THURSDAY, JUNE 15  ▪  "Tucson 2" will speak at Seattle Labor Temple on June 26 -- Two volunteers of the Tucson No More Deaths Coalition face felony charges and 15 years in jail  for attempting humanitarian aid and medical evacuation for three critically ill immigrants from the 105-degree heat of the Sonoran Desert. Hear their story Monday night, June 26.

Don't forget...  ▪  Hotel Workers Rising kickoff rally is TODAY in Seattle 

Political news:
▪  In the Columbian -- Foes of latest property rights initiative to host picnic, rally -- A "community picnic for community protection" will be from 5 to 7 p.m. TODAY at the large picnic shelter at Vancouver's Leverich Park, just east of the Interstate 5-39th Street interchange. Scheduled speakers include Mike Phillips of the Clark, Skamania & West Klickitat Central Labor Council.
▪  In today's Olympian -- WEA ruling faces court test -- The AG appeals a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a portion of I-134's restriction on the use of union dues for political purposes.
▪  At the HorsesAss blog -- Dave Reichert: A Bush-league Republican -- Reichert has never cast a single vote against the White House or the House leadership when it really mattered. He's being rewarded for his loyalty by a rare Bush visit to help a House Republican raise some cash.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Locke recruiting big guns to push for regional transit, roads package 
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- For lack of a sugar daddy, Eyman comes up short (McKay column) -- Eyman's future as the unelected leader of the right wing would seem to depend, therefore, more on his ability to hitch his organization to the well-heeled, rather than the ideologically inclined.

I-747 Redux:
▪  In the Olympian -- State asks to keep I-747 in place as Attorney General appeals
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- I-747 ruling: To the Legislature (editorial) -- Is 6% a reasonable growth rate for property taxes?  Or 3%?  4%?  Those are reasonable questions -- for the Legislature.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Lawmakers must fix what's amiss with I-747 (editorial) 
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- "Mr. Initiative" Eyman will be back (editorial) -- If you think the I-747 ruling is the end of the property tax initiatives, we know a guy in a Vader suit you should talk to.

Woe is Them:
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Airbus woes benefit Boeing -- Airlines around the world punish Airbus for A380 delivery delays, demanding compensation, reconsidering orders -- and in one case, striking a major 20-jet 787 deal with Boeing. "Boeing is eating Airbus' lunch," says an analyst.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Boeing delights in Airbus woes -- Boeing shares rose yesterday to $5.03, or 6.5%, to close at $82.01... If the company's average price remains above $47 on June 30, the company will reward workers with grants of stock valued at $5,000 or more apiece. 

Local news:
▪  In today's Olympian -- Panel clears WFSE of wrongdoing -- The largest state employee union did not interfere with a failed decertification effort by some L&I employees last year, PERC rules.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Port of Seattle chief Dinsmore confirms he'll step down -- "He's had some rough times with labor, but in the last two to three years, he has made an effort to reconcile labor and the port," said ILWU 19's Herald Ugles. "He has done a lot to repair the damage."
▪  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Oregon's J. Lieb Foods buys Welch's plant -- The Kennewick plant, which had employed 165, will employ up to 100 when it hits full capacity in a couple of years.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Two-newspaper group plans fundraisers, to seek more public support
▪  In yesterday's (Aberdeen) Daily World -- Biodiesel plant seems to be on fast track

National news: 
▪  At AFL-CIO Now -- Minimum wage showdown in the House -- With Republicans in Congress refusing to raise the minimum wage -- stalled since 1997 at $5.15 an hour -- Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) took the unusual step of offering a wage hike as part of an appropriations bill.
▪  In today's Detroit News -- Gettelfinger re-elected as UAW president
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Unions need to heed their history (column) -- Unions need to organize the European and Japanese companies, whose U.S. facilities are thriving, as well as the auto parts industry that the UAW left for dead more than 20 years ago. The union needs to practice the solidarity and tenacity that caused Henry Ford to back down 65 years ago.
▪  Today from AP -- Nation's emergency care at "breaking point" -- Half a million times a year -- about once every minute -- ambulances carrying sick patients are turned away from full emergency rooms and sent to others farther away.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Leap of faith, off a cliff (editorial) -- This is a time for Congress to finally hold President Bush accountable for his extralegal behavior involving domestic spying, and stop it.