DAILY NEWS
Our political spike ● End our national crisis! ● Paak-down
Friday, October 16, 2020
COVID-19
► LIVE from the Seattle Times — Coronavirus daily news update, Oct. 16 — The latest count of COVID-19 cases in Washington totals 96,185 infections (7-day average of new infections per day: 576) and 2,232 deaths (7-day average of deaths per day: 7)
► From Reuters — U.S. coronavirus cases surpass eight million as infections spike nationwide — U.S. coronavirus cases crossed 8 million on Thursday, rising by 1 million in less than a month, as another surge in cases hits the nation at the onset of cooler weather.
► From Politico — Hospitals search for enough beds and nurses as virus rebounds — The coronavirus is engulfing big city hospitals in states including Utah, Wisconsin and Indiana that are running low on nurses and beds and are setting up overflow facilities.
► From The Hill — Key model predicts nearly 80% rise in COVID deaths by February
► From the AP — White House puts ‘politicals’ at CDC to try to control info — The Trump White House has installed two political operatives at the nation’s top public health agency to try to control the information it releases about the pandemic as the administration seeks to paint a positive outlook, sometimes at odds with the scientific evidence.
► From the (Everett) Herald — Schools told to pause resumption of classes as virus surges — The Snohomish Health District is asking schools to freeze their reopening plans amid rising COVID-19 infections.
► From the LA Times — California teachers unions fight calls to reopen schools
► From HuffPost — Janitors, bus drivers on returning to schools: Damned if they do, damned if they don’t — As many schools return to in-person classes even as coronavirus cases are mounting nationwide, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers and janitors are left in an impossible bind: worried about being exposed to COVID-19 but also terrified they’ll lose their jobs if schools stay shut.
THIS WASHINGTON
EDITOR’S NOTE — Like previous Eyman initiatives, it failed to pass legal muster.
LOCAL
► From the Seattle Times — Seattle starts COVID-19 relief fund helping undocumented immigrants — Seattle launched a $9 million COVID-19 relief fund Thursday that will give cash grants to undocumented immigrants unable to access federal stimulus money.
► From Crosscut — Ahead of Seattle Police layoffs, officers are leaving on their own — An increase in retirements and resignations in the department could make budget cuts easier for the Seattle City Council.
ELECTION
► From the NY Times — A combative Trump and a deliberate Biden spar from afar at town halls — With less than three weeks left in the campaign, there was no sign that either candidate was diverging from the political tracks they laid down months ago.
► From WFLA — Granddaughter of labor union leader César Chávez advising Biden Campaign to mobilize Latinos — César Chávez was a hero to many farmworkers across America. Even now, 27 years after the labor leader’s death, the legacy of César Chávez is still front and center in the 2020 election. The Biden Campaign has turned to Chávez’s granddaughter, Julie Chávez Rodriguez, for help with the Latino vote.
THAT WASHINGTON
► From the NY Times — 8 million have slipped into poverty since May as federal aid has dried up — After an ambitious expansion of the safety net in the spring saved millions of people from poverty, the aid is now largely exhausted and poverty has returned to levels higher than before the coronavirus crisis, two new studies have found.
► From the Washington Post — Pelosi did her job. It’s Trump and McConnell holding up pandemic aid. (by Eugene Robinson) — It makes no sense to blame House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Two weeks ago, the House passed a $2.2 trillion package that would include $1,200 stimulus checks, $600 per week in enhanced unemployment benefits, more than $400 billion in aid for pandemic-devastated state and local governments, and nearly $300 billion for education and child care. Pelosi (D-Calif.) has done her job. But McConnell (R-Ky.) refuses even to bring that bill up for consideration. He’s far too busy rushing Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett through the confirmation process to worry about the millions of Americans who have neither jobs nor prospects — and will slide into poverty unless more help arrives.
► From Roll Call — Senate Judiciary lines up Oct. 22 vote on Barrett’s nomination — Senate still on path to putting nominee on high court by the end of the month.
► From Roll Call — Census count wraps up early amid questions about accuracy — Once the Trump administration ends its count for the 2020 census early Friday morning, advocates and even former Census Bureau directors fear the administration won’t take the time to correct what could be the most inaccurate count in decades. Congress could still pass legislation to extend the Census Bureau’s deadline for delivering apportionment results. The House has already passed such a proposal, which has bipartisan support. But that would mean getting Trump to give up the goal of controlling the results used to reallocate congressional seats regardless of who wins the general election next month. That would allow Trump to pursue his plans to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment process, assuming the administration wins a pending Supreme Court battle on that issue.
NATIONAL
► From The Hill — Will voters side with the continued exploitation of gig workers? (by William Gould) — On Nov. 3, California voters will have a fairly clear-cut choice with Proposition 22 — continued exploitation of workers without benefits and below the minimum wage, or some measure of dignity for those who have been left behind in the age of inequality.
► A related story from MarketWatch — Spanish labor authorities tell Amazon to give more than 4,000 gig workers contracts: report — Amazon.com has reportedly been ordered to give more than 4,000 drivers delivering packages in Barcelona and across Spain proper work contracts, and cover more than $7.2 million (€6.16 million) in back social security payments.
T.G.I.F.
► Brandon Paak Anderson was a church drummer who got a job working on a marijuana farm in Santa Barbara. When he was fired without cause or warning, he became homeless for a time with his wife and infant son. Eventually he got a job working as an assistant for Sa-Ra, an L.A. alternative hip-hop group. Before long this talented multi-instrumentalist was recording his own music under the name Anderson .Paak, music that combined jazz, soul, funk and rap. Success and fame came soon after. His latest work includes this song where he reflects on racial injustice, police brutality, unemployment and COVID-19. The hard-hitting video for “Lockdown” is a must-see, but as always, The Entire Staff of The Stand prefers a live performance. Enjoy.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.