THURSDAY, JULY 27  ▪  Tonight's rally in Puyallup for state employees is still on -- A rally tonight at 6 p.m. in Puyallup, originally intended to defend state employees against proposed health care takeaways, will now thank Gov. Chris Gregoire for her leadership in getting that issue settled, and to call on her negotiators to make similar progress on wage issues. 

Where Your $3-Per-Gallon Is Going news:
▪  Today from AP -- Exxon Mobil 2Q profit jumps 36% -- It made $10.36 billion in three months, the 2nd largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company. (The largest ever was also Exxon Mobil, which took in $10.71 billion in the 4th quarter of 2005.)
▪  Today from AP -- 2Q profits jump by two-thirds at ConocoPhillips, exceeding $5 billion 
▪  In the April 4 Seattle Times -- Oil money in Alaska lines up for McGavick -- At a single fundraiser in Alaska hosted by GOP Sen. Ted "Tubular Internet" Stevens, Republican Mike!™ McGavick raked in as much as $500,000 from oil companies and related special interests.
▪  Today from AP -- U.S. gasoline likely to stay at $3/gallon

More political news:
▪  In the Stranger -- Bait and Switch -- Republican Mike!™ McGavick is turning anti-GOP anger into votes for himself -- and Maria Cantwell is letting him get away with it.
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Justices could feel fallout of gay-marriage ruling during election
▪  In today's Olympian -- Eyman's lost-signature claim is not credible (editorial) -- There is absolutely no reason to believe that anyone in the Secretary of State's office has cheated Eyman and his supporters out of anything. To suggest otherwise is irresponsible.
▪  At the Horses Ass blog -- There is such a thing as bad press -- Eyman has repeatedly lied on his petitions, lied to voters, lied to his own contributors, and unapologetically lied to the press.
▪  In today's Yakima H-R -- Farmworker advocate Tomás Villanueva will challenge Sen. Honeyford 
▪  In today's Oregonian -- Public safety pension reform heads to ballot in Portland 

Local news:
▪  In the News Tribune -- Albertson's plans to close 25 stores -- Six are in Western Washington; UFCW representatives have been meeting with affected employees.
▪  In today's King County Journal -- Albertson's to close 2 stores (West Hill and East Hill) in Kent
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Partly cloudy skies at Boeing -- Ethical and production missteps return to haunt Boeing as the company posts its first quarterly loss in three years. Stock takes a hit.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Four Boeing workers sue over way Boeing calculates pension benefits
▪  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Worker says Quincy site wasn't safe -- With another job lined up, an ironworker quits the job he says was unsafe. His friend stayed, and later fell to his death.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Seattle board votes to close seven schools; race re-emerges as issue
▪  In today's King Co. Journal -- Transportation panel votes to hike sales tax to improve bus service
▪  Today from AP -- Washington, Oregon will join to buy cheaper prescription drugs -- Drug-buying cooperative intends to leverage their combined buying power to get medicine for the uninsured.
▪  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Bipartisan defenders sink bad tax plan in Congress (editorial) -- The state's B&O tax is old, creaky and unfair. But letting some out-of-state businesses escape paying their share while requiring Washington firms to continue to pay up would have meant economic disaster for state government. 

National news:
▪  From In These Times -- Nurses seek right to organize -- This seemingly arcane question of who is a "supervisor" could lead to 300,000 nurses losing the right to be in the unions to which they already belong, and could stymie ambitious plans to organize nearly 2 million more nurses.
▪  Today from AP -- Chicago council OKs "living wage" ordinance -- Its City Council brushes aside warnings from Wal-Mart to approve an ordinance making Chicago the biggest city in the nation to require big-box retailers to pay a "living wage." (Spokane's council is considering one, too.)
▪  In the NY Times -- Chicago orders "big box" stores to raise wage -- Says Wal-Mart spokesman (who hasn't made less than $10 per hour since his frat-boy business-school days): “It’s sad -- this puts politics ahead of working men and women... Chicago is closed to business.”
▪  In the NY Times -- U.S. seeks employers' aid on immigration -- Feds unveil a voluntary program to induce employers to stop hiring illegal immigrants and to report those they find on their payrolls. In return, employers would be certified as having a clean bill of health on hiring.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- U.S. not giving up on failed WTO negotiations
▪  In today's LA Times -- SEC mandates more "plain English" disclosure of CEO compensation

Estate Tax news:
▪  Today from AP -- Once again, U.S. House will try to cut estate tax -- A vote could happen this week on a bill with even more unrelated "sweeteners" intended to assure its Senate passage. 
▪  In today's NY Times -- More hope for the truly rich (editorial) -- The government is about to eliminate the jobs of nearly half (157 of 345) of the IRS lawyers who audit estate-tax returns. Plus, the IRS has begun withholding data that allows the public to track and evaluate its auditing efforts.

Last Throes update:
▪  In today's Washington Post -- "Waiting to get blown up" -- Some U.S. soldiers in Baghdad have begun to express their frustrations with the course of the Iraq war and their mission.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Poll: Americans pessimistic about Iraq, Middle East -- A majority of respondents -- 56% -- said they supported a timetable for a reduction in U.S. forces in Iraq. 
■  Iraq casualty report -- U.S. soldiers killed: 2,568 -- U.S. soldiers killed since President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished:" 2,431 -- Iraqi body count: 39,460 to 43,927.