WEDNESDAY, APR. 18  ▪  John Edwards to meet with union members May 1 in Seattle -- The "town hall" event Tuesday, May 1 at the IAM Hall in Seattle is one of several candidate forums organized across the country as part of an intensive six-month effort to engage union members and their families in the AFL-CIO’s presidential endorsement decision-making process.
▪  Today from AP -- AFL-CIO sending presidential candidates to cities for interviews -- The candidates got to choose where they wanted to have their town hall meeting. Once there, they will get to speak to union members as well as face tough questions about their candidacies.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Area business leaders contribute to Edwards campaign -- Two of the Puget Sound area's most prominent retailers -- Costco's Jim Sinegal and Howard Schultz of Starbucks -- have thrown their financial support behind presidential candidate John Edwards. 

Legislative news:
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Owner: Sonics may leave after '08 -- He says Gregoire told him she won't call a special session for a deal.
▪  At the Times' Postman on Politics -- The art of the vote count -- Democratic legislation stopped this session in part because the "votes weren't there" in the House include the bill to force large companies to pay for employee health care and a funded family leave bill. The secret vote counts are one of the many differences between how the House and Senate caucuses operate.
▪  At AFL-CIO Now -- Oregon bus driver risks job, health coverage to support choice to join a union -- As Oregon's Legislature considers bills to give workers a real choice on whether to join a union, one worker courageously tells his firsthand experience with an employer who tried to block his choice to join a union: "(Statistics show) one in five pro-union workers is fired during an organizing drive. That would make my chances 20 percent. That’s pretty scary, considering I’ve just undergone treatment for cancer and can’t afford to lose my health insurance." 

Update on how much "we suck:"  ▪  Ex-Boeing exec Alan Mulally infamously made that 2-word assessment of our state business climate, which remains boilerplate rote-oric among the state's right-wingers who decry our high minimum wage and other progressive workplace standards.
▪  Today from AP -- State jobless rate at record low -- Washington’s unemployment rate dipped to a record low of 4.6% last month, the lowest since the state began keeping records. Says Gov. Gregoire: “The Washington economy is one of the fastest growing in the nation and this is a great record to break. As we continue to work hard to make sure Washington is open for business, we must make sure our economic success extends to all families in Washington.”

Local news:
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Three gay workers sue Bellevue, claim bias -- The suit could force all public employers in Washington -- from the largest university to the tiniest town -- to extend the same benefits to partners of gay workers as they now provide to families of heterosexuals.  
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Alaska Airlines pilots (ALPA) plan rally over salaries -- They plan to rally at the company's headquarters May 1 in hopes of restoring pay that was cut two years ago.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Sweet deal for ex-boss of Port of Seattle -- Port Commissioner Pat Davis extends Mic Dinsmore's $339,841 salary and benefits for up to one year past his retirement.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Port exec Dinsmore's lavish job perks included first-class travel, dining 
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Watch as 787 is put together -- As Dreamliner parts start arriving, officials expect attendance to rise at the Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Facing budget shortfall, Edmonds School District may cut 50 jobs
▪  In today's Olympian -- Thurston County to add to staff after review of population growth

Political news:
▪  At the Times' Postman on Politics -- Reichert campaign still in debt, despite massive GOP effort -- This posting includes a link to a Karl Rove PowerPoint presentation that reports union members voted Democratic in 2006 by a 65-35 margin, a margin 11 points greater than in 2004.
▪  At the Seattle Weekly blog -- Burner's in for Round 2 -- She's running again for Rep. Reichert's seat in 2008. She surprised a lot of folks last year by emerging from political obscurity to become one of the Democrats' new rising stars -- raising more than $3 million and losing by just 7,341 votes.

National news:
▪  Today from Reuters -- Congress might extend fast-track trade authority, Rep. Rangel says -- The senior Democratic lawmaker says he thinks Congress will give the Bush administration a limited extension of fast-track trade negotiating authority to finish current world trade talks in Doha.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Taking teachers' unions to task (op-ed) -- Teacher unions are by no means perfect. Too often the unions protect incompetent teachers and resist efforts to pay the teacher who works long hours any more than the one who springs for the parking lot the moment the bell rings. But in his new book, Rod Paige fails to acknowledge the innovative proposals that teacher unions have backed on those two issues and the positive roles they play in education.