Health reform news:

►  In today's News Tribune -- Cantwell plan modeled on WA's Basic Health Plan voted into bill -- The Senate Finance Committee approves an amendment by Sen. Maria Cantwell that would allow other states to establish basic health care plans for low-income residents similar to the one in Washington, but with the federal government providing the funding.

►  At Huffington Post -- Senate committee passes quasi-public option amendment -- The Senate Finance Committee narrowly passed an amendment from Sen. Maria Cantwell that moves the conservative panel as close as it will likely get to a public health insurance option.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Cantwell puts her stamp on Senate Finance bill -- The adoption of her amendment, along with a change in Medicare reimbursement rates that could benefit the state, will be enough for Sen. Cantwell to support the bill. "This is a foothold in a big mountain to climb," Cantwell said, adding that the bill could be improved but she will work to support it.

►  At Huffington Post -- Reid says public option will be in final bill, report says -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who will have wide control over reconciling two versions of health care legislation in the Senate, told local constituents that the final bill will include a public option.

►  At Politico -- Senate Democrats will push public option on the floor -- Senate Democratic leaders signal that their version of health care bill will include some form of a public option, but it may be limited in scope so they can secure 60 votes to break a Republican filibuster.

►  In The Hill -- Unions: No tax on "Cadillac plans" -- Organized labor is blasting the idea as many union members would be affected because they either have expensive insurance to cover dangerous professions or negotiated for better benefits instead of higher wages.

►  In today's NY Times -- Republicans call health legislation a tax increase -- First came the warnings of a government takeover of health care and "death panels." Then came assertions of Medicare cuts for seniors. Now Republicans hoping to kill the effort are calling it a tax increase and a violation of Obama’s pledge not to raise taxes on families earning less than $250,000.

State government news: 

►  In today's Seattle Times -- State may close two prisons to cut costs -- After cutting loose more than 8,000 offenders from probation in the past two months, the state Department of Corrections is considering closing at least one prison. The department is awaiting a report from the governor's Office of Financial Management that is expected to recommend shuttering one adult and one juvenile prison, a move that would result in massive job cuts and the shuttling of hundreds of inmates to other facilities. "If these cuts go through they'll further deteriorate public safety," said WFSE spokesman Tim Welch. "It will probably take a tragedy for the governor and Legislature to realize the grave impact of these cuts." Adds Tracey Thompson, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 117, "Our biggest concern is about closing units and facilities when we're looking at forecasts that will say that the prison population will start increasing in the next two or three years."

►  In today's Olympian -- Pension funds fall short -- The state actuary reports that the fallout from the Wall Street meltdown last year is blowing a bigger hole in the state pension system, and the state now must double its yearly payments to keep its oldest plans solvent. If the state falters on its pledge to invest about $650 million this biennium, and then fails to double that investment for 2011-13, the state could see its PERS 1 and TRS 1 plans run out of money in 2015. That would force cash-strapped lawmakers to pay costs from current revenue.

►  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Washington puts its best bid forward with Boeing (editorial) -- The state has assembled the “business case” for choosing Washington over other presumed contenders, and it’s pretty impressive. You might even call it surprisingly impressive, given the long-standing complaints about the state being uncompetitive.

►  Today at LA Times -- Unemployment rate rises to 9.8%; employers cut more jobs than expected -- The nation's labor market took a turn for the worse in September as employers eliminated a net 263,000 jobs, far more than expected and reversing a pattern of steadily declining payroll losses in recent months.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- State's first wave of unemployed running out of benefits -- The first large wave of workers across the state -- about 6,000 -- reached the end of their benefits last month. Many were laid off in spring 2008, in the early days of the recession, which hit the construction, manufacturing and retail industries particularly hard. By December, an estimated 1.3 million Americans will have exhausted their benefits, including some 19,000 Washington residents.

►  From AP -- Opposition in Senate stalls jobless-benefit extension -- A House-passed bill for an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to people from Washington and 26 other states where the jobless rate is at least 8.5% has bogged down in the Senate because of resistance from lawmakers whose states have lower unemployment and would be left out.

►  In today's NY Times -- Mission not accomplished (Paul Krugman column) -- Unless the government does much more than is currently planned to help the economy recover, and until leaders challenge the incorrect convention wisdom on restraining deficit spending, the job market will remain terrible for years to come. The slump is doing more long-term damage to our economy and society than deficits will. That's why mitigating that slump will lead to a better future.

►  From AP -- Nurses union sues over hospital flu shot policy -- The Washington State Nurses Association, which represents more than 16,000 RNs in the state has filed suit in federal court against MultiCare Health System, contending it has unilaterally imposed a mandatory flu vaccination policy when it had a legal obligation to bargain with the nurses' union.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Flu shots mandatory at Virginia Mason -- Virginia Mason Medical Center becomes the first hospital in the state to require all employees to get vaccinated against swine flu. Every employee at Virginia Mason, even those who do not deal with patients, must get vaccinated by Nov. 30. Unionized RNs are the only group allowed to opt out of flu vaccines for any reason after the WSNA won two court rulings that it was a work-rule change. 

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Valley Medical CEO's money, everyone's money (editorial) -- Doing good doesn't preclude doing well, but Valley Medical Center CEO Richard Roodman's $1.7 million retirement payoff plus a $900,000 salary is indefensible.

►  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Tri-City teachers decry Eyman's anti-tax initiative -- Critics say the initiative is too restrictive and will stop state government from restoring money to programs cut from the 2009-11 budget once the economy improves, and that will further hurt people already hit by the recession as they lose access to services such as health care and education. (Learn more: Tim Eyman's I-1033: Don't Buy It!)

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Big money in little-watched Seattle port races (Joel Connelly column) -- In 2005, shipping interests contributed heavily to Port of Seattle races. The big givers of 2009 come from the opposite side of the political spectrum -- labor unions. They, too, have an agenda and need friends in elected places. 

►  In today's Daily News -- Top-selling Dan Brown book keeps Norpac plant buzzing -- The Longview-based newsprint mill employing 500 produced the paper for 5.6 million copies in the first run of Brown's hot-selling "The Lost Symbol.” 

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Boeing will cushion cuts in tuition support for some -- Boeing offered a concession after complaints about the steep and unexpected cost hikes some employees  faced after the company announced last week that it was restricting its education subsidies.

►  In the Bellingham Herald -- Ferry workers' injury claims raises cost of Whatcom Co.'s insurance -- Whatcom Chief ferry workers suffered 12 injuries, most of them repetitive-use injuries, in the past four years. As a result, an insurance company has canceled the primary coverage policy for the Lummi Island ferry. New insurance will cost the county $29,000 more, an 84% increase. 

►  In today's Oregonian -- Pension bill was big reason Daimler Trucks are staying in Portland -- Daimler decided to keep the Freightliner truck plant open mainly because they discovered that closing it would make them fork over more than $130 million for pensions, union officials say.

National news:

►  In today's NY Times -- Nations have avoided protectionism, WTO chief says -- Pascal Lamy: “The worst protectionist impulses seem to have been contained so far during the crisis. For many, the importance of discipline is even higher today than it was before the shocks.”

►  In today's Washington Post -- "You just turn your head and wait" -- Colorfast mental snapshots of horror, a sense of overwhelming helplessness, sympathy and sometimes anger are the aftershocks that train operators report from their special perch as unwilling agents of suicides.