OLYMPIA -- Legislators continue to say "no, thanks" to the $90 per diem they can receive for the special session.Among those who aren't taking it are:Rep. Kevin Parker, R-SpokaneSen. Tracey Eide, D-Des MoinesSen Paull Shin, D-MukilteoSen. Randy Gordon, D-BellevueAdd them to the names reported earlier…
OLYMPIA -- Debate sometimes gets so heated in the Legislature that the honorables mix their metaphors or jumble their allusions.Today's House debate on the Democrats' "Jobs" bill, which asks for $861 million in bonds to do energy refits in schools around the state, was one…
OLYMPIA – Legislators retraced some of their steps Tuesday from the regular session, re-approving some bills that one chamber supported but the other didn’t before time ran out last weekThe House passed an $861 million bond measure to retrofit public schools and make them more…
OLYMPIA -- The House of Representatives resurrected a bill -- and the arguments for and against -- to sell state bonds to pay for energy updates at school.It was one of the earliest bills to pass the House during the regular session, but stalled in…
OLYMPIA-- Both the Senate and House start up around 10 a.m., with some housekeeping stuff, some caucusing and then plans to "run bills."Which is to say vote on them and likely pass them. Because everything "rebooted" for the special session, each house will have to…
The eventual owners of 279 proposed residences in Kendall Yards will not have to pay property taxes on new construction for 12 years.The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 5-0 to accept Greenstone Corp.’s application for multifamily tax exemptions on the portion of Kendall Yards…
OLYMPIA – The Legislature picked up Monday where it left off Thursday trying close estimated $2.8 billion hole in the state’s operating budget. Legislative leaders said they were closer to agreeing how much to cut and spend, and how much to raise in taxes, but…
OLYMPIA -- The list of senators refusing their $90 per diem for the special session right now stands at 15 -- 12 Republicans and 3 Democrats.Alphabetically, they are:Randi Becker, R-EatonvilleDon Benton, R-VancouverMike Carrell, R-LakewoodKaren Fraser, D-OlympiaMike Hewitt, R-Walla WallaJanea Holmquist, R-Moses LakeJim Honeyford, R-SunnysideDerek Kilmer,…
OLYMPIA -- Senators have been called into a caucus, where Democratic members at least will hear of discussions that took place over the weekend and talk about plans to re-introduce several "jobs" bills -- proposals designed to boost the economy.Among the jobs bills is an…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature trundled into its special session at noon with a "pro forma" agenda. For the opening roll call in the Senate, there were just 10 senators on the floor when the call started, although 16 had shown up by the time the…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature cranks back up at noon today in an effort to pass a supplemental budget. Most of the honorables were given the weekend off, which meant many of them blew town, but some budget negotiators and leaders hung around.Gov. Chris Gregoire called…
OLYMPIA – When the Legislature clattered to a close on Thursday, so much attention was being paid to the budget left undone over the previous 60 days that there wasn’t much left to consider what was done.Talking on your cell phone while driving might get…
OLYMPIA -- It is traditional at the end of a session to pick winners and losers. But with a special session starting Monday, that list seems premature. It seems better, then, to end with a question bandied about Thursday night, between the time the regular…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire is calling the Legislature back into session starting noon Monday to solve the state's projected $2.8 billion budget shortfall and telling them to do it in seven days.Democratic leaders say ageement, and budget negotiators from both houses will work over…
(First, because it's not from our newspaper archives, I should start with information about the photo: It shows the Howard Street bridge and Havermale and Canada islands, sometime before 1927. There is vacant land southwest of the bridge where the downtown YMCA would be built…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature voted to adjourn the regular session "sine die" which is fancy Latin for "That's all folks." Not sure what the Latin is for "for the time being, anyway."Lt. Gov. Brad Owen just brought the gavel down in the Senate and the…
OLYMPIA -- The two warring factions in the Legislature, the House and the Senate, have reached agreement on one of the sticking points, education reform.The Senate just passed HB2776, a bill on K-12 funding, which essentially puts off until next biennium the heavy lifting on…
OLYMPIA -- Sen. Bob McCaslin is out of surgery for a heart bypass and valve replacement, the Senate was just told.Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, asked for a "point of personal privilege" to read an e-mail that said McCaslin came through surgery well and is expected…
OLYMPIA – The town of Fairfield takes the American flag seriously – arguably more seriously than any place else in the country. Thursday, the state saluted Fairfield for its 100 years of saluting the flag. With about two dozen current and former residents of the…
OLYMPIA -- On the calendar, this is the last day of the session. It will also be the day that a special session is called, most likely by Gov. Chris Gregoire.The regular session is expected to close late today, after all the work that can…
OLYMPIA -- Senate Republicans and Democrats traded jabs over one of the costs of the upcoming special session, the $90 per diem legislators get to help cover the cost of food and lodging when away from home.Republicans crafted a Senate bill Wednesday that would remove…
First the Spokane City Council supported Conservation Futures, then it didn’t. At the start of Monday, a majority of the Spokane City Council leaned in favor of accepting Spokane County’s offer to purchase the Riverfront Park YMCA, according to an e-mail Councilman Steve Corker sent…
OLYMPIA -- Rep. Alex Wood of Spokane got a pre adjournment send off this week, with a resolution in the House honoring him for his seven terms there.Honoring outgoing members is a tradition, of course, but it's also one of the few things that all…
OLYMPIA -- The end of the session -- or what was scheduled to be the end -- is a time when various "legislator of the year" awards are announced. But one that seems to have some currency in the halls of the Capitol went to…
OLYMPIA -- A special session is being discussed as a foregone conclusion today, and Republican leaders are blaming disorganization by the Democrats as the key reason.While Democratic leaders are trying to find common ground in the different tax packages approveld by the House and Senate,…
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