Wednesday, May 30, 2018

LOCAL

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — ‘Bargain now,’ Kennewick teachers demand. District says not so fast. — Hundreds of Kennewick teachers, nurses and other certificated workers rallied and marched Tuesday, saying the school district is getting millions more from the state for their salaries and benefits but isn’t passing it onto them. As part of an overhaul of public education funding in Washington, the Legislature has allocated about $1 billion more for teacher pay, and the KEA wants to negotiate a salary adjustment in the current three-year contract, which is set to expire at the end of the 2018-19 school year. But the district said that while it’s getting about $11 million more for teacher pay and benefits, it’s poised to lose even more than that because of a state-mandated levy cap.

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Mukilteo teachers return to pack school board meeting — Teachers remain determined to bring the Mukilteo School Board to the bargaining table to renegotiate their contract. Once again, teachers and supporters packed the school board. Through impassioned speeches, teachers, parents and current and former students urged the board Tuesday night to pay the teachers and staff more. Board members listened, but did not comment.

► In today’s Seattle Times — King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg says he’s now a Democrat — Satterberg acknowledged the change was prompted in part by facing his first-ever reelection challenge this year, from longtime public defender Daron Morris.

► In today’s News Tribune — New anthem policy perpetrates pseudo-patriotism (editorial) — The NFL has lined up offsides on its new national anthem policy, and we’d like to hear Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen explain his apparent complicity.

THIS WASHINGTON

► In The Stranger — Cathy McMorris Rodgers continues to evade town hall requests — Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers has held six town halls in her district this year, but some of her constituents say the Congresswoman schedules the meetings at odd hours with short notice in places far from the region’s larger population centers. These constraints make them difficult for many to attend.

► From AP — Washington Supreme Court to decide legislative records case — The state Supreme Court will decide whether Washington’s voter-approved Public Records Act applies to lawmakers.

► From KUOW — Feds accept plan to mitigate suicide risk at Western State Hospital — Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital is no longer in immediate jeopardy of losing federal funding.

THAT WASHINGTON

► In today’s Washington Post — Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ at the border is causing child shelters to fill up fast — The number of migrant children held in U.S. government custody without their parents has surged 21 percent in the past month, according to the latest figures, an increase driven by the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” crackdown on families who cross the border illegally.

► From The Hill — America is better than Trump’s cruel immigration policies (by Maria Cordona) — The Trump administration’s new immigration policy of forcibly separating children from their parents when they show up at the border without documents is not only inhumane and un-American, but it also betrays President Trump’s complete ignorance of current immigration laws, the immigration issue and the naked political motive behind such a draconian and unprecedented move.

► From The Hill — Immigrant fight heats up — The Trump administration on Tuesday amplified its charges that Democrats are to blame for the separation of immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The family separations come as the Department of Homeland Security prosecutes people who are caught crossing the border illegally for the first time, a crime that’s been on the books since 1986. Previous administrations had waived prosecution of first-time crossers for both practical and humanitarian reasons.

► In today’s Washington Post — Trump’s not a liar. He’s a madman. (by Dana Milbank) — Calling him a liar lets him off easy. A liar, by definition, knows he’s not telling the truth. Trump’s behavior is worse: With each day it becomes more obvious he can’t distinguish between fact and fantasy. It’s an illness, and it’s spreading… Go ahead and say he’s lying, if you think so. To me, his facility with fallacy and his pain-free fibbery aren’t sympto­matic of a liar but of a madman.

► Actual headline in The Hill — CIA finds North Korea won’t give up nuclear weapons, could open burger franchise— Officials said that Kim might be willing to open a Western hamburger franchise in the capital of Pyongyang as a gesture of goodwill toward Trump. Trump is well known for his preference for fast food like McDonald’s.

OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE

► From The Hill — Key Republican publicly defends FBI against Trump criticisms — Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) defended the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the election during a Wednesday interview in which he took issue with President Trump‘s characterization of spying on his campaign. Gowdy, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, said he did not believe the FBI had done anything out of bounds in its investigation.

► In today’s NY Times — Trump told Sessions to reverse recusal on Russia inquiry — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is a key witness in the investigation into whether President Trump tried to obstruct the Russia inquiry itself.

NATIONAL

► In today’s NY Times — Missouri governor quits as scandal fells a GOP star — Eric Greitens bowed to months of pressure over a felony charge, a scandal tied to an extramarital relationship and the threat of impeachment.

► From The Hill — Ambien maker pushes back at Roseanne Barr tweet: ‘Racism is not a known side effect’

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.