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Seattle News Edition
of Continental Newstime newsmagazine
VOLUME XIII NUMBER 1 AUGUST 1, 2026
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This is not the whole newspaper, but a special complimentary, on-line edition of the general-interest newsmagazine, Continental Newstime. The rest of the newspaper includes national and world news, newsmaker profiles, commentary/analysis, periodic interviews, travel and entertainment features, a science column, humor, sports, cartoons, comic strips, and puzzles, and averages 26 pages per month. Continental Features/Continental News Service publishes, on a monthly rotational basis, special, complimentary on-line newspapers: Washington DC News Edition, Chicago News Edition, Honolulu News Edition, Atlanta News Edition, Anchorage News Edition, Boston News Edition, Seattle News Edition, Miami News Edition, San Diego News Edition, Rochester (N.Y.) News Edition, Minneapolis News Edition, and Houston News Edition.
- Seattle News Edition of Continental Newstime
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* Congressional News Briefs … Seattle-area Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, explaining her vote against the 2027 fiscal-year National Defense Authorization Act, said, “… a small fraction of the money Republicans have put in this bill could restore the Medicaid cuts that pushed millions off their health care, pay for universal pre-k [pre-kindergarten], any number of things that would actually ease the cost-of-living crisis that Americans are facing.” Insisting that the federal government should, instead, “invest in our people and our communities,” she vowed to oppose a Trump Administration agenda that prioritizes spending $1.15 trillion for the military, “an increase of $260 billion from FY2026,” and Congressional Republicans’ plan “to pass a partisan reconciliation bill to spend an additional $73 billion on the war in Iran,” which Representative Jayapal termed an “unconstitutional war.” Speaking of which, the Foreign Affairs Committee member notes that her War Powers Resolution passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 214 to 208. Viewing the vote as a credit to “the vast majority of the American people who want President Trump to end this illegal war and focus on their lives right here at home,” she charged, “From the beginning, this war has had no clear mission, no strategy, no end goal. Congress has not been consulted. And hostilities have been driven over and over again by a president who won his election by promising to end forever wars.” She concluded, “This Administration has clearly gotten us into a war they have no clue how to get us out of.” In addition, the Congresswoman, together with Edward J. Markey in the Senate, has re-introduced the Health Over Wealth Bill to counter the ill effects of private-equity firms and for-profit companies owning hospitals, nursing homes, and mental and behavioral-health facilities, effects that the Congresswoman says include “worse health outcomes, less transparency, and sky-high bills.” The legislation would not only create a Task Force to examine the role of private equity and consolidation in health care and how market considerations create or worsen disparities in health care, but require private-equity-owned health-care facilities and suppliers of medical equipment to publicly report their debt and executive pay, lobbying and political spending, health-care costs for patients and insurance plans, and any reductions in services, wages, or benefits. Besides, the Bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to intervene against price gouging, under-staffing, or barriers to care; require firms to create escrow accounts to cover five years of expenses to ensure care continues in case of a hospital closing or service reduction; bar private-equity firms from stripping facilities of assets or adversely affecting quality, safety, or access to health care; and close tax loopholes, so real-estate investors cannot charge health-care facilities excessive rents. Senator Maria Cantwell, in turn, has marked her receipt of the Washington International Trade Association’s Congressional Leadership Award recognizing her contributions to free markets and global trade, by advocating a “Technology NATO” of the most-technologically-advanced nations as a counterweight to China. The Senator contends, “Our foreign policy cannot be about military might, & it can’t be about cutting off people with tariffs.” As the Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, she also underscored the importance of negotiating a U.S.-Middle East Free Trade Agreement, to stabilize the region through new technology development and bar China from dominance in the Middle East. She recommends the strategy of “opening markets, delivering great U.S. products, building a better world, and surviving on greater alliances.” She added that, since September, 2025, the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. has authorized financing of almost $938.8 million just to support Washington state exports, and between the 2024 and 2025 fiscal-years, the Bank assisted 146 Washington state exporters, including 111 small businesses with $18 billion in financial support for their export operations. Its authority due to expire later this year, she declared that it must be re-authorized as in 2019. And as a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, she has decried the decision of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to consider a Draft Rule permitting government agencies and developers to proceed with infrastructure projects without consulting the states and tribal governments, as was done in connection with construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Downtown Seattle, and valuing “the expertise of people who have protected these places for generations.” In other developments, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, with three Senate colleagues, have re-introduced the Right to IVF Bill to facilitate access to in-vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technology for the would-be parents who look to it to create their families, to require employer-sponsored insurance to provide IVF coverage, and to bar states from prohibiting fertility treatments. Plus, Senator Murray has proposed that military families have the option of freezing their eggs or sperm before deployment to a combat zone.
