Span wasn’t built to take critical hit

The Skagit River Bridge wasn’t particularly worrisome to state engineers, but bridges of its generation often were designed in such a way that a failure in a key location could ruin an entire span.

The Skagit River Bridge wasn’t particularly worrisome to state engineers. Structural inspections showed its condition to be average. But bridges of its generation, circa 1955, often were designed in a manner described today as fracture-critical — meaning a failure in a key location can ruin an entire span. That is apparently what happened Thursday night. Officials believe an oversized truck traveling south on Interstate 5 hit the bridge and triggered the collapse, said Bart Treece, state Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesman. One of the bridge’s four spans fell into the water. Seattle Times, 5-24-13.

Light rail opponents sue Vancouver in Superior Court

A group of residents who oppose extending light rail into Vancouver filed a lawsuit against the city on Thursday, arguing the city council overstepped its authority when it voted to not place a proposed initiative on the November ballot.

A group of residents who sponsored an anti-light rail initiative filed a lawsuit against the city of Vancouver Thursday in Clark County Superior Court, arguing the city council had no authority to refuse to place the measure on the ballot. The petitioners ask a judge to rule that the proposed initiative “is within the scope of the initiative power as defined and declared in the Vancouver City Charter,” and that the proposed language is “clear and unambiguous.” Petitioners want a judge to order that the initiative must be on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. The initiative would create a city ordinance that would prohibit any city resources from being used to extend TriMet’s MAX line from Portland to Vancouver as part of the Columbia River Crossing. Vancouver Columbian, 5-23-13.

Port of Tacoma to build terminal for crude oil trains

Crude oil for Washington refineries will go by train to a new terminal at the Port of Tacoma.

The Port of Tacoma has decided to invest at least $80 million in a terminal to receive crude oil brought by railroad from Montana, at a site where a container terminal was once planned. The petroleum terminal is to be built on an 80-acre site, formerly the location of the Kaiser Aluminum smelter, where the port until recently had planned to build another container terminal for imports. Some of the crude could be refined by nearby U.S. Oil, while the crude also could be barged to Washington refineries to the north and elsewhere on the West Coast. Puget Sound Business Journal, 5-23-13.

State’s new attorney general strives to put party aside

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks to the Yakima County Gang Commission Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Many issues were discussed at the meeting including Yakima County Gang Court.

Washington state’s new attorney general, Bob Ferguson, took office in January, an interesting time with the state facing national scrutiny over its legalization of marijuana and gay marriage. Elected last fall after Republican Rob McKenna ran for governor rather than re-election, Ferguson, a Democrat, did not shy from that national spotlight. His anti-discrimination lawsuit last month against Arlene’s Flowers of Richland, whose owner refused to sell flowers for a gay wedding, instantly became a national story. Ferguson discussed that and other issues in an interview Wednesday during a visit to Yakima. He conducted the interview after meeting with the Yakima County Gang Commission. Bob Ferguson Q & A with Yakima Herald-Republic, 5-23-13.

Op-ed: The multiplier effect of skimping on higher education

Thompson Hall at Washington State University, Pullman

For too long the Legislature has been pinching pennies on funding for higher-ed institutions, and students have paid the price in higher tuition. Give it a rest. Invest a scant amount of money and freeze tuition for two years, at least. Lecture halls full of political-science and art-history majors have subsidized engineering classes for generations. The arithmetic works out fine. Quit dreaming up schemes to mug students. Lance Dickie, Seattle Times, 5-23-13.

King County

Most Democratic district groups aren’t backing McGinn

McGinn

One early measure of the Seattle mayoral race is the fight for endorsements from the city’s Democratic legislative-district organizations. So far, Mayor Mike McGinn has come up short in his quest to land those endorsements for his re-election campaign. He’s received just one – from the 37th District Democrats (southeast Seattle, including Rainier Valley, Central District and Columbia City), who gave a dual endorsement to McGinn and City Council member Bruce Harrell. Asked whether the paucity of Democratic endorsements is a problem for the mayor, McGinn political consultant John Wyble responded via email: “Mayor McGinn was the only candidate that was in the game in every District. We feel good that he’s got a base of support in every district against a lot of well-known candidates.” Seattle Times, 5-23-13.

FW councilwoman files complaint over mayor’s ‘angry’ behavior

Priest

The city has hired an investigator to look into a complaint filed against Federal Way Mayor Skip Priest. In response to a public records request by the Federal Way Mirror, the city released a five-page document that was submitted on May 9 by Federal Way City Council member Kelly Maloney. The document details Maloney’s account of a meeting that took place with Priest on May 8. The document describes how during their nearly 30-minute meeting, Priest was angry, pounding his fist on the desk and “lacing the ‘F’ word throughout his statements as he was yelling.” According to the document: “I told him he had better back off and stop talking to me that way. (I did not raise my voice because I wanted to be firm and not escalate the situation.) I told him I wasn’t afraid of him, though clearly he was trying to intimidate me. He sat down. He started crying.” Federal Way Mirror, 5-23-13.

The Nation

Bank lobbyists help (themselves) in drafting financial bills

Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr., left, a Wall Street lobbyist, at a House financial services panel meeting.

Bank lobbyists are not leaving it to lawmakers to draft legislation that softens financial regulations. Instead, the lobbyists are helping to write it themselves. One bill that sailed through the House Financial Services Committee this month — over the objections of the Treasury Department — was essentially Citigroup’s, according to e-mails reviewed by the New York Times. The bill would exempt broad swathes of trades from new regulation. In a sign of Wall Street’s resurgent influence in Washington, Citigroup’s recommendations were reflected in more than 70 lines of the House committee’s 85-line bill. Two crucial paragraphs, prepared by Citigroup in conjunction with other Wall Street banks, were copied nearly word for word. (Lawmakers changed two words to make them plural.) The lobbying campaign shows how, three years after Congress passed the most comprehensive overhaul of regulation since the Depression, Wall Street is finding Washington a friendlier place. New York Times, 5-23-13.

Holder OKd search warrant for Fox News reporter’s private e-mails, official says

Holder

Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on a controversial search warrant that identified Fox News reporter James Rosen as a “possible co-conspirator” in violations of the Espionage Act and authorized seizure of his private emails, a law enforcement official told NBC News Thursday. The disclosure of the attorney general’s role came as President Barack Obama, in a major speech on his counterterrorism policy, said Holder had agreed to review Justice Department guidelines governing investigations that involve journalists. NBC News, 5-23-13.

Texas Governor still supports gay exclusion for Boy Scouts

Perry

Gov. Rick Perry says he’s disappointed with the Boy Scouts of America allowing openly gay boys to be accepted as Scouts. The organization’s National Council voted Thursday to ease its long-standing ban. Perry, an Eagle Scout, wrote a 2008 book praising the organization and saying it should continue to exclude openly gay members. In February, he dismissed bending the group to the whims of “popular culture.” The governor released a statement Thursday night saying BSA “has been built upon the values of faith and family for more than 100 years, and today’s decision contradicts generations of tradition in the name of political correctness.” Associated Press (KSAT), 5-23-13.

To Think About

The secret sharer: Is Thomas Drake an enemy of the state?

Thomas Drake, a former senior executive at the National Security Agency, faces some of the gravest charges that can be brought against an American citizen.

On June 13th, Thomas Drake, 54, a former government employee, is scheduled to appear in a courtroom in Baltimore, where he will face some of the gravest charges that can be brought against an American citizen. A former senior executive at the National Security Agency, the government’s electronic-espionage service, he is accused, in essence, of being an enemy of the state. According to a ten-count indictment delivered against him in April, 2010, Drake violated the Espionage Act—the 1917 statute that was used to convict Aldrich Ames, the CIA officer who, in the eighties and nineties, sold U.S. intelligence to the KGB, enabling the Kremlin to assassinate informants. In 2007, the indictment says, Drake willfully retained top-secret defense documents that he had sworn an oath to protect, sneaking them out of the intelligence agency’s headquarters, at Fort Meade, Maryland, and taking them home, for the purpose of “unauthorized disclosure.” If convicted, he faces a 35-year prison term. When President Barack Obama took office, in 2009, he championed the cause of government transparency, and spoke admiringly of whistle-blowers, whom he described as “often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government.” But the Obama Administration has pursued leak prosecutions with a surprising relentlessness. Jane Mayer, New Yorker, 5-23-13.

The post Issue #70 appeared first on King County Democrats.

Seattle City Council panel OKs zoning for big pot-growing operations

Indoor pot-growing operations as large as a football field would be allowed in some Seattle industrial areas under new zoning approved Wednesday by a City Council committee. The proposed rules would prohibit large indoor farms in the industrial sanctuaries closest to the Port of Seattle and maritime businesses, which represent 46 percent of Seattle’s industrial land. But over the objections of the North Seattle Industrial Association, council members voted to permit growing operations of up to 50,000 square feet in the city’s other workhorse zones for industry. Seattle Times, 5-22-13.

UW students seek end of fossil fuel investments

Students at the University of Washington want the school to dump its investments in major fossil fuel companies like Exxon and BP as part of a nationwide campaign to combat climate change through public institutions. The University of Washington prides itself on being a green campus, but Kyle Murphy thinks they should have a green portfolio too. Murphy is one of the founders of UW Divest, the student group proposing a change to the way the UW Endowment Fund invests its money. The group started the campaign early this year. But they have already developed a proposal for how the UW can invest more responsibly. The proposal has a list of almost 60 companies involved in oil, natural gas, and coal they want out of the endowment fund. But energy investments only make up a tiny fraction of the UW portfolio. And many of the investments are tied up in both fossil fuels and alternative energy. KUOW, 5-20-13.

Right-wing group bringing Scott Walker to Seattle

Walker

The political right’s top event of the year in this corner of America’s “Left Coast” is the annual dinner of the Washington Policy Center, where guests have ranged from ex-Florida Gov. Jeb  Bush to Fox News pundit (and onetime Jimmy Carter speechwriter) Charles Krauthammer to columnist George Will. The dinner isn’t until September 5 this year, but tickets go early and the guest-of-honor is certain to be greeted by a picket line outside the Seattle Sheraton.  Seattle is still a labor town, about as much as any place in America. He is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who moved decisively in 2011 to strip bargaining powers from his state’s public employee unions, surviving mass protests and a recall election.  Walker will be joined by Dr. Ben Carson, the Johns Hopkins University medical school professor who challenged President Obama at the last White House Prayer Breakfast. Seattle P-I, 5-22-13.

