We’ve been in the post-recession recovery period for five years. It is time to shape what the next-generation work place needs to look like. The year of the worker needs to build on our new-found confidence that we can create a more fair economy, not just settle for what the economy used to be or […]
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Posted inHealthcare, Policy Topics, Public Service
Seasoned Microsoft executive Kurt DelBene tapped to manage Healthcare.gov
Former Microsoft executive Kurt DelBene, who has capably served as the president of the company’s Business division for many years, will take over management of Healthcare.gov, the Obama administration announced today at a meeting with top technology executives, including Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith. DelBene will succeed Jeffrey D. Zients, who has been serving as a […]
Posted inEconomic Security, National Defense, Policy Topics
United States needs and deserves a budget that puts people — and the planet — first
Congress votes and the deal’s done. What does it mean? Washington’s senior U.S. Senator Patty Murray and her negotiating partner Congressman Paul Ryan have averted yet another budget crisis heading into the 2014 budget negotiations. The Senate still has to vote, but the House has, by a surprisingly large margin, gone ahead and signed off on […]
Posted inEconomic Security, Policy Topics
Scam alert! An unknown entity, the “Labor Standards Compliance Office”, is trying to sell labor posters with letters that look like bills
An unknown entity calling itself the “Labor Standards Compliance Office” is mass mailing deceptive letters to Washington businesses and nonprofits that appear to be bills from the government, but are in reality solicitations for labor posters that can be freely obtained, the Northwest Progressive Institute has learned. One of these suspicious-looking letters showed up this […]
Posted inBreaking News, Media & Culture
Pope Francis is TIME’s Person of the Year
A worthy choice: These days it is bracing to hear a leader say anything that annoys anyone. Now liberals and conservatives alike face a choice as they listen to a new voice of conscience: Which matters more, that this charismatic leader is saying things they think need to be said or that he is also […]
Posted inEconomic Security, Policy Topics
Right-wing think tanks plotting Eymanesque campaign against our cities and counties
Last week, reporters for The Guardian pulled the curtain back on a network of well-funded, well-organized right-wing think tanks and their extreme agenda. Documents obtained by The Guardian show the blandly-named State Policy Network is working to undermine education, healthcare, and revenue collection in nearly every state in the country. Their specific proposals are extremely […]
Posted inEducation, Policy Topics
Steve Sarkisian abandons his players and Husky football for USC’s top coaching job
Washington’s highest-paid employee is headed south for a more lucrative job. Steve Sarkisian, who was hired to turn around a winless University of Washington football program five years ago, acknowledged earlier today that he has accepted the head coaching position at the University of Southern California, which is one of the most elite schools in the […]
Posted inNational Defense, Policy Topics, Public Planning
Theft of Victoria Clipper IV demonstrates the need for stronger port security
Early yesterday morning, the newest high speed catamaran in the Clipper Navigation fleet, the Victoria Clipper IV, was stolen from its berth at Seattle’s Pier 69 by a registered sex offender who later told police he was trying to use the vessel to get to West Seattle. (Why he didn’t just walk or take the […]