OLYMPIA -- The Senate voted to reinstated a state board that decides what to call places in Washington -- the same board it eliminated last year in a cost-saving measure. Republicans argued that in tough budget times, the state Board of Geographic Names is something…
The Oregon House of Representatives managed to slip the words to a song into floor speeches, then cut and splice them together for a video that's going viral on YouTube. Which brings up an interesting question: If the Washington Legislature were to do this, what…
OLYMPIA -- The State Senate marked the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War with a resolution today that honors President Lincoln, notes that many veterans headed west and wound up in Washington after the war and recalls that a few former generals…
OLYMPIA -- The Museum of Flight in Seattle was not chosen by NASA to be the home for one of the retired Space Shuttles. It will however get a training module the astronauts used. The Museum of Flight was among facilities scrambling for a Shuttle…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate releases its 2011-13 general operating and capital budgets this evening, sometime after 5 p.m. Why so late? Because today is one of those make-it-or-break-it days for legislation. A non-budget bill that started in one chamber has to pass the other chamber…
OLYMPIA – Rules for the growing, processing and selling medical marijuana passed the House of Representatives Monday after heated debate on whether the proposed law has enough safeguards to prevent sales to children. Supporters said SB 5073 was an effort to be compassionate to the…
OLYMPIA -- A bill to set up rules for the growing, processing and sale of medical marijuana is moving to the House floor. It has about 20 amendments, so this could be a long, strange trip to the vote. More to come.
OLYMPIA -- Both chambers are likely to be busy today trying to pass bills sent them by the other house. The bell tolls for all non-budget bills Tuesday at 5 p.m., and there's a boat load in the queue. Meanwhile, freshman Democrats in the House…
Ping-ponging between the sobering budget hearings and the raucus budget protests of the past week has left me with a desire to get the legislators and demonstrators to the negotiating table to broker a deal. Not on the budget. I’m not smart enough to do…
OLYMPIA – Some 7,000 protesters chanting, singing and marching through the Capitol to the strains of bagpipes were unable to convince the Legislature to veer from the path from an “all-cuts” budget Friday. A proposal to close most of the projected $5.1 billion gap in…
OLYMPIA -- Members of the Pierce County Fire Fighters Pipe and Drum Association prepare to lead protesters through the Capitol hallways.
OLYMPIA -- Sean Dannon, a union organizer from Tacoma, dresses in a costume he thinks represents most legislators on the issue of eliminating tax breaks on businesses.
OLYMPIA -- Sen. Lisa Brown discusses the difficulty of passing any tax exemptions this year with protester Debbie Sills of Yakima.
OLYMPIA -- Floor action began this afternoon on the proposed House Democratic budget with a handful of amendments being approved by voice votes. Republicans did not offer to substitute their alternative budget, which would cuts about $500 million more. "It wasn't submitted," Ways and Means…
OLYMPIA -- Unions representing trades, crafts, law enforcement, firefighters and other government workers brought some 7,000 protesters to the Capitol Friday for more than an hour of speeches and exhortations. Hundreds of them then marched into the rotunda and through the halls outside the legislative…
OLYMPIA -- State senators who left the Capitol for their offices or to grab a bite to eat during a break in floor action Thursday returned to find the building on a lockdown and closed to the public more than an hour after protesters were…
Protesters gather near the World War I memorial on the state Capitol Campus Friday. OLYMPIA -- The last of four days of protests in and around the Capitol over a proposed "all-cut" budget will feature thousands of labor union members joining other demonstrators on the…
State troopers arrest Karen Washington, left, outside the governor's office Thursday. OLYMPIA -- Sixteen protesters were arrested outside the governor's office today in the third day of demonstrations against proposed budget cuts. Fifteen were cited for disorderly conduct and released, while one was also cited…
OLYMPIA -- A few minutes after 13 demonstrators were arrested and taken to another part of the Capitol, state troopers formed a line outside the governor's office.
OLYMPIA -- One of 13 protesters arrested outside the governor's office is led away.
OLYMPIA -- Protesters march down the Capitol hallways past the bust of George Washington
OLYMPIA -- Protesters massed on the steps, then enterred the rotunda.
OLYMPIA -- About 70 protesters spent the night in the Capitol, and more demonstrations are scheduled for this afternoon, with some civil disobedience threatened. Service employees, including some health care workers, are scheduled to join the protest today, and if more demonstrators decide to camp…
OLYMPIA -- About 100 protesters chanted into the evening in the Capitol Rotunda, ignoring a request to clear the building when it officially closed at 7 p.m. There's no threat of arrest. The Washington State Patrol is prepared to stay the night if the protesters…
OLYMPIA – As several hundred protesters chanted about corporate greed and demanded tax increases, House budget writers gathered to decide which of two plans to cut billions from state programs they would endorse. The state’s budgeting process, which is facing serious time constraints as the…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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