Kent City Council cuts casino gambling tax rate

The Kent City Council has cut the gambling tax rate from 11 percent to 7 percent at the Great American Casino in Panther Lake.

The Kent City Council voted 4-2 Tuesday night to reduce the city’s gambling tax rate on the Great American Casino from 11 percent to 7 percent on gross revenues. Casino officials asked the city to reduce the tax to help reduce their losses of more than $1 million over the last two years at the Panther Lake facility. Great American is the only casino in Kent. Council members approved the reduction in part because city officials said the lost city tax revenue would be covered by the state Department of Revenue as part of the annual annexation sales tax rebate Kent receives to help cover the costs of annexing 24,000 Panther Lake residents in 2010. Kent Reporter, 5-22-13.

The State

Enviro groups demand that Corps conduct “comprehensive” coal terminal study

If a big coal export terminal is built at Cherry Point, north of Bellingham, mile to mile-and-a-half long coal trains would pass along the waterfronts of Seattle, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Marysville, Bellingham and other Western Washington port cities.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must undertake a comprehensive, region-wide study of all possible impacts of three remaining proposals to export coal from Wyoming and Montana out of Northwest ports to China, public health and environmental groups said Wednesday in a petition filed with the Corps. The proposed coal export terminals are at Boardman OR and Longview WA along the Columbia River, and at Cherry Point north of Bellingham. If completed, they could export 100 million metric tons of coal each year to China. China has become the world’s No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases. “Petitioners are deeply concerned that each of these individual proposals will go through environmental review without an opportunity to consider the bigger picture of what it means for the region if all the proposed terminals are built and operated,” said the petition. The groups asking for a “single, comprehensive” environmental impact statement include Climate Solutions, Columbia Riverkeeper, the Sierra Club, Washington Environmental Council, and Physicians for Social Responsibility. Seattle P-I, 5-22-13.

Tribal judge refuses to block disenrollment of 306 Nooksacks

George Adams, right, sings with a crowd of dozens as they await a decision on whether the disenrollment process of 306 Nooksack Indian Tribe members will be allowed to proceed.

Nooksack Tribal Chief Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis has cleared the way for tribal officials to go ahead with plans to strip 306 people of their membership in the tribe, refusing to grant an injunction that would have blocked such a move. Attorney Gabriel Galanda, representing five of the 306, had filed a lawsuit in tribal court challenging a resolution to disenroll them. Chairman Bob Kelly and five other members of the eight-member tribal council approved that resolution in February 2013. The remaining two members of the council are among those facing disenrollment. Among other things, Galanda contends that the 306 are being singled out because they are of partial Filipino descent. Bellingham Herald, 5-22-13.

Gates donation helps create statewide charter school group

Bill and Melinda

The Washington State Charter Schools Association is a new statewide nonprofit that will support the startup of charter schools in Washington, with a focus on serving at-risk populations and students who do not currently have access to high-performing schools. The association received $800,000 in start-up funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Last November, voters approved the creation of up to 40 public charter schools over the next five years. These tuition-free charter schools will be open to all students. The association will focus on three key areas of support: providing information about charter schools; supporting leaders who want to grow high-performing public charter schools; and providing general support and services to help charter schools operate. Tacoma News Tribune, 5-22-13.

Impasse in talks between police-fire unions, Port Angeles City Hall

Port Angeles City Hall

Labor contract negotiations have reached an impasse between the city and the unions representing Port Angeles’ firefighters and sworn police officers, with an arbitration hearing with the officers union set for this fall. The stall in negotiations, however, will not affect police or emergency services in the city. The issues at the heart of the impasse include wages, health benefits and sick leave. Representatives from both unions have declined to offer more specifics because negotiations are ongoing. City Human Resources Manager Bob Coons, the negotiator for the city, said Tuesday that it has had three so-called mediation sessions since January with Teamsters Union Local 589, which represents 30 police officers. During theses sessions, an assigned staff member from the state Public Employment Relations Commission mediated discussions between the two parties. Peninsula Daily News, 5-21-13.

The Nation

New gay-rights battleground: Virginia

McAuliffe

Welcome to the gay rights battleground of Virginia. Yes, you read that right. In the 2013 off-year elections, a state that once leaned solidly to the center-right has become the newest focal point in the national debate over same-sex relationships. A gubernatorial race already defined partly along culture-war lines has grown even more contentious since last weekend, when Virginia Republicans nominated as their lieutenant governor candidate a firebrand minister who has called gays “very sick people psychologically” and suggested a connection between homosexuality and pedophilia. Remarkably, in a New South battleground where Democrats have traditionally won by carving out independent, non-partisan reputations, it’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe who’s most eager to keep gay rights on the political front burner. Politico, 5-23-13.

Virginia Lt. Gov. candidate fought against desegregation efforts

Jackson

E.W. Jackson, the Virginia GOP’s nominee for lieutenant governor, began his career as a minister and attorney in Boston. While there, he lent his support to a high-profile 1988 fight against a plan to desegregate public housing developments in the neighborhood of South Boston. Local news station WGBH filmed Jackson giving a speech at a July 1988 community meeting in South Boston hosted by opponents of the mayor’s desegregation plan. According to WGBH, at the event Jackson dismissed the desegregation plan as “social engineering.” In his remarks, Jackson characterized the matter as a question of freedom of choice. The reporter who interviewed him asked Jackson, who is African-American, if he felt as though he was being “used” by white politicians who opposed the desegregation plan. His response made it clear he fully supported their efforts. Talking Points Memo, 5-21-13.

Immigration push is bonanza for lobbyists

The sweeping immigration overhaul moving through Congress is creating a bonanza for lobbyists. While the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO, and Silicon Valley companies are making the most noise on immigration reform, a grab bag of other groups and companies are working under the radar to shape the bill. Roughly 500 companies, trade groups and unions, among others, lobbied on immigration this past quarter, according to disclosure records. Many of their interests are extremely narrow, but still require checking in on the Senate Gang of Eight’s bill. Among those with a rooting interest in the immigration debate are the U.S. Olympic Committee and The Directors Guild of America. The Hill, 5-22-13.

To Think About

Why they break windows

Seattle Police detain a protester May Day 2013

It’s been three weeks since May Day, and the reverberations from the day’s mayhem continue. At a court hearing last Thursday, two young men accused of throwing rocks at the police were arraigned in King County Superior Court. That evening, Seattle police posted to their website asking for tips from the public on eight suspects, complete with videos that appear to show young men smashing windows with rocks and skateboards. It’s easy to stereotype window-breakers and rock-throwers as spoiled kids throwing tantrums, out with malevolent intentions to mess with the police, and then feel indignant about it. But truth be told, those are lazy, inaccurate assumptions. At the court hearing last week, it became clear that the two guys being arraigned are homeless. Of the 17 people arrested on May Day, ”about nine” are homeless or without stable housing, according to Lizz M. (she prefers not use her last name), a Seattle University student who’s helping raise money to defray their legal costs. “Four or five identify as queer. Two are juveniles,” and “two or three” will be judged in mental competency hearings. The Stranger, 5-22-13.

The post Issue #69 appeared first on King County Democrats.

Gregoire, once insulted by McGinn, endorses Murray

Gregoire

She has lived most of her adult life in Olympia, but ex-Gov. Chris Gregoire is spending her political capital 65 miles up Interstate 5 from the State Capitol:  Gregoire is endorsing state Sen. Ed Murray (D-43) for mayor of Seattle. “Throughout his career, Ed Murray has taken on the tough issues, and he’s succeeded by building coalitions no one believed were possible: I’ve seen him do it, on transportation, on budgets, and of course on civil rights and marriage equality,” Gregoire said in a statement. Gregoire did not mention a famous insult directed her way by incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn. In the fall of 2010, the then-Governor celebrated receipt of two bids on the deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. “I don’t believe we can trust the governor to keep her promise to protect us,” McGinn told a news conference. Governors do not forget. And the remark came to symbolize the isolation and obstructionism of McGinn’s first year in office. Seattle P-I, 5-21-13.

SAFE defends ironworker against eviction

One of the signs in front of Jeremy Griffin’s home

On the same day a King County Superior Court commissioner denied Jeremy Griffin’s motion to avoid eviction from his South Park home, the Sheriff posted a notice ordering the union ironworker to vacate his home by midnight on Tuesday, May 14. This is a scene that has played out millions of times across the country and thousands of times in Washington State since the recession began. But this time, the Sheriff met some resistance, thanks to a group called SAFE (Standing Against Foreclosure & Eviction). A week later, SAFE members are still camped out in Griffin’s yard waiting for the Sheriff to arrive. Many of the protesters, whose tactics are strictly non-violent, are prepared to risk arrest by standing between authorities and Griffin’s home. The Stand, 5-21-13.

Foreclosure reports highlight racial disparity

The housing crisis may be officially over, but foreclosures keep happening. Two new reports make that point as well, and they highlight an aspect of the foreclosure wave not much discussed: Minorities have been hit especially hard. That has gotten the local NAACP involved, and a group of local pastors who belong to a group called the United Black Clergy. In a report released in early May, put out by UBC and the Washington Community Action Network, Willis tells of how foreclosure has arisen as “one of the main issues” his congregation has had to deal with in the last couple of years. The early May report, entitled “The Wall Street Wrecking Ball, is the product of that analysis. It found a preponderance of foreclosures in the 98118 zip code, which encompasses a broad swath of South Seattle including Rainier Valley. According to the report, that zip code was the site of 1,179 foreclosures between 2008 and 2012. Seattle Weekly, 5-21-13.

Former Congressman Brian Baird named president of Antioch University Seattle

Baird

Former U.S. Congressman Brian Baird has been named the next president of Antioch University Seattle. Baird, a Democrat who who represented Washington’s third district from 1999 until 2011 and also has a background as an educator and psychologist, will start in his new role at the private liberal arts university July 1. While in office, Baird focused his legislative activity on science and technology, sales tax deductibility, energy, mental health and education, among other issues, according to the release. He earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Wyoming, and he worked at Tacoma’s Pacific Lutheran University as a faculty member for 12 years and as chair of Pacific Lutheran’s psychology department for two years before running for public office. Puget Sound Business Journal, 5-21-13.

The State

Judge upholds ruling on mentally ill, hospitals

Emergency medical technicians from Rural/Metro wheel a patient out the Involuntary Commitment Court at Western State Hospital on Feb. 27, 2013. On that day, the patient was one of 10 individuals transported from local hospital emergency rooms to the court for commitment hearings.

