Election news:

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Rossi: Murray "created deficits," I've balanced budgets -- Says the Republican Senate candidate: "I'm the guy, who as a state senator, balanced the biggest deficit in state history without raising taxes."

EDITOR'S NOTE: In 2003, then-State Sen. Dino Rossi unveiled "his" Senate Republican budget with a presentation entitled "Following the Governor's Lead." Democratic Gov. Gary Locke had already done all the political heavy lifting with his session-opening no-new-taxes budget proposal to defy voter-mandated teacher pay raises, freeze state employee salaries and make the other state service cuts necessary to resolve the revenue shortfall. Rossi merely tweaked Locke's proposal. Seven years later, two-time statewide election loser Rossi keeps trying to sell the fiction that he "balanced the budget" in 2003. In fact, this myth is the bare thread upon which his entire political career has always dangled.

Learn more at What union members should know about Dino Rossi.

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Vote "YES" on I-1098 (editorial) -- I-1098 is our best chance for tax reform in four decades. It is imperfect, but a massive stride forward from the status quo. The measure eliminates Business and Occupation taxes for more than 80% of the state's businesses. It would also cut by 20% the state portion of Washington's property tax. ... Washington has fallen to 46th out of the 50 states in the amount of our economy we invest in education, according to I-1098 proponent Bill Gates Sr. We are 44th in dollars invested per student. Seventy percent of revenue generated by I-1098 would go to education. Now is the time to invest in -- not to neglect -- education. I-1098 is a watershed on who we are and where we want to go as a state. Forward, we hope.

►  From AP -- Federal judge tosses state's limit on late campaign contributions -- State officials are mulling their next steps after a federal judge overturned a state law limiting campaign contributions in the final weeks of ballot measure campaigns. If the ruling stands, money could flow even more freely to this year’s crop of voter initiatives. Six such measures are on the ballot and state records show the campaigns have raised a combined $32.5 million.

►  At SeattlePI.com -- On our ballot: The best initiatives big money can buy (Joel Connelly column) -- Pumping $14.3 million (so far) to promote Initiative 1107, which would repeal temporary taxes on soda pop, candy, gum, bottled water and some processed foods, "Big Soda" is using I-1107 to send a not-so-sugary message to legislatures in Ohio, Florida and other states. Don't mess with us, or we'll mess big-time with you. If these and other special interests' bulldozer tactics work in 2010, the way to do business in Washington will be to bypass the Legislature.

And speaking ballot hijacking corporate special interests...

►  Also see, in The Stranger -- Building a better cash cow: I-1082 is the sneaky right-wing initiative everyone's ignoring -- For years, the BIAW made a ton of money from Washington's current workers' comp arrangement. Taking full advantage of an opening provided by the legislature, it was able to get the state to kick millions in unclaimed workers' comp dollars into its coffers every year -- money the BIAW has then used to fund conservative causes ranging from campaigns for Dino Rossi and Rob McKenna to trying to stack the state supreme court with conservative justices to fighting against environmental legislation. However, due to tighter audits on payouts, this way of doing business has become much less lucrative for the BIAW. Enter I-1082, the BIAW's new and improved way to get Washington state workers to fund its conservative agenda.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Economy, lawsuits hammer at BIAW -- The Building Association of Washington, a generous contributor to conservative candidates and causes, has hit a rough patch. The group has lost millions in revenue in recent years largely due to the recession. It's embroiled in a lawsuit with the state attorney general, and is in the middle of a fight with its largest local association, which has also sued the BIAW. And yet, the BIAW has plowed $500,000 into Initiative 1082, which would deregulate the state workers' compensation system. I-1082 also would let the BIAW, partner with private insurers to provide coverage. Opponents argue that it's a way for the BIAW to refill its coffers. Refunds the BIAW receives from a worker-safety program it administers -- the group's largest source of income -- have dropped nearly 90% since 2007, largely because of the recession that's gutted the home-building industry.

