State GOP Chairman Luke Esser:“Representative Curtis did the right thing by resigning today, as it was clear he could no longer effectively represent either the Republican Party or his constituents. We wish the Curtis family all the best as they work to rebuild their lives.…
Today is Rep. David Buri's last day as a state lawmaker. Buri, R-Colfax, is stepping down to work as Eastern Washington University's liaison -- a lobbyist, essentially -- with the Legislature and government agencies.From an e-mail to constituents today:I have always felt that while I…
From S-R staff writer Bill Morlin today:A state legislator who yesterday insisted he was “not gay” was being blackmailed by a young man he had engaged in “sexual activities” with after the two met at a Spokane Valley adult bookstore last week, court documents filed…
Referendum 67 – a battle between insurers and lawyers which over a new law allowing triple damages when insurers wrongly deny a claim – is apparently being won by the lawyers. A new poll sponsored by a University of Washington research center, 48 percent of…
Dozens of Democratic state lawmakers last month sent a letter to a mental health center, sharply criticizing the agency's "hostile bargaining position" in negotiations with unionized employees."Your agency is funded largely through the state's budget," read the Sept. 22 letter, requested by Service Employees International…
Comments from Gov. Chris Gregoire, speaking to reporters shortly after Dino Rossi announced that he'll again challenge her for governor:"All we have to do is ask ourselves: Are we better off as a state today than we were three years ago?" she said. "You bet…
Speaking in Issaquah a few minutes ago, former GOP candidate for governor Dino Rossi said, yes, he'll run again against Democratic incumbent Chris Gregoire."Washington State needs new leadership for a new era," he told cheering supporters and family members. "And that journey starts today."Rossi said…
Gov. Chris Gregoire is tapping a couple of friends -- fellow female Democratic governors -- to help her build up her campaign war chest before a legislative-session cash cutoff kicks in."One month left to give. The race is on," reads an invitation to a luncheon…
As mentioned in the story linked to below, the state Democratic Party today posted a sort of short video counterpoint to the arguments -- bad economy, bad business climate -- made by Rossi in 2004.The highlights: kudos for the state in a recent Forbes article…
In a busy season for ballot measures, not much coverage has been devoted to Senate Joint Resolution 8212, which would private industry to use prison labor, so long as the operations don't unfairly compete with other businesses.This isn't exactly revolutionary. Until recently, prison inmates in…
After a week and a half of covering a trial in Cowlitz County, I'm back in Olympia. Thanks to political reporter Jim Camden for covering for me.More soon.
Dino Rossi has scheduled a press conference for Thursday afternoon in Spokane to announce he's running for governor next year, a Rossi '08 page on the Internet says.The listing is posted on Facebook, and Rossi can't be immediately reached for comment. But the Spokane Double…
From Monday's Olympian story by staff writer Matt Batcheldor:"Those elected will help determine whether the city needs yet another plan for developing downtown or whether the existing dozen or so plans are adequate."The paper went back and looked at 14 such studies, dating back to…
Next in our series of what-the-heck's-this-thing-on-the-ballot stories: Tim Eyman's latest measure, Initiative 960:After two high-profile failures last year, initiative promoter Tim Eyman is returning to his time-tested formula: beating the drum against taxes."There's no decision they make in Olympia that is more important than taking…
Although 2001's Initiative 747 limited property tax increases to 1 percent unless voters agreed to more, they're apparently agreeing to more.Statewide property tax collections on existing properties rose 5.7 percent ($414 million) last year, as voters agreed to tax themselves more than the 1 percent…
Yvonne Lopez-Morton, a Spokane Public Schools project assistant and longtime anti-discrimination advocate, has been picked by Gov. Chris Gregoire to chair the state Human Rights Commission."Yvonne Lopez-Morton has spent a lifetime of advocacy speaking out against racism and discrimination," Gregoire said Wednesday. "I am pleased…
Tonight in SeaTac, Republicans will gather for a $100-a-head fall dinner themed "Run, Dino, Run." Speaking will be Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, chairman of the Republican Governors Association. The AP's Dave Ammons, via the Seattle P-I, had a good preview here.State GOP Chairman Luke Esser…
House Speaker Frank Chopp has chosen policy director Barbara Baker as the new chief clerk of the House.Baker replaces Rich Nafziger, who's moving over to the Senate, where he'll be chief of staff for the Democratic caucus.Baker has worked for the House since 1996, serving…
Washington's largest state-workers union, the Washington Federation of State Employees, has voted to boost member dues from 1.37 percent of pay to 1.5 percent to help pay for its affiliation with a national union.The increase was approved in Spokane Sunday after the union's biennial convention.…
The Washington State Capital Museum, housed in a 1920s mansion a few blocks south of the statehouse, is about to launch an exhibit that's a little different from the Native American art and historic photos that are its more typical fare.Bigfoot.Yup, the museum will be…
This from our hard-working North Idaho bureau today: A Bonners Ferry woman says she was humiliated when security guards at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene told her she'd have to remove her underwire bra to get inside.Lori Plato said she was going into the…
Very interesting ruling out of the state Supreme Court this morning. A deeply divided court threw out Public Disclosure Commission sanctions against former legislative candidate Marilou Rickert. In 2002, Rickert ran against incumbent state Sen. Tim Sheldon, R-Potlatch. During the campaign, Rickert sent out a…
President Bush's veto of a bill expanding children's health insurance means that Washington loses $28 million it had hoped to put toward children's health coverage over the next year, according to Jim Stevenson, a spokesman for the state's Medicaid program. But unlike in some states,…
As Adam Wilson notes at his blog, the online application system on the state-run www.careers.wa.gov website has been disabled for a week while Department of Personnel staff apparently work hard to update it.Notice: Our online job application is currently unavailable while we make improvements. the…
The federal Office of Management and Budget has created this interesting website to track earmarks in budget legislation. Earmarks, depending on whether you're getting one, are either critical local infrastructure projects or shameless political pork.A simple search for, yes, "Spokane" turns up ten earmarks, mostly…