Legislative news:

►  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Senate OKs curb on I-960 for third time -- For the third time in three weeks, the state Senate voted to suspend a state law that requires a two-thirds majority for any tax increase. Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown said Democrats also welcome the call for more sunshine in government. They’ll shine a light on tax exemptions and make them compete for the right to remain in state law, just as education, health and social programs now have to compete for shrinking revenues. “If you want to see sunshine, you’re going to get it,” she said.

►  At Publicola -- Governor's budget still leaves $1 billion in program cuts -- Gregoire’s new budget, which isn’t the “all cuts” budget she lamented in December, still leaves about $1 billion in government programs on the cutting room floor. See a list of what's cut.

►  In today's NY Times -- Recession tightens grip on state tax revenues -- State tax collections shrank at the end of 2009 for a fifth consecutive quarter, the longest period of continuing state revenue declines since at least the Great Depression. The decline comes despite the tax increases imposed by many states since the recession began. With less tax money coming into state treasuries and expenses for programs like Medicaid continuing to mount, many states will probably be forced to consider further tax increases, spending cuts and layoffs -- actions that some economists warn could put a drag on the nation’s fragile economic recovery.

►  At Olympia Newswire -- Democrats divided: Will many caucuses help build budget consensus? -- Members of the new Democratic caucuses, including the moderate Roadkill Caucus and a liberal group calling itself The Bunch, say they will help build consensus. Outside observers aren’t as optimistic, however, and say that the new groups may even prevent lawmakers from finishing their work by March 11, the official end date of this year’s legislative session.

►  In today's Kitsap Sun -- Senate releases $8.6 billion transportation budget -- This year’s supplemental version amounts to $1 billion more than last year’s biennial budget — with the increase coming from federal stimulus dollars that the state will use to pay for large projects, including a $590 million high speed rail corridor to run from Oregon to British Columbia.

►  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Roads may see tolls if gas tax decline persists -- Eastern Washington drivers could see tolls on highways and bridges due to declining gas tax income from more fuel-efficient vehicles and drivers conserving gas.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Don't cut interpreter services for Washington's Medicaid patients (guest column) -- The Legislature needs to fund interpreter services. Failure to do so will be disastrous for many of our fellow citizens and will burden all of us with increased costs.

Health care news:

►  At AFL-CIO Now -- Obama releases revised health reform blueprint -- AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says working families “look forward to moving the ball forward this week toward the goal of quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Republicans in Congress have an opportunity to stand with working families or continue to protect the profits of the insurance industry. We are prepared to work with the White House and leadership in Congress to advance a comprehensive health care bill that will be passed into law."

►  In today's NY Times -- Obama’s health bill largely follows Senate version -- He has challenged Republicans to come forward with their ideas and laid the groundwork for an aggressive parliamentary maneuver to pass the legislation using only Democratic votes if this week brings no progress toward a bipartisan solution.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Obama stays on offense with health reform proposal -- There had been rampant speculation that the White House would narrow its ambitions after the loss of the Democrats' filibuster-proof Senate majority last month. Not so.

►  In today's NY Times -- The president's plan (editorial) -- President Barack Obama’s proposal, which would provide coverage to more than 30 million uninsured people, is a firm basis for both the Senate and House to move forward with comprehensive health care reform.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Democrats: Find your spine and pass health reform (Eugene Robinson column) -- The Democratic leadership in Congress has only one rational course of action: Pass President Obama's proposal, and quickly, or risk becoming the loyal minority.

►  From McClatchy -- Schwarzenegger breaks with GOP on health care, stimulus -- While GOP leaders in Washington are urging President Obama to start from scratch on a health care bill, Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dismissed the idea as "bogus talk."

Boeing news:

►  In today's (Everett) Herald -- Boeing tanker bid gains backers -- Gov. Gregoire serves as chairwoman of the U.S. Tanker 2010 coalition, which includes business and labor organizations. Governors from the states of Kansas, Missouri, Maine, Iowa, Utah, Oregon, Illinois and Connecticut round out the group. The coalition’s message: Award the contract to Boeing. Put Americans to work. Don’t delay.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Gregoire, 8 other governors back Boeing for tanker bid -- Gregoire touts Boeing as a better choice for national security, value for taxpayers and the military's needs. Most of all, Gregoire and Parkinson depicted the tanker deal as a form of federal stimulus. (Also see www.ustanker2010.com.)

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Hudson hero Sullenberger to speak in Seattle -- Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, who landed his U.S. Airways Airbus A320 safely on the Hudson River last year after a bird strike took out his engines, is scheduled to speak in Seattle on March 8.

Local news:

►  In today's Columbian -- Fundraising factors in Wallace's withdrawal -- State Rep. Deb Wallace says she bowed out of the 3rd District race because her duties in Olympia have kept her from hitting the $300,000 mark she needs to achieve by the end of March to be taken seriously.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Fire chief of tiny district to lose job but get $300,000 severance -- As North Highline fire chief, Scott LaVielle oversees two stations and 35 employees and last year earned more than Gov. Chris Gregoire. His pay of $186,370 even outpaced the salary of Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean, who made $173,709 for managing 32 stations and 1,155 employees.

►  In the (Aberdeen) Daily World -- Union wins contract dispute -- The PERC rules against the City of Ocean Shores’ claim that the Teamster’s Union violated the state ULP law by refusing to open the contracts of clerical and public works workers so the city could seek concessions.

National news:

AFL-CIO's Trumka: Jobs vote a step forward, but much more needed

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: "Today’s successful cloture vote was a step forward for Majority Leader Reid’s jobs bill, which correctly eliminated the unnecessary and unhelpful tax breaks included in the Baucus-Grassley bill. But on its own this bill is merely a Band Aid on an amputated limb. Senator Reid has said this bill is just the first step and more actions need to be and will be taken. We couldn’t agree more. We need bigger and bolder actions to ensure that we create 10 million jobs and that Wall Street pays the bill to fix the financial disaster." Read more.

►  In today's NY Times -- In passage of jobs measure, a glimpse of bipartisanship -- Five Republican senators break ranks with their party to advance a $15 billion job-creation measure put forward by Democrats, a rare bipartisan breakthrough after months in which Republicans had held together to a remarkable degree in an effort to thwart Obama's agenda.

►  In today's NY Times -- Wall Street bonuses said to rise 17% in 2009 -- One year after the finance industry received its massive government bailout, Wall Street firms paid out 17% more in bonuses, amounting to more than $20 billion, says New York State’s comptroller.

►  In the Christian Science Monitor -- Workers' share of America's pie is shrinking (column) -- Ideally, business and labor would share about equally in productivity gains. But over the past three decades, business has reaped the bigger share. For every dollar of goods and services the U.S. produced in 1974, all employees reaped about 59 cents. Last year, their share was 55 cents. In a $14 trillion economy, that amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars in lost wages every year. Two principal reasons for this trend are globalization and the perpetual war against labor unions.