►  In the Olympian -- Budget ideas, pleas not to cut -- A standing-room only crowd of about 450 showed up to the UW-Tacoma for the first of the public hearings on the budget. But most didn’t suggest ideas for efficiencies, they were there to argue the budget shouldn't be further trimmed.

►  In the Olympian -- Gregoire readies budget shears -- Gregoire can't make surgical cuts, so she may simply reduce spending items by 3% to 5%, said her budget director, Marty Brown. She could call lawmakers back for a special session instead, but Brown said that’s looking unlikely.

►  In today's NY Times -- Cuts in home care put elderly, disabled at risk -- As states face severe budget shortfalls, many have cut home-care services for the elderly or the disabled, programs that have been shown to save states money in the long run because they keep people out of nursing homes. Since the start of the recession, at least 25 states and the District of Columbia have curtailed programs that include meal deliveries, housekeeping aid and assistance for family caregivers, a research organization reports. That threatens to reverse a long-term trend of enabling people to stay in their homes longer.

Bringing our tax dollars home to create jobs:

►  In today's Columbian -- Murray scores $42 million earmark for crossing project -- The Columbia River Crossing scored another $42 million in federal money in a proposed Senate transportation funding bill introduced Wednesday by Sen. Patty Murray. Project supporters said Murray’s commitment generates fresh momentum at a crucial time. Every federal dollar applied to the project ultimately lessens the burden on the two states and toll-paying motorists, she said.

►  In today's Daily News -- Senate bill includes $1 million for downtown Longview projects -- Downtown Longview may be in line for $1 million in funding for improvements to its sidewalks, lighting and benches, Sen. Patty Murray says. If approved by Congress, the money would be "a real jump start in getting downtown moving forward," said City Manger Bob Gregory.

►  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Murray seeks $5 million for Tri-City area roads -- Millions of dollars for regional transportation projects have been included in the bill, thanks to Sen. Patty Murray.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Murray earmark would help replace South Park Bridge -- Sen. Patty Murray announced Wednesday she has earmarked $3 million toward a new South Park Bridge.

►  Sen. Patty Murray's Republican challenger Dino Rossi opposes earmarks that return our tax dollars to Washington in the form of job-creating local projects like those listed above. In fact, if elected, Dino Rossi says he would forego all earmarks. 

For more information, check out What union members should know about Dino Rossi.

Election news:

►  In the News Tribune -- Are "push polls" labor's first salvo against Democrats, GOP? -- The Senate Democratic Campaign Committee suspects organized labor is behind a "poll" offering unflattering information about Sen. Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens). Kathy Cummings, spokeswoman for the Washington State Labor Council and its political committee, DIME PAC, acknowledged DIME PAC is paying for polling, but said the calls aren't push polling. "We're just testing messages in order to identify how we best help our champions," Cummings said.

►  In the Columbian -- Heck heads into primary with large cash advantage in 3rd CD -- Democratic congressional candidate Denny Heck has raised $950,000 in his campaign to succeed Rep. Brian Baird, putting him well ahead of the two leading Republican candidates in the race.

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Eyman's I-1053: A slick initiative (Joel Connely column) -- I-1053 will be peddled as a populist measure to protect ordinary citizens. No way. It's a grease job for Big Oil, a minority rule measure that lets BP and Tesoro and ConocoPhillips evade paying for pollution.

Boeing news:

►  From MarketWatch -- Boeing sells 72 more 737s -- Boeing announced three bulk aircraft orders on Tuesday from leasing companies and Middle Eastern airlines, bringing the total value of new business this week during the Farnborough International Airshow to about $18 billion.

►  In Wednesday's Seattle Times -- EU appeals WTO ruling condemning Airbus aid -- Despite the appeal, EU officials insisted that last month's WTO decision was "mixed." Legal experts, however, say Washington resoundingly won the first round as Brussels awaits a confidential verdict in September in a countersuit alleging illegal U.S. aid for Boeing.

National news:

►  In today's Washington Post -- Obama signs financial overhaul into law -- As much as it felt like an ending, President Obama launched a new era in the relationship between Washington and the financial world when he placed his signature Wednesday on a massive bill to rewrite the nation's financial rules. (See WSLC President Rick Bender's statement on the bill.)

►  At MarketWatch -- Bring back estate tax, some rich Americans say -- Disney heir Abigail Disney, hedge-fund billionaire Julian Robertson and former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin have joined AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and the advocacy group United for a Fair Economy to call on Congress to reinstate the estate tax before lawmakers' August recess.

►  From Reuters -- Key Democrat backs keeping tax cuts for the rich -- A fiscally conservative Democrat who chairs the U.S. Senate's budget committee says he supports extending all of the tax cuts that expire this year, including for the wealthy. Sen. Kent Conrad's comments echo Republican arguments against raising taxes amid a fledgling economic recovery. 

►  In The Hill -- AFL-CIO plugs Warren for consumer protection chief -- The nation's largest labor federation endorsed Elizabeth Warren to head the new consumer financial protection agency.

►  In today's Wash. Post -- Obama should nominate Warren to lead consumer agency (Michelle Singletary column) -- Obama promised change in how our government was run when he was elected president. He should live up to his word and nominate Elizabeth Warren, one of this country's most passionate and committed consumer advocates.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Chamber of Commerce losing battles against Obama -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent nearly $3 million a week in opposition to President Obama's major agenda items. But so far, it's not clear how well the gamble has paid off. The Chamber's formidable lobbying prowess -- about $150 million spent since Obama took office -- did not stop passage of the administration's two signature achievements: the health-care overhaul and the Wall Street reform bill the president signed into law Wednesday. The nation's largest business group has lost battles over, among other things, student-loan legislation, credit-card reforms and a landmark measure that expands workers' rights to sue for equal pay.

►  In today's NY Times -- Workers on doomed Gulf rig voiced concern about safety -- A confidential survey of workers on the Deepwater Horizon before the rig exploded showed that many were concerned about safety practices and feared reprisals if they reported mistakes or problems.