Bill Clinton

The 40,000-member Washington Federation of State Employees already has sued Gov. Chris Gregoire for not forwarding their negotiated contract and pay raises to the Legislature.

So has Service Employees International Union 775NW, which wants the 47-cent hourly pay increase over two years that was approved by an arbitrator.

This latest lawsuit is from another SEIU local, the one that represents about 10,000 day care workers that are paid with state money to take care of kids for moms who are on welfare.

Family Child Care Providers Ask Court to
Compel Funding for Quality Day Care

Family child care providers today filed suit in Washington State Supreme Court to compel funding of their arbitration decision and collective bargaining agreement in the Governor’s 2009-2011 budget, SEIU Local 925 President Kim Cook announced.

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U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks: Getty Images PhotoDENVER --The dean of Washington's congressional delegation who has served the 6th District since 1977, Norm Dicks, gave his take on the Democratic presidential race from an insider's perspective.

First off Dicks, who was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton, gave the Clintons their due.

"I gotta tell you," he said to a standing ovation, "Bill and Hillary Clinton did what they had to do to unify this party and we should be proud of them. We should be proud of the Clintons for what they did. And by the way, George W. Bush is the worst president we've had in the history of this country."

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day three of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

DENVER - Brian Baird walked up to the stage at this morning's delegate breakfast with a computer in his hand, opened it up, and placed it on the podium. The 3rd District U.S. Representative from Vancouver then proceeded to read excerpts from an e-mail being passed around among opponents of Barack Obama. The e-mail included a number of false and offensive claims about his history and policy plans.

"We have a responsibility to counter this," Baird proclaimed. "This is an American success story and they are slandering it."

He then held up the book, Obama Nation, and said that with its predictions of a president ruining America's economy and weakening its security, the book should be about President George W. Bush.

DENVER - Bill Clinton made his way into Washington state politics today. No, he didn't stop by to greet the delegation, instead he came up in a story told by Rep. Brian Baird (D-Vancouver) about the 1996 race that saw him fall frustratingly short against then-Rep. Linda Smith.

After the blanket primary showed Baird within four points of Smith when he had expected to be twenty points back, President Bill Clinton gave Baird a call and told him, "bear down. You think you have worked hard? Work harder." Baird heeded Clinton's advice and came within a thousand votes of unseating the popular incumbent.

He came back two years later, when Smith left her post to run for Senate, and won handily over state Sen. Don Benton (R-Vancouver). There are no doubt plenty of differences between that story and the current scenario in the 8th Congressional District where Darcy Burner is giving a second shot at taking on another two-term congressman, Rep. Dave Reichert. But there are also enough similarities to cause a double take.

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day three of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

The third day of the Democratic National Convention will be called to order at 5:00 PM EST on Wednesday, with a theme of "Securing America's Future."

The day will begin with the nominating process for President, including nominating speeches for U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), followed by a roll call vote.

The headline speaker will be vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).

Featured speakers will include President Bill Clinton (D), U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).

The full schedule is below.

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day two of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

Every election year, professional speculators say that young people will vote this time. Every year they don’t. Capturing the youth vote has become the quixotic dream of all politicians.