►  In today's Bellingham Herald -- Ferndale teachers go out on strike -- The first day of school in the Ferndale School District has been postponed after teachers voted Tuesday morning to strike after two days of mediation with district officials. A bargaining session with a mediator Tuesday afternoon yielded no progress. Teachers will be picketing outside of Ferndale schools on Wednesday in support of the Ferndale Education Association, which has about 300 members.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Cash-strapped Metro targets drivers' pay -- After two years of tapping reserves, boosting fares, surviving on grants and postponing new routes, Metro managers are looking behind the wheel for savings. Because of cost-of-living raises in the union contract, drivers' pay rose nearly 4% each year over the past five years. Union leaders say the growth merely brings drivers back to a reasonable standard of living, after losing ground in the 1990s.

►  In today's Peninsula Daily News -- Twice-a-month furloughs proposed at Clallam courthouse -- To make up for an unexpected budget shortfall, nearly 400 Clallam County employees will be asked to take 24 unpaid vacation days in 2011 if a preliminary budget is approved.

►  In today's Tri-City Herald -- More sacrifices needed from state employees (editorial) -- If they don't accept paying more for health care benefits for the workers now, their members may face even worse alternatives. No one wants to pay more or get less, but it beats the unemployment line. 

►  In today's Columbian -- Possible decline in gas tax revenue alarms transportation officials -- State transportation officials, citing flat or declining revenue in the future, will focus on preserving existing roadways rather than building new ones.

►  In The Hill -- Transit unions intensify organizing in wake of rule change -- This year, federal officials began allowing a simple majority vote in union elections at companies covered by the Railway Labor Act. Previously, workers at airline and railway companies who did not cast a vote were counted as “no” votes against forming a union, making it difficult for organizers to succeed. Now, barely two months after the rule went into effect, there are strong indications the rule has galvanized the labor movement, just as businesses had feared. Several major unions have filed petitions to hold elections at air and rail companies, and many top organizers are expressing confidence the elections will result in the needed majorities for unionization. 

►  In today's Washington Post -- Obama's transportation plan likely to have to wait -- Rolling out his plan on Labor Day, Obama took Capitol Hill and transportation lobbyists by surprise, and the scramble on Tuesday was to unearth critical details left out of the president's speech. What seemed virtually certain is that his proposal for initial spending of $50 billion isn't going to gain much preelection headway in Congress, and most likely will wait until next year.

►  In today's LA Times -- Businesses like Obama tax write-off plan but want Bush tax cuts, too -- The business community likes Obama's proposal to accelerate tax write-offs for companies buying equipment and other big-ticket items. But it is clamoring for more -- extension of all of the soon-expiring Bush-era tax cuts. But Obama isn't likely to back down on his stand on continuing the tax rate cuts only for households and businesses earning less than $250,000.

►  In today's NY Times -- Obama is against a compromise on Bush tax cuts -- The president will make clear that he opposes any compromise that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy beyond this year, adding a populist twist to an election-season economic package that is otherwise designed to entice support from big businesses and their Republican allies.

►  In today's Washington Post -- White House at odds with former budget chief over tax cuts -- Recently departed OMB director Peter Orszag made his debut as a New York Times contributor with a column that argued for a two-year extension of all the Bush-era tax cuts. That position puts him at odds with the often-stated position of his former boss, the president.

►  In today's LA Times -- California, regulators seek up to $9.9 billion in fines from PacifiCare -- The health insurer violated state law nearly 1 million times from 2006 to 2008, the state says.

►  In today's NY Times -- Alms for the rich and powerful (editorial) -- Gifts to charities set up by lawmakers have become a popular way to curry favor on Capitol Hill. But these “donations” need to be fully disclosed and strictly limited.

►  In today's NY Times -- Forced labor (editorial) -- The Justice Department has brought the largest human-trafficking case ever against a L.A. company. The accusations are disturbingly familiar.