressure to release three labor activists detained for investigating conditions at factories that make Ivanka Trump’s shoe brand, as experts warned that the detentions could make it more difficult for other Western companies to take a clear look at the practices of their Chinese suppliers.
ALSO at The Stand — UW students score victory on Nike factories (by Hannah Dolling)
ALSO at The Stand:
It’s our responsibility to lead on climate change (by Leo W. Gerard)
“A stunning display of ignorance and hubris” (by Jeff Johnson)
NATIONAL
► From The Hill — Georgia GOP House candidate: ‘I do not support a livable wage’ — The Republican candidate in Georgia’s special House election on Tuesday said she does not support a livable wage. “This is the difference between being a liberal and a conservative. I do not support a livable wage,” Karen Handel said during a debate with Democrat Jon Ossoff.
► In today’s Pittsburgh Business Times — United Steelworkers wins adjunct faculty contract with Robert Morris — United Steelworkers struck its latest victory Tuesday in its fight to unionize Pittsburgh’s professors. The USW announced it had reached a contract agreement with Robert Morris University to cover its adjunct faculty — made up of about 430 part-time faculty.
► From Vox — They’re on Obamacare, they voted for Trump, and they’re already disappointed — But they’re still voting Republican. “You know, thinking about it, I’m not even sure what I expected. I just thought it would miraculously work out wonderful for everybody,” said Bobbi Smith, a 62-year-old Obamacare enrollee who voted for Trump. “So I guess maybe I didn’t put enough thought into what I would expect from a health care act.”
TODAY’S MUST-READ
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