Local news:
▪  Today from AP -- Child care workers, state sign first deal -- See SEIU 925 press release.
▪  In yesterday's Columbian -- Day-care workers agree on contract -- Some 700 child-care providers in Clark County and 12,000 statewide will see pay increases and other benefits under the deal.
▪  In today's King Co. Journal -- Hospital workers still without a contract -- The 520 nonsupervisory employees at Evergreen Hospital, Kirkland's largest employer, have been working without a contract for three years as a dispute drags on about which union represents them.
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Kaiser Aluminum posts $14.3 million profit (brief) -- It remains a leading Spokane corporate player with its massive Trentwood rolling mill employing more than 700 people. Kaiser closed and sold the Mead smelter as part of its business reorganization.
▪  In today's Yakima H-R -- Immigration gets an airing -- Forum was a civil affair, for the most part.
▪  A special report in today's Seattle P-I -- Women still struggling to break glass ceiling -- Washington may be progressive in politics, but its corporate world has yet to catch up with gender equity. Women are almost nowhere to be found in executive offices and boardrooms in the state's biggest publicly held companies, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has found.

"We Suck" update:
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- State jobless rate declines to 4.8% -- The strongest employment gains occurred in retail trade, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing and construction.
▪  In today's Bellingham Herald -- Whatcom jobless rate at 36-year low -- A surge of 500 high-wage manufacturing jobs added in the past year appears to be contributing to a vibrant local economy.
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Pierce unemployment down -- Pierce County employers added nearly 1,000 jobs in October, pushing the unemployment rate down.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Snohomish job growth is "on a roll" -- Unemployment plunges in October as nearly one-fourth of the state's new jobs last month were created in the county.
▪  In today's Tri-City Herald -- It's a good time for work in Tri-Cities -- Despite losing about 700 jobs at Hanford, the Mid-Columbia area had 900 more jobs in October than at the same time last year.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- The place for aerospace -- Everett Comm. College and the Aerospace Futures Alliance host the area's first job fair aimed specifically at aerospace and manufacturing.

Election news:
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Murray now 4th from top in U.S. Senate -- Plus, Sen. Cantwell is given a seat on the powerful Finance Committee, which sets tax policy and oversees everything from Medicare and welfare to Social Security and trade, is one of the most powerful in Congress.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Reichert survived thanks to split tickets -- Thousands of residents of the suburban district apparently voted for Cantwell at the top of the ballot, and then for Reichert, and then, farther down the ballot, for a slew of Democratic candidates for the Legislature.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Reichert will have to get used to Republicans' minority role
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review-- Races tighten as votes are counted -- Democratic challenger Don Barlow's lead of nearly 2,000 votes over Rep. John Serben on election night dwindles to just 548.
▪  In today's King Co. Journal -- Pam, Dan Roach claim victory in re-election bids -- (WSLC-endorsed) Pam Roach is the sole Republican Senate candidate in King County to win election in 2006.
▪  At the Tri-City Herald blog -- Hewitt remains hopeful -- Says the state's Senate Minority Leader : "I've talked to my caucus. I think everyone fully understands this tsunami was not my fault."
▪  In today's Yakima H-R -- Former Democrat (gasp) joins applicants for Deccio's Senate seat
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Despite losses, property-rights fight is far from over (Ramsey column)
▪  In the Seattle P-I -- Democrats shouldn't get too comfortable at the top (Connelly column) -- Political winds change direction quickly. A sweeping victory is often followed by the winner's excess, and then voters administer a spanking. "Watershed" elections are washed away in the next cycle.

National news:
▪  In today's NY Times -- Will fair pay have its day? (editorial) -- In December, the minimum wage will have remained unchanged for the longest period since it was established in 1938. There are no valid reasons to delay an increase, and many good ones to proceed. Supporting an increase is a way for Bush to begin to rectify the inequality that has grown so alarmingly on his watch.
▪  In today's NY Times -- A new push to raise cap on H-1B visas -- A coalition calling itself Compete America, whose members are drawn heavily from the technology industry, send a letter to every member of Congress calling for an increase in both the number of so-called H-1B visas for skilled immigrants and the number of employment-based green cards given to foreign workers.
▪  In today's NY Times -- GOP leaders withdraw Vietnam trade bill -- Prospects for Congressional approval of several Bush-backed free trade bills are thrown into doubt by the abrupt move.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Time again to choose or switch Medicare drug plans -- Area man says his monthly premium will rise to $29.60, from $9.42: “I call that bait and switch, when the company charges $9 to get you in and then goes to $29. It took me three months to find a plan that was suitable. Am I now supposed to go through the same process every year to determine which plan is best for me? That’s an unfair burden for beneficiaries.”
▪  In today's San Diego U-T -- Grocer Ralph's to pay $70 million for illegal hiring -- Calling its conduct “surprising, disturbing and disappointing,” a judge orders the grocer to pay $70 million for illegally hiring hundreds of workers using phony names during the 2003-2004 lockout and strike.