Legislative news:

►  In today's Olympian -- Democrats search for unity on taxes -- House and Senate Democrats remain divided about the solution as they start the final three weeks of their 60-day session. House Speaker Frank Chopp favors a “menu” of smaller taxes similar to what Gov. Chris Gregoire laid out. But Majority Leader Lynn Kessler and budget-writing Rep. Kelli Linville are leery of a litany of taxes and now favor some kind of temporary sales tax, which they say is easier to explain to voters.

►  At TheOlympian.com -- Rep. Fred Finn explains his cross over vote to keep I-960 -- Crossovers included both first-termers and veterans. Finn said his vote reflected his district's vote on I-960, which he said went 56% in favor of it in 2007. At the same time, he may vote for tax increases.

►  In today's Daily News -- State official's visit fuels frustration at Naselle Youth Camp -- Employees say a top state official told them that plans to downsize the facility have "nothing to do with money." Instead, those staff members say they were told their facility is being targeted for cuts because of its rural location and because its staff isn't racially diverse enough.

►  At TheOlympian.com -- Accountability bill for paid initiative workers hits snag -- The bill has been watered down by Rep. Sam Hunt in a bid to find common ground, but thanks to opposition by Rep. Mark Miloscia, Tim Eyman and other critics say they still have enough votes to kill it.

►  At NewsTribune.com -- Rep. Dennis Flannigan won't seek re-election -- "I plan to... make this opportunity for someone new, someone with health and insight and energy the chance to assist the state to recover its economy, and advance education, business, environment," he writes. 

►  In today's Washington Post -- Medicaid enrollment rises nationwide -- The recession has fueled the greatest influx of Americans onto Medicaid since the earliest days of the public insurance program for the poor. More than 3 million people joined Medicaid in the year that ended in June, the data released Thursday show. That pushed enrollment to a record 46.8 million, exacerbating the financial strains on already burdened states and complicating the federal politics of health  care.

►  In today's NY Times -- States consider Medicaid cuts as use grows -- Because they are temporarily barred from reducing eligibility, states have been left to cut “optional benefits,” like dental and vision care, and reduce payments to doctors and other health care providers.

Health care news:

►  In today's NY Times -- Obama to offer health bill to ease impasse -- Obama will put forward comprehensive legislation intended to bridge differences between Senate and House Democrats ahead of a summit meeting with Republicans next week. It is being written so it can be attached to a budget bill as a way of averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate. 

►  At Huffington Post -- Public option support surging in Senate -- Asked if the president would fight for the public option, which 18 senators have signed a new letter calling for, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says, "If it's part of the decision of leadership to move forward, absolutely." 

►  In today's Washington Post -- HHS secretary decries higher rates for health insurance -- Kathleen Sebelius cited half a dozen examples, from Maine to Washington state, in which insurers have sought large premium increases on people who buy coverage individually.

►  In today's NY times -- California death spiral (Paul Krugman column) -- Sky-high rate increases make a powerful case for action. And they show, in particular, that we need comprehensive, guaranteed coverage -- which is exactly what Democrats are trying to accomplish.

Local news:

►  In today's Oregonian -- Ports, labor back governors' push for I-5 bridge project -- Govs. Ted Kulongoski and Chris Gregoire want to keep the project on a schedule that assumes a scaled-down $3.6 billion, 10-lane bridge that could be expanded to 12, with a light rail extension and toll charges. The plan doesn't include all the freight and highway interchange improvements the Oregon AFL-CIO would prefer, but the group wants to see construction jobs as soon as possible. "We'd rather get what we can get now," says Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain. "We need that type of stimulus."

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Work on "Mercer mess" to start soon -- This week, Seattle was awarded Seattle $30 million in federal stimulus funds, the last piece in a funding puzzle for the $191 million project that will create 1,200 jobs. The three-year project begins in March with the demolition of eight buildings just north of the eastbound street. Once those lots are cleared, road expansion and utility line replacement can begin in July. 

►  At SeattleTimes.com -- Mercer project funding brings political foes together -- Erstwhile foes celebrate a $30 million grant to start it, but I think Mayor McGinn smirked a little when Seattle/King County BCTC's Lee Newgent said, "When the deep-bore tunnel is completed ..."

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Constantine acts to remove contractor from finishing stalled part of Brightwater tunnel -- The county executive says he's run out of patience and doesn't want to give Vinci/Parsons RCI/Frontier-Kemper more time to fix a tunnel boring machine.

►  At HA Seattle -- Home health care agency follows Democrats' lead in busting labor -- When the state Democratic leadership called the cops on organized labor last year in a ham-fisted effort to get out of voting on the Workers Privacy Act, they sent a couple of strong messages to employers statewide. And that’s apparently what is happening with the Korean Women’s Association in their contract talks with home health care workers represented by SEIU 775NW.

National news:

►  At AFL-CIO Now -- Trumka: Creating jobs is best way to fix deficit -- The best way to reduce the growing federal deficit is to create 10 million jobs now -- the number of jobs needed to close our jobs deficit -- not to cut vital programs such as Social Security and Medicare, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. He cites data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that most of the deficit over the next 10 years will come from the Bush tax cuts for the rich, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, spiraling health care costs and the recession

►  In today's Washington Post -- Getting the most bang for job-creation bucks (Alan Blinder column) -- The search for a cheaper ways to stimulate job creation lead to two main options are direct public-service employment and a new-jobs tax credit. The Obama administration and several members of Congress have proposed the latter. I would recommend doing both, targeting roughly a million new jobs with each program, at a budgetary cost of perhaps $70 billion. While 2 million more jobs won't end America's gaping shortage, it would make a significant dent.