Local health care news: 

 
►  In today's Seattle Times -- Nearly 3,000 show up for health care forum in Everett -- An often-raucous crowd of nearly 3,000 showed up at Everett Memorial Stadium for more than two hours of discussion led by Rep. Rick Larson (D-2nd) about health care reform that occasionally threatened to break into partisan rancor. (Also see coverage in the Everett Herald.)

►  At SeattlePI.com -- McDermott on health care: "This is war" -- "This is war," he declared to cheers as West Seattle Democrats convened to hear their congressman talk health care. "This is a war over whether Americans can have health security and economic security."

►  In today's Daily News -- Baird apologizes for statements, announces health care town hall series -- The Vancouver Congressman backs away from statements casting people disrupting town hall forums as Nazis and announces a series of new town hall meetings to discuss a proposed overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

►  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Town hall crowd keeps it respectful in Colville -- Some Eastern Washington residents at a pair of town hall meetings with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said they don’t trust the government to run their health care in the future. Others said they don’t trust the big insurance companies to run it now. 

►  In today's NY Times -- Obama taking active role in talks on health-care reform -- In pursuing his proposed overhaul of the health care system, President Obama has consistently presented himself as aloof from the legislative fray, merely offering broad principles. Prominent among them is the creation of a strong, government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers and press for lower costs. Behind the scenes, however, Obama and his advisers have been quite active, sometimes negotiating deals with a degree of cold-eyed political realism potentially at odds with the president’s rhetoric.

►  At Huffington Post -- Grassley comment raises fresh doubts about bipartisanship -- Sen. Chuck Grassley's endorsement of an unfounded, extremist argument that Democratic health care legislation could empower the government to "pull the plug on grandma" has once again raised question about the utility of the White House's efforts at bipartisanship.

►  At The Plum Line -- U.S. Chamber sinks big money into health care ads in key states -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, perhaps the most powerful and well-funded foe of Obama’s agenda, just announced that it’s running a “multi-million-dollar” national ad campaign attacking the Dems’ health care reform proposals as “expanded government control of health care.”

►  In today's Wash. Post -- Health care reform rhetoric gets personal for Britons -- One of the many allegations lobbed by critics of Obama's proposed health-care reforms is that Sen. Kennedy would be refused treatment for his brain tumor in England. Such claims have irked British health officials, who say they are misleading, exaggerated and sometimes just plain wrong.

►  In today's NY Times -- Thousands line up for promise of free health care -- A rural organization offering its services near Los Angeles has already been overwhelmed by an outpouring of need.

►  In today's NY Times -- Health reform and small business (editorial) -- A vast majority of small businesses and their workers are likely to benefit greatly from pending health care bills. They should be supporting, not opposing, reform.

►  At Huffington Post -- How to fight health-care fearmongers and demagogues (by Robert Reich) -- Obama's health care problem is that the legislation is still in the works. It's always easier to stir up fear and anger against something that's amorphous than it is to stir up enthusiasm for it.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Obama taking back the debate on health-care reform (editorial) -- Obama's return to public meetings on health-care reform elevates a debate that had spiraled dramatically downward. The challenge for Obama is to move from defending reform to selling it.

Local news: 

►  At TheNewsTribune.com -- State picks Aberdeen for 2,000 job pontoon project -- About $100 million worth of the pontoon work for the 520 bridge replacement project will be done in Tacoma, but the bulk of it will be done down south in Grays Harbor County.

►  In the Daily World -- Aberdeen gets pontoon project -- Aberdeen and Hoquiam city officials confirm the state DOT has recommended the former Weyerhaeuser log yard in Aberdeen as the site for the project, bringing hundreds of jobs and increased tax revenue to the area.

►  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Former employees sue Pasco dairy -- Ex-employees file a lawsuit against the Ruby Ridge Dairy and its owners alleging workers weren't paid for all the hours they worked and were denied rest and lunch breaks. The complaint also claims that four workers were fired in retaliation for their attempts to unionize with the UFW, and that firings were meant to coerce others workers not to support the union organization at Ruby Ridge.

►  In today's Spokesman-Review -- VA doctors protest "crisis" -- Amid a revolt by its staff psychiatrists, the Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center has begun expanding a behavioral health department strained by an increasing number of veterans seeking help.

►  In today's News Tribune -- Mining company to delay dock work restart on Maury Island -- Glacier Northwest mining company says it has agreed to delay for four days its planned resumption of water-based work on a new dock for its Maury Island gravel mine.

Election news: 

►  At SeattleTimes.com -- Poll says Hutchison, Constantine lead in executive race -- Many remain undecided, but 31% of respondents said they supported Susan Hutchison, 13% picked Dow Constantine, state Rep. Ross Hunter got 6%, and 5% each supported state Sen. Fred Jarrett and County Councilmember Larry Phillips. For Seattle mayor, incumbent Greg Nickels polled at 24%, with challengers Mike McGinn at 16% and Joe Mallahan at 14%.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Waterfront tunnel heats up Seattle mayor's race -- Just when you thought Seattle's viaduct debate was over -- after a mere eight years -- it erupted again this week when Mayor Greg Nickels lashed out at challenger Mike McGinn, who has made killing the $4.2 billion waterfront-tunnel project a campaign centerpiece.

►  At Publicola -- What does Joe Mallahan think of T-Mobile's anti-consumer rights record? --  Seattle mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan has hyped his private-sector experience at T-Mobile as a big selling point on his political resume. But, Nickels supporters, including the CWA, turned Mallahan’s affiliation with T-Mobile against him, citing T-Mobile’s "record of union busting." 

►  At AFL-CIO Now -- Tell policymakers why Columbia free trade is a bad idea -- The the U.S. Trade Representative asks for comments on the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. USTR is conducting a review of labor-related issues in the context of the agreement and is seeking “comment from the public to assist the USTR in working with the Colombian government to secure continued progress in ensuring that Colombia’s workers can fully exercise their fundamental labor rights.” Written comments are due by noon, Sept. 15, 2009.  Comments should be submitted electronically online at www.regulations.gov. The AFL-CIO and a broad coalition of groups have opposed congressional consideration of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until workers can fully exercise internationally recognized labor rights without fear, the country makes sustained progress on ending impunity and labor law reforms bring the country’s laws into compliance with International Labor Organization standards.

►  Today from Bloomberg -- Executive-pay plans face scrutiny -- Kenneth Feinberg's mandate to set pay guidelines for top managers at seven companies bailed out by the U.S., including Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, may set a template for Wall Street compensation.

►  At AFL-CIO Now -- Court backs workers in e-mail case, slams union buster -- It took nine years, but workers at the Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard newspaper finally won the right to use company e-mail to discuss union business. In a sharply worded ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturns a NLRB decision that the company did not break federal labor laws in 2000, when management disciplined the president of The Newspaper Guild-CWA Local 37194 for using the company’s e-mail system to send three e-mail messages about Guild business. The messages were sent after work hours.

►  In today's Houston Chronicle -- Teamsters try to draw in airline's ramp workers -- Unions have tried to organize the 8,000 ramp and cargo workers at Continental Airlines five times over the past 13 years. The Teamsters union is hoping the sixth time is the charm.