On Friday, I noted the proposed labor contract with Tacoma's police union in a blog item.

Here's the proposed agreement.

Here's the resolution from City Council agenda packet, as well as supporting material.

And below is the article that will appear in tomorrow's paper.

Tacoma police will get a hefty raise next year, and move to 12-hour shifts in 2010.
By Jason Hagey
jason.hagey@thenewstribune.com
A proposed labor contract with Tacoma’s rank-and-file police officers calls for a 6.2 percent wage hike next year, and sets the stage for a move to 12-hour shift schedules in 2010.
Pay is up from the 3.3 percent raise officers received this year as part of the final year of a contract that was settled by an independent arbitrator, and higher than the two previous years wage hikes of 4.6 percent and 2.3 percent.
City officials said there wasn’t much to negotiate with regard to the overall wage increases. The arbitrator who decided the terms of the current labor agreement obligated Tacoma to maintain the department’s position as the highest-paid among a group of six comparable Washington cities.
The other cities are Bellevue, Everett, Kent, Spokane and Vancouver.
“We have to be at the top of the market,” said Joy St. Germain, Tacoma’s Human Resources Director. “We really were pretty much bound by that.”
Even so, city officials found reasons to be happy with the proposed agreement.

=> Read more!

People are eager to see what's in Gov. Chris Gregoire's budget proposal, if only to see how badly funds for their particular programs will be cut.

This budget probably won't assume any federal help, not yet. Some government folks say they are expecting Washington's "share" of an economic stimulus package for building projects to be between $250 million to $500 million.

But whatever that amount is, it probably won't firm up until after Gregoire releases her budget. That will happen sometime after the Legislature is in session, starting Jan. 12.

Gov. Gregoire holds roundtable with state business, labor leaders

Partners for economic recovery evaluate strategies

SEATTLE – Gov. Chris Gregoire today met with business and labor leaders from across the state for a discussion on economic recovery strategies.

=> Read more!

The National Trial Lawyers Association changes its name back in 2006 to the American Association for Justice, and at the time, I suggested they go for Justice League.

That way, they could meet regularly with the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, Flash (?), Green Hornet(?) (I'm not sure if they are dues-paying members.) Jack Connelly would fit right in, dontcha think? Oh wait, isn't that Jack, second from the right?

But alas, the nationals ignored me. So have the locals.

Washington's trail lawyers are now the Washington State Association for Justice.

WSTLA Changes Name to Washington State Association for Justice

SEATTLE – December 8, 2008 – Members of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association voted Friday to change the organization’s name to the Washington State Association for Justice at a membership meeting in Seattle.

“The new name best captures our mission,” said WSTLA President John Budlong.

=> Read more!

And I can't find it anywhere.

I know Gov. Chris Gregoire said she has a list of $600 million worth of projects that she could spend money on if Congress approves an economic stimulus package right away. But she wouldn't share it with our D.C. guy, Les Blumenthal, when she was back East last week.

I know the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials says the 50 states have a list of $64 billion worth of highway and bridge projects that are "ready to go" if Congress approves a stimulus package. The New York Times said so, so it must be true.

And I know AASHTO said that $1.339 billion of that $64 billion would be for projects in Washington state. AASHTO spokesman Tony Dorsey said not all the state's that responded to AASHTO's request for numbers listed specific projects. Looks as if only 6 states did, and Washington was not among them.

Lloyd Brown, chief spokesman for Washington's Department of Transportation, said he's trying to look into it. DOT Secretary Paula Hammond is back in Washington, D.C. today talking about this very thing with other West Coast transpo folks. (Maybe she took the list with her?)

I've got calls in to the governor's budget folks. Maybe they have the list. I hope they haven't misplaced the list. How will we get our money with no list?

Or maybe, just maybe, there is no list -- yet.

UPDATE: Lloyd Brown tells me state officials aren't keepign the list a secret, there are just too many lists floating around. "Nobody has the list because nobody knows what the criteria is yet," he said. That is, nobody knows what kinds of projects will be eligible for federal funds.

The $1.339 billion worth of projects that AASHTO referred to was a list of state highway projects combined with a still-growing-larger list of projects that cities and counties said they would spend economic stimulus money on. I'm going to pore over them and see if I can't recognize anything or if they are specific.

Meanwhile, here are AASHTO's summaries, state by state:

Ready to Go
America Is Ready to Build
Ready to Work, Ready to Go!
AASHTO State Survey

=> Read more!

Here's a story that will appear in Tuesday's print edition of The News Tribune.

Buckley city officials are trying to lease 140 acres of surplus land at Rainier School for the developmentally disabled in the hope of one day turning the property into baseball and other recreational fields, a golf course or man-made wetlands with hiking trails.
A hearing on a proposed 50-year lease is set for Tuesday at Buckley City Hall. The city is offering to pay $20,274 a year to the state Department of Social and Health Services. That money would go into a trust fund that can be spent only on helping people with developmental disabilities get employment or family support services.
City administrator Dave Schmidt said those longer-term uses will be the subject of a five-year planning process. In the short-term, the city would use the property to store its heavy equipment, sand and gravel and for an animal control compound, he said.

=> Read more!

The federal government has filed suit against the Washington State Department of Transportation seeking to recover $6.8 million for costs related to the cleanup of the Thea Foss and Wheeler Osgood waterways in Tacoma.

According to the complaint, which was filed in Federal court last Tuesday, the problem is with toxic stuff running of a state-owned property where the highway 705 spur is. Old toxic tar was discovered there during construction of the spur and there are continuing problems with runoff.

"Highway runoff containing hazardous substances is and has been transported from I-5, SR 705 and SR 509 by drainage structures and disposed of in the Thea Foss and/or Wheeler Osgood Waterways," the complaint says.

This history of the cleanup dates back to the 1980s and I've got calls into the WSDOT and U.S. Attorney's Office, so look for a more detailed story soon.

Updated: By request, here's a link to the complete federal complaint.

It's only in the rumor stage, but what's a political blog for?

Word on the Capitol Campus is that state Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Roy, would announce a run for Congress in the 9th District if incumbent U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, gets appointed to something in the Barack Obama Administration.

And since we're talking rumors, here's a doozy: Recently deposed state Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen, D-Eatonville, who hails from the same 2nd Legislative District as Campbell, is thinking about running in 2010 against incumbent Rep. Jim McCune, R-Graham.

Of course, if Campbell were to move on, Rasmussen would have her choice of House seats in the 2nd District. Now, I can't tell you why Rasmussen would want to run for a House seat, except maybe because it will come up in only 2 years and she wouldn't be able to run against the Republican who beat her, Randi Becker, until 2012.

Backs to Campbell. He's been a Democrat and a Republican. He has his own brand of something in between. And the 9th Congressional District isn't as solidly Democratic as the 6th District, which has Norm Dicks.

Stay tuned.