Morning Fizz
For Political Reasons
Caffeinated news & gossip. Your daily Morning Fizz.
1. Seattle Subway and the Ballard Spur, two groups that formed to promote expanding light rail to Ballard (and throughout the city in Seattle Subway's case), have joined forces. The Ballard Spur group supports a light rail line across North Seattle from the University District to Ballard; Seattle Subway supports a system of rail lines linking neighborhoods throughout the city, including a line extending the current light rail line from downtown to Ballard and up to Lake City. Both proposals envision light rail running in a tunnel; more information is available on Seattle Subway's Facebook page.[pullquote]You have done a disservice to vulnerable young people in the U.S., contradicted the findings of the FDA for political reasons, and made many health care providers very, very disappointed.—Jen Brown, RN at Seattle Children's Hospital[/pullquote]
2. Jen Brown, a registered nurse at Seattle Children's Hospital who works with teens on reproductive issues, wrote an open letter to US health and human services secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday in response to Sebelius' decision to overrule the FDA on Plan B emergency contraception. Sebelius' unprecedented ruling ensures that teenage girls will continue to need a doctor's prescription to obtain Plan B, and that any woman who needs emergency contraception will have to obtain it from a pharmacist.
In a statement, Sebelius said she wanted to protect 11-year-old girls, about 10 percent of whom are capable of becoming pregnant, because they have different "cognitive and behavioral" capacities than older teens. Brown addresses the issue succinctly:
3. King County Elections officials will oversee a mandatory hand recount this morning in the race for an open Bellevue City Council seat. The two candidates, Kemper Freeman-backed businessman Aaron Laing and light rail proponent and retired attorney John Stokes, were 51 votes apart at the end of the last machine count. A mandatory recount is triggered if two candidates are fewer than 1,000 votes, and less than a quarter of one percent, apart.
4. Earlier this week, as the legislature started the second week of its special session to deal with a $1.5 billion shortfall, they got a stern warning---not from protesters, but from Gov. Chris Gregoire's budget director, Marty Brown, head of the Office of Financial Management.
In an email to state lawmakers, Brown urged them to finish their work, as Gregoire had asked, by the end of the month. If they didn't, he warned, many of the recommendations Gregoire proposed to save hundreds of millions of dollars would no longer be options.
We've asked OFM to detail which potential savings (i.e., cuts) would be lost if the legislature fails to pass a budget this month.
Meanwhile, the legislature doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry. Legislative leaders are now talking about wrapping it up next weekend without a budget plan as members return home for the holidays.
5. The youth politics nonprofit, the Washington Bus—which trains young activists and organizes get-out-the-vote drives for progressive candidates and causes—held a packed holiday party last night at its Capitol Hill headquarters.
It wasn't packed with elected leaders, though, which brings us to this morning's shout-out to one local politician—King County Executive Dow Constantine, who clearly hasn't forgotten his base and dropped by.
Washington Bus outreach coordinator Toby Crittenden gives a shout out to members for knocking on more than 11,000 doors in 2011's campaign season and to King County Executive Dow Constantine for attending the youth group's holiday shindig last night.
1. Seattle Subway and the Ballard Spur, two groups that formed to promote expanding light rail to Ballard (and throughout the city in Seattle Subway's case), have joined forces. The Ballard Spur group supports a light rail line across North Seattle from the University District to Ballard; Seattle Subway supports a system of rail lines linking neighborhoods throughout the city, including a line extending the current light rail line from downtown to Ballard and up to Lake City. Both proposals envision light rail running in a tunnel; more information is available on Seattle Subway's Facebook page.[pullquote]You have done a disservice to vulnerable young people in the U.S., contradicted the findings of the FDA for political reasons, and made many health care providers very, very disappointed.—Jen Brown, RN at Seattle Children's Hospital[/pullquote]
2. Jen Brown, a registered nurse at Seattle Children's Hospital who works with teens on reproductive issues, wrote an open letter to US health and human services secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday in response to Sebelius' decision to overrule the FDA on Plan B emergency contraception. Sebelius' unprecedented ruling ensures that teenage girls will continue to need a doctor's prescription to obtain Plan B, and that any woman who needs emergency contraception will have to obtain it from a pharmacist.
In a statement, Sebelius said she wanted to protect 11-year-old girls, about 10 percent of whom are capable of becoming pregnant, because they have different "cognitive and behavioral" capacities than older teens. Brown addresses the issue succinctly:
Dear Ms. Sebelius:
I was incredibly disturbed to hear of your decision to overturn plans to allow Plan B to be purchased over-the-counter from the shelf, without ID. The worst that would happen if an 11-year-old took Plan B “wrong”, (meaning that they found their own transportation to the pharmacy, had $40 or more in cash, were willing to publicly purchase it, and weren’t able to take one pill by mouth immediately---all of which are incredibly unlikely) is that it would be ineffective. The worst thing that could happen if an 11-year-old (or 12, 13, 14, 15, 16- year old) did NOT take Plan B is an unwanted pregnancy, and all the medical, psychological, and educational trouble that can go along with it.
You have done a disservice to vulnerable young people in the U.S., contradicted the findings of the FDA for political reasons, and made many health care providers very, very disappointed.
Sincerely,
Jen Brown RN, BSN, Adolescent Medicine
3. King County Elections officials will oversee a mandatory hand recount this morning in the race for an open Bellevue City Council seat. The two candidates, Kemper Freeman-backed businessman Aaron Laing and light rail proponent and retired attorney John Stokes, were 51 votes apart at the end of the last machine count. A mandatory recount is triggered if two candidates are fewer than 1,000 votes, and less than a quarter of one percent, apart.
4. Earlier this week, as the legislature started the second week of its special session to deal with a $1.5 billion shortfall, they got a stern warning---not from protesters, but from Gov. Chris Gregoire's budget director, Marty Brown, head of the Office of Financial Management.
In an email to state lawmakers, Brown urged them to finish their work, as Gregoire had asked, by the end of the month. If they didn't, he warned, many of the recommendations Gregoire proposed to save hundreds of millions of dollars would no longer be options.
Many of the savings assumptions in the Governor’s proposals are based upon January implementation dates. If we go to February or later our assumed savings drop and other more difficult decisions need to be made.
We've asked OFM to detail which potential savings (i.e., cuts) would be lost if the legislature fails to pass a budget this month.
Meanwhile, the legislature doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry. Legislative leaders are now talking about wrapping it up next weekend without a budget plan as members return home for the holidays.
5. The youth politics nonprofit, the Washington Bus—which trains young activists and organizes get-out-the-vote drives for progressive candidates and causes—held a packed holiday party last night at its Capitol Hill headquarters.
It wasn't packed with elected leaders, though, which brings us to this morning's shout-out to one local politician—King County Executive Dow Constantine, who clearly hasn't forgotten his base and dropped by.
Washington Bus outreach coordinator Toby Crittenden gives a shout out to members for knocking on more than 11,000 doors in 2011's campaign season and to King County Executive Dow Constantine for attending the youth group's holiday shindig last night.
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