WEDNESDAY, MAY 9  ▪  "Stamp Out Hunger:" NALC National Food Drive this Saturday -- Please leave non-perishable donations -- such as canned meat, fish and soup, and cereals, pasta and rice -- in a bag near their mailbox this Saturday before your letter carrier arrives. It will be taken to the local post office and then delivered to a local food bank, pantry or shelter.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Donate to letter carriers' food drive (letter by U.S. Rep. Larsen) -- Last year, Snohomish County residents collected more than 380,000 pounds of food for local food banks. This year the goal is to collect more than 425,000 pounds of food. Your generous donations help our food banks get through the high-demand and low-donation season that exists until the fall.

Local news:  ▪  Former Cowlitz-Wahkiakum CLC President Jeff Smith of Kelso dies at 49
▪  From AP -- Paid family leave becomes law, financing uncertain -- Starting in October 2009, workers who welcome a new child into the family will get five weeks off and a weekly stipend under a law approved Tuesday by Gov. Christine Gregoire.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- KOMO-TV fires 3 veteran reporters -- The firings came days after two of the fired reporters volunteered to assist the newsroom's AFTRA bargaining unit. Employees reached an agreement for a new contract, but station management has not signed off on it. "This stinks to high heaven," said AFTRA's John Sandifer.
▪  In today's Olympian -- L&I gives G-P box plant a rare "star" for safety, health programs
▪  Today from AP -- Court urged to toss out I-747 property tax limit -- Opponents of the measure tell state Supreme Court justices that voters were misled about the tax cut's size.
▪  In today's Bellingham Herald -- City considers using new law to raise car tab fees for road repairs 
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Free-spending lawmakers may have revived Eyman (Dick Davis column) 
▪  In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon House passes bill that adds safety to labor talks -- The bill aims to restore public-safety workers' right to bargain over workplace safety and staffing issues.

Immigration news:
▪  In today's Yakima H-R -- Immigration issue goes public -- Groups opposing and supporting I-966, which would require government employees to verify identity and eligibility status of applicants for nonfederally mandated public benefits, go face-to-face in Yakima's Millennium Plaza.
▪  In today's SF Chronicle -- Immigration plan puts job skills ahead of family ties -- Key senators and the White House are attempting to negotiate a "grand bargain" that would grant immigrants visas based more on their skills as workers than their family ties to those already here. As part of the deal, the estimated 12 million people now in the country illegally would be allowed to remain.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- An offer of sanctuary for illegal immigrants --Those seeking a change in federal immigration policies will announce today the launch of a new sanctuary movement designed to protect illegal immigrants from deportation and spur immigration reform. 

National news: 
▪  In today's LA Times -- Supermarket talks break down in Southern California -- Union leaders representing 65,000 grocery workers break off contract talks with the supermarket chains in a dispute over health insurance. The breakdown may push the UFCW and Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons closer to a repeat of the bitter strike and lockout that turned Southern California grocery shopping into disarray for nearly five months beginning in October 2003.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Maryland is first state to require a living wage -- Employers with state contracts will have to pay workers a minimum amount -- $11.30 an hour in the Baltimore- Washington corridor and $8.50 an hour in rural counties, where wages and prices are lower.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Companies seem OK with paying for failure (editorial) -- Last year, the SEC enacted rules intended to make it easier for investors to understand and restrain compensation packages given to top company officials. Good luck with that.
▪  From Reuters -- General Mills, Qwest join Wal-Mart/SEIU coalition seeking health care reform
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- China's trade time bomb (Samuelson column) -- It is not "protectionist" to complain about predatory policies like China's. The logic of free trade is, comparative advantage benefits everyone. Countries specialize in what they do best. Production and living standards rise. But the logic does not allow for one country's trade systematically to depress its trading partners' production and employment. Down that path lie resentment and political backlash.
▪  From the Onion News Network -- Gap unveils new "for kids by kids" clothing line (video clip)