NEWS ROUNDUP
Wenatchee still works, Manka’s boost, Harvey help
Monday, August 28, 2017
LOCAL
► In the Seattle Times — Wenatchee waits and wonders about aluminum smelter’s future — The off-again, on-again history of Wenatchee’s massive Alcoa aluminum plant has left the city and former workers unsure about its prospects, even as ingot prices climb to levels that previously sustained one of the Northwest’s last surviving smelters.
► In today’s Columbian — Washington firefighters battle blazes across states after early start to season — A wet spring followed by an unusually hot and dry summer brought an early fire season to the Pacific Northwest.
► In today’s Columbian — Washougal district, teachers split on pay, benefits — The Washougal Association of Educators and Washougal School District are still in negotiations on a new teachers contract as the district nears the start of a new school year. The current contract expires Thursday.
► From KUOW — At 70, Metro’s bus driver of the year says ‘I love everyone’ — This weekend marks James Turner’s 35th anniversary with Metro. Raised mostly in Seattle (Garfield High School class of 1965), he comes from a family of drivers — his sister, son, daughter, four nieces and a cousin all drive Metro buses.
BOEING
THIS WASHINGTON
► In the News Tribune — Is Olympia lawyer the Democrats’ champion in complaint-filing war? — A conservative activist has been taking aim at Democrats and liberal groups for the past year, filing at least 120 complaints saying they’ve broken Washington state’s campaign-finance laws. Now, attorney Walter Smith is turning the magnifying glass around, saying conservative crusader Glen Morgan and a group he leads have committed some of the same financial-reporting violations.
► In today’s NY Times — States dare to think big on climate change (editorial) — Washington, D.C. is in denial, but states are forging ahead and taking action on their own.
ALSO at The Stand:
Alliance for Jobs & Clean Energy campaign kickoffs continue — Events set for this week in Anacortes, Vancouver, Shoreline and Yakima.
FIGHTING FOR LOWER WAGES
► From Vice — Republicans are forcing St. Louis to lower the minimum wage it just raised (video) — VICE News interviews workers and business owners in St. Louis, where the minimum wage was raised last May, but will revert back to $7.70 an hour, due to state labor laws.
► In the L.A. Times — Illinois governor vetoes bill to raise state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour — Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has vetoed a bill that would have raised the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, arguing that it would hurt businesses and ultimately reduce jobs.
THAT WASHINGTON
► From ABC News — Trump leaning toward ending DACA program for undocumented immigrants brought to U.S. as children — President Donald Trump is leaning toward ending a U.S. immigration policy the Obama administration started for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, according to multiple sources. His decision on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program could be announced this week.
► From AP — Trump says Canada, Mexico being ‘very difficult’ on NAFTA — Trump is accusing Canada and Mexico of being “very difficult” at the negotiating table over the North American Free Trade Agreement, and threatening anew to terminate the deal.
► From The Hill — Mexico to Trump: We will not negotiate NAFTA through social media
NATIONAL
EDITOR’S NOTE — Find out how YOU can join together to negotiate for better wages and working conditions.
► From PBS NewsHour — An Obamacare win: No ‘bare counties’ for health insurance next year — An insurer has stepped up to sell individual health insurance policies to the last county in the United States without coverage in 2018, signaling the resilience of an Obamacare market that had been forecast to fail.
HURRICANE HARVEY
► In today’s Houston Chronicle — A weary Houston likely to endure catastrophic flooding through Wednesday — As of Monday morning, up to 40 inches of rain had fallen on northeast Houston alone. Another 20 inches are possible in the area before Tropical Storm Harvey moves further east.
► In the Houston Chronicle — How to help victims of the Texas storm
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.