The rights of people with mental illness collided Monday with the state’s struggling mental health system. The state lost a round, but the fight is far from over. In a ruling that followed weeks of legal briefing, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Nelson declared that parking the mentally ill in hospital emergency rooms without treatment violates state and federal law. “This is true no matter how widespread, economical or convenient it may be to proceed otherwise,” Nelson said. “It is simply not acceptable to violate the civil rights of those that the state detains for mental health issues by detaining them without evaluation and treatment.” The decision upheld an earlier ruling by county Court Commissioner Craig Adams, who reached a similar conclusion in March. On the ground, the ruling creates a sticky scenario: People with mental illness who face potential involuntary commitment could be released into the community without any treatment at all. Tacoma News Tribune, 5-21-13.

NLRB to issue complaint against Hanford conractors

CH2M Hill workers demolished a contaminated laboratory at the Hanford nuclear reservation last year.

The National Labor Relations Board is preparing to issue a complaint on contractor actions during union negotiations with the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council. The board proposed a settlement agreement, but CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co., which has taken the lead in negotiations for Hanford contractors, declined to sign. The proposed settlement agreement addressed actions by four Hanford contractors after they allowed a collective bargaining agreement covering 2,600 Hanford workers to expire Feb. 2 rather than continuing to extend it during negotiations with HAMTC. The contractors notified workers they would no longer deduct union dues from worker paychecks and would no longer pay hourly wages for time spent by workers negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement as delegates for the 15 unions under the HAMTC umbrella. The proposed settlement agreement sided with HAMTC on those issues. Tri-City Herald, 5-20-13.

Spokane City Council wants initiatives sent to voters

Snyder

Voters should have a say on two controversial citizens’ initiatives, the Spokane City Council decided Monday. The 4-3 vote opposing lawsuits to stop votes in November was a victory for the two groups who collected enough signatures to force their measures onto the ballot. But it also was bittersweet for supporters of (the liberal groups) Envision Spokane and Spokane Moves to Amend the Constitution at best, as all seven council members used much of their comment time to slam their initiatives. Councilman Jon Snyder, after detailing reasons he opposes the initiatives, said he wants voters to have a say, in part, because rejection from the people would be a more powerful statement than rejection from a judge. (Cognitive dissonance for the Eyman forces, who opposed the substance of the initiatives, but favored “letting the people decide.”) Spokesman-Review, 5-21-13.

WA lawmakers to Forest Service: Smokey, spare that lookout!

Spare the Green Mountain Lookout, Washington’s two U.S. Senators and House members tell the U.S. Forest Service in a tough letter.

The Green Mountain Lookout should be let stand in its present perch, atop a popular Snohomish County hiking trail, and not be moved or removed, according to a tough-worded letter sent to the U.S. Forest Service by Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene (D-WA). “We strongly oppose the removal of the Green Mountain Lookout from its historic home,” lawmakers told the federal agency.  “Smokey Bear” is struggling with what to do after a federal judge’s ruling that the federal agency acted improperly in rebuilding the 1933-vintage fire lookout. The lookout, located within the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, has become a battleground that pits an extreme green group from out of state against local recreation activists, historic preservationists, county officials, and lawmakers. Murray, Cantwell, Larsen and DelBene have introduced the Green Mountain Heritage Protection Act, which would have the effect of overturning a ruling by U.S. District Judge Jack Coughenour that the lookout be moved or removed from its 6,500-foot-high perch at the end of a popular hiking trail. Seattle P-I, 5-20-13.

The Nation

LA mayor’s race: It’s Eric Garcetti by wide margin

Incoming Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as he celebrated with supporters late Tuesday in Hollywood.

Three-term City Councilman Eric Garcetti’s relentless campaigning paid off early Wednesday as he decisively won a hard-fought race to become Los Angeles’ next mayor, scoring well with voters across the sprawling city and even challenging rival Wendy Greuel on her home turf in the San Fernando Valley. Garcetti took 54% of the vote compared with 46% for Greuel in preliminary results, ending speculation that the race was so tight that a winner might not be known for weeks. Some mail-in ballots must still be counted, but they are not expected to significantly change the results. Greuel conceded the election early Wednesday as the vote count climbed against her, calling Garcetti to congratulate him. In an emotional address, she thanked her backers, including “our electrical workers,” a reference to the union that represents many workers at the Department of Water and Power. During the campaign, Garcetti repeatedly hammered Greuel over the support she had received from the DWP union, telling voters she was “the DWP’s mayor.” Los Angeles Times, 5-22-13.

Asean Jackson

Four Chicago Public Schools are no longer up for closing this year, a fifth wouldn’t close until next year and a sixth school would be spared from the staff reboot known as a turnaround, the Chicago Sun-Times learned Tuesday. CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett is expected to withdraw her recommendations to shutter Marcus Garvey Elementary School and Mahalia Jackson Elementary School on the South Side, Leif Ericson Elementary Scholastic Academy on the West Side and George Manierre Elementary School on the Near North Side, according to a source familiar with her deliberations. (Garvey might have made the list after a remarkable video featuring a 9-year-old student, Asean Jackson, went viral on YouTube, calling out Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s school closing policies racist and a danger to student safety). Chicago Sun-Times, 5-21-13.

Arizona abortion ban struck down

Berzon

Calling a woman’s rights “unalterably clear,” a federal appeals court today struck down Arizona’s nearly year-old ban on abortions at 20 weeks and beyond. In a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that the law on what states can and cannot restrict have varied since the landmark 1973 case of Roe v. Wade. That ruling barred states from banning a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy, at least during the first trimester. But Judge Marsha Berzon, writing for the court, said one thing has remained constant. “A woman has a constitutional right to choose to terminate her pregnancy before the fetus is viable,” she wrote. “A prohibition on the exercise of that right is per se unconstitutional.” Berzon said states can regulate the mode and manner of terminating a pregnancy prior to viability—but not more. Arizona Daily Sun, 5-21-13.

(G)Rand(stand) Paul jumps to Apple’s defense

Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican and libertarian, Tuesday defended Apple’s tax machinations, saying he was “offended” that Apple CEO Tim Cook was being “dragged” before the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to explain how the company could attribute nearly two thirds of its income to Irish entities that have no employees, no physical residence, and are not taxed by any government anywhere, but are totally controlled by Apple.  Paul accused chairman Carl Levin (D-MI)  and fellow Republican John McCain(R-AZ) of trying to “bully America’s greatest success story.” Paul said Congress should have “brought a giant mirror” to look at itself instead of scrutinizing Apple, because Congress created the tax code that Apple is manipulating. Paul argued that multinationals should pay only a minimum tax of five percent on foreign earnings. “Frankly I think the committee should apologize to Apple,” Paul said. Seattle P-I, 5-21-13.

To Think About

Hatred of Obama could lead to GOP overreach

Sargent

A few of us on the left have been arguing that the current scandal-mania gripping the GOP risks bringing about a rerun of 1998, when the frenzy amid the Monica Lewinsky revelations led the GOP to overreach, resulting in backlash. Now we have a longtime respected nonpartisan observer, Charlie Cook, arguing that this possibility is very real. Cook’s piece, entitled “Republicans’ hatred of Obama blinds them to public disinterest in scandals,” notes that the scandals have not moved the needle at all on Obama’s approval rating, just as happened in 1998. Greg Sargent, Washington Post, 5-21-13.

The post Issue #68 appeared first on King County Democrats.

1. the first round of endorsments for the 2013 campaign season. Received candidate questionnaires are here. Note to candidates: questionnaires must be received by 5pm Thursday 5/23 in order for there to be any possibility of consideration at this meeting.
2. proposed bylaws amendments left unresolved from the April meeting, these being items 4, 8 and 10 from the April Bylaws report

The full meeting program is available here

The post May Executive Boad Meeting appeared first on King County Democrats.

Inslee vetoes part of CRC funding

The present Columbia River Crossing

Gov. Jay Inslee signed the $8.7 billion transportation budget (SB 5024) Monday that puts money toward maintaining state roadways and continues spending on existing big-ticket projects, but he vetoed several sections, including one that would have spent $81 million in planning money for a replacement bridge carrying Interstate 5 over the Columbia River. The budget includes continued funding for the Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel project, a replacement bridge for State Route 520 over Lake Washington, and high-occupancy lanes on Interstate 5 in Tacoma. The budget initially included the planning money for the Columbia River Crossing, but the Republican-dominated Senate has also come out in opposition to the CRC in its current form, saying that it is too low and should not include light rail transit. Inslee says there’s no point of spending the planning money if the state funding for the bridge isn’t there. Associated Press (Seattle Times), 5-20-13.

Inslee, Heck join rally at Capitol for transportation funding

Supporters rallied on the Capitol steps Monday for the transportation budget

Gov. Jay Inslee, U.S. Rep. Denny Heck (WA-10), and several other elected officials spoke at a rally on the steps of the Capitol Monday in favor of a transportation funding package. About 200 people attended the event, many wearing neon safety gear and carrying signs that said: “Do your job so we can do ours,” and “Finish your job.” The governor has said transportation funding must be a top priority during the current 30-day special session. King County Executive Dow Constantine said that when he was a state representative 17 years ago, transportation was never a partisan issue. He said he’s hopeful Monday’s rally will spur that type of bipartisanship again. Constantine talked about the need for transit funding, saying the King County Metro system will face a 17 percent cut in service if the Legislature doesn’t take action this year. TVW, 5-20-13.

Commission unanimously OKs Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll hike

It’s official: Tolls on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge will increase 25 cents starting July 1, with another 25-cent toll increase set for July 1, 2014. As expected, the Washington State Transportation Commission voted in favor of the toll hikes held after a final public hearing Monday evening at the Gig Harbor Civic Center. Tolls on the eastbound bridge will rise this summer to $4.25 for electronic payment, $5.25 cash and $6.25 pay by mail. Commission members said their task was difficult, but in the end they voted unanimously. They’re looking at rising payments on the debt incurred from construction of the 2007 bridge. Budgeted debt payments total $45.3 million in the current budget year and will increase to $54.3 million in the year that starts July 1. Meanwhile, bridge traffic has not met expectations. Tacoma News Tribune, 5-20-13.

No coal trains, no export ports, say Northwest Indian tribes

Members of the Lummi Nation protest the proposed coal export terminal at Cherry Point in 2012 by burning a large check stamped “Non-Negotiable.” The tribe says they want to protect the natural and cultural heritage of the site.

