With a month to go before lawmakers pack their cars and flock to Olympia, 2008 is already shaping up to be a busy legislative session.More than two dozen lawmakers already have proposed about 50 changes in state law, including a 10-cents-a-gallon carbon tax on gasoline,…
Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed a multi-million-dollar agreement with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation that offers parched sections of Eastern Washington something that cities and farmers have sought for years.New water."This is a tremendous milestone," Gregoire said, flanked by tribal leaders at a…
After 27 interviews, at least four meetings and three investigative trips to the Tri-Cities, the state Legislative Ethics Board has imposed its largest-ever fine against state Rep. Shirley Hankins, R-Richland.Hankins repeatedly broke state law by using her legislative clout to promoting her daughter's tire-recycling business,…
In a closely-watched case, the state Supreme Court this morning ruled 7-2 that indigent people do not have a right to a court-appointed lawyer for a divorce.Perhaps they should, Justice Charles Johnson wrote for the court's majority, given the complexity of divorces and what's at…
The Olympian's Adam Wilson reports that Tacoma truck driver Nick Bradford intends to burn the Mexican flag on the statehouse steps when the legislative session begins next month."Obviously the protest is intended to get the attention of the public, but also the politicians here, in…
The newest state Supreme Court justice is a judge from Spokane.This morning at the state's Temple of Justice in Olympia, Gov. Chris Gregoire said she's appointing appeals court judge Debra L. Stephens to replace retiring justice Bobbe Bridge. Stephens is the first native Eastern Washington…
With a city surrounded by floodwaters, waters rising on Interstate 5 and dozens of landslides reported along Western Washington highways, Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency today, making National Guard troops available to storm-damaged counties."At this hour, Aberdeen has been effectively cut off"…