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August 19, 2008National/PoliticalCandidates Hone Messages In Convention Run-Up / McCain Focuses On Foreign Policy, Obama on Economy (no link) Playing to perceived strengths as the conventions loom, John McCain polished his military credentials before an audience of veterans, while Barack Obama empathized with the economic cares of female supporters. Sen. McCain cited his foreign-policy skills before a crowd of about 3,000 people at the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, in Orlando, Fla., many of them elderly and wearing the traditional hats signaling their rank and service. Sen. Obama, meanwhile, sat on a stool in an Albuquerque, N.M., library talking about workplace discrimination and other economic concerns of women to a handpicked audience of 43 female supporters. The Illinois senator told his story of being raised by a single mother who had to balance work and school while caring for two children. Obama Tells Allies He Is Ready to Hit Back / As GOP Attacks Grow, He Links McCain, Bush ALBUQUERQUE, Aug. 18 -- Sen. Barack Obama returned to the presidential campaign trail on Monday after a week-long Hawaiian vacation and tried to assure anxious Democrats that he is ready to fight back against Republican character attacks that grew sharper in his absence. At a town hall meeting here, Obama slammed Sen. John McCain for continuing the politics and policies of President Bush, part of an attempt to tether the presumptive Republican nominee to the unpopular president. In recent days, the campaign and its supporters have also begun portraying the wealthy McCain as too out of touch to represent the common man. Late last week, the campaign dismissed the rising concerns of Democrats as arm-chair quarterbacking with little understanding of Obama's strategy. By Monday, not even the candidate could let such concerns slide. "Everywhere I go, people have told me, 'I'm getting nervous. The Republicans, they're so mean. They're going to Swift-boat you. They're doing things to you. What are you going to do?' " Obama said. "I have to just remind people that it is true that, just as John McCain has embraced George Bush's policies, he's embraced his politics. And the same people who brought you George Bush are now trying to package John McCain." Obama Ready to Announce Running Mate This Week WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama has all but settled on his choice for a running mate and set an elaborate rollout plan for his decision, beginning with an early morning alert to supporters, perhaps as soon as Wednesday morning, aides said. Mr. Obama’s deliberations remain remarkably closely held. Aides said perhaps a half-dozen advisers were involved in the final discussions in an effort to enforce a command that Mr. Obama issued to staff members: that his decision not leak out until supporters are notified. Mr. Obama had not notified his choice — or any of those not selected — of his decision as of late Monday, advisers said. Going into the final days, Mr. Obama was said to be focused mainly on three candidates: Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware. Political Memo: The Lingering What-If Question: Clinton? No power brokers in the Democratic Party are openly campaigning for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as their vice-presidential nominee this year, and even Mrs. Clinton’s closest aides have stopped talking her up. Yet privately, some Democrats continue to see her as exactly the partner that Senator Barack Obama needs. Clinton supporters have tried to make this point in recent weeks, winning language in the party’s convention platform that acknowledged Mrs. Clinton’s history-making candidacy, and praising her as a smart, seasoned policy wonk who could add ballast to Mr. Obama’s message of hope and change. Indeed, a recent New York Times/CBS News poll of convention delegates found that 28 percent preferred Mrs. Clinton for vice president — by far the largest bloc supporting a candidate. (More than a third offered no opinion; 6 in 10 of Clinton-pledged delegates wanted her, but only 3 percent of Obama delegates named her.) The New Evangelical Politics Anyone who still doubts that the evangelical Christian world is going through a political revolution was not watching Pastor Rick Warren's presidential forum this weekend. The era of reducing Christianity to a narrow set of ideological commitments is over. Just a few years ago, who would have imagined that Barack Obama and John McCain would hold a discussion of this sort in a church? Who would have thought that the session would be moderated by an evangelical pastor who was emphatic in counting both the Democrat and the Republican as his "friends"? Who would have predicted that in such a setting, the issues of abortion and gay marriage would not dominate the pastor's queries? 2008 state elections: What's at stake? The historic battle for the White House may be grabbing most of the headlines, but plenty of state races and major ballot measures also could be nail-biters this November — and the results could have national implications. Stateline.org today is launching a new 2008 interactive guide to help voters keep track of the 11 gubernatorial, 11 attorneys general and seven secretary of state races and more than 100 high-profile statewide ballot measures that range from rolling back affirmative action and banning same-sex marriage to legalizing assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Our guide currently includes 132 statewide questions, including 18 that are still pending certification or facing legal challenge, but there could be more on the slate come November. Several states, including Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, North Dakota and Ohio, are still verifying signatures and validating initiatives, so check back here often. We will update and add to this guide through Election Day, Nov. 4. Democrats hope to build on their 28-22 control of governorships and 23-14 command of state legislatures. This year, the prize for Democrats would be taking control of the Missouri