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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Olympia archive for April 2005

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2005


Rufus who?

Gov. Christine Gregoire on Tuesday signed into law a bill renaming King County -- that's where Seattle is -- after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.King did, in fact, visit Seattle in 1961. The King County Council renamed the county for Dr. King back in 1986,…

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Give 'em some credit...

Gov. Christine Gregoire signed into law this week a bill that would require colleges to exercise more control over who's marketing credit cards to their students on campus."Where were you when I was in college?" Gregoire said to the bill's sponsors as she signed the…

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THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2005

Ed-gar...

For better or for worse, "love" is not a word that makes it into many statehouse speeches. Yet it -- and many other fond words -- came up when the most beloved Seattle Mariner stopped by the capitol recently for a resolution in his honor.Edgar…

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King for a day, or two...

Spokane gets a new state senator this week, if only for a couple of days.The guy who'd normally be in the seat -- Sen. Brad Benson -- will trade his legislative suit and tie for chem gear as he reverts to Maj. Benson at his…

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2005

Giving it the old college try...

Washington State University supporters tried Wednesday morning to tack an amendment onto the House construction budget to fund WSU's top priority: a $57 million biotech research center in Pullman."We are, I think, making a tremendous error in this budget in not funding the bio/life-sciences building…

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FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005


Senate flares over stem-cell research...

The state Senate -- which, like most senates, has the reputation of being the cooler-headed "more deliberative" chamber -- nonetheless turned quite hot on Friday morning when the topic turned to embryonic stem cell research. Below is an abbreviated version of the floor debate.The bill…

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Gas pains...

"There's never a shortage of people to come and praise raising taxes when they know they're on the receiving end." --- Sen. Brad Benson, R-Spokane, on support from mass-transit groups and road contractors for a $9 billion transportation tax hike proposed by the state Senate.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2005

Google in your back yard...

The online search company Google has put searchable satellite photos online at http://maps.google.com/ . (Type a location into the search box and click on "satellite.")The images vary in resolution. If you're looking for a photo of the state capitol, it's pretty blurry. But the images…

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On the hazards of the links...

"Golf clubs coming out and acting like spears, all kinds of things could be happening." -- Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, explaining why she voted against EHB 1246, which requires motorists who mount household stereo speakers in their truck bed or car back seat to bolt…

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2005

Mooooving the budget...

"A herd of sacred cows is still grazing on the lawn here." -- Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, on the Democrat-written Senate budget proposal. Republicans had argued unsuccessfully for more budget cuts.

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The state of the estate...

Here's a fact that's rarely mentioned in the debate over reinstating Washington's estate tax: very few people would actually have to pay it.The state Supreme Court in January tossed out the tax, saying it was based on a federal version that's now suspended. Gov. Gregoire…

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We could not help but notice...

The "Education Governor's" legacy took a hit last week, as Senate budget writers axed not one but two of former Gov. Gary Locke's pet programs. They also pared down a third.The Reading Corps, a program that matches struggling students with volunteer tutors, was eliminated completely…

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Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.



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