Health care news:

►  In The Hill -- Labor group touts 50,000 letters to lawmakers for health reform -- Working America, an AFL-CIO community affiliate, says it has now delivered 50,000 handwritten letters to members of Congress to support efforts to overhaul the health system.

►  At NYTimes.com -- Democrats' fear: No health bill in 2009 -- Congresional Democrats and the White House seem increasingly nervous about the prospect that major health care legislation will not be completed by the end of this year. While the House seems to be on track for a vote on its bill this weekend or early next week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has still not finished his version of the legislation. And the calendar is not looking friendly.

►  At NYTimes.com -- Civil rights groups push for public option -- The NAACP and more than 50 other civil rights groups plan to unveil a “war room’’ in Washington to push for the so-called public option, or government-run health plan.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Health bills too timid on cutting costs, experts say -- Democrats are embracing the spirit of Obama's call to slow the runaway rise of health-care costs but some say they are shying away from some of the most aggressive techniques for achieving that.

►  In today's Washington Post -- The House's better health-reform option (Harold Meyerson column) -- The health-care reform bills emerging from the House and Senate, when melded and enacted, will constitute an epochal achievement: the near-universal provision of medical care to the American people. But the House version is clearly the more epochal, as the health coverage it provides is more universal, chiefly because it's more affordable.

Local news:

►  In the News Tribune -- Government playing a messy game with tanker contract (guest column by APALA Executive Director Malcolm Amado Uno) -- When it comes to capabilities, the economy, and fairness in international trade, the tanker decision should have been a no-brainer for Pentagon brass. But as the new Defense Department leadership prepares to rerun the tanker competition, all eyes are watching to see if it can run a clean and transparent competition that ultimately chooses the best plane for the taxpayer’s dollar. If they do that, they can’t help but choose an American-made tanker.

►  In today's Everett Herald -- Labor wasn't Boeing's only concern (Richard Davis column) -- Although Boeing executives and state political leaders highlighted the need for labor stability and a no-strike agreement, the company has consistently cited business climate concerns. Those concerns did not disappear as labor issues emerged dominant. (This column is a preview of the business lobby's message for the 2010 legislative session as they seek to cut injured workers' benefits, approve another all-cuts budget, and pass more business tax incentives.)

►  In the Spokesman-Review -- Kids' health care in danger -- Proposed DSHS cuts would reverse Gov. Gregoire’s goal of extending health insurance to all children in the state by 2010, say children’s advocates. In recommendations to the governor’s budget office, DSHS has proposed rolling back eligibility for children in the state’s insurance program called Apple Health for Kids.

►  In today's Oregonian -- Oregon curbs controversial tax breaks for wind, solar farms -- Oregon energy officials release new rules intended to rein in some of the runaway costs of the program by making it harder for one project to qualify for multiple tax credits and by giving the Oregon Department of Energy greater leeway to deny an application.

National news:

►  In today's Washington Post -- A tired story: Business vs. Labor (Steven Pearlstein column) -- There is nothing inevitable about Boeing becoming the next GM, or Seattle the next Detroit, but those remain real possibilities. It may be comforting for business and labor to cling to their familiar story lines, but we know how these narratives end. The business executives dream of crushing or escaping the unions is no less a fantasy than the workers' determination to preserve pay and work rules that ignore competitive realities. It's time for both sides to get real and figure out how to collaborate on a new social contract.

►  In today's NY Times -- House bill would assure workers paid sick days -- In an effort to rein in the spread of the H1N1 flu, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) introduces legislation to guarantee five paid sick days for workers sent home by their employers with a contagious illness

►  At Politico -- Democrats, incumbents get wake-up call in Tuesday's election -- The off-year elections were, in two big races, a rebuke of Democrats, reshuffling Obama’s political circumstances in ways likely to have severe near-term consequences for his policy agenda and larger governing strategy.

►  In the Orange Co. Register -- Study: Immigration raids hurt workers -- The AFL-CIO report blasts the Bush administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement workplace raids, saying they undermined efforts to protect workers' rights and negatively affected immigrant and native-born workers. The report contends that the raids mostly penalized workers and not the employers, and it details how the dramatic increase in immigration enforcement agents, arrests and prosecutions of immigrants in the U.S. has reportedly taken precedence over labor law enforcement.

►  From AP -- Philadelphia transit union on strike -- TWU Local 234 went on strike over wage, pension and health care issues, stalling bus, subway and trolley operations and forcing thousands to find other ways to get to work and to the election polls.