Fossil fuels should not be transported through the Pacific Northwest and exported out of ports in Washington and Oregon, according to a resolution adopted late last week by the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, representing 57 Native American groups in the region. The Affiliated Tribes, in a statement Monday, said they will take the resolution to this Thursday shareholder meeting of Goldman Sachs:  The New York financial giant owns 51 percent of the holding company that includes SSA Marine, which wants to build a coal export terminal at Cherry Point north of Bellingham. Several individual tribes — notably the Tulalips, the Swinomish and the Lummis, all on the route to the proposed Pacific Gateway Terminal — have already taken a stand against the coal export project. Seattle P-I, 5-20-13.

Yakima Valley increasing doctors, staff to prepare for health care law

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital

In October, an estimated 55,000 people in Yakima County will be eligible to start enrolling in expanded Medicaid and the state Health Benefits Exchange under federal health care reform. That means thousands of people will have access to less expensive health care than they’ve likely had before, flooding the community’s existing health care system. With any luck, local providers will be ready. Yakima Valley clinics and hospitals are hiring new primary care physicians, extending office hours, and expanding service locations in anticipation of the influx of new patients starting this fall, while also preparing outreach programs to educate community members about new options for health care coverage. Yakima Herald-Republic, 5-20-13.

King County

UW Medicine, Catholic health system to have ‘strategic affiliation’

UW Medical Center

The latest in a long list of affiliations in Washington between secular hospitals and religious health-care systems is a shocker: UW Medicine and PeaceHealth said Monday they had signed up to create a “strategic affiliation,” with details to be spelled out by the end of September. UW Medicine, which receives taxpayer support, includes the University of Washington and Harborview medical centers, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, Valley Medical Center, UW Neighborhood Clinics, UW Physicians, UW School of Medicine and Airlift Northwest. PeaceHealth, a nonprofit system based in Clark County and founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, operates nine hospitals and physician groups in Alaska, Washington and Oregon, and a Medicaid health plan (Columbia United Providers). The two organizations said they will remain legally separate and independent, but critics of such affiliations noted that after Swedish Medical Center used such language in an affiliation with Providence Health & Services last year, it stopped doing elective abortions and closed its hospice service. Seattle Times, 5-20-13.

Seattle’s largest homeless encampments oppose Council legislation on encampments

The entrance to Nickelsville

Legislation intended to assist tent cities is meeting opposition from the very groups it’s aimed at helping. Nick Licata will introduce legislation on Wednesday, supported by fellow Council member Mike O’Brien and Mayor Mike McGinn, to allow longer-term tent cities to set up on public and private land in Seattle. The measure moves beyond what is already allowed under temporary use permits (six months) or the 2011 ordinance allowing encampments on religious properties. If the council doesn’t go for it, there’s alternate legislation planned to fund an environmental review of the current Nickelsville site so that encampment could become, perhaps more safely and healthily, an even longer-term camp than the two years it’s been squatting on this city land. There will doubtless be opposition on the council, but there’s also opposition coming from a different direction: SHARE, which runs Tent City 3—a camp that shelters up to 100 otherwise shelterless people—and Nickelsville, which supports a similar number of residents. The Stranger, 5-20-13.

Michelle Binetti to seek position on Auburn City Council

Binetti

Michelle Binetti has filed as a candidate for Auburn City Council Position 6. Binetti will challenge incumbent Rich Wagner. Her candidacy, said the lifelong Auburn resident, is about offering Auburn fresh and needed leadership. Binetti, an Auburn High School graduate, attended Central Washington University. She is a health technician at Arthur Jacobsen Elementary School, a past PTA president and a softball coach. Auburn Reporter, 5-20-13.

The Nation

Apple’s web of tax avoidance saved it billions, Congress finds

Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, is expected to come under sharp questioning at a Congressional hearing Tuesday.

Even as Apple became the nation’s most profitable technology company, it avoided billions in taxes in the United States and around the world through a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents and went beyond anything most experts had ever seen, Congressional investigators disclosed Monday. The investigation is expected to set up a potentially explosive confrontation between a bipartisan group of lawmakers and Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, at a public hearing Tuesday. Congressional investigators found that some of Apple’s subsidiaries had no employees and were largely run by top officials from the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. But by officially locating them in places like Ireland, Apple was able to, in effect, make them stateless — exempt from taxes, record-keeping laws and the need for the subsidiaries to even file tax returns anywhere in the world. New York Times, 5-20-13.

Secret Service eyes right-wing radio host who wants to “shoot Hillary Clinton in the vagina”

Santilli

The Secret Service is following up on recent comments by right-wing radio host Pete Santilli, who claimed to want to shoot former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the vagina and see President Obama tried and shot for treason. “We are aware of Mr. Santilli’s comments and will take the appropriate follow up action,” Edwin M. Donovan, a Secret Service spokesman, told TPM Monday. “He certainly has a right to free speech, but the Secret Service has a right and an obligation to determine what a person’s intent is when making comments like this.” He made the threatening comments the week before last on his eponymous Internet based radio program. Santilli is a fringe figure who has made threatening comments on his program in the past. Talking Points Memo, 5-20-13.

Koch Brothers’ petroleum coke pile grows along Detroit River

One mound of the material called petroleum coke, or pet coke, sits just west of the Ambassador Bridge in southwest Detroit.

The black petroleum coke piles that have been growing larger along the Detroit River on the city’s Southwest side have drawn concern from local residents and Canadians alike, many of whom are worried about the oil sands byproduct’s environmental impact, not to mention the eyesore. According to an article in the New York Times, the piles are the result of Canada exporting more oil sands byproducts to the United States—a practice it plans to increase. Detroit’s petroleum coke piles have been produced By Marathon Petroleum refinery but are owned by Koch Carbon. Koch Carbon is run by Charles and David Koch, conservative lobbyists and businessmen who are well-known for questioning the science behind climate change. Ann Arbor News, 5-20-13.

To Think About

Public television’s attempts to placate David Koch

Mayer

Last fall, Alex Gibney, a documentary filmmaker who won an Academy Award in 2008 for an exposé of torture at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, completed a film called “Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream.” It was scheduled to air on PBS on November 12th. The movie had been produced independently, in part with support from the Gates Foundation. “Park Avenue” is a pointed exploration of the growing economic inequality in America and a meditation on the often self-justifying mind-set of “the one per cent.” As a narrative device, Gibney focuses on one of the most expensive apartment buildings in Manhattan—740 Park Avenue—portraying it as an emblem of concentrated wealth and contrasting the lives of its inhabitants with those of poor people living at the other end of Park Avenue, in the Bronx. Among the wealthiest residents of 740 Park is David Koch, the billionaire industrialist, who, with his brother Charles, owns Koch Industries, a huge energy-and-chemical conglomerate. The Koch brothers are known for their strongly conservative politics and for their efforts to finance a network of advocacy groups whose goal is to move the country to the right. Jane Mayer, New Yorker, 5-20-13.

The post Issue #67 appeared first on King County Democrats.

Diversity means opportunity in Tukwila

Zaynaba Gobana of Minneapolis, left, visits her childhood friend Halimo Galgalo, owner of the Top Fashion store in the Juba Shopping Mall in Tukwila.

The lunch room at Tukwila Elementary School fills and, suddenly, it feels like the United Nations. White, black and every shade in between is elbow-to-elbow, eating lunch— Somali, Kenyan, Eritrean, Bosnian, Turkish, Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, Russian, Burmese, Nepali. You need a world map to keep track. The cultural mash-up is one of the more obvious signs of the global migration that has transformed this once sleepy Seattle suburb into an international city of the future. Largely ignored, sometimes mocked, and often mistaken as “Southcenter” after the shopping mall that occupies the city’s south end, Tukwila has quietly taken its place beside New York and San Francisco as one of the most diverse cities in the country. In Tukwila, 62 percent of the population is minority and more than 49 percent speak a language other than English at home, according to the 2010 census. Seattle Times, 5-17-13.

Harley Hoppe, colorful assessor, tax foe, dies

Hoppe

Harley Hoppe, the colorful former King County assessor, was an early promoter of taxpayer rebellion in Washington. A lightning rod for controversy, he was known almost as much for his love of horse racing and flamboyant clothes as for his tax-cutting efforts. Mr. Hoppe, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, died in his sleep Monday (May 13) in his Mercer Island home. He was 82. Mr. Hoppe lost more battles than he won with his state anti-tax initiatives, and his bids for county executive and governor were unsuccessful. But his political influence never entirely disappeared. Seattle Times, 5-18-13.

Seattle labor activist Will Parry dies at 93

Parry

Will Parry, a labor activist and writer whose commitment to working people and social justice made him an inspiration to generations of progressive leaders, died May 13 at age 93. Mr. Parry founded the Puget Sound Association of Retired Americans (PSARA) to take on issues such as Social Security and health care for seniors. n 2010, the Seattle City Council issued a proclamation honoring Mr. Parry for his “lifelong commitment, and work, to achieve social and economic justice for all the residents of Seattle.” A celebration of his life is planned June 29 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 First Ave. Seattle Times, 5-19-13.

Labor leader Larry Kenney pushed for farmworker rights

Kenney

Former state Labor Council President Lawrence Kenney was remembered last week for his advocacy for farmworkers at a time when such a stance took courage. Mr. Kenney’s actions took courage “because that’s not where some segments of the Labor Council were coming from at that time,” former Governor Mike Lowry said. Mr. Kenney died Tuesday at his home in Seattle after a long illness. He was 82. He was surrounded by his wife, former state Rep. Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney, and his children. Seattle Times, 5-18-13.

The State

Bill-job conflict: It’s not unusual in Olympia

Kirby

Rep. Steve Kirby (D-29) says he kept busy during the Legislature’s brief hiatus this month by training for his new job at a Tacoma-area credit union. It’s a field that intersects with his work at the Capitol. As the chairman of the House Business and Financial Services Committee, Kirby has the power to decide the fate of finance-industry bills — including those that affect his new employer, Harborstone. Conflict of interest? Not in Washington, where lawmakers routinely work in the same fields they regulate, with the blessing of state ethics rules. Kirby said his new position as a business sales and service specialist pays less than $50,000 a year and does not involve assisting with the credit union’s policy-making or lobbying. Kirby is not alone in his ability to wield influence over legislation that could help or hurt his bosses. Tacoma News Tribune, 5-19-13.

