Friday, July 10, 2020

REOPENING SCHOOLS

► From the Seattle Times — Safety for students, staff and teachers key to reopen schools (by WEA’s Larry Delaney and Janie White) — When school began last fall, we had no idea what was ahead for us. The COVID-19 pandemic left our students, families, educators and school administrators scrambling to respond. It was stressful and difficult for all of us. Though we all did our best, many people, including educators, found distance learning as it rolled out was less than satisfactory. We must do better this fall. And we can’t let politics get in the way… No matter the model, Washington Education Association and our local associations are advocating that school administrators guide their decisions based on what is best and safest for students and educators. Health and safety must remain the priority.

The Stand (July 8) — Safety, not politics, on reopening schools — Trump’s political push to reopen could put children, teachers and their families in danger.

► From KNKX — School districts continue with fall reopening plans amid Trump’s threats

► From the AP — Inslee: Trump threats on reopening schools ‘hogwash’

► From the NY Times — ‘Big mess’ looms if schools don’t get billions to reopen safely — Trump threatened this week to cut off federal funding to districts that do not reopen, though he controls only a sliver of money for schools. But school administrators say they are already struggling to cover the head-spinning logistical and financial challenges of retrofitting buildings, adding staff members and protective gear, and providing students with the academic and emotional support that many will need after a traumatic disruption to their lives.

► MUST-READ from the Washington Post — The school reopening debate reveals that we don’t listen to teachers about schools (by Diana D’Amico) — The disregard of teachers’ shared professional expertise and practical knowledge is no accident. It reflects the way that, instead of treating teachers like other American professionals, society has long blamed them for the failings of schools and worked to constrain them through bureaucracy and regulations… Reopening schools won’t succeed without teachers leading the conversations about what is workable and what isn’t. Their professional expertise and experience is crucial for creating a viable plan — one that safeguards the lives, health and educational needs of students. No plan for the fall can be trusted unless teachers helped create it.

COVID-19

► LIVE from the Seattle Times — Coronavirus daily news update, July 10 — The latest count of COVID-19 cases in Washington totals 38,581 infections (7-day average of new infections per day: 587) and 1,409 deaths (7-day average of deaths per day: 8)

► From the Olympian — 97 percent of Washingtonians need to wear masks, wash hands if we’re to stop COVID, experts say — ‘“Continuing along this trajectory will lead to catastrophic outcomes for health and economic well-being in Washington,” the state Department of Health warns.

► From the Columbian — ilani confirms second casino worker tests positive for COVID-19

► From the Washington Post — More than 1,000 TSA employees have tested positive for coronavirus — Nearly all of them are security officers who have continued to work screening passengers at airports throughout the pandemic. “Right now they’re bringing people back to work and the social distance is not in total effect,” said Hydrick Thomas, president of AFGE TSA Council. “Employees are still complaining there’s too many of them in one area.”

► From NBC News — More than half of Latino workers in meat, poultry plants got COVID-19, CDC says — Latino workers at meat and chicken processing plants have been the hardest hit by coronavirus, accounting for 56 percent of cases reported in plants in 21 states, the CDC reported.

► From Politico — Poll shows Trump’s coronavirus approval at all-time low — The president remains reluctant to acknowledge the disease’s threat as he pushes to restart the U.S. economy.

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — Washington’s jobless claims fall, but state’s unemployed may soon lose $600 benefit — Four months after the first big COVID-19 layoffs, Washington state has yet to hit bottom in pandemic-related job losses, even as federal benefits are set to expire and health concerns slow the reopening of the economy.

► From the P.S> Business Journal — Man indicted for siphoning $360,000 cash from Boeing VIP retirement accounts in elaborate fraud — A federal grand jury has indicted a California man on charges that he stole Boeing employees’ identities and used them to “siphon” $360,847 from their retirement accounts, using forgery and phony bank accounts created in their names.

► MUST-READ from The Independent — I was arrested, jailed and assaulted by a guard. My ‘crime’? Being a journalist in Trump’s America — In his 30-year career, The Independent’s Chief US Correspondent Andrew Buncombe has filed dispatches from across the world. Last week, while reporting on protests in Seattle, he was arrested for the first time. What he saw next throws the spotlight on a broken criminal justice system: Without intending to, Seattle’s law enforcement machine had provided with me with a rare insight into its workings. It was a brief, partial window into a criminal justice system seemingly bereft of humanity or equity: not for one second do I think what happened to me is comparable to the abuses enacted in this nation every moment on people without my white-skinned, press-badge privilege. Yet had I been allowed to remain in Cal Anderson Park and cover the police operation, I would not have seen or experienced what I did… In Trump’s America, where the media is routinely cast as evil and dishonest and where an African American reporter for CNN can be arrested live on air, the need to defend journalism and its centrality to an informed democracy has never been greater. And the foundational act for journalists is to show up, either literally or else in spirit and commitment and focus. Whether we’re covering the actions of a city council, the workings of Wall Street, or the faltering, long-overdue attempt of a nation to confront the racial inequities that underpin its creation, the most important thing is to pledge ourselves to the task of doing so, and then get on with it. Our job is not to disperse. Our job is to be present.

