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Eye On Olympia archive for Jan. 2009

SATURDAY, JAN. 31, 2009



Tax on plastic proposed...

A senator from a struggling timber district has come up with an interesting idea: a tax on plastic.The money would go into a special "climate protection forestry account," which would be used to pay for incentives to the forestry industry. The goal: to reduce carbon,…

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FRIDAY, JAN. 30, 2009




Another dispatch from the water wars...

There's another interesting farmers-versus-environmentalists water battle shaping up in the statehouse this year.Farm groups are backing a reform that sounds utterly common-sense: changing decades-old laws that require farmers to use every drop of their water allocation or, after a few years of failing to do…

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THURSDAY, JAN. 29, 2009

Governor seeks storm help for businesses...

Gov. Chris Gregoire is asking the federal government to declare a statewide "economic injury disaster" for Washington's businesses due to the heavy snow storms in December.The move by the federal Small Business Administration would free up low-interest loans for businesses at a time when credit's…

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TUESDAY, JAN. 27, 2009




Lunchtime reading for you...

What we're reading:-This analysis, by a private think tank called the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, of the differences between House Democrats' recent cost-cutting plan and a similar proposal from Gov. Chris Gregoire. Researcher Jeff Chapman concludes that the House would reduce the budget…

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House passes first bills...

Local Reps. Matt Shea and John Driscoll made their opening floor speeches Monday, making the case -- although it didn't have to be made, judging by the unanimous voice vote -- for passage of a resolution honoring the state's National Guard troops.Shea, a former company…

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MONDAY, JAN. 26, 2009



How the neighbors are doing...

CNN has an interesting map up this morning, showing unemployment rates by state.The upshot: We're no Wyoming or North Dakota (when did you last hear that?), but Washington's still doing the best on the West Coast.

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SUNDAY, JAN. 25, 2009


From the notebook...

"At this very moment, we're not losing anybody, because where would you go?" -Attorney General Rob McKenna, telling a state salary commission that he'd like to pay his lawyers more, but that the recession has curtailed turnover for now."I've never been flipped off more times…

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From the bill pile...

...comes this one, one of several dozen from Sen. Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle:Senate Bill 5520: "An act relating to requiring agencies to provide truthful information to legislators."

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



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