‘Pit-to-pier’ not over yet, company says

Artist’s rendering depicts the proposed pier in Hood Canal designed to load gravel onto barges and ocean-going ships.

The “pit-to-pier” project isn’t dead, its manager said, despite a conservation agreement in the works between the state and the Navy that would prohibit new construction along areas of Hood Canal. “We’re going to be going forward,” said Dan Baskins, project manager for the Thorndyke Resources Project, before referring inquiries to the company’s spokesman. The Navy is working with the state Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, to secure a department-owned strip of subtidal lands stretching from the Hood Canal Bridge south to just below the border between Jefferson and Mason counties. The agreement, expected to be approved by the Navy by this fall, would prevent new nearshore commercial and industrial construction along the areas of Hood Canal and neighboring waterways that the DNR manages and in which the Navy operates. Some have heralded the pending agreement as signaling the end of the Thorndyke Resource Project, nicknamed “pit-to-pier,” a proposal that would move gravel from an extraction area near the former Fred Hill Materials Shine pit along a 4-mile-long conveyor belt to a 1,000-foot pier at Hood Canal where it would be loaded on barges for shipping. Peninsula Daily News, 5-18-13.

The Nation

Obama gets personal about race and manhood in Morehouse College speech

President Obama told graduates of Morehouse College Sunday to take the power of their example — as black men graduating from college — and use it to improve people’s lives.

Is the tea party getting its groove back? Shouts of vindication from around the country suggest the movement’s leaders certainly think so. They say the IRS acknowledgement that it had targeted their groups for extra scrutiny — a claim that tea party activists had made for years — is helping pump new energy into the coalition. And they are trying to use that development, along with the ongoing controversy over the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attacks and the Justice Department’s secret seizure of journalists’ phone records, to recruit new activists incensed about government overreach. It’s unclear whether a movement made up of disparate grassroots groups with no central body can take advantage of the moment and leverage it to grow stronger after a sub-par showing in last fall’s election had called into question the movement’s lasting impact. Associated Press (Talking Points Memo), 5-19-13.

To Think About

Religious liberty: Does it mean freedom to discriminate?

A boy holds a sign in front of the Massachusetts State House after a state supreme court decision made the Bay State first-in-the-nation to legalize gay marriage. Lawmakers were considering a proposed amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

In the closing days of Washington’s same-sex marriage debate, Yakima’s Catholic Bishop Joseph Tyson thundered in a pastoral letter that marriage equality “jeopardizes freedom rather than expands it” and “endangers our religious liberty and the right of conscience.” Last week, after Minnesota became the 12th state to say that people of the same gender can wed, Minnesota’s Council of Catholic Bishops described the new law as “a serious threat to the religious liberty and conscience of Minnesotans.” While doubtless poll-tested, the language is Aesopian.  The “liberty” and “freedom” being defended is the right to deny freedoms to other Americans, and to refuse goods and services to a defined class of citizens. As well, the language heard now, directed at gay and lesbian Americans, has been heard in the not-too-distant past—and even the present— to justify discrimination against African-America ns, women, Jews, Muslims . . . heck, even the Irish. Joel Connelly, Seattle P-I, 5-17-13.

The post Issue #66 appeared first on King County Democrats.

After NBA rejection, what’s next for Hansen’s Sodo properties?

The shuttered PaperZone at 1911 First Ave. South in Seattle is located on a parcel of property purchased by Chris Hansen last fall.

Now what do I do with all this property that I paid too much for? That’s a question that Chris Hansen may be asking in the aftermath of the National Basketball Association’s Wednesday decision to keep the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento. In one afternoon, Hansen went from would-be NBA team owner and professional sports arena developer to commercial property manager. It could be years before Hansen lands a team. In the meantime, what should he do with all of the Sodo property he now owns? He paid nearly $64.7 million for the real estate. That’s almost $15 million more than the King County assessment of the land. Given how much Hansen paid for the real estate, there is no interim use that would generate the kind of income needed to make the investment pencil out. It’s either the arena or nothing. Puget Sound Business Journal, 5-16-13.

Mayor presents two possible solutions for Nickelsville

The entrance to Nickelsville

The residents of Nickelsville are awaiting word from the city on what will happen with their encampment, located down the hill from the Highland Park neighborhood of West Seattle. Mayor Mike McGinn has written a letter to City Council proposing two solutions.   First option (and according to McGinn’s staff his preferred resolution) is to facilitate Food Lifeline’s interest in purchasing the parcel of land where Nickelsville resides to build a new facility (Food Lifeline is a nonprofit food distribution agency). The second option is to “retain the West Marginal Way property to provide space for a properly run encampment to remain on a semi-permanent basis. West Seattle Herald, 5-16-13.

Auburn mayor tells why he’s running for Port Commission

Lewis

Sometime this week, during the official filing period for public office in Washington state, Aub urn mayor Pete Lewis will have signed the papers and dropped his name in the hopper for Port of Seattle Commissioner, Position 1, in a challenge to incumbent John Creighton. ”There needs to be some representation from the south-end cities outside of the main metropolitan areas. The Port of Seattle encompasses the entire county, and I’d be one of the very few commissioners ever to be south of I-90,” Lewis said. If he is to be successful, Lewis conceded, he will have to do a bit of catching up raising money. Where Creighton’s campaign war chest is already plump with $73,980, Lewis as of this week had no money in his campaign kitty. Auburn Reporter, 5-16-13.

The State

State proposes 46 pages of marijuana rules

Washington residents and out-of-staters could buy an ounce of marijuana, seven days a week, up to 20 hours a day, in visits to state-regulated stores under draft rules for a new legal pot system released Thursday by the Liquor Control Board. But Washington would not allow the sale of marijuana concentrates, such as hashish or hash oil, unless they were infused in edible or liquid products. The high-potency concentrates have become popular, particularly with younger users. Washington’s 46-page raft of rules cover issues from product testing to growing licenses to advertising restrictions to package labeling. Seattle Times, 5-16-13.

Richland florist sues state for ‘violating her religious freedom’

A florist facing lawsuits from the Washington attorney general and the American Civil Liberties Union for refusing to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding has filed her own lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Bob Ferguson for violating her religious beliefs. Attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal ministry that advocates for people’s religious rights, filed the suit against the state in Benton County Superior Court on Thursday on behalf of Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers. It argues that Ferguson’s suit is attempting to force Stutzman to act contrary to her religious convictions in violation of her constitutional freedoms. The lawsuits stem from an incident in March when Stutzman refused to provide flowers to a long-time client because she said same-sex marriage was against her personal beliefs. The couple wrote about Stutzman’s decision on Facebook, getting the attorney general’s attention. Tri-City Herald, 5-16-13.

Business as usual for Ferguson in visit to Grays Harbor

Ferguson

Attorney General Bob Ferguson made a stop in Grays Harbor this week, talking with prosecutors and police about legal issues, especially courthouse security, an issue of pressing importance in Grays Harbor County. “Folks, particularly in Grays Harbor, have an interest in that,” he said, referring to the March 9, 2012, attack where Steven D. Kravetz stabbed and shot Dep. Polly Davin and stabbed Superior Court Judge David Edwards. Gov. Jay Inslee was scheduled to sign into law a bill Ferguson pushed this session on courthouse safety. There were already sentencing enhancements in place for attacks on courthouse staff in the course of their duties, but SB 5484 extends those penalties to attacks on anyone in the area of a courthouse. Aberdeen Daily World, 5-15-13.

GMO labeling campaign money mostly from outside state

Out-of-state money pouring into the campaign coffers of this fall’s initiative to require labeling of genetically modified food products make clear that Washington will once again be a battleground state for progressive causes. Supporters of Initiative 522, which would require any product sold in Washington stores to say if it contains genetically altered substances, have raised nearly $2 million for various campaign organizations. Three-fourths of it came from businesses or people outside Washington. “It’s part of a national movement,” Liz Larter, a spokeswoman for the Yes on I-522 campaign, said of efforts to require companies to tell consumers if their products contain modified ingredients. Spokesman-Review, 5-16-13.

Nooksacks facing disenrollment await judge’s ruling

George Adams, right, sings with a crowd of dozens as they await a decision on whether the disenrollment process of 306 Nooksack Indian Tribe members will be allowed to proceed Thursday, May 16, 2013, in front of the Nooksack Tribal Court in Deming. The judge is reviewing the case and will issue a decision in coming days.

More than 300 members of the Nooksack Indian Tribe must wait another week to find out if they will face loss of tribal membership and the benefits that go with it. Tribal Chief Judge Raquel Montoya Lewis heard legal arguments for about 90 minutes Thursday, May 16, from attorneys representing tribal leaders, as well as from attorneys representing 306 Nooksacks who have been told they are subject to removal from the tribe’s membership rolls because of alleged deficiencies in their tribal ancestry. Total tribal membership is about 2,000. Bellingham Herald, 5-16-13.

Evergreen union may strike

Student-services workers at Evergreen State College voted 45-5 Wednesday to authorize actions “up to and including a strike” as they continue negotiating with college leaders on a two-year labor contract. The workers are represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees. Their overwhelming vote does not mean a strike will happen, but it could offer leverage when they go into another session of contract talks Tuesday with the administration. Top issues are pay and what both sides describe as a “just cause” process for handling disciplinary issues and firings at the four-year school. The 55 affected workers include academic counselors, academic advisers, dorm residence directors, athletic coaches, mental health advisers and career development staff. Olympian, 5-16-13.

The Nation

Attack ads in LA mayor’s race seek Latino votes

Candidates for Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel talk on stage before a debate at Cal State L.A.’s Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs in February.

The importance of Latinos in next week’s mayoral election was highlighted again Wednesday as a new round of dueling attacks ads emerged seeking to undermine both candidates’ appeal to Spanish-speaking voters. In one spot appearing on Spanish-language television channels, longtime Democrat Wendy Greuel is criticized for having been registered as a Republican in the early 1990s during the era of former Gov. Pete Wilson—a figure reviled by many Latinos for his sponsorship of a ballot measure to deny immigrants in the country illegally certain government benefits. In a separate Spanish-language TV ad scheduled to air Thursday, candidate Eric Garcetti is accused of wearing a “Latino mask” and forcing working-class Latinos out of Hollywood during his revitalization efforts there. Los Angeles Times, 5-15-13.

