The Daily Digest 8-1-06

Posted at 9:45 AM on August 1, 2006 by Tom Scheck

Northwest Airlines leads the digest today. Specifically the flight attendants vote to reject the contract proposal. This could set up a nasty courtroom showdown and spill over into Minnesota's political races. MPR, the Star Tribune, the Pi Press and the AP all have stories. It looks like the flight attendants are ready for a fight according to MPR's Jeff Horwich:

"I think there's just a basic sense of injustice here," said Mollie Reiley, who heads the union at Northwest. "For some of these people it's as basic as -- if we agree to these terms, they can no longer afford their homes. They can no longer afford to stay in this job. And so I think for some of them the decision is, if my career is gone anyway, we might as well go down fighting."

The Pi Press and AP have stories on the decision by a judge to throw out Minnesota's video game law.

The Pi Press and Star Tribune dissect Governor Pawlenty's latest health care proposal.

HMMM. I wonder why Pawlenty and Mike Hatch are talking about health care.

Hennepin County Sheriff Pat McGowan endorses former DFL Party Chair Mike Erlandson for Congress and rips Keith Ellison, the DFL endorsed candidate. MPR and the Star Tribune have stories.

One side note, Jim DeMay, who headed up the DNC's Get Out the Vote efforts in Ohio for John Kerry in 2004, is "volunteering" for the Erlandson campaign.

The top Democrats in Congress put forward a pullout plan for Iraq. I can already hear the GOP fax machines churrning with news releases asking "Does Amy Klobuchar/Mike Hatch/Tim Walz/Colin Peterson/Jim Oberstar/DFLer running for dog catcher support the idea?" Republican Mike Barrett is first out of the gate asking DFL incumbent Colin Peterson that question:

If Minority Leader Pelosi is accurate in her statement that the entire Democrat leadership is united, does this mean that Collin Peterson support this 'cut-and-run' nonsense?" said Republican challenger Michael Barrett. "Nancy Pelosi will be at FarmFest this week being showcased by my opponent, and I hope the press will ask him if he is united with the rest of the Democrat leadership on 'cut-and-run'.

Many of the Congressional candidates will be at Farmfest today. MPR's Midday will air the debates later this week. Expect to hear farmers and candidates say they don't want too many changes to the farm bill

It looks like cities across Minnesota are preparing their budgets for next year. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman is set to announce his budget plan on Wednesday. City officials say there will be a shortfall. Bemidji is also getting ready to increase property taxes according to the Bemidji Pioneer:

An unexpected decrease in Local Government Aid and mounting funding needs have led the city of Bemidji to anticipate an estimated $1.1 million increase to the city’s levy in 2007.

“It’s a significant increase,” City Finance Director Ron Eischens said at a City Council work session Monday evening. “And keep in mind this is only the city tax increase — it does not include the county or the school district tax levies.”

The Star Tribune reports that some county commissioners have more than higher property taxes on their minds. Some are getting heat for supporting stadium legislation.

There are several stories by the NY Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal on offshore tax shelters saving oodles of money for America's wealthy. Here's a glimpse from the Wall Street Journal:

In documents released before today's hearing, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations detailed how lawyers, accountants, bankers and trust administrators worked together to hide shelters from tax officials and profit from them. Among those scheduled to testify are Haim Saban, a media magnate and founder of the Fox Family network, and Robert Wood Johnson IV, a philanthropist and heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals fortune.

The New York Times says Minnesota's junior senator has a role in this:

The universe of offshore tax cheating has become so large that no one, not even the United States government, could go after all of it,'' said Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat whose staff ran the investigation.

Senator Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican who is chairman of the subcommittee, adopted the minority report on Sunday as the product of the full committee.

There are some new Minnesota laws taking effect today. The Star Tribune and MPR have stories on the identity theft protections.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) says the White House press room is getting a makeover:

For a decade, the daily White House news briefing has been televised. Now it is becoming television.

Earlier this year, Fox News talk show host Tony Snow was hired as press secretary. Next up: a renovation of the briefing room, likely with a video wall that could display everything from "flags waving in the breeze [to] detailed charts and graphs," according to a senior White House official working on the project. For TV viewers, the video feed could be the sole on-screen image, or could share the space with the speaker.

White House officials say they are weighing how -- and how often -- to use the video capability. But the new technology could help transform White House briefings -- midday exchanges with reporters in a utilitarian setting -- into more interesting viewing. Both the planned video capabilities and Mr. Snow's hiring appear to be part of a subtle but sweeping effort by administration officials to deliver their message directly to the public, particularly through video.

It's a pretty slow day except for FarmFest. Governor Pawlenty and several other politicians will be out and about tonight for National Night Out. Please check out MPR's Campaign 2006 site to get further information on candidates and listen to their speeches/news conferences.

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