Grocery store workers at Kroger (Fred Meyer and QFC) and Albertsons/Safeway are taking to the picket lines across King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties today and tomorrow for informational picketing after 4 months of failed contract negotiations. A press release from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21 and 367, and the Teamsters Union 38 said that the purpose is to reach out to customers of those stores about the serious challenges the unions face. Tom Geiger, Communications Director for UFCW 21, said that after four months of contract negotiations that cover nearly 30,000 grocery store workers, Informational Pickets have been called for 32 locations this week.

A schedule of stores starts in Tacoma on Tues 7/30, most actions are on Weds 7/31 in King County, then more sites on Thurs 8/1 in Snohomish County and Tacoma. No stores from the Grays Harbor area were listed on the schedule, but local store employees are members of the same unions.

The purpose of Informational Picketing is to reach out to customers about the serious challenges in the contract negotiations. Geiger said that while there has been progress made in negotiation sessions, there is still a long way to go to reach an agreement. He added, “Workers are increasingly feeling the pressure of understaffing, unpredictable schedules, and low wages. While the wealthy CEOs of the big national grocery store chains are making more than 300 times their average worker, the employers are proposing wage increases of only a fraction of what workers need.”

https://kbkw.com/informational-picketing-begins-today-at-some-washington-grocery-stores/

Just yesterday, Andrew hit 2% in his fourth and what should’ve been his last qualifying poll for the September debates. Less than 24 hours after that poll was released, the DNC has revoked our second poll, saying that Andrew does not qualify to be on the September stage in Houston.

Just yesterday, Andrew hit 2% in his fourth and what should’ve been his last qualifying poll for the September debates. Less than 24 hours after that poll was released, the DNC has revoked our second poll, saying that Andrew does not qualify to be on the September stage in Houston.

People who live near the West Lake Landfill want to know how they will be protected from exposure to radiation when the Environmental Protection Agency begins removing nuclear contamination from the Superfund site in three years.

At a meeting late Thursday, EPA officials sought to assure residents they would be protected during the excavation. The federal agency last fall decided it would remove 70% of the site’s radioactivity.

Several residents said that they would like to be relocated while the waste is being removed.

“The only thing I’d consider safe is me knowing what my kid is breathing while they are digging that up, one mile away from his school,” said Meagan Beckerman of Bridgeton.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/residents-near-west-lake-landfill-demand-protection-during-radioactive-waste-removal

People who live near the West Lake Landfill want to know how they will be protected from exposure to radiation when the Environmental Protection Agency begins removing nuclear contamination from the Superfund site in three years.

At a meeting late Thursday, EPA officials sought to assure residents they would be protected during the excavation. The federal agency last fall decided it would remove 70% of the site’s radioactivity.

Several residents said that they would like to be relocated while the waste is being removed.

“The only thing I’d consider safe is me knowing what my kid is breathing while they are digging that up, one mile away from his school,” said Meagan Beckerman of Bridgeton.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/residents-near-west-lake-landfill-demand-protection-during-radioactive-waste-removal

Mobile payment technology company Square will move its 500 St. Louis employees from the Cortex Innovation Community to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch building downtown over the next few years.

The newspaper is moving around the corner next month, to 901 North 10th Street.

Square signed a lease on the newspaper’s longtime home last week. The building has space for 1,400 employees, giving Square the option to expand its St. Louis presence.

Square’s departure does mean significant space will open up on Cortex’s 200-acre Central West End campus, but Cortex President Dennis Lower said there are businesses waiting to move into and expand within the district.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/square-move-st-louis-post-dispatch-building-grow-local-workforce

Earlier today, Quinnipiac released a new poll with Andrew at 2% – our fourth qualifying poll for the September debate! Andrew hit the donor threshold back in June, so this earns him a spot in the next round of debates.

Earlier today, Quinnipiac released a new poll with Andrew at 2% – our fourth qualifying poll for the September debate! Andrew hit the donor threshold back in June, so this earns him a spot in the next round of debates.

The number of drug-related deaths increased by 16% last year, as fatal overdoses declined by an estimated 5.1% nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Missouri is one of 17 states that saw a rise in drug-related deaths last year. In 34 states, the number of deaths declined. Only Delaware had a higher increase over the previous year, at 16.7%.

Addiction treatment advocates point to Missouri’s decision to not expand Medicaid and the state’s belated response to treating the opioid overdose crisis, which according to the CDC killed an estimated 1,635 Missourians in 2018.

“We’re a conservative state that hasn’t invested heavily, because we think these are social issues,” said Dr. Will Ross, chairman of the St. Louis Joint Boards of Health and Hospitals. “We’re not really seeing this as a public health crisis until recently.”

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-drug-deaths-increase-national-numbers-fall-first-time-decades#stream/0

The number of drug-related deaths increased by 16% last year, as fatal overdoses declined by an estimated 5.1% nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Missouri is one of 17 states that saw a rise in drug-related deaths last year. In 34 states, the number of deaths declined. Only Delaware had a higher increase over the previous year, at 16.7%.

Addiction treatment advocates point to Missouri’s decision to not expand Medicaid and the state’s belated response to treating the opioid overdose crisis, which according to the CDC killed an estimated 1,635 Missourians in 2018.

“We’re a conservative state that hasn’t invested heavily, because we think these are social issues,” said Dr. Will Ross, chairman of the St. Louis Joint Boards of Health and Hospitals. “We’re not really seeing this as a public health crisis until recently.”

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-drug-deaths-increase-national-numbers-fall-first-time-decades#stream/0