Op-ed: Take politics away from the IRS

Miller

Obama’s decision Wednesday to dismiss the acting commissioner of the IRS was a largely symbolic demonstration of anger and authority. The official, Steven Miller, was not directly involved in the misguided decision to single out Tea Party groups for special scrutiny in granting tax exemptions. More important is Obama’s promise to clarify the extremely vague tax laws, which are the root cause of the problems in both the IRS and the political system. Social-welfare groups of all political stripes, known in the tax code as 501(c)(4) organizations, had for years abused their tax exemptions through excessive political activity, and the IRS should have cracked down on them without regard to ideology. New York Times, 5-15-13.

In IRS scandal, why is any political group exempt from taxes?

A large crowd waved signs and banners during a 2011 Tea Party rally in Columbia, South Carolina.

The IRS is under fire for giving extra scrutiny to conservative organizations that asked for tax-exempt status. But the scandal prompts a broader question: Why are political organizations getting this government subsidy anyway? The section of the tax code sought by the tea party groups was established for the benefit of groups that promote social welfare, generally nonprofit operations. Examples on the IRS website involve community service and groups that provide a certain local benefit. Somewhere along the line, this longstanding classification has become a loophole exploited by groups seeking to elect Democrats, Republicans and most recently tea party candidates and like-minded groups. Miami Herald, 5-16-13.

To Think About

Cutting Social Security and not taxing Wall Street

Baker

As we move toward the fifth anniversary of the great financial crisis of 2008, people should be outraged that cutting Social Security is now on the national agenda, while taxing Wall Street is not. After all, if we take at face value the claims made back in 2008 by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner, Wall Street excesses brought the economy to the brink of collapse. But now the Wall Street behemoths are bigger than ever and President Obama is looking to cut the Social Security benefits of retirees. That will teach the Wall Street boys to be more responsible in the future. Dean Baker, Huffington Post, 5-15-13.

The post Issue #65 appeared first on King County Democrats.

Labor-backed initiative in City of SeaTac would set highest minimum wage in country at $15 an hour

The Sea-Tac Holiday Inn, one of many hotels that ring the airport perimeter.

A local ballot initiative in the city of SeaTac would give airport workers and those in nearby hotels and car-rental companies the highest minimum wage in the country by nearly $5 an hour, the latest move in a labor-backed push to set the rules at North America’s 17^th-busiest airport. Already it has the appearance of a fight that will embroil the state’s business community at the highest level. Business groups are groaning, At least one lawmaker says he is investigating whether the Legislature might be able to pass a bill pre-empting the initiative. Labor unions and allied organizations are gathering signatures for the measure, which they hope to place on the November ballot. It would require employers in airport-related businesses to pay at least $15 an hour and mandate that they provide paid sick leave. Washington State Wire, 5-15-13.

Fight brewing over new tent cities in Seattle

Tents in Nickelsville

This week, Seattle City Council member Nick Licata is rolling out legislation to allow new homeless encampments on public and private property. The measure, which was hammered out with the help of Council Member Mike O’Brien and Mayor Mike McGinn, is intended to address deteriorating conditions at Nickelsville, the infamous homeless encampment currently residing on city land in Highland Park. ”Conditions at Nickelsville are not the best we should have for people,” Licata says. The camp has recently faced flooding, a rat infestation, a spate of crime, and concerns about its self-governing structure after a two-year stint on its current site. The neighborhood group Highland Park Action Committee asked the city to evict the camp last month, saying its “existing management is actually intimidating campers into not seeking help or services, and pressuring residents to not call police. The Stranger, 5-15-13.

Activists camp out in South Park to stop eviction; bank refused to take homeowner’s money

Griffin

The housing bust may be yesterday’s news, but that doesn’t mean foreclosures have stopped. If you have any doubt, head over to South Park, where a group of housing activists are trying to physically block a longtime homeowner from being evicted. Upon order of the King County Sheriff, Jeremy Griffin was supposed to be out of his home by Tuesday at midnight. Instead, starting late Tuesday night, he has played host to members of Standing Against Foreclosure & Eviction, a group that grew out of the Occupy movement. They set up a large tent in his carefully tended garden, where a few people spent the night. By morning, several dozen people had gathered in front of his three-bedroom, which had been draped with protest banners, including a huge one reading “Foreclosure Free Zone.” Seattle Weekly, 5-15-13.

Albertson won’t run again for Kent City Council; wants state House seat

Albertson

Elizabeth Albertson won’t be running for re-election this year to the Kent City Council as she plans to seek a 33rd District House seat in the state Legislature. If State Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-33) is successful this year in his race for the District 5 seat on the King County Council, Albertson plans to seek the appointment to replace Upthegrove, who has one year left in his two-year term. ”After meeting with many (King County Democrats) Precinct Committee Officers of the 33rd Legislative District, I have been encouraged to actively pursue an appointment to the House of Representatives, should it become available, upon Dave Upthegrove’s successful election to the King County Council,” Albertson said. Albertson has served two four-year terms on the Kent Council. Kent Reporter, 5-15-13.

Peter Maier, former Seattle School Board member, appointed to State Board of Education

Maier

Former Seattle School Board member Peter Maier is the newest member of the Washington State Board of Education.  The board members selected Maier from a group of six finalists, one of whom was current Seattle School Board President Kay Smith-Blum. Smith-Blum said she withdrew her candidacy at the end of her interview last week, saying she was committed to finishing her four-year term in Seattle. The State Board has 14 voting members, a mix of gubernatorial appointees, members selected by school board members across the state, one private school representative and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. Seattle Times, 5-15-13.

The State

Plan to finish Routes 167, 509 questioned

Heavy truck traffic often clogs the roads at the end of state Route 167 where it ends at Meridian Street in Puyallup.

The biggest piece of an $8.78 billion transportation proposal in the Legislature – the project to finish state Routes 167 and 509 in Pierce and King counties – hasn’t garnered much criticism. The controversy has, instead, been over the taxes that would pay for it. But a few dissenting voices are starting to emerge, mainly questioning whether the proposal would worsen suburban sprawl and soak up money that could be used to repair existing roads. former Transportation Secretary Doug McDonald said in an interview that the coalition of interests pushing for road improvements in Olympia doesn’t represent ordinary drivers who would want their gas tax money spent fixing existing roads and finding ways to reduce congestion on Interstate 5. Governor Jay Inslee’s response? “I respect the critic here. He has opinions,” Inslee said. “They’re always easier to voice once you’re out of office.” Tacoma News Tribune, 5-15-13.

Snohomish County leadership still in limbo

Reardon

The timing of Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon’s May 31 resignation has been a head-scratcher since he announced it in February. If Reardon had opted to step down before the official candidate-filing period began this week, the county could have scheduled a special election in November to fill the two-plus years remaining on his term. Sunday came and went, without Reardon sending a letter to the County Council formalizing his resignation. That means whoever is appointed to fill Reardon’s job will serve unchallenged at least into November 2014, when results are certified in a special election expected next year. Everett Herald, 5-14-13.

Benton County says Yakima Basin water bank system agreement not a good fit

The Yakima River runs past orchards and farmland as it winds toward the Columbia River upstream of Benton City.

Benton County commissioners Wednesday said they won’t sign an agreement that could lead to creating a public water bank system in the Yakima River Basin. The agreement, with the state Department of Ecology and Kittitas and Yakima counties, isn’t a good fit for Benton County and its residents, commissioners said during and after a special meeting Wednesday. With the pact, “we’re in a group arrangement—Kittitas County, Yakima County, Benton County—but we have varying degrees of interest,” Commissioner Jim Beaver said. “One size doesn’t fit all.” A water bank system generally would involve rural property owners—with land in unincorporated areas without municipal water service—buying portions of senior surface water rights to build new homes. Beaver said Benton County already has a groundwater management plan in place. “We’re meeting the requirements of state law and we’re addressing the issues that we face,” he said. Tri-City Herald, 5-15-13.

Budget woes may force Cowlitz County to give away four parks

Wiilow Grove Park

Cowlitz County’s budget is so tight that officials are discussing giving away the county’s four biggest parks—including the popular Willow Grove park and boat launch. No decisions have been made, and officials stressed Tuesday that they want to find a way to keep the parks open. Giving away the parks won’t balance the county’s 2014 budget, but the commissioner need to slash $2 million and parks are unlikely to survive those cuts. The county has 13 park properties. The main ones under discussion, though, are the four that cost the most to keep up: Willow Grove, Harry Gardner, County Line and Riverside. Longview Daily News, 5-15-13.

The Nation

An onset of woes raises questions on Obama vision

President Obama

Thwarted on Capitol Hill, stymied in the Middle East, and now beset by scandal, President Obama has reached a point just six months after a heady re-election where the second term he had hoped for has collided with the second term he actually has. Obama emerged from a heated campaign last November with renewed confidence that he could shape the next four years with a vision of activist government as a force for good in American society. But the controversies of recent days have reinforced fears of an overreaching government while calling into question Obama’s ability to master his own presidency. The challenges exemplify a paradox about the 44th president. He presides over a government that to critics appears ever more intrusive, dictating health care choices, playing politics with the Internal Revenue Service and snooping into journalists’ phone records. Yet at times, Obama comes across as something of a bystander occupying the most powerful office in the world, buffeted by partisanship and forces beyond his control. New York Times, 5-16-13.

Resignation magnifies IRS leadership gap

The resignation of Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller might offer a cathartic moment for an angry tax paying public—but it won’t right the ship at the troubled agency. No clear candidates inside the agency would have the gravitas to overhaul the IRS, rehabilitate it, and bring a sense of moral authority to the job—while effectively dealing with a voracious congressional opposition. But it might also be impossible to get a prominent outside candidate confirmed in a divided Senate. The new commissioner will face two major challenges: First, the nominee will have to fix the flawed internal policies that led to the scandal of the IRS targeting conservative groups, and the new commissioner may be charged with overhauling the entire process for auditing politically oriented nonprofits. Second, the next IRS leader has a massive public relations job to carry out, convincing Congress and the American public that the agency can get back on track and become a trusted government entity again. Politico, 5-15-13.

Another gay wedding, another cake denied

A Hood River wedding cake baker denied Erin Hanson, left, and Katie Pugh a wedding cake because the couple is gay.

