WEDNESDAY, JULY 12  ▪  Union members: Leaflet comparing Darcy Burner, Dave Reichert available -- WSLC affiliates are urged to download and distribute the flier to their members in the 8th Congressional District.
▪  At Horses Ass blog -- Reichert votes against raising minimum wage... again -- Fully 80% of Americans support raising it, and the people of this state overwhelmingly voted to raise it every year (it's now $7.63 an hour here), but Rep. Reichert votes to keep the federal minimum at a shameful $5.15, where it has remained frozen for more than 9 years.
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Greed is our greatest danger (Molly Ivins column) -- I don't get it. What's the percentage in keeping the minimum wage at $5.15? After nine years? This is such an unnecessary and nasty Republican move.

Supervisor in Name Only:
▪  Today from the EPI -- Union rights of 8 million workers at stake with NLRB rulings -- The labor rights of 8 million workers hang in the balance of pending NLRB "Kentucky River" decisions, according to a report released today by the Economic Policy Institute. The report reveals how many and what type of workers could be stripped of their contract protection and denied union rights if the board significantly broadens the definition of a supervisor. (This was the subject of a rally Monday outside Virginia Mason in Seattle. Read all about it.)

Local news:
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Labor activist Louise Parry, 85, dedicated life to empowering workers -- The day after she died, a mailing party for the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans met, thanks to phone calls she made earlier that week. Even in retirement, Louise immersed herself in the senior movement, fighting to defend Social Security, to defeat a recent bill changing the Medicare program, and to organize senior trips to Canada to buy prescription drugs.
▪  From AP -- State gains an extra $85 million in taxes -- The sizzling economy is being watched for signs of cooling, but in the past month, tax collections have been unexpectedly robust.
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Spokane Valley OKs first labor deals -- The pacts include 6% COLA and end two and a half years of negotiating over who could be a part of the union (AFSCME) and what should be included in a new collective bargaining agreement.
▪  From AP -- Minimum pay boost sought for Spokane's big stores 
▪  In today's Oregonian -- Uninsured pay highest drug costs -- No one pays more for prescription drugs than the uninsured, those least able to pay, according to a new survey in Oregon.

BIAW's Boy:
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Candidate rakes in $300,000 -- BIAW lawyer John Groen, who has no judicial experience, is the only Supreme Court candidate who flouted new campaign contribution limits before they took effect. He has four times as much as his opponent, Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, who says: "The public should rightly consider whether the recipient of such large- scale contributions would be likely to feel a need to support the agenda of that interest group."

More political news:
▪  In today's Olympian -- McGavick uses "Open Mikes" to spread his message -- Among other things, he repeats his support of shifting Social Security to private accounts run by Wall Street.
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- Columnist Novak confirms Karl Rove helped out undercover CIA agent

National news:
▪  Today from AP -- Bush says his tax cuts drove projected deficit down -- Bush brags the annual deficit is now only $300 billion, the 4th largest ever. Economists and the Congressional Budget Office, on the other hand, point out that any upsurge in revenue is the result of growing income inequality in the U.S., an observation consistent with mounting evidence of a rapidly widening gap between the rich and everyone else, and that Bush's tax cuts are net money losers.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Once an enemy, health care industry warms to Sen. Hillary Clinton
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- In Colorado, a deal on immigration bills -- Its Republican governor cuts a deal with Democratic leaders to deny some non-emergency state services to illegal immigrants and to punish employers who hire them. But the GOP is angry the issue won't be on the ballot.

Earlier this week: MONDAY, 7/10 -- TUESDAY, 7/11 
Last week: Wednesday, 7/5 -- Thursday, 7/6 -- Friday, 7/7