* State Government News Briefs … Governor Bob Ferguson, reacting to Trump Administration agency rule-making—along with such state-government bodies as the Office of Financial Management, the Employment Security Department, the Department of Health, and the
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Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation—charges, “The proposed changes by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) add unnecessary bureaucracy and additional layers of political review to grants administered by the federal government. The proposed changes will also have severe consequences for Washington’s already-strapped state budget.” In other developments, Governor Ferguson informs that, since he began the Washington Completes FAFSA Campaign–FAFSA being the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is required to access such funding as the Pell Grant–he has proposed making filing of FAFSA, as an increasing number of states have done, or the state-funding equivalent [WASFA], a requirement for high-school graduation, unless the student signs a form declining to file; the Governor adds that, although many families qualify, in 2024 more than $80 million was unclaimed.
* County Government News Briefs … The Metropolitan King County Council, at its last meeting on July 28–and it is not due to meet again until after August 14–was set to take up an Ordinance amending its employee code of ethics; an Ordinance approving the Memorandum of Understanding with PROTEC17 representing Engineering Services Manager employees in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks; an Ordinance approving the Labor Agreement with the King County Coalition of Unions representing employees in the Department of Executive Services, the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, and the Department of Local Services; the First Reading of an Ordinance concerning source separation, collection, and management of organics for certain businesses located in unincorporated areas of the County and prescribing penalties; the First Reading of a Motion confirming County Executive Girmay Zahilay’s appointment of Geoffrey Thomas as a County Alternate Representative to the Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network board of directors; the First Reading of a Motion confirming the County Executive’s appointment of Priscilla Wong to the King County Access para-transit advisory committee; the First Reading of Motions confirming the appointment of three to the Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Advisory Committee; and the First Reading of a Motion concerning public transportation and acknowledging receipt of the Cashless Fare Engagement Report submitted in response to the 2026-2027 Biennial Budget Ordinance. Among the Consent Agenda items was a Motion confirming the County Executive’s appointment of Juan Cotto to the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District Board of Directors; and a Motion approving the job description for the position of Inspector-General.
* City Government News Briefs … When the City Council last met on July 28, it considered an Ordinance establishing the new Information Technology Talent Modernization classification title and corresponding rates of pay for information-technology positions across City departments; the appointment of an individual to the Seattle Human Rights Commission and re-appointment of six others to the Commission; the appointment of three to the Seattle Disability Commission and the re-appointment of four others, among other appointment decisions; an Ordinance relating to the 2025 Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy; clarification of processes for Council land-use decisions; and collective-bargaining agreements and modifications that affected the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 77 and Local 17 of the Professional and Technical Employees. That same day, Mayor Katie B. Wilson and Police Chief Shon Barnes furnished additional updates on the shootings at Seattle Center that killed three and wounded at least four others. On July 30, both the Land Use and Sustainability Committee and the Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan scheduled meetings.
* School District News Briefs … The Seattle Public School District’s Policy Committee is set to meet on August 5 beginning at 3 PM, and the Capital Programs Oversight Committee is accepting applications for a prospective new Committee member. A Special Meeting of the School Board is slated for August 12 at 4:30 PM, with the Board’s Regular Meeting following 2 weeks later on August 26 starting at 4:30 PM.
