DAILY NEWS
Protest at Sarbanand, Hirst talks, which end is nigh, we crazy
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
LOCAL
► From KING 5 — Protesters demand accountability for farmworker’s death, labor conditions in Sumas — More than 70 workers, who were fired from Sarbanand Farms after they called attention to unfair and abusive work conditions, marched in protest Tuesday at the berry farm’s management office in Sumas. One worker, 28-year-old Honesto Ibarra, died last week. Protesters claimed Ibarra complained to his supervisors about feeling sick in the high heat but was told to return to work. Through an interpreter, co-worker Carlos Crespo said it happens all the time. “Every time you want to complain,” he said, “they threaten to send you back to Mexico.”
► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Plutonium detected in air near public Highway 240 at Hanford — Plutonium and americium have been found in air samples collected at the Rattlesnake Barricade just off Highway 240 northwest of Richland on June 8, the day of an incident at the Plutonium Finishing Plant.
► In the News Tribune — Divisive Tacoma utilities director to leave job with $387,650 severance — Tacoma Public Utilities director Bill Gaines is retiring, saying an increasingly politicized environment is a factor in his decision to leave after 10 years at the helm of the utility.
THIS WASHINGTON
► From KEPR TV — Tri-City projects and construction are halted without a capital budget — The legislature’s failure to pass the capital budget has put hundreds of projects in jeopardy, including improvements for schools, water quality, mental health and other facilities across Washington. There’s a long list of halted projects in our area, including the Tri-Cities Readiness Center and the Goodwill Job Training and Resource Center.
HEALTH CARE
► In today’s Columbian — Health is nonpartisan (editorial) — Contentiousness surrounding discussions about health care creates ripples that extend well beyond Washington, D.C. Instability fostered by Republican efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act impacts patients, providers, insurers and even lawmakers in Washington and every other state. Therefore, it is notable that Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is at the forefront of efforts to provide stability for the health care market.
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — McMorris Rodgers will hold town hall at Gonzaga University on Thursday — Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers will hold her first Spokane town hall since the 2016 election at Gonzaga University’s Cataldo Hall at 5 p.m. Thursday. If you live in the 5th CD, click here to register and get your ticket.
WHICH END IS NIGH?
► In today’s Washington Post — FBI conducted predawn raid of former Trump campaign chairman Manafort’s home — FBI agents raided the Alexandria home of President Trump’s former campaign chairman late last month, using a search warrant to seize documents and other materials, according to people familiar with the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
THAT WASHINGTON
► In the NY Times — Secrecy, suspicion surround Trump’s deregulation teams — By and large, the Trump administration has stacked the teams with political appointees, some of whom may be reviewing rules their former employers sought to weaken or kill. A full vetting of industry connections has been difficult because some agencies have declined to provide information about the appointees — not even their names.
► From The Hill — Trump has yet to travel west as president — President Trump traveled west of the Mississippi River just once during his first 200 days in office and has yet to cross the Rocky Mountains.
EDITOR’S NOTE — No worries. Nothing to see here.
NATIONAL
► From Bloomberg — Americans are dying younger, saving corporations billions — For companies straining under the burden of their pension obligations, the distressing trend could have a grim upside: If people don’t end up living as long as they were projected to just a few years ago, their employers ultimately won’t have to pay them as much in pension and other lifelong retirement benefits.
► From The Nation — Graduate students on these 7 campuses are fighting for their labor rights — Over the past academic year, graduate students across the country were busy organizing for better working conditions. Currently, there are 33 officially recognized graduate-student unions; 23 are fighting for university recognition. With increasing tuition and plummeting wages, meager health-care benefits and overwhelming workloads, these graduate students are coming together to demand better treatment and recognition. Here are seven schools where student organizing is at a fever-pitch.
► In today’s NY Times — At Walmart Academy, training better managers. but with a better future? — A new program for store supervisors and department managers may make them better employees but may not help them reach the middle class.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.