progressive news from near and far, condensed and compiled by S. Cobaugh

NORTH CENTRAL WA DEMOCRATS ORGANIZE

Democrats in Chelan and Douglas Counties are working hard to expose the true state of the union. In their newly opened office at 102 S. Mission St. in downtown Wenatchee, Washington they are handing out written information and making themselves available to talk to community members during business hours. They have also organized a Saturday night film series, entitled "Reality Therapy". The series features hard hitting, "free speech" films, which include Michael Moore's recent blockbuster, Farenheit 9/11, as well as Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism and Truth and Lies of 9/11. Films begin at 7:30pm every Saturday, now through November. Phone (509) 664-6621 for more information. (Chelan County Democrats Campaign Headquarters, August 2004)

TRAVELlING WA HUNTERS MUST DE-BONE WILD GAME

To combat the spread of cronic wasting disease (CWD) among wildlife, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission issued a warning this week that hunters who travel to Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Illinois, South Dakota or Nebraska will be penalized if they bring "bone-in" deer or elk carcasses or body parts into the state. Hunters must butcher the meat caught in these states before they come home, and bring back only the meat. Finished taxidermy mounts, skulls, antlers and teeth with all soft tissue removed are also okay to bring into the state, as are hides and capes without heads attached. They reason for the new regulation is that researchers have found that bones buried in the ground will tranfer the prions which cause CWD to native populations through the soil. They hope that by requiring hunters to take the precaution of not bringing bones into the Washington State they will help minimize the risk of introducing CWD into Washington's deer and elk populations. (Capital Press, August 20, 2004)

Ed: CWD is a prion disease closely related to mad cow disease, and has been decimating some deer and elk populations in other states. Extensive reporting of the spread of CWD over the past decade can be found in the environmental publication High Country News.

PORTLAND COMMUNITY GROUPS COLLABORATE TO HOLD POLICE AND CITY ACCOUNTABLE

Vice President Dick Cheney's visit to Portland last January has generated an open collaboration between Portland community organizations and civil rights activists. They have sent Mayor Vera Katz and Police Chief Derrick Foxworth a second letter regarding a response to their first letter calling attention to the ways in which the City and Police Bureau violated the constitutional rights of demonstrators and protesters during the Vice President's visit.

William Seaman, one of the cosigners of the letters said "We are asking all people who are concerned with the assault on civil rights to contact the city council and urge them to make this a priority, especially in the coming weeks and months as we approach the November election." Complete text of the correspondences can be read at www.pprc-news.org. (Portland Alliance, August 2004)

PESTICIDE LAWS UNENFORCED IN OREGON

Workers and environmentalists, represented by Oregon Pesticide Education Network (OPEN) continue to struggle against pesticide users, represented by Oregonians for Food and Shelter (OFS) for "Right to Know" legislation. In 1999 both groups agreed to a Pesticide Use Reporting System. It was agreed that pesticide users would report which pesticides they used--and when, where and how much they used--to public health and water quality researchers. In 2002-2003, pesticide users made these reports to the Ag Department, but due to budget shortfalls the data was never entered into a database or made available to health and water-quality officials. In October 2003 the Ag Department announced it would not take action against users who neglected to report during these years, and that it would call off further reporting until funds were made available by the legislature to process the data collected by the reports. Further cuts have also been made in other pesticide safeguards in Oregon. The Pesticide Analytic Response Center, which responded to acute pesticide poisonings and analyzed trends in health crises regarding pesticide use, has also lost its funding. (Portland Alliance, August 2004)

DEFENSE SPENDING IN IDAHO

Eight million dollars will be invested in Idaho this year from the Defense Appropriations Bill. The Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration will receive $1.9 million for Army National Guard operations and support during the celebration. The University of Idaho will receive the bulk of the funds: $1.2 million for more advanced technological security networks; $1.8 million for development of autonomous vehicles capable of navigating land, air, and or water; $1 million for lead acid battery research for military vehicles; and $1.2 million for communication and radar systems. A proposal, submitted by Idaho Senator Larry Craig, for $1 billion to build a nuclear reactor was not included in the final bill. (The Pacific Northwest Inlander, July 29, 2004)

EROSION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS UNDER BUSH ADMINISTRATION

The National Women's Law Center released a study in April about the erosion of women's rights in America under President George W. Bush. It found that the Labor Department neglected to identify violations of equal pay laws. The Labor Department also repealed regulations allowing paid family leave to be funded by state unemployment funds, family leave is now unpaid only. It proposed new regulations which deprive workers the right to overtime pay, and counsels employers on how to avoid paying overtime even where it is still mandated to be paid by law. The Justice Department has weakened enforcement of job discrimination laws and has abandoned pending sex discrimination cases. Bush budget cuts are also affecting women through decreased funding of Head Start and other childhood education programs, after school programs, K-12 education, housing subsidies, child care, career education, domestic violence victim services and WIC, the nutrition program for women, infants and children. (Missoula Independent, July 15, 2004)