governorship, a key presidential swing state, and the New York Senate. Republicans have their eye on winning the top executive seat in Washington and taking back control of New Hampshire and Iowa statehouses. As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff / Members of Congress Love a Good Resolution; Watermelons and Undertakers Fit the Bill (no link) WASHINGTON -- The 110th Congress, whose term officially ends in January, hasn't passed any spending bills or attacked high gasoline prices. But it has used its powers to celebrate watermelons and to decree the origins of the word "baseball." Barring a burst of legislative activity after Labor Day, this group of 535 men and women will have accomplished a rare feat. In two decades of record keeping, no sitting Congress has passed fewer public laws at this point in the session -- 294 so far -- than this one. That's not to say they've been idle. On the flip side, no Congress in the same 20 years has been so prolific when it comes to proposing resolutions -- more than 1,900, according to a tally by the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense. With the mostly symbolic measures, Congress has saluted such milestones as the Idaho Potato Commission's 70th anniversary and recognized soil as an "essential natural resource." As legislation on gasoline prices, tax fixes and predatory lending languish, Congress has designated May 5-9 as National Substitute Teacher Recognition Week, and set July 28 as the Day of the American Cowboy. Some Nonprofits Push for Increased Federal Involvement In the world of philanthropy, where independence from government has long been sacred, a revolution is underway. Social entrepreneurs are clamoring for a realignment of the way the federal government and nonprofit groups work together to maximize the impact of American generosity. With the presidential campaign in full swing, nonprofit leaders are organizing what some call an unprecedented effort to boost the presence of philanthropy and community service in a new administration. They are calling for a White House office or an agency similar to the Small Business Administration to match nonprofit programs with government priorities, help successful community-based initiatives grow and organize a corps of service volunteers. More Women Than Ever Are Childless, Census Finds Women are waiting longer to have children, and more women than ever are choosing not to have children at all, according to a new Census Bureau report. Twenty percent of women ages 40 to 44 have no children, double the level of 30 years ago, the report said; and women in that age bracket who do have children have fewer than ever — an average of 1.9 children, compared with the median of 3.1 children in 1976. “A lot of women are not having any children,” said Jane Lawler Dye, a Census Bureau researcher who did the report, which looked at women of childbearing age in 2006. “It used to be sort of expected that there was a phase of life where you had children, and a lot of women aren’t doing that now,” Ms. Dye said. Census news release: New Analysis Offers State-by-state Look at Fertility Editorial: Some Progress on Kids and Jails The number of minors being held in adult jails and prisons in this country has dropped substantially, according to a new study based on federal data. That’s welcome news. Criminologists warn that juvenile offenders who are thrown in with adult prisoners are exposed to social pressures and develop personal contacts that make it far more likely that they will become career criminals than those held in juvenile facilities. The study, by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, a California-based nonprofit, shows that the number of minors being held in adult facilities has decreased by 38 percent since 1999. Because of reductions in juvenile crime and arrests, among other factors, the number of children held in juvenile facilities also fell. Congress can consolidate these gains by using aid to impose a clear federal standard: To qualify for federal juvenile-justice funds, states should have to certify that people under 18 are not being jailed as adults, except in cases involving heinous crimes like rape and murder. Unfortunately, not all of the new data is encouraging. States still seem to be holding in juvenile facilities a great many children who should instead be treated in therapeutic programs near their homes and families. Children with drug or alcohol problems should be in treatment programs, not juvenile lockups. Therapeutic programs can turn young lives around and reduce crime. Because incarceration is so costly, these programs can more than pay for themselves. The Declining Number of Youth in Custody in the Juvenile Justice System (.pdf) Cobalt Releases Municipal Health Cost Survey LANSING, Mich. -- Local governments have work ahead on retiree health care costs, amid new requirements to disclose them, but are making progress, according to a study that examines trends in municipality health care costs. All state and local governments must comply with a new standard imposed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) by the end of 2009. The nonprofit Cobalt Community Research conducted the study in response to the GASB requirements. Seventy-four percent of local governments that provide retiree health care are aware of the GASB 45 requirements, and 47 percent report that they have already calculated the liability or the calculation is in process, the study found. While awareness of the liability is solid, decisions about funding and effective tools to reduce future liability have yet to be widely determined. Skilled Trades Seek Workers / Contractors, Unions Try Web, Schools; A 'Dirty Jobs' Role (no link) Even as the economy slumps and unemployment rises, strong demand for power plants, oil refineries and export goods has many manufacturers and construction contractors scrambling to find enough skilled workers to plug current and future holes. With the shortage of welders, pipe fitters and other high-demand workers likely to get worse as more of them reach retirement age, unions, construction contractors