ELECTION

► From the (Everett) Herald — Woodard, Paul for state House’s 10th District (editorial endorsement) — Among a strong field of candidates, Suzanne Woodard offers skills and background that would be valuable to 10th District residents and to her fellow lawmakers. Her experience in nursing and health care issues can be drawn on during the consideration of related bills, including keeping health care affordable and serving those who struggle with addiction, mental health issues and homelessness. Woodard would be well-placed to protect and expand on recent efforts to improve the state’s service to those vulnerable communities, services that could be threatened in a search for budget cuts… Rep. Dave Paul is the first Democrat to serve the district in several years, but he has provided good representation for constituents in a “purple” district and should be retained for two more years.

The Stand (April 30) — Woodard aims to ‘bring healthy change’ to 10th LD House — In her 38-year career in nursing and education, Registered Nurse and UFCW 21 member Suzanne Woodard has seen firsthand the importance of having a strong union and effective government leaders in delivering quality health care in her community. That’s why she decided to run this year for State House of Representatives — to “bring healthy change” to Washington’s 10th Legislative District.

► From the News Tribune — Taylor, Johnson ready to lead Federal Way based Legislative District 30 (editorial endorsement) — Strong public service backgrounds and a commitment to the greater Federal Way area should propel state House candidates Jamila Taylor and Jesse Johnson through the primary election and beyond, writes the TNT Editorial Board.

EDITOR”S NOTE — All four of the candidates have also earned the endorsement of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

► From JoeBiden.com — Build Back Better: Joe Biden’s jobs and economic recovery plan for working families — Joe Biden believes this is no time to just build back to the way things were before, with the old economy’s structural weaknesses and inequalities still in place. This is the moment to imagine and build a new American economy for our families and the next generation. An economy where every American enjoys a fair return for their work and an equal chance to get ahead. An economy more vibrant and more powerful precisely because everybody will be cut in on the deal. In this time of crisis, Joe Biden has a plan to create millions of good-paying jobs and to give America’s working families the tools, choices, and freedom they need to build back better.

The Stand (May 27) — AFL-CIO endorses Joe Biden for President

► From the Washington Post — Biden releases U.S.-centered economic plan, challenging Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda — Joe Biden unveiled a proposal Thursday to spend $700 billion on American products and research, challenging President Trump’s “America First” agenda with a competing brand of economic nationalism and setting the stage for an election-year showdown over the country’s financial future.

► From The Hill — Biden strikes populist tone in blistering rebuke of Trump, Wall Street

THAT WASHINGTON

► From the Tri-City Herald — U.S. House committee rejects Trump’s proposed deep Hanford budget cuts — The proposed U.S. House budget for the Department of Energy rejects deep Hanford cuts proposed by the Trump administration and would provide the nuclear reservation with $752 million more than the administration requested in the next fiscal year.

► From Roll Call — As payroll support nears an end, airline unions seek renewal — United Airlines’ announcement that it could furlough nearly 40 percent of its employees after a spending bill aimed at protecting airline workers expires in September has spurred labor unions to call for another round of aid for the industry. The conversation occurs at a particularly sensitive moment. “There will be hundreds of thousands of aviation workers who go onto unemployment in October if we don’t extend this program,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines. “And that will be included in the last jobs report before this election.”

► From the NY Times — The Supreme Court lets Trump run out the clock (editorial) — The justices reiterated that no president is above the law, but voters still won’t see his taxes before November.

► From the NY Times — Trump on releasing his tax returns: From ‘absolutely’ to ‘political prosecution’ — Trump has promised to release his tax returns under varying conditions for nearly a decade. By the time he was running for president in 2016, he had adopted an IRS audit as the reason he could not release his taxes. Nearly four years later, the White House says the IRS is still at it.

T.G.I.F.

► B.C. (Before COVID-19), “Alicia: The World Tour” was coming to Seattle’s WAMU Theater in August and The Entire Staff of The Stand had tickets. But like all other live music shows during these times, it was postponed/cancelled. So we were pleased when this NPR Tiny Desk Concert was posted two weeks ago. It was recorded back in February, before we knew what was about to hit us and before NPR stopped taping these intimate performances. Hopefully this is one of many such gems to be released in the coming days, until we can gather together for some live music again. If you can, set aside a half hour to watch the whole thing. If you can’t, go ahead and skip to 20:45 for Fallin’.

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