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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Olympia archive for June 2008

MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2008


FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008

Teachers' union, Semler endorse Dorn...

Not a lot of suspense on this one, but the Washington Education Association has endorsed Randy Dorn, a (different) union official running to oust state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson.The WEA is at odds with Bergeson, it's former president, over her support for the…

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TVW: new Inside Olympa host...

More from the in-box...Now that veteran Associated Press reporter Dave Ammons has gone to the dark side – i.e. gone to work as a state-paid spokesman – he's gone from his dual role as the longtime host of "Inside Olympia," a weekly interview show on…

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2008


TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2008

MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2008

Rule 1 for candidates: Buy your name...

Running for office -- or even thinking about it? Here's a hint: Buy your domain name before your critics do.State Attorney General candidate John Ladenburg got an unpleasant suprise last week when he found that a staffer for the King County Republicans had bought the…

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FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008

Ballot measures: who's got cash...

Thanks to Lori Anderson with the PDC, here's a peek into the checkbooks of the groups pushing or opposing several ballot measures this year. (The measure summaries in parentheses are mine.)-Initiative 985 (Tim Eyman's measure designed to steer more money into transportation projects, synch up…

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THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2008

State budget forecast: some rain's falling...

Steve Lerch, a state economist, is predicting about that this two-year state budget cycle will bring in about $60 million less than predicted four months ago.Lerch was speaking to the state's Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.In the 2009-2011 budget cycle, he thinks, the hit will…

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TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2008

MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2008


Demo convention: the abbreviated version...

Ahh, sunny Spokane. Here's how things went this weekend at the state Democratic Party convention:-There was general agreement on the party platform.-Gov. Chris Gregoire blasted her presumptive Republican challenger, former state Sen. Dino Rossi, as someone who "pretends he is an outsider who has never…

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THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2008

A couple more candidates drop out...

In the 41st legislative district, Republican Valery Chan has dropped her bid for an open Senate seat. State Rep. Fred Jarrett, D-Mercer Island; and Republican Bob Baker have also filed for the seat.And in King County, superior court candidate Eddie Aubrey has dropped out.Here's the…

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In great demand: TVW footage...

Really. The state's public affairs network, famous for its "gavel-to-gavel" coverage of the legislature, state supreme court, etc., is clamping down on bloggers lifting video or audio from the site. On Friday, the network started contacting bloggers, including me, who use excerpts from its recordings.…

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Rossi and GOP...

In a tussle made possible by the new rules for Washington's "Top Two" primary, the state Democratic Party is claiming that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi is trying to deceive voters by saying he prefers the "GOP" party on the primary ballot, instead of simply…

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Not smoking, but apparently still drinking...

Bars and taverns "have bounced back strongly" from the hit they greatly feared when the state indoor public smoking ban took effect in Dec. 2005, according to the state Department of Revenue.As an industry, their average growth rate was actually stronger after the ban, according…

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008

TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2008

Who voters will see first on the ballot...

Ballot order can matter a lot, particularly for lesser-known seats with a lot of candidates. The order of candidates' names is randomly chosen by election officials.So how did candidates fare this year?-Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers: last on the list of half a dozen contenders for…

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MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2008

Initiatives: the quick and the dead...

From a story I wrote in Sunday's paper:Unhappy with reports of abuse at camps for troubled teens, Angela Smith decided to turn directly to voters for reforms.The Seattle woman wrote a citizen's initiative. She recruited 100 volunteers, got thousands of petitions printed, and set about…

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FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2008

More filing news...

-Half a dozen people have now filed to run for state school superintendent.-State Rep. Alex Wood, who started the day with no filed opponents, how has two Republicans and an Independent running against him.-A Bremerton man listing his name as "(Blue Collar) Brad Gehring" is…

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GOP, in sotto voce

I blogged this morning about Spokane GOP chairman Curt Fackler's decision to list no party in his run for state insurance commissioner.Here's another example of a Republican candidate apparently seeking a little distance from the brand: Mercer Island public-releations entrepreneur Valerie Chan filed to challenge…

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More filing surprises...

-Nine people have filed to fun for governor, including several perennial candidates. Among them: Tacoma's Will Baker. Baker, who once described himself as an "international man of diplomacy," has run for Washington secretary of state, auditor and governor and been repeatedly arrested for disrupting government…

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



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