* Weather … The National Weather Service reports that current conditions at Boeing Field-King County International Airport, as of 12 AM on July 30, are clear, with a temperature of 63 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 67 percent, barometric pressure of 30.0 inches, wind out of the north at 0 miles per hour, a dewpoint of 52 degrees, and visibility of 10 miles. The over-night forecast calls for mostly-clear skies, with a low temperature of about 54 degrees and calm wind. Expect sunny skies and wind speeds of about 5 miles per hour through July 31, with a daily high temperature of 75 degrees, then about 80 degrees. Nights, look for wind speeds of 5 to 7 miles per hour, mostly-clear skies, and an over-night low temperature of about 57 degrees, followed by about 60 degrees the night of July 31. On August 1 a 20-percent chance of rain is anticipated and a daily high temperature of 73 degrees. That night, the chance of rain remains at 20 percent, with an over-night low temperature of 56 degrees. Mostly-sunny skies and mostly-clear nights are due to return on August 2, with the temperature changing from 70 degrees during daytime hours to 54 degrees at night.
* Sports … In Major League Baseball, the Mariners host the Minnesota Twins this afternoon for a 1:10 PM game at T-Mobile Park. Meanwhile, in WNBA action, the Storm will visit the Atlanta Dream for a 4:30 PM [Pacific Time] tip-off. In Major League Soccer, the Sounders are set to play the Portland Timbers at home in a 7:45 PM [Pacific Time] match. And the Dallas Cowboys are scheduled to visit the Seahawks on August 15 at 5 PM in the first preseason game this year, with the Hawks’ first regular-season opponents being their Super Bowl LX opponents, the New England Patriots, at home, on September 9, at 5:20 PM, at Lumen Field.
For a copy of Cartoonist Phil Jones’ newspaper-feature, “Size and Stupidity,” please E-mail: continentalnewstime@gmail.com
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One of the questions Ralph Nader is yet to answer about his book, “Let’s Start the Revolution”:
“Can that ‘left/right coalition’ you mention hang together once formed on certain issues when one side fails to rein in its desire to initiate new spending programs and the other side objects that it’s their money that is to be spent?”
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* Proverbs (chapter 28/verse 22): “He that hastes to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him.” hastes=hurries.
[A timely warning against get-rich-quick schemes]
A free copy of the Etna, California News Edition of Continental Newstime [dated August 14, 2020] containing the newspaper feature of outdoor writer Lee Snyder is also available by
E-mail request to info@continentalnewsservice.com
*Free
Marion, Montana News Edition
of Continental Newstime newsmagazine
VOLUME I NUMBER 1 AUGUST 17, 2022
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This is not the whole newspaper, but a special complimentary, on-line edition of the general-interest, periodic newsmagazine, Continental Newstime. The rest of the newspaper includes national and world news, newsmaker profiles, commentary/analysis, periodic interviews, travel and entertainment features, an intermittent science column, humor, sports, cartoons, comic strips, and puzzles, and averages 26 pages per month. Continental Features/Continental News Service publishes, on a monthly rotational basis, special, complimentary on-line newspapers: Washington DC News Edition, Chicago News Edition, Honolulu News Edition, Atlanta News Edition, Anchorage News Edition, Boston News Edition, Seattle News Edition, Miami News Edition, San Diego News Edition, Rochester (N.Y.) News Edition, Minneapolis News Edition, and Houston News Edition.
Marion, Montana News Edition of Continental Newstime
Editor-in-Chief: Gary P. Salamone
Continental Features/Continental News Service
501 W. Broadway, Plaza A, PMB# 265
San Diego, CA 92101
(858) 492-8696
E-mail: info@continentalnewsservice.com
* Congressional News Briefs … Marion’s agent in the U.S. House of Representatives, Matt Rosendale, decided he was not going to sugar-coat House Bill 5376. While House Democrats said they were acting to pass the “Inflation Reduction Act,” the Congressman contended that legislation increasing the size of government, raising taxes on hard-working Americans and spending billions of taxpayer dollars on the Left’s Green New Deal was actually an “Inflation Acceleration Act” and he cast a vote against the bill. Warning that the spending would “cripple our nation’s budget,” he noted that the legislation “will also raise an army of 87,000 IRS agents to squeeze more taxes out of already-hurting American families. With frivolous spending and an enlarged, aggressive IRS, the only climate that will be changing over the next year will be the economic climate, and it will get worse.” He offered this solution: “To reduce inflation, Congress must freeze spending, a concept the Left does not understand. Reining in federal spending and reducing taxes to lower inflation will reaffirm confidence in those investing in our economy.” On his part, Senator Steve Daines, commenting on the $739-billion, so-called Inflation Reduction Act of President Joseph Biden and Senate Democrats that he opposed, asserted that Senate Democrats voted against Daines’ amendment to eliminate policies that would increase costs on Made in Montana energy and other amendments that would render the bill “less painful for Montanans.” He characterized, as “supersizing the IRS,’ the plan to hire more than 80,000 Internal Revenue Service agents “to audit small and medium-size businesses and assert control