Wednesday, December 5, 2018

LOCAL

► In the Seattle Times — History on hand as Seattle awarded the 32nd NHL franchise for 2021-22 season — An emotional morning for present-day Seattle team owners and a relative of previous ones from a century ago culminated Tuesday with the awarding of the National Hockey League’s 32nd franchise to our city to begin play in October 2021 at a remodeled KeyArena.

PREVIOUSLY at The Stand — New $700 million Seattle Center arena will be union built, run

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Marysville man stole $248K from union, said he worked hard — A train conductor from Marysville was sentenced to 1½ years in prison Tuesday for embezzling nearly a quarter million dollars from his labor union. Gregory Normand, 58, fraudulently cut himself checks between 2010 and 2016, using his position as secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 324.

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — For 5-year-old Kaya, a visiting hospice nurse is a playdate — Kaya, 5, has an incurable brain tumor. Providence Hospice and Home Care of Snohomish County is an intricate part of her support system during this most vulnerable time. Her hospice nurse, Pam Crayne-Smith, makes weekly house calls to monitor Kaya’s health and is only a text away when her mother, Jasmine, needs her. “I rely on her more than she knows,” says Jasmine. “She’s my second set of eyes on Kaya.”

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Providence caregivers are being overworked (letter to the editor from a hospice nurse with Providence)

EDITOR’S NOTE — Community supports, rallies with Providence caregivers in Everett — On Nov. 15, scores of nurses, chaplains, nurse assistants, social workers, physical therapists and other caregivers rallied with community members to launch “Providence Has Lost Its Way,” an effort to inform the community that Providence St. Joseph Health is putting corporate greed before patient need and not agreeing to a fair contract. Nurses and caregivers say that Providence Health has forsaken the original, founding core values of the Sisters of Providence and is now focused more on increasing executive compensation, profits and expansion.

► In today’s Wenatchee World — Jail suspends inmate worker program | City left to shovel its sidewalks — The city of Wenatchee faces some challenges with snow removal with loss of inmate work crews. The Chelan County Regional Justice Center suspended its trustee program in November because it doesn’t have enough correctional officers to process and search the worker inmates as they come and go for jobs.

► In today’s (Longview) Daily News — Cowlitz County budget adds 22 additional employees

THIS WASHINGTON

► In today’s Seattle Times — Legislature must lower hurdle for passing school bonds (editorial) — The Bethel School District’s failure to pass its fourth school construction bond in three years illustrates why the state Legislature needs to scrap the requirement that school construction bonds win at least 60 percent of the vote.

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Washington State Ferries awards $49.7 million for terminal — The new Mukilteo ferry terminal is finally getting off the ground. Washington State Ferries awarded a contract to start construction on the passenger building, holding lanes, toll plaza and waterfront promenade. IMCO General Construction, the lowest bidder, landed the deal with a bid of $49.7 million.

► In today’s Kitsap Sun — Ferry crew members honored for saving man in Sinclair Inlet — As the Walla Walla came in to dock in Bremerton during an evening sailing in August, crew members spotted the man swimming across Sinclair Inlet, waving and fully clothed. They quickly reported the sighting, halted offloading operations and launched a rescue.

► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Both sides of I-940 campaign to back changes next year — Backers and foes of a successful ballot measure with new standards on the use of lethal force by police said Monday they will work together to get improvements they both support through next year’s Legislature.

► In today’s Peninsula Daily News — Deadline for state health care exchange is Dec. 15 — Open enrollment for health insurance plans through the Washington Health Benefit Exchange will end Dec. 15 and North Olympic Peninsula medical groups and volunteers are reaching out to help people navigate the available plans. Information will be offered in both counties this coming weekend.

► From The AP — Senate halts rape investigation of defeated state senator — The decision by Democratic leaders comes a day after Sen. Randi Becker (R-Eatonville) urged a reversal of bipartisan action last month that approved the hiring of an outside investigator.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From CNN — White House backs off privatizing the Postal Service — The Treasury Department released a long-expected proposal for overhauling the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday that stopped short of full privatization, an idea the White House floated over the summer. President Donald Trump ordered the report in April after repeatedly attacking the Postal Service’s deal with Amazon. The 70 pages of recommendations do not directly address contracts with individual shippers, which are confidential. But if implemented, they may result in rate hikes for Amazon and other large e-commerce companies, which pay the Postal Service to deliver packages to remote places that may otherwise be too expensive to serve.

PREVIOUSLY at The Stand:

Join the campaign: ‘U.S. Mail Not for Sale!’ (Nov. 16)

Congress: Block privatization of America’s Postal Service! (Aug. 30)

► From the AFL-CIO — Remembering George H.W. Bush’s commitment to public service — While we didn’t agree with all of his policy positions, we would like to thank President Bush for his lifelong commitment to public service and for inspiring that devotion in many other Americans.

NATIONAL

► In today’s San Diego U-T — Marriott strike yields 40 percent pay hike for Westin housekeepers — A more than month-long strike by Westin San Diego Gaslamp workers will deliver a 40 percent pay hike for hotel housekeepers, stronger protections for sexual harassment and a first-time pension. Details of the new four-year contract were made public Tuesday following the end this week of the last of the hotel walkouts that had targeted Marriott International properties involving 7,700 workers across eight cities in the U.S.

ALSO at The Stand — With SF contract win, historic multi-city Marriott strike ends

EDITOR’S NOTE — Hey, hotel workers! (And everybody else, for that matter.) Want a raise, retirement security, and some respect at work? Contact a union organizer today!

► From CNN — NYC sets first-of-its-kind minimum pay rate for Uber, Lyft drivers — Under the new policy, drivers will earn a minimum take-home wage of $17.22 per hour. That’s the ridehailing equivalent of a $15 minimum wage, accounting for the fact that those drivers have to pay payroll taxes and do not receive paid time off.

► In today’s NY Times — Wisconsin Republicans approve bills stripping power from incoming Democratic governor — After a rancorous, sleepless night of debate, Republican lawmakers early Wednesday pushed through a sweeping set of bills that will limit the power of Wisconsin’s incoming governor, a Democrat.

► From The Onion — GOP-controlled Wisconsin Legislature votes to dissolve state rather than let Democrats have it

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