and other businesses are trying to figure out how to attract more young people to those fields. By 2012, demand in fields like welding is expected to exceed supply. Their challenge: overcoming the perception that blue-collar trades offer less status, money and chance for advancement than white-collar jobs, and that college is the best investment for everyone. State/LocalCalifornia Budget Impasse Persists As GOP Refuses Income-Tax Rise (no link) California's months-long budget standoff hit a low when an emergency State Assembly meeting failed to produce a compromise between Democrats and Republicans over how to compensate for a shortfall exceeding $15 billion. At issue is the Democrats' proposal to make up for the deficit largely by increasing taxes on California's wealthiest residents -- a plan that Republicans oppose. In a vote Sunday, not a single Assembly Republican voted for the plan to raise $6.7 billion in revenue largely through income-tax increases. Republicans account for 32 of the assembly's 80 seats, but California requires that two-thirds of the legislature approve the budget. "We're fundamentally saying 'no tax increases,'" said Mike Villines, the Assembly Republican leader. If the tax standoff continues, California state workers could have their pay reduced to minimum wage, and the state could be forced to take out high-interest loans to fund ongoing operations. Similar conflicts over how to make up budget deficits in tough economic times could crop up in other states over the next year because of the housing crisis, said Kim Rueben, a fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California who studies state budgets. Local officials turn to courts to stop IDOT move Even before a bipartisan legislative panel last week rejected the idea of moving 150 state transportation jobs to southern Illinois, Springfield officials talked about the possibility of suing to stop it. They started the process Monday in Sangamon County Circuit Court. Since Gov. Rod Blagojevich has said he would ignore the unanimous opposition to the move by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, local officials felt they had no choice but to turn to the courts. ... The Plaintiffs: Bomke; Rep. Rich Brauer, R-Petersburg; Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield; Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin; the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce; Teamsters Local 916; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31; and the Capital Area Association of Realtors. The two unions represent most of the traffic safety employees. Springfield chamber may help cover legal costs of lawsuit Suing the state of Illinois was not the type of economic development organizers had in mind when a campaign kicked off in the fall of 2007 to create or retain 4,500 local jobs by 2012. But the executive board of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce is expected to approve an agreement today to pay half the initial legal costs of a lawsuit that seeks to block relocation of 150 Illinois Department of Transportation jobs from Springfield to Harrisburg. “We have to seek protection in the courts from our governor, and we’re just aghast that we have to do this,” chamber executive vice president Bradley Warren said after the lawsuit was initiated Monday in Sangamon County Circuit Court. The chamber plans to pay 50 percent of court-filing costs and the cost of obtaining a court injunction to block the move. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Teamsters union would pay 25 percent each. State could pay employees $8.5M to settle lawsuit / Employees sued after working more hours than others for same pay from '73-'93; state could shell out $8.5M For 20 years, the state required some of its employees to work more hours than those in other state agencies yet paid them the same. Now it appears the state is going to pay for that decision -- as much as $8.5 million. The state reached a tentative agreement Monday on a class-action lawsuit that could affect an estimated 15,000 state employees who, from 1973 to 1993, worked 40-hour weeks but received the same pay as others in similar jobs who worked 37.5 hours a week. The lawsuit was filed 15 years ago but was delayed repeatedly. The suit was scheduled to go to trial today. "I've waited 15 years for this," said Jennie Veregge, who still works as a legal clerk at Richmond State Hospital. "For now, I'm just happy we've come to this point." City workers given 'Rudy Clay Day' GARY -- When five firefighters reported for duty Monday just to be sent home, they became among the first in the city assigned to what many employees now are calling a "Rudy Clay Day." Across the city, employees in most departments were adjusting to new work schedules designed to result in a 20-percent pay cut. Mayor Clay has said the city will run out of money by October without the cuts because his city is facing a $13 million budget shortfall. Now that the new policy is in effect, though, employee unions are starting to take action. ... Ayanna Wright, president of AFSCME Local 4009, and Lorenzo Crowell Jr., an internal organizer for the Service Employees International Union, said they've filed class-action grievances on behalf of their members. Sebelius Signs Executive Order to Increase State-Wide Mentoring Efforts Governor Kathleen Sebelius Monday signed an executive order allowing State of Kansas employees to positively impact children’s lives through the Kansas Mentors program. “Since creating Kansas Mentors with Coach Snyder over two years ago, employees have expressed a significant interest in helping with the program,” Sebelius said. “This creates an opportunity for employees to volunteer as a mentor and make a difference in the lives of children.” ... “One of the challenges that our state’s mentoring organizations face is the recruitment of caring, quality mentors,” continued Snyder. “By allowing state employees the opportunity to receive time away from work to mentor, we are providing these organizations with an invaluable resource to better serve our youth.” Executive Order 08-10 will allow