over the lives and finances of Montanans.” He termed a subsidy for “rich people” the provision to offer $7,500 tax credits to individuals making up to $150,000, so they can purchase expensive electric vehicles. Considering the bill “a slap in the face of Montana families,” the Senator added, “The Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend bill is bad for Montana families, bad for Montana energy jobs and bad for Montanans’ pocketbooks.” Working with Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth and Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono, Senator Daines has introduced bipartisan legislation, known as the BABES (Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening) Enhancement Act, to require the Transportation Security Administration to clarify and update guidance, every five years, on handling breast milk, baby formula, and other related nutrition products based on consultation with leading maternal-health experts. Calling the legislation a “Bill to Support Montana Moms,” Daines informs that companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives, and the measure is endorsed by such organizations as the March of Dimes and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Senator Jon Tester, in turn, as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, announces that the $792.1-billion Defense Appropriations Bill earmarks almost $182 million for Montana priorities, saying, “This legislation will keep America safe by investing in Malmstrom Air Force Base, giving our troops a well-deserved pay raise [4.6 percent], ensuring our servicemen and women are well-equipped with the most up-to-date technology, and shifting resources towards programs that’ll maintain our fighting edge over adversaries like China and Russia.” For example, over in Columbia Falls, uAvionix is due to receive $7 million to develop Future Tactical Unmanned Aerial System communications. In addition, he reports that, for Montana, the American Rescue Plan Act means $266 million to deliver high-speed Internet to rural areas of the state, something that is “one of the biggest keys to success for Montana’s students, families, and small businesses.”
* State Government News Briefs … Governor Greg Gianforte has expressed the view that the Montana Supreme Court, after upholding a district-court order temporarily blocking three pro-life bills he signed into law—the Court should not delay bringing into line its 1999 ruling in Armstrong v. State with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision finding that there is no constitutional right to abortion and that the states are entitled to restrict abortion. In other developments, the state legislature has highlighted a recent report by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology that acknowledges findings of the Department of Environmental Quality that the ingestion of too much manganese through drinking water may be harmful, at the same time the Bureau notes that the mineral, naturally present in many common foods, is essential for proper nutrition and that too little may be harmful, as well. Some research shows that adults and children drinking water with high manganese concentrations for sustained periods may suffer from memory and attention problems and motor-skill deficits. But, since most Montanans tap groundwater supplies for their drinking water, they mainly avoid high levels of manganese. Those that do not? The Bureau’s Ground Water Assessment Program reports that 7 percent of the water samples it tested exceeded the recommended health-standard limit for
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adults and children older than 6 years of age. Checking 3,858 water samples from across the state, the Bureau gives assurance that manganese concentrations were low and safe for 85 percent of the well samples it analyzed and that lower concentrations were recorded in samples from western Montana aquifers; higher concentrations, in the eastern part of the state. Specifically, certain aquifers near Flathead Lake, north and west of Great Falls, and in the Missouri River Valley yielded more samples with elevated manganese concentrations. The Safe Drinking Water Act categorizes manganese as a secondary water contaminant, like iron, pH and sulfate, meaning it is safe to drink, but may damage water equipment and transmit an unpleasant odor and taste. The state legislature reports that 380 Montana schools, to date, have tested water fixtures for the primary water contaminant, lead and are implementing remedies for contaminated fixtures.
* County Government News Briefs … The Flathead County Board of Commissioners [Brad W. Abell, Pamela Holmquist, and Randy Brodehl], at its last meeting on August 11, considered six different lakeshore permits, including one at McGregor Lake, one at Flathead Lake, and another at Whitefish Lake; conferred with Erik Mack, of the Planning & Zoning Office, who reported an uptick in zoning violations; discussed giving authorization to publish a Notice of Public Hearing on Road Abandonment concerning an unnamed portion of road off Highway 93 West; took up the matter of authorization to publish a Call for Bids for the estimated $120,000 Fall, 2022 Pavement Striping Project; was due to hear from Liz Wood, of Mountain Climber Transit, on ridership increases, and from Ashley Cummins, Director of the County Library, who reported approximately 1,000 daily patron visits system-wide and who provided an update on the Library Board vacancy; planned to meet with Sheriff Brian Heino; and, among other County business, was tasked to sign a Behavioral Health Hospital Provider Agreement with Logan Health.
