*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM FRIDAY ***

+ JOLT News: Olympia Regional Airport sees electric airplanes as the future of aviation

+ The Seattle Times: COVID vaccination rates have jumped in Washington since August, with continued decline in infections

+ KING-5 TV: Washington single-use plastic bag ban [began] Oct. 1: Here’s what you need to know

+ KING-5 TV: ‘The science says stop doing it’: Washington ends disciplinary segregation in state prisons – Washington Department of Corrections ended solitary confinement on Sept. 16 to focus on humane treatment of inmates. ed. note: Finally.

+ South Sound News: Report: State Revenues Up Almost $1 Billion

+ NVN: Highway 507 Roundabouts Planned to Alleviate McKenna Bottleneck

+ McClatchy News: AccuWeather forecast: Northwest could see winter weather as soon as October – Forecasters predicted an early and wet start to winter driven by cooler-than-average water temperatures near the equator in the Pacific Ocean.

+ Thurston County Auditor: Thurston County Elections Offering Observer Training ahead of November General Election + Auditor’s Office Announces Logic & Accuracy Test ahead of the November 2 General Election; Seeks Observers

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM FRIDAY ***

Politico: What If 2020 Was Just a Rehearsal? American democracy is in the midst of a waking nightmare, says Rick Hasen. And Democrats aren’t taking it seriously enough.

KING-5 TV: ‘Slower than in the 1970s’: New postal service delivery standards begin [Oct. 1]

MSNBC’s The Reidout Blog: [The vaccinated] Brett Kavanaugh tests positive for Covid ahead of event for Amy Coney Barrett. NBC News Pete Williams: How Kavanaugh’s positive Covid test will affect the court

CNBC: Key inflation gauge watched by the Federal Reserve hits another 30-year high

Truthout: “Diversity” and “White Supremacist” Are Among the Terms Wisconsin GOP Seeks to Ban in Schools

Yahoo! News: Kidnapping, assassination and a London shoot-out: Inside the CIA’s secret war plans against WikiLeaks

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM FRIDAY ***

The Times (UK): How Big Pharma made a killing from the coronavirus pandemic – The rollout of the global Covid vaccine programme shows humanity at its very best, right? So how come many vaccine projects were funded by taxpayers, while the giant drugs companies hoovered up the profits?

The Washington Post: Finding reliable masks online can be tricky. Here are tips that can help. As the delta variant spreads, some governments, schools and offices are recommending mask use again

*** TRUMP NEWS FROM FRIDAY ***

The New Yorker: The Democratic Civil War Has a Winner: Donald Trump – Biden’s agenda is up against more than just the moderates-versus-progressives split.