NEWS ROUNDUP
‘How bad’ at Western State? ● We deserve better ● Yankees suck ● The Joker at 75
Friday, October 5, 2018
LOCAL
► In today’s Peninsula Daily News — Sequim schools classified staff call for contracts — Staff at the Sequim School District continue to rally for equitable wages as contract negotiations persist for paraeducators, bus drivers, secretaries, maintenance staff and some administrative employees.
► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Work to prevent Hanford tunnel collapse starts. A Seattle watchdog says not so fast. — A convoy of trucks has begun this week to fill a Hanford radioactive waste storage tunnel that is at risk of collapse, but a Seattle watchdog group is attempting to halt the work. On Sept. 28, the state gave the DOE approval to start filling the second PUREX plant waste storage tunnel with concrete-like grout. Seattle-based Heart of America Northwest expects to appeal.
ELECTION
► In today’s Seattle Times — Just one debate set for Washington’s 8th District congressional race as Dino Rossi declines other invitations — Voters may have just one chance to see Dino Rossi and Kim Schrier square off in a Oct. 17 debate before the Nov. 6 election in the 8th Congressional District. Rossi, the real-estate investor and former Republican state senator, has declined multiple invitations to appear alongside Schrier, the pediatrician and first-time Democratic candidate, at debates and candidate forums.
THAT WASHINGTON
► BREAKING from the Washington Post — Senate votes 51 to 49 to advance Kavanaugh nomination for the Supreme Court — The Senate advanced Brett M. Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination in a key procedural vote Friday morning, putting him one step closer to confirmation and ending a deeply partisan and rancorous fight. The chamber voted 51 to 49 to advance the nomination after Republican leaders secured the votes of two GOP senators and one Democrat who had not publicly announced their intentions before arriving to vote. A final confirmation vote could come Saturday.
NATIONAL
► In today’s San Francisco Chronicle — SF hotel strike by Marriott workers comes during busy convention season — Nearly 2,500 workers walked off their jobs Thursday morning from seven Marriott hotels in downtown San Francisco to demand higher wages, workplace safety and job security. Picket lines formed outside the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown, the Marriott Marquis, the Marriott Union Square, the Palace Hotel, the St. Regis, the W and the Westin St. Francis, according to Unite Here Local 2, a union that represents 89 percent of the workers.
► In New York Magazine — Union leaders rip Yankees for crossing picket line at Boston hotel — Game one of the ALDS won’t be played until Friday evening, but the Yankees, who take on the Red Sox in the series, have already taken an “L.” On Thursday, several players were seen crossing a picket line outside of the Boston Ritz-Carlton. The striking workers — a group that includes cooks, maids, and bartenders — are demanding better working conditions, more stable hours, and protections against job loss. Their slogan is “One Job Should Be Enough.”
► From Reuters — U.S. job growth cools; unemployment rate falls to 3.7 percent — U.S. job growth slowed sharply in September likely as Hurricane Florence depressed restaurant and retail payrolls, but the unemployment rate fell to near a 49-year low of 3.7 percent, pointing to a further tightening in labor market conditions.
T.G.I.F.
► Today, the Entire Staff of The Stand wishes a very happy 75th birthday to Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steve Miller. This psychedelic blues rocker was criticized by some when The Steve Miller Band shifted to a more pop-oriented sound in the 1970s, starting with 1973’s “The Joker.” But as this live jam-version of his 1976 classic “Fly Like An Eagle” demonstrates, he never lost his experimental musicianship and guitar chops. Look, if he hadn’t recorded poppier versions of such songs, how could he have possibly afforded his $18 million, 39-acre estate on San Juan Island? Enjoy.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.