Health care opinion: 

►  In today's Everett Herald -- Government already helps health care (John Burbank column) -- When folks say keep the government out of health care, do they really want to close down Stevens Hospital? What about Medicare? What about care for active military and veterans? About half of our total population are direct beneficiaries of government provided, sponsored or paid-for health care. Our government provides health coverage that none of us would want taken away. The problem is that more than 700,000 people have fallen through the cracks of our patchwork network of public financing and private provision of health care. That must be fixed.

►  In today's Olympian-- With costs soaring, we can't afford not to reform health care (op-ed) -- Those against health care reform are employing dated, irrational, simplistic scare tactics that are outright lies designed to make people afraid and angry. Opponents say it will hurt health care. Then why are family doctors in favor of health care reform? The Washington Academy of Family Physicians, says: “We are pro-health care reform, we want people to get the right care at the right place for the right cost.” Opponents say it will hurt seniors. Then why is AARP pro reform? The AARP Web site says: “There has been a lot of misinformation and fear-mongering in this debate, the rumors just keep getting crazier. Haven’t we all had enough?”

►  In the Kitsap Sun -- Pass health care; we can't afford to wait (letter) -- Reform would reduce the pressure in emergency rooms and allow for those facilities to be available when they are really needed -- for emergencies, not people without coverage who have no place to get basic care.

Teacher contract news: 

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Kent district tries to force its teachers back to work -- Saying that the week-old strike is illegal, Superintendent Edward Vargas announces the district is seeking a court injunction to force its 1,700 teachers back to work. Classes had been scheduled to start Monday. Members of the Kent Education Association, who complained that they'd been waiting since 4 p.m. Sunday for the district to respond to the union's latest offer, said they were stunned and angered when they heard Tuesday that the district had filed for an injunction.

►  Today from AP -- Sedro-Woolley teachers settle -- The union for teachers in Sedro-Woolley and the district reached agreement early today on a tentative contract. If teachers agree at a 2 p.m. meeting at Sedro-Woolley High School classes will begin Thursday, one day late.

►  In today's Everett Herald -- Lake Stevens teachers on countdown to strike -- Their contracts expired Monday and Lake Stevens teachers have decided not to return to the classroom until they have a new contract. The first day of school is scheduled for next Tuesday. 

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Teacher strikes are different (Danny Westneat column) -- The head of Kent schools said the strike there is illegal. Probably so -- public employees generally don't have a right to walk off the job. But when he said this, I realized that, to me, whether it's legal or not is a technicality. What matters is whether it's righteous. Deep down, legal or not, is it about something worth fighting for? Sorry, Mom and Dad (who are both teachers). I know I'm off the reservation here. But I think that this time, the teachers should go back to class.

Election news: 

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Affirm legal rights behind Referendum 71 (editorial) -- Voter passage of R-71 is necessary to continue down a path of basic fairness and equality for registered domestic partners. This is about adults in committed relationships raising families, running businesses and owning property. Endorsement of Referendum 71 supports basic fairness and equality for all Washington families.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Ed Murray criticizes mayoral candidates, won't run write-in campaign -- State Sen. Ed Murray said Seattle's business and labor communities thought a write-in campaign was too risky, but appear poised to pour thousands into Joe Mallahan's campaign. 

Boeing news: 

►  In today's News Tribune -- Shuffle gives Boeing chance to push reset button (editorial) -- Jim Albaugh’s biggest asset might be his outsider-insider status. He’s new to the commercial airplane division, but already knows Boeing intimately. His background should help him navigate the challenges ahead while also allowing the company to push the reset button on many of the problems that have plagued it. Washington, where 285,000 jobs depend on Boeing, has a lot riding on his success.

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Boeing seeks to expand its San Antonio work -- San Antonio's $3.8 billion aerospace industry employs more than 9,500 workers, according to a 2007 city study. Now, it's hoping to get bigger. Next year, the site expects to get part of the 787 work that could add hundreds of additional employees to its work force of 1,700. Workers at the site will install and change electrical equipment on the 787 and also do wiring and power panels, mechanical equipment and work on other components. San Antonio is also among four sites being considered for a second assembly line for the 787, according to an aerospace analyst.

Local news: 

►  In today's Columbian -- Clark County gets tough on illegal workers -- Clark County's government is getting strict: hand over real IDs, workers, or your bosses won't get our cash.
The county's biggest contractors will soon be required to verify online that all their employees are legal U.S. workers, under a rule passed by commissioners Tuesday. The vote, the first by a Washington county, puts Clark County at the front of a movement for local governments to put their purchasing power behind companies that voluntarily go above and beyond federal law to instantly check workers' immigration status with the E-Verify Web service.

►  Today at SeattlePI.com -- Metro savings potential: $31 million -- King County Metro Transit could save up to $31 million annually by running bus routes more efficiently, according to an auditor's report. The audit noted that Metro has a "strong emphasis on service quality, high ridership, regional mobility and operator working conditions," but has less focus on cost efficiency.

►  In today's Yakima H-R -- Road crew life: Work, eat, sleep -- The night-shift guys repairing the I-82 bridge over the Naches River don't mind when their 12-hour shift turns into 14. The tough days are the days without the long shifts. "I don't like days off," says Travis Truckenmiller of Port Angeles over a sandwich. "If I have days off, I'd rather be home." Such is the life of construction workers on a contract job. Long shifts, long hotel stays, long stretches away from family.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- In case you missed it, the recession is now over -- The most severe economic recession since the Great Depression is now history, economists say. But because consumer demand accounts for up to 70% of U.S. economic activity, the economy as a whole is expected to remain weak until more jobs create more consumers who can spend. And businesses are not expected to hire workers until they see a vibrant economy up close, analysts say. The most recent forecasts from the federal government all point to a "jobless recovery."

►  From AP -- Productivity up 6.6% in 2Q, most in six years -- Meanwhile, labor costs fell at an annual rate of 5.9%. That’s the largest drop since the second quarter of 2000.

National news:

►  In today's NY Times -- Low-wage workers are often cheated, report says -- Low-wage workers are routinely denied proper overtime pay and are often paid less than the minimum wage, according to a new study based on a survey of workers in New York, L.A. and Chicago. The study, the most comprehensive examination of wage violations in a decade, found that 68% of the workers had experienced at least one pay-related violation in the previous work week.

►  In today's Wash. Post -- The rubber meets the road for Obama on trade (Harold Meyerson column) -- By Sept. 17, the president has to make a decision that will tell us a lot about his commitment to U.S. manufacturing. By that date, Obama has to accept, reject or modify a recommendation from the International Trade Commission to impose tariffs on Chinese-made tires that are swamping the U.S. market. The importance of this battle goes beyond its impact on the tire industry. Much of Americans' skepticism toward free trade comes from their empirically verifiable sense that their government has been reluctant to enforce its own trade laws.

Privatization news:

►  In today's NY Times -- Contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- Civilian contractors working for the Pentagon in Afghanistan not only outnumber the uniformed troops, according to a report by a Congressional research group, but also form the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel recorded in any war in the history of the U.S. What is clear, the report says, is that when contractors for the Pentagon or other agencies are not properly managed -- as when civilian interrogators committed abuses at Abu Ghraib in Iraq or members of the security firm Blackwater shot and killed 17 Iraqi citizens in Baghdad -- the American effort can be severely undermined.

►  In today's Wash. Post -- Report details lewd behavior by Afghanistan embassy guards -- Private security contractors who guard the U.S. Embassy in Kabul have engaged in lewd behavior and hazed subordinates, demoralizing the undermanned force and posing a "significant threat" to security at a time when the Taliban is intensifying attacks in the Afghan capital.