full-time employees in the Executive Branch of the State of Kansas to spend up to 90 minutes of regularly scheduled work time per two-week pay period mentoring with any program which is part of Kansas Mentors’ gold star program. Kansas joins a growing list of states that have implemented policies in which employees are granted the opportunity to mentor during regularly scheduled work time; including: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts and Oregon. AFSCME union workers protest Kilpatrick, corruption When Sybil Offen heard today that a circuit judge ruled City Council could not hold forfeiture hearings against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, she got up and did something about it. Offen, a retired Detroit Public School teacher, was one of about 30 people who marched outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building Monday afternoon in protest of Kilpatrick and city corruption. “It’s time for us, we have to rise up now,” she said. “It’s in the people’s hands.” The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 207, a union chapter representing Detroit water and public lighting workers, organized the event. The group’s president, John Riehl, said the mayor’s problems and city’s corruption, have weighed on citizens. Union, councilors fire back over city layoffs in Duluth On Friday, the city of Duluth jolted employees with 169 layoff notices, including 28 for full-time permanent workers, which will close the two branch libraries and end some park services. On Monday, members of the city’s largest employees union hit back, warning that the cuts will result in unemptied garbage cans, unmowed lawns and iceless rinks in city parks. Three city councilors also said that Mayor Don Ness should have explored other options before laying off workers and cutting services. “Citizens who have planned events at our parks, beware,” Deb Strohm, chairwoman of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 66, said during a news conference on the steps of City Hall. John Westmoreland, the northern area field director for AFSCME, said the union has other ideas for how to balance the budget without cutting staff, but he wanted to meet with the mayor and declined to share them with the media. City Employees Fear Layoffs / Kalispell Puts Parks Fee on November Ballot, Leaving Budget in Even Bigger Lurch Kalispell City Council decided against creating a controversial fee system for the city’s parks and recreation department Monday night, instead opting to put the decision on the ballot in November for voters to decide if they are willing to pay it. But now, roughly $500,000 of the annual budget for the Parks and Recreation department must go back into the city’s general fund, forcing even bigger budget cuts – and leaving city employees nervous that layoffs loom in the future. ... Mike Nichloson, president of the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said city employees are very nervous about the potential for job losses, and he urged council members to cut expenses in ways that avoided layoffs, like looking into early buyouts of some older workers. “People don’t have to lose their jobs over it and they don’t have to worry where their next house payments are going to come from,” Nichloson said. “It’s a stressful time for employees; the morale with the city of Kalispell right now is not very high.” Rule Westchester Can't Cut Health Benefits Of Retired CSEA Members (no link) The Civil Service Employees Association has won a $3.6-million class-action lawsuit stemming from charges that Westchester County unilaterally and illegally diminished the health-insurance benefits of retired workers. The union filed suit in 2004 on behalf of 1,600 retired members who lost benefits between January 1993 and May 2004. The award reimburses retirees who were hit with increased co-pays and deductibles. Rock Hill board OKs contract ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP — The Rock Hill Board of Education has approved a new contract with the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local (OAPSE) 252, the union that represents the district’s cooks, custodians, bus drivers and other non-certified employees. The board’s unanimous vote follows an 80-2 union ratification Aug. 11. The three-year agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2007, when the old contract expired. OAPSE Field Representative Linda Bolin said workers get a 50-cent-an-hour raise each year of the contract. Other than pay raises, the new agreement differs very little from the old one. But during negotiations, the two sides were at odds over proposed changes in bidding rights and insurance. In the end, those changes were scrapped. Furloughs: State court ruling doesn't settle annual mess in budget process Gov. Ed Rendell has won a legal round in contending he has the right to furlough state workers if a budget is not in place by July 1. But that doesn't mean it's right. Nor does it change the fact that the state budget process is a mess. Significantly, the Commonwealth Court ruling also leaves open a key legal question. State employees unions filed suit over Rendell's threat this summer to furlough 25,000 noncritical workers if a budget impasse continued past the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt ruled that the state constitution bars the expenditure of unappropriated funds, and she also dismissed the unions' contention that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act trumps the constitution. But the judge declined to rule on the Rendell administration's request that the court approve keeping so-called essential personnel such as state police and corrections officers on the job while others deemed to be noncritical are furloughed. Leavitt's wording on that point was interesting: "An order that sanctions a constitutional violation is beyond the power of this court to grant." That would appear to give an opening to further litigation before the state Supreme Court should this or any future administration order the same kind of furlough plan. |
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