Initiative 1098 news:

►  At EOIonline.org -- Find out how much I-1098 will save YOU -- Initiative 1098 would raise taxes on households earning over $400,000 a year, but it also will cut taxes for homeowners and small business owners. By how much? Check out the new I-1098 calculator created by the Economic Opportunity Institute to see how much you’ll save.

►  In today's (Everett) Herald -- Income tax initiative's math adds up (John Burbank column) -- There is a long-term solution to our state's budget mess. It is pretty straightforward. The most prosperous among us should simply help out more, by paying their fair share of taxes for public services. If the people approve I-1098, then not only will the vast majority of citizens and all businesses benefit from a tax reduction, but we will get about $1.6 billion in new revenues directed into the education legacy trust fund and health care.

Local news:

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Trying to rebuild the construction industry -- As the Puget Sound region's depressed housing market enters its third year, the construction industry has lost more jobs -- 80,704 since August 2007 -- than any other part of the state's economy. Building permits have dropped by more than half in King and Snohomish counties and the county planning staffs have also been slashed. Revenues from permitting and impact fees have plummeted, deepening the deficits in many local governments' budgets.

►  In today's (Longview) Daily News -- Fibre contract negotiations resume Thursday -- Union paper makers and Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging Inc. negotiators will meet for another round of contract talks Thursday morning, according to AWPPW Local 153. The two sides met Monday for a Q&A session. (In the Daily News photo at right, Longview Fibre employee Robin Martin stands beside a freshly painted picket sign Sunday during a strike prep work party at the AWPPW Hall. Click it to enlarge.)

►  In today's News tribune -- Small business owners discuss lending problems with Sen. Murray -- Small business owners are in a credit desert. “I’m just in a holding pattern until I can get (money to make the improvements) myself... “In one month, with no notice, we went from a $35,000 (line of credit) to $1,000... I supported myself, three kids and seven employees. Now I can’t get $50 from a bank.” Those were some of the comments from seven small-business owners Tuesday during a meeting with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who is pushing House-approved legislation currently being blocked by Senate Republicans that would create a $30 billion fund to encourage community banks to lend to small businesses.

►  In today's (Everett) Herald -- Boeing won't buy supplier -- CFO James Bell says the company won't buy Italy's Alenia Aeronautica, which has been the source of workmanship issues.

►  From the CSM -- Florida voters can’t strip down Obama health-care bill, court rules -- The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a ballot initiative that sought to amend the state’s constitution to establish that Florida residents have a right to refuse to purchase mandatory health insurance -- including under President Obama’s reform effort.

►  In today's LA Times -- About 2,000 employers qualify for federal subsidies for retiree health care -- The Obama administration says that nearly 2,000 businesses, labor unions and state and local governments have qualified for federal subsidies to offset the cost of providing their retirees and dependents with medical insurance, another early benefit of the new health care law.

►  At Huffington Post -- Oregon Democrat seeks waiver from health care law, individual mandate -- One of the most innovative voices in the debate, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), is accelerating the process of exempting his state from some of the reforms passed under President Obama. He is seeking to take advantage of a provision he helped write into the legislation that allows states to set up their own health care systems as long as they meet minimal federal requirements.

►  In today's NY Times -- New job means lower wages for many -- With the country focused on job growth and with unemployment continuing to hover above 9%, comparatively little attention has been paid to the quality of the jobs being created and what opportunities might be available to workers when the recession finally settles. There are already reasons for concern.