DAILY NEWS
Feds sue over Hanford bill ● UW growth OK’d ● Sticking with the union
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
THIS WASHINGTON
► From KUOW — Federal government sues Washington state over law to help sick Hanford workers — The federal government filed a lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in an attempt to block a Washington law passed earlier this year that aims to help sick Hanford nuclear cleanup workers obtain workers’ compensation.
Nov. 27 at The Stand — Feds oppose workers’ comp protections for Hanford workers
► In today’s News Tribune — Tacoma should disinvest from fossil fuels, and the reasons go beyond progressive politics (by Matt Driscoll) — Provided the city can disinvest from fossil fuels without jeopardizing the long-term financial outlook of its retirement system, which is rightfully the primary concern, it should heed such a recommendation, and fast. But this decision is about more than politics.
LOCAL
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Spokane City Council puts property tax to pay more firefighters, police on ballot — Voters will be asked to pass a property tax increase in February that would pay for 20 police officers and 30 firefighters as well as criminal justice programs.
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Spokane City Council passes Uber and Lyft regulations — The Spokane City Council unanimously approved new regulations on ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft, requiring safety inspections, licenses and a surcharge on rides.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Seattle approves new office to help city employees with workplace harassment, discrimination — The office will support city employees dealing with workplace misconduct and will operate independently from the Department of Human Resources and the Office for Civil Rights.
ELECTION
► In today’s Kitsap Sun — One-vote discrepancy in 26th District Senate race questioned by Secretary of State — Kitsap County’s canvassing board will reconvene and investigate why the manual recount of Precinct 003 (in Bremerton) was one ballot short of the electronic count in the 26th LD Senate race. The recount confirmed Democrat Emily Randall defeated Republican Marty McClendon by 102 votes out of more than 70,000 ballots cast.
THAT WASHINGTON
► From ProPublica — How the IRS was gutted — An eight-year campaign to slash the agency’s budget has left it understaffed, hamstrung and operating with archaic equipment. The result: billions less to fund the government. That’s good news for corporations and the wealthy.
► From The Hill — GOP fights piling up for McConnell — The Senate Majority Leader finds himself in the middle of an increasingly public and bitter battle over criminal justice reform that pits Trump, Jared Kushner and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee against a group of conservatives opposed to the bill.
► In today’s Washington Post — We are former senators. The Senate has long stood in defense of democracy — and must again. (by 44 former U.S. senators) — As former members of the U.S. Senate, Democrats and Republicans, it is our shared view that we are entering a dangerous period, and we feel an obligation to speak up about serious challenges to the rule of law, the Constitution, our governing institutions and our national security.
LAME-DUCK POWER GRABS
► From The Guardian — Courts likely to strike down Republican lame-duck power grabs, experts say — Among other issues, experts contend many of the Republican laws blur the constitutionally mandated separation of powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
► In today’s NY Times — With power grabs in the Midwest, GOP risks a 2020 backlash — The Republican efforts could hurt the party’s image with moderate voters in a region that President Trump considers crucial for his 2020 re-election effort, and where his standing has fallen in suburbs that he would need to carry again to win.
NATIONAL
► From Reuters — Verizon says to shed 10,400 jobs by mid next year — Verizon Communications Inc said on Monday that about 10,400 employees will be leaving the U.S. wireless carrier by mid next year as part of the company’s voluntary separation program.
EDITOR’S NOTE — As this Bloomberg report notes, about 6.8 percent of Verizon’s staff accepted voluntary buyouts “that will result in a charge of as much as $2.1 billion, which will be offset by a $2.1 billion tax benefit in the fourth quarter.” So, Verizon is using its tax break to lay off more than 10,000 employees. A year ago, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-5th) & Co. were promising the tax breaks would create jobs and raise wages. Instead, most of the money was handed to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks. At least Verizon’s tax-break money is going to its employees, in exchange for their jobs. And, as for tax cuts raising wages…
► From Vox — New jobs report shows that the economy is steady but wages are lagging — In November, private sector workers (excluding farmworkers) got an average 6-cent hourly raise, adding up to an average hourly pay of $27.35. That was lower than economists expected, and reflects the same slow wage growth that has plagued the economy in recent years.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.