Even the most romantic dreamer couldn’t imagine a more fairy tale setting to get married. A wedding beneath towering Mount Hood, overlooking the swift blue water of the Columbia River in the Gorge, truly felt like a fairy tale for Erin Hanson and Katie Pugh of Hood River OR. But when the couple went to find a baker for their wedding cake, they were turned away because they are lesbians. It was the perfect baker in the perfect spot–Fleur Cakes owned by Pam Regentin–just down the road from the wedding. The ladies scheduled a tasting. ”I mentioned Erin in passing, and said a ‘she’ in passing too, in the email. A few days later she called back and that was today. And called and verified it was a same-sex wedding,” Pugh said. And that’s when Fleur Cakes said it wouldn’t bake the cake. The business is also Regentin’s house. She was out of town but spoke to KATU News on the phone. When asked if she was aware it’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation for a business that serves the public, Regentin said: “I believe I have the liberty to live by my principles.” KATU, 5-14-13.

To Think About

How colleges are selling out the poor to court the rich

Neat fact: If the federal government were to take all of the money it pours into various forms of financial aid each year, it could make tuition free, or close to it, for every student at every public college in the country. Will it ever happen? Ha. Not unless Bernie Sanders somehow leads a Latin American-style coup down Pennsylvania Avenue. But one of the reasons I argued for the idea a couple of months back was that it would allow us to finally stop burning money subsidizing obscenely expensive tuition at dubiously worthwhile private institutions. At the time, I singled out the for-profit college industry, which has been rightfully savaged for devouring federal aid dollars while charging poor students backbreaking prices. Today, though, I’d like to apologize to the University of Phoenix and its kin. It seems there are plenty of traditional nonprofit colleges leeching off the system. There’s nothing inherently wrong with handing out tuition breaks to the middle class, or even the rich. But it seems to be happening at the expense of the poor. Jordan Weissmann, The Atlantic, 5-12-13.

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Big haul for Ed Murray in mayor’s race

State Sen. Ed Murray, partner Michael Shiosaki (l) and State Rep. Jaime Petersen (D-43) applaud as then-Gov. Chris Gregoire signs Washington’s marriage equality bill.

State Sen. Ed Murray (D-43) tore up the track in fund raising for the Seattle mayor’s race after being forced to cool his heels on the sidelines for nearly four months, taking in $103,693 between the end of the regular session of the Washington Legislature and Monday morning’s beginning of a special session. Under state law, legislators can’t raise campaign cash while they are sitting in session. Five other candidates for mayor, including incumbent Mike McGinn, have been steadily putting together their war chests while Murray has been in Olympia fighting a coalition of 23 Republicans and two conservative Democrats who seized control of the state Senate. Seattle P-I, 5-13-13.

Constantine: State should allow King County a local option to fund transportation

Constantine

As the Legislature heads back into special session this week, King County’s most urgent priority remains securing the authority to save Metro bus service and to maintain city and county roads and bridges. So far, state lawmakers have not acted on what seems a simple proposition: that the people of King County should be able to decide for themselves whether to protect the bus service they have, or lose much of it due to inadequate funding. The state should give King County and its cities increased authority to impose license fees and give the county the ability to seek voter approval for a local motor vehicle excise tax. Seattle Times, 5-13-13.

The State

King may not stand in way of 2013 transportation taxes, even if he won’t vote for them

King

The ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee, Sen. Curtis King (R-14) says he won’t vote for new taxes, but won’t stand in the way of a deal—if one can be made. House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Judy Clibborn (D-41) told a group of advocates from business, labor, and other groups that 2013 is the year to pass a transportation tax package. “We have agreement on that in the Senate,” she told them. it seems King has agreed not to stand in the way – if “certain conditions are met,” he says. One condition is Republicans’ opposition to the proposed Columbia River Crossing replacement project. Tacoma News Tribune, 5-13-13.

After outcry, GOP Clark commissioners cave on attempts to delay public comments

State Sen. Don Benton (R-17) briefly attended the meeting in his role as county environmental services director, but left before the public comments portion.

After facing more heat Tuesday morning, Clark County commissioners relented on their notion to move public testimony to the end of their meetings. But first the commissioners heard some three hours’ worth of that testimony, most of it critical, again at their regular weekly meeting. The two Republican commissioners, Tom Mielke and David Madore, have taken a verbal lashing over the past two weeks as incensed members of the public harangue them for their recent appointment of state Sen. Don Benton (R-17) to a $109,656-per-year position of director of the county’s environmental services department. The appointment bypassed typical county hiring protocol, and when the topic was broached at a May 1 meeting of commissioners, Democratic Commissioner Steve Stuart left the room in a huff after calling the action “cronyism.” Vancouver Columbian, 5-14-13.

Could Washington become a right-to-work state to win Boeing’s 777X? One (misguided) GOP Senator hopes so

Baumgartner

Will Washington become a right-to-work state in order to secure design and manufacturing of Boeing’s 777X here? The answer: Not likely. But one state senator has proposed SB 5935, which would weaken labor unions here should the state workers’ compensation insurance rates continue to increase. The move would help position Washington to win work on Boeing’s updated 777, said Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-6), in a statement Tuesday. State lawmakers aren’t taking for granted that Boeing will remain in Washington for the newest 777. Last week, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled his own strategy for the 777X. Inslee’s plan didn’t include making Washington the 25th right-to-work state in the country. Everett Herald, 5-14-13.

Sarah Palin to speak at Republic HS graduation

Republic High School seniors pose for a photo asking former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to speak at their graduation. Palin has agreed, and will speak at commencement June 1.

Tyler Weyer and his fellow seniors at Republic High School, in Ferry County, began considering possible commencement speakers last fall. Confronting them was the reality that the most likely speaker would be a popular teacher or a standout community member. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But Weyer had a crazy thought. “I said, ‘Hey, let’s just get Sarah Palin,’ ” said Weyer, 17, the senior class president. It was kind of a joke, at least at first. But soon Weyer had taken the lead on an aggressive social media campaign that … just got Sarah Palin. The former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor will be addressing Weyer and his 26 fellow graduates June 1. Spokesman-Review, 5-14-13.

The Nation

Report cites management flaws at IRS in Tea Party scrutiny

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced at a news conference Tuesday that the Justice Department would open a criminal investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s focus on conservative groups.

An inspector general’s report issued Tuesday blamed ineffective Internal Revenue Service management in the failure to stop employees from singling out conservative groups for added scrutiny. Congressional aides, meanwhile, sought to determine whether the Obama administration’s knowledge of the effort extended beyond the IRS. House and Senate aides said they were focusing on an Aug. 4, 2011, meeting in which the IRS’s chief counsel appears to have conferred with agency officials to discuss the activities of a team in the Cincinnati field office that had been subjecting applications for tax-exempt status from Tea Party and other conservative groups to a greater degree of review than those from other organizations. New York Times, 5-14-13.

Justice Department, IRS scandals challenge Obama’s civil liberties credibility

President Obama

President Obama, a former constitutional law lecturer who came to office pledging renewed respect for civil liberties, is today running an administration at odds with his résumé and preelection promises. The Justice Department’s collection of journalists’ phone records and the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups have challenged Obama’s credibility as a champion of civil liberties—and as a president who would heal the country from damage done by his predecessor. For any president, the most cutting political problems emerge when the administration shows signs of faltering in areas where it is supposed to excel. Obama asked to be measured by competence and his commitment to what he called foundational American values—two areas where rights advocates say he has not met the standards he set. Washington Post, 5-14-13.

‘A beautiful victory’: Supporters celebrate as Minnesota legalizes gay marriage

Kyle Hanson of Minneapolis dances with his daughter Sofie, 6, as his husband, John Stumme, left, dances with their son Henry, 3, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at Ecolab Plaza in St. Paul. The family was on hand to celebrate the signing of Minnesota’s same-sex marriage bill. “It’s a huge day for our family,” said Hanson, who was married to Stumme in California. “We are finally equal with other families.” The couple plans to officially get married in Minnesota in August.

Generations of families—gay and straight—endured the heat and erupted in cheers as Minnesota became the 12th state in the nation to legalize marriage equality. Before signing the bill, Gov. Dayton (D) thanked the legislators and activists who worked to change public opinion on same-sex marriage. They went from fighting a ballot amendment that would have banned gay marriage in the Minnesota Constitution to defeating it last fall and now making marriage for all couples legal. ”What a day for Minnesota,” Dayton said. “And what a difference a year and an election can make.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 5-14-13.

Budget surpluses spur tension in some GOP states

Turns out that cutting was the easy part. Now Republicans who control a majority of the state capitols in the United States face a far greater philosophical dilemma—what to do with all the money when an improving economy suddenly creates a surplus in revenues. Save it? Refund it though tax cuts? Or spend it? Though they won majorities in more than half the statehouses on principled platforms of making government smaller, some Republicans now are feeling tremendous pressure to spend newfound money on roads, buildings and schools that had been neglected or cut during the recession-induced downturn of recent years. That has created new tensions in places such as Michigan, Missouri and Texas, where GOP majorities are wrestling with the morality of spending money. Associated Press, 5-13-13.

To Think About

Op-ed: Fast food and the future of the working class

Maybe some day there will be a historic marker at the Jimmy John’s restaurant on South Broadway in Soulard to mark the wildcat strike last Wednesday.

At first glance, last week’s wildcat strikes at some 30 St. Louis-area fast-food restaurants might seem like an exercise in futility. All the leverage is on management’s side. In the current job market, fast-food workers are fungible, cannon fodder in the class war. Managers are used to staff churn: The annual industrywide turnover rate has reached 145 percent. Managers expect to hire and fire dozens of workers each year. There’s never any shortage of applicants. The training cost is high—about $1,700 per worker—but not high enough that it pays to bump up salaries and benefits. But the strike here, like similar efforts in New York, Chicago and Detroit, should be seen not as an effort to bring an industry to the bargaining table immediately. It’s an effort to start a fire. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5-11-13.

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The State

Special session could drag on to the bitter end

Hargrove

Washington lawmakers return to the Capitol Monday to finish their work on a two-year state budget, but with no deal reached during their two-week interim, the special legislative session could take its full allotted 30 days, if not longer. Budget writers in the House and Senate met a few times during their time off, though staffers met more frequently. But without firm agreement on what a compromise budget would look like, what exactly lawmakers will do immediately upon their return is still unclear. “We’re feeling our way through the initial stages here,” said Sen. Jim Hargrove (D-24), the top budget writer for Senate Democrats. “It’s kind of like a big steam engine getting going out of the station. There’s a whole lot of energy and steam, and it doesn’t move very fast to begin with. But I think it will start to pick up.” Another budget meeting was scheduled for Monday, on what was expected to be a very low-key first day of the special session. Associated Press (Tacoma News Tribune), 5-12-13.

