DAILY NEWS
Nurses’ worth | Senate moves ahead | Horrible passengers
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
COVID
► LIVE from the Seattle Times — Coronavirus daily news update, Feb. 16 — The latest count of COVID-19 cases in Washington totals 1,410,658 infections (14-day average of cases per day: 6,755) and 11,373 deaths.
► From KOMO — Inslee deciding whether to end indoor mask mandate in Washington — Gov. Jay Inslee has set a Thursday news conference where it is expected he will announce if and when he will lift the indoor mask mandate. The outdoor mask mandate ends Friday.
► From the Tri-City Herald — Richland schools close immediately after surprise vote to defy WA mask mandate
► From the Washington Post — U.S. ‘excess deaths’ during pandemic surpassed 1 million, CDC says — Although the vast majority of the excess deaths are due to the virus, the CDC mortality records also expose swollen numbers of deaths from heart disease, hypertension, dementia and other ailments across two years of pandemic misery.
THIS WASHINGTON
► From the (Everett) Herald — Senate advances funding piece of $17B transportation package — The state Senate on Wednesday approved a 16-year, $16.8 billion transportation package, which would steer $600 million into Snohomish County for new roads, expanded bus service and increased safety for bicyclists and pedestrians. Democrats crafted the proposal that passed on a 29-20 vote. It now goes to the House for consideration.
The Stand (Feb. 9) — Coalition backs ‘Move Ahead Washington’ — Labor, business and environmental interests support Democrats’ bold transportation package.
ALSO see the WSLC one-pager on investing in transportation.
► From the AP — Senate approves bill on governor’s emergency powers — Nearly two years after Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state Senate on Tuesday approved a measure that authorizes legislative leaders to terminate an emergency after 90 days if the Legislature is not in session.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Meanwhile, south of the border…
► From the Oregonian — Oregon Senate votes to curb mandatory overtime for bakery workers — The Oregon Senate voted overwhelmingly (24-2) Tuesday in favor of a bill that would prohibit employers from penalizing bakery and tortilla plant workers who refuse to work overtime shifts on short notice.
LOCAL
► From the (Longview) Daily News — Longview classified staff urge district to increase wages amid staffing shortages — Several members of SEIU 925, which represents staff such as paraeducators, bus drivers, food service and maintenance workers, and community members called for wage increases among staffing shortages.
The Stand (Feb. 10) — Urge Daily News in Longview to offer living wages to staff
► From the (Everett) Herald — Driver shortage cuts bus routes between Snohomish, King counties — Driver shortages caused Sound Transit to cut 18 daily weekday bus trips on express routes between King and Snohomish counties. Similar problems with canceled or delayed trips over the past month have also hit Sound Transit’s other express routes, operated by King County Metro and Pierce Transit.
► From the Seattle Times — King County reaches for ideas to calm problems on buses — In the future, teams of helpers might meet King County Metro Transit buses at the end of their trips, to coax so-called “non-destinational riders” into accepting social services without a confrontation.
► From the Seattle Times — Seattle’s Academy for Rising Educators aims to fill a critical classroom need — As Seattle Public Schools tries to fill classroom vacancies, the Academy of Rising Educators has become a steady staffing source.
AEROSPACE
THAT WASHINGTON
NATIONAL
► From Reuters — Private prison company to test U.S. house arrest program for immigrants — A subsidiary of the GEO Group will run a new U.S. pilot program that would place hundreds of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under house arrest, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said, an approach that critics say is an extension of for-profit detention.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.