DAILY NEWS
‘Skinny’ fails, The Mighty Columbia™, foul mouthpiece, The Right Thing
Friday, July 28, 2017
TRUMPCARE
EDITOR’S NOTE — Also, check out BuzzFeed’s awesome dissection of the dramatic vote.
LOCAL
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Enjoy summer, but remember to vote (editorial)
► MUST-READ interactive special report in the NY Times — Down the mighty Columbia River, where a power struggle looms — The Trump administration has proposed a plan to sell the transmission network of wires and substations owned by the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency that distributes most of the Columbia basin’s output, to private buyers… Debates about government and its role in land and environmental policy are always highly charged. But perhaps nowhere could the proposed changes have a more significant impact than along the great river of the West. Privatization would transform a government service that requires equal standards across a vast territory — from large cities to tiny hamlets — into a private operation seeking maximum returns to investors. Wringing profits from a system that has provided electricity at cost would inevitably raise prices, critics of the idea said, while supporters envision a streamlined grid open to innovations that government managers cannot imagine.
► In today’s Yakima H-R — Local immigration case could have national impact — A local case questioning whether Yakima County jail authorities are violating due process by enforcing federal immigration holds could affect jails nationwide, a Yakima attorney said Wednesday.
THIS WASHINGTON
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Lawmakers to court: We’ve complied with school-funding order — A bipartisan group of lawmakers approved a report Thursday telling the state Supreme Court how the state will assure it is providing ample funding to public schools by a 2018 deadline.
► From KNKX — Seattle schools official says state’s education funding plan still falls short — The Seattle school board has adopted a budget for the coming school year. They managed to plug holes to fill a deficit once projected to be $74 million, but a district official said that she’s concerned that in the long term, the state’s new education funding plan doesn’t go far enough.
► In today’s Seattle Times — State labor board rules for hearing on union’s complaint against King County sheriff — The unfair-labor-practices complaint contends Sheriff John Urquhart and his associates tried to intimidate a high-ranking deputy challenging him in the November election and threatened to “destroy” any commander who publicly supported her.
THAT WASHINGTON
EDITOR’S NOTE — This is what Mexico-paying-for-it looks like.
► ICYMI in the New Yorker — Anthony Scaramucci called me to unload about White House leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon (by Ryan Lizza) — He started by threatening to fire the entire White House communications staff. It escalated from there.
“Reince is a fucking paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac. [Channeling Priebus] ‘Oh, Bill Shine is coming in. Let me leak the fucking thing and see if I can cock-block these people the way I cock-blocked Scaramucci for six months.’ ”
“I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock. I’m not trying to build my own brand off the fucking strength of the President. I’m here to serve the country.”
“Yeah, let me go, though, because I’ve gotta start tweeting some shit to make [Reince Priebus] crazy.”
► From Rolling Stone — The Anthony Scaramucci era will be freakish, embarrassing and all too short (by Matt Taibbi) — Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci is like Trump himself: ridiculous, ham-brained, unapologetic, disdainful of Washington pieties, and bursting with reasonless confidence.
NATIONAL
T.G.I.F.
► This one goes out not only to GOP Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John McCain, but also to every single Democratic United States Senator — including our own Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell — who voted against the latest cynical attempt by Donald Trump and Republicans to take away the health care of millions of Americans.
The Entire Staff of The Stand urges you to pump up the volume on this one.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.