Indoor pot production leaves giant carbon footprint

Montana Dutton, operator of the Okanogan Cannabis Collective, tends young plants in a greenhouse. The state Liquor Contol Board has said it probably won’t license open-field production.

Marijuana growing is not a green industry. Done mostly indoors in Washington, pot production often uses hospital-intensity lamps, air conditioning, dehumidifiers, fans, and carbon-dioxide generators to stimulate plants and boost their potency. The power-hungry crops rival data centers or server farms in intense use of electricity, according to a peer-reviewed study last year in the journal Energy Policy. One kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of pot grown indoors, the study says, leaves a carbon footprint equivalent to driving across the country seven times. Producing one joint is equivalent to leaving a light bulb on for 25 hours. But in this blue-green state, very few folks are lobbying for pot grown under the sun in Eastern Washington where the climate is suitable, in part because of security concerns about outdoor grows. And absent a stronger push, it appears state-regulated retail stores will open next year without sun-grown weed on their shelves. Seattle Times, 5-11-13.

Whatcom County’s senators try unity, get discord on environment

Ericksen

Ranker

This year was supposed to be different. After Republicans took over the state Senate in December, Sen. Doug Ericksen (R-42) spoke of an “unprecedented opportunity to change the way Olympia operates.” The Senate, controlled by a coalition of all 23 Republicans and two Democrats, would pass bills on their policy merits, not for political reasons, he said. Ericksen and his rival, Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-40), showed signs early in the session of working together to pass environmental legislation. With the regular session over and a locally important environmental bill still alive for the special session that starts Monday, that cooperation appears to have unraveled. Ericksen, chairman of the Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee, and Ranker, the committee’s ranking member, have drastically different priorities on the environment. Bellingham Herald, 5-12-13.

Appointment no promise in high-profile 26th District race

Schlicher

Angel

Sen. Nathan Schlicher (D-26), appointed to his seat when Derek Kilmer  was elected to Congress, and Rep. Jan Angel, (R-26), elected three times in her district, will be among the many candidates spending part of this week filing with election officials to run for office. Other candidates might even file for the same race, but so far Schlicher and Angel are the only two candidates getting any attention in what could be the state’s highest-profile race this November. Schlicher hopes incumbency will be one of his tickets to success. The record indicates that it might not be so easy. Kitsap Sun, 5-11-13.

Backers of food labeling see hope

Food labeling activists, who lost a ballot brawl in California last year, are counting on a high-powered consulting team and the deep pockets of donors nationwide to pass their initiative in Washington this fall. Supporters of Initiative 522 on the November ballot have already stockpiled $1.1 million, with more than half of it coming from major contributors to the failed attempt to require food labeling in the Golden State. Meanwhile, foes of the measure trail badly in fundraising and lag in organizing but are expected to wage a vigorous and well-funded fight. The No on 522 campaign committee had raised a miniscule $1,144 as of Friday, according to reports filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission. Opponents have not hired a campaign manager or begun aggressively fundraising, though they say a prominent consulting firm capable of handling both chores could be on board this month. Everett Herald, 5-12-13.

Clallam land-use director denies wrongdoing; probe widens

Sheila Roark Miller

An investigation into an overtime complaint has grown into a review of allegations that Clallam County land-use director Sheila Roark Miller used her office for personal gain and ordered the backdating of a building-permit document so it complied with the county’s new Dungeness water rule. Clallam County Administrator Jim Jones confirmed last week that county Department of Human Resources attorney Akin Blitz has expanded his investigation into the Feb. 21 whistleblower complaint concerning overtime, and is reviewing the building-permit file that contains the document in question. In an interview Thursday, Roark Miller, the only elected director of a department of community development in the nation, defended herself and her department. She won election to the post in November 2010 after 21 years as a department employee. Peninsula Daily News, 5-12-13.

King County

Federal judge: Civil-rights suit against SPD officers can go to trial

Jones

A federal judge has ruled that a jury should hear a civil-rights lawsuit filed by a Greenwood man who was unarmed and suicidal when he was shot in the face by a Seattle police officer during a standoff four years ago. Nathaniel Caylor, who was despondent over the recent death of his girlfriend, told several relatives he was thinking of killing himself. When he locked himself in his apartment with their 20-month-old son on May 22, 2009, one relative called police. After a tense standoff involving several officers, Officer Eugene Schubeck spoke to Caylor from a landing overlooking the patio of the apartment. Caylor, who ranted at the officer for pointing a gun at him, turned to go back inside and Schubeck — without warning — fired a single round, striking him in the face and shattering his teeth and jaw, according to court records and depositions. U.S. District Judge Richard Jones, in a 31-page order issued April 30, rejected the city’s efforts to dismiss the lawsuit. Seattle Times, 5-12-13.

Pacific mayor ordered to reinstate suspended police officers

Sun

It’s been a bad week for controversial Pacific Mayor Cy Sun. Thursday, Sun learned he would face a recall election in June after King County Elections officials verified more than 415 signatures on a petition to oust the embattled mayor. Friday, a King County judge ordered Sun to take two of the city’s top cops off administrative leave. Sun suspended police chief John Calkins and Lt. Edwin Massy in March for what he called harassment and intimidation. The Pacific Civil Service Commission last month ruled that Sun broke the rules when he suspended the officers. Friday, a Superior Court judge sided with the commission and ordered Sun to fully reinstate the officers and return the equipment. Both officers are expected to return to work immediately, according to a Pacific Police Department news release. KOMO/Seattle P-I, 5-10-13.

Renton seeks $10M for aerospace center

Large bays at the proposed facility would provide room for students to work on full-size aircraft assemblies.The schematic shows an airplane wing at left.

The city of Renton is ready to donate land for a hands-on aerospace training center to serve young people hoping for careers in the industry. But getting the $10 million needed to build the facility from a cash-strapped Legislature is another matter. Right now there’s $5 million for the center in the House budget, and nothing in the Senate budget, said Jay Covington, Renton’s chief administrative officer. As the state Legislature starts a special session Monday, he’s hoping for the best. The Legislature in the last session provided $2.5 million for the project, some of which was used for design, and some of which was set aside for construction. The facility would be built on a 2-acre site at Renton Municipal Airport to be donated by the city and valued at $1.8 million. Puget Sound Business Journal, 5-10-13.

Kelly Maloney will run for Federal Way city council seat

Maloney

Kelly Maloney has announced her candidacy for Federal Way City Council Position Two. Maloney is running to retain the seat after she was appointed to fill a vacancy in January. So far, Mark Koppang has filed to run for Position Two. Koppang and Maloney were among 20 applicants for the two council seats vacated in January by Linda Kochmar and Roger Freeman, who were elected to the state House. Maloney and Diana Noble-Gulliford were selected for the two positions. Federal Way Mirror, 5-11-13.

The Nation

‘Living wage’ at issue in LA mayoral campaign

Mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel gives a high-five to Valencia Elena, 1, being held by her father, Andres Enrique, at Greuel’s campaign headquarters in Boyle Heights

The pickup truck tooled around Highland Park on Saturday morning, loudspeakers in back crooning in Spanish: “Wendy, la Wendy. We’re gonna vote. $15 an hour we’ll make. Wendy, la Wendy, we’re gonna dance. Eric Garcetti start crying.” A political mailer prepared by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor — and duly posted on the city’s Ethics Commission website — offers a strikingly similar promise. “On May 21, our votes can raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour,” says the brochure from the Coalition for Better Schools and Communities, the organization’s “super PAC.” “We are working hard to elect la Wendy our Mayor so she can raise the minimum wage.” But the pitches on behalf of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel could cause considerable confusion by implying that all workers in Los Angeles could expect to get a minimum of $15 an hour under a Mayor Greuel. In fact, labor groups currently are fighting for the higher wage only for hotel workers. Greuel initially would not commit to the $15 hotel wage proposal, but several hours later Saturday her campaign said she supported it. Los Angeles Times, 5-11-13.

DOJ: We don’t need warrants for e-mail, Facebook chats

Attorney General Eric Holder

The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI believe they don’t need a search warrant to review Americans’ e-mails, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and other private files, internal documents reveal. Government documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union and provided to CNET show a split over electronic privacy rights within the Obama administration, with Justice Department prosecutors and investigators privately insisting they’re not legally required to obtain search warrants for e-mail. The IRS, on the other hand, publicly said last month that it would abandon a controversial policy that claimed it could get warrantless access to e-mail correspondence. CNET, 5-8-13.

GOP, Koch brothers find there’s nothing finer than Carolina

Charles Koch, left, and David Koch

The GOP lost big nationally in 2012, but may have found the key to future success in one southern state. Cash from groups backed by the Koch brothers and others helped North Carolina Republicans build a robust conservative infrastructure and fundraising network, leading to the GOP winning both the governor’s mansion and the state legislature in the same year for the first time since Reconstruction. That takeover didn’t come overnight, but it caught Democrats by surprise, especially since Barack Obama carried the state in 2008 and lost only by 2 percentage points last year. The hope, say conservatives, is to replicate their successes elsewhere. Politico, 5-11-13.

Op-ed: The Family Unfriendly Act

Tritch

There are two good things to say about the Working Families Flexibility Act, which passed the House this week with 220 Republican and 3 Democratic votes. One, the bill is bound to go nowhere in the Senate, and, two, even if it did advance, the White House has threatened to veto it. The bill, in brief, is worse than meritless; it is a fraud. According to its Republican backers, it’s an expression in legislative form of how much they care for families, work-life balance, and, in particular, working women. If this is caring, I would hate to see what contempt looks like. The bill would amend long-standing labor law by allowing private-sector employers to offer compensatory time off in lieu of time-and-a-half pay for overtime. Employers and workers are supposed to agree on the arrangement, but there is nothing to stop an employer from discriminating against those who prefer payment by cutting back on their overtime hours. Teresa Tritch, New York Times, 5-10-13.

To Think About

Op-ed: Today’s Know Nothing Party wears it proudly

Schwab

Back in the mid-1800s there was a political party that called itself the “Know Nothings.” Ahead of their time, they were anti-immigration and pro religious purity. Eventually they disappeared, reanimating in our time, morphing into the “You Shall Know Nothing” party”; although I believe they prefer “Republican.” Some people don’t like it when I say things like that. But in the 1850s the name was meant ironically; today’s version flaunts know-nothingism like a banner. For today’s Republicans, to whom true conservatism is as foreign as whatever it is Sarah Palin sees from her porch, proscribing knowledge is an organizing principle. Sid Schwab, Everett Herald, 5-12-13.

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