* School District News Briefs … The Marion Elementary School District, with the library closed during the summer due to remodeling, plans a Back to School Kick Off Event on September 1, with school starting on September 6. Earlier this month, the District posted a notice that it was hiring for full-time teaching positions in physical education and in the sixth-grade classroom. The School Board is scheduled to meet again on September 12. Meantime, in the Kalispell Public Schools District, Flathead High School announces that classes resume either on August 31 or September 1, depending on the grade level.
* Sports … The Flathead High School Boys Varsity Football Team is set to play Skyview on August 27 at 7 PM and is due to visit Gallatin on September 2 for a 7 PM kickoff.
* Weather … The National Weather Service reports that current conditions 17 miles west-southwest of Kalispell, as of 3:15 PM on August 17, are sunny, with a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 15 percent, barometric pressure of 29.95 inches, visibility of 10 miles, wind out of the south-southeast at 3 miles per hour, and a dewpoint of 36 degrees. The over-night forecast calls for clear skies, northeast wind of 3 to 5 miles per hour and a low temperature of about 55 degrees. Tomorrow, look for sunny skies, with a daily high temperature of about 91 degrees, calm wind becoming east-northeast wind of about 6 miles per hour in the morning. Thursday night, expect mostly-clear skies, with a low temperature of about 56 degrees and northeast wind of 3 to 6 miles per hour.
* Community Calendar … August 19—Pachyderm Meeting of Flathead County Republicans (12 Noon-1 PM) at the Eagles (37 First Street W, Kalispell); August 27—Pheasants Forever Chapter #138 Banquet (5 PM-9 PM), at the Fairgrounds; September 16/17—Quilt Show, at the Fairgrounds; September 17—Glacier Rabbit Show, at the Fairgrounds; September 30—Kalispell Ski Swap, at the Fairgrounds.
Dry Tortugas [Reprinted and Updated] by Lee Snyder
Named “Las Tortugas” (the turtles) by 16th-century Spanish explorers who found the harmless reptiles nesting on its shores, the Dry Tortugas is a collection of several sandy spits and tree-dotted islands. Fort Jefferson, once famous as a 19th-century “American Devil’s Island,” remains one of the world’s largest brick structures. The red brick fort is most famous as the jail where Dr. Mudd was held after treating Lincoln’s assassin for a broken leg.
Fort Jeff, past National Monument, is now part of Dry Tortugas National Park, which, together with the water and island reefs, is one of this nation’s most remote and unique units of our National Park system. While sharks are still occasionally found swimming in the moat, tourists are more likely seen snorkeling around the fort’s outer boundary viewing a dazzling array of fish, coral and sponges. Today, the Coast Guard’s close scrutiny of increasing public pressure allows visitors to see what underwater Florida is supposed to be. Divers claim the park waters are the liveliest anywhere in the state. “Little Africa,” an unspoiled section of coral reef near Loggerhead Key, the largest island in the chain, boasts expanses of staghorn and elkhorn coral more like those found in Caribbean than in Florida waters.
Nearly 27,000 people—mostly fishermen, yachtsmen, and divers—visit the park by boat each year.
But, for a six-week period, the bulk of the visitors attend for another reason. Spring in the Tortugas is definitely a birdwatcher’s delight. Florida’s peninsular shape is like an appendage reaching out into the ocean. Its islands are the first safety offered travelers crossing the Gulf of Mexico…. The “funneling effect” allows for close inspections of the birds in their most colorful breeding plumage—an opportunity that draws enthusiastic birders from all over the world….On any given spring day in the Tortugas, birders with four, five and six hundred birds on their lists are found. Listers with seven and eight hundred on their lists are usually there as guides, having visited the islands years before. But, even so, an errant species from South America, the Bahamas or Cuba could fly by adding to all lists.
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