DAILY NEWS
Not grounded here ● Denying overtime pay ● Shocker: Rich people cheat
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
BOEING
► BREAKING from Washington Post — Canada to bar Boeing 737 Max from its airspace, leaving U.S. among last countries flying the plane
► From Politico — Pilots complained at least 5 times about Boeing 737 MAX problems, records show — Pilots in the U.S. complained at least 5 times in recent months about problems controlling their Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets during critical moments of flight, federal records show, adding to questions raised by deadly crashes involving that model of jetliner in Ethiopia and Indonesia.
► From the AP — Pilots reported issues with new 737s, but are they relevant? — According to anonymous safety reports, nose-down problems were corrected by turning off the autopilot.
► From CNBC — Flight attendants urge carriers to ground Boeing 737 Max planes after crash — American Airlines and Southwest Airlines flight attendants and ground crews urged the companies to take their Boeing 737 Max airplanes out of service.
THIS WASHINGTON
► In the News Tribune — Washington’s taxes make it the worst state to be poor. See how it compares to others. – Poor people in Washington have the worst tax burden in America, according to a new online survey. Washington ranked dead last for low-income earners, falling behind all 49 other states plus the nation’s capital. Medium-income households didn’t fare much better. The Evergreen State ranks No. 48 in that category.
ALSO TODAY at The Stand — At Town Halls, urge fix for broken tax system
► From KNKX — Measure to lower threshold for approval of school bonds fails in the state Senate — Democratic state senators had pushed to amend the Washington constitution to allow school bonds to pass with a simple majority, but they failed to win votes from two-thirds of members as required. In a split primarily along party lines, 28 senators voted in favor of the constitutional amendment while 21 Republicans voted against it.
► From The Stranger — Bill requiring presidential candidates to release tax returns passes Washington Senate — On Tuesday evening a bill requiring all presidential and vice presidential candidates to disclose the last 5 years of their tax returns in order to appear on Washington state ballots passed the Senate floor. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue), passed 28-21 along party lines, because of course it did.
LOCAL
► In the Daily News — Resignations, retirements may help Kelso schools avoid layoffs — A flurry of resignations and retirements will help Kelso School District fill a $4 million budget gap next year without sharply boosting class sizes.
THAT WASHINGTON
ALSO at The Stand — Trump administration’s federal overtime proposal ‘way too weak’ — The Trump administration’s proposal increases the urgency for the Washington state government to update its rules to restore overtime rights and help bring working families’ live back into balance.
► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Feds fail to keep a close eye on billions spent at Hanford and other sites, says report — The Department of Energy needs better financial oversight of the subcontractors hired at sites like Hanford, concluded a GAO report released Tuesday.
► From Politico — Trump’s trade chief meets skepticism as he sells new NAFTA to Democrats — Trump’s trade chief Robert Lighthizer will be on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to entice House Democrats into supporting the new North American trade pact, but already it’s becoming clear that outreach alone won’t get the votes needed.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Hey liberals, you can still impeach Trump. You’re just going to have to do it at the polls. (by Danny Westneat) — The most important thing about impeachment — it’s a solely political exercise, no different, really, than an election. Republicans were hellbent to impeach Bill Clinton in part because it was his last term, and so impeachment was the only way left to hold him accountable. Even then it failed because the public, through opinion polls, effectively “voted” to keep Clinton around. Which brings us back to Trump. He’s up for re-election, and the campaign has already started. Barring some major revelation that somehow wakes the broader GOP from its corrupted slumber, the next accountability moment likely won’t be impeachment. It’ll be the 2020 election.
NATIONAL
► In today’s NY Times — College admissions scandal: Actresses, business leaders and other wealthy parents charged — Authorities say the parents of some of the nation’s wealthiest and most privileged students sought to buy spots for their children at top universities, not only cheating the system, but potentially cheating other hard-working students out of a chance at a college education.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.