OLYMPIA -- It's a rare day for the Special Session: Both the Senate and the House are scheduled for floor sessions today to vote on bills. Which might cause Gov. Chris Gregoire to feel a little better. As she observed rather pointedly yesterday: "It's very…
City voters soon will have 11 choices to make about the future of city governing. The Spokane City Council decided Monday to place proposed changes to the City Charter on Aug. 16 ballot. Officials say the purpose of most of them is to clarify contradictions…
Gov. Gregoire points to a chart Monday that shows revenue for the ferry system is falling dangerously low. OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the state's 2011-13 transportation budget Monday and issued a warning to the Legislature to hurry up on other spending plans for…
OLYMPIA – Nearly 3,000 items that someone locked away for safekeeping and either forgot about, or forgot to tell anyone else about, will be auctioned off this week for the state Department of Revenue. From gold coins and jewelry to baseball cards and arrowheads, items…
The long-time leader of the neighborhood group representing downtown filed paperwork last week announcing a run for Spokane City Council. Gary Pollard, chairman of the Riverside Neighborhood Council, said Monday that he decided to run because the council needs more members who are "more pragmatic"…
To the dismay of late-night comedians in general and Saturday Night Live sketch writers in particular, Donald Trump will not run for president in 2012. The Donald announced today that he's not running -- even though he insisted he could win -- and will host…
OLYMPIA -- The Washington Army National Guard's 81st Combat Brigade got a "Notice of Sourcing" recently that indicates some 3,000 soldiers may be called up for another overseas tour of duty. But there's no indication where or when this could happen. A Notice of Sourcing…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate returns from its long weekend to a morning of caucusing, and possibly voting, although the schedule for bills probably won't be available until post-caucus. Heavy lifting of the day might be done in the Ways and Means Committee, which has an…
OLYMPIA – May might be the cruelest month in the state capital. The rain gives way only sporadically to sun breaks, momentarily lifting the gray gloom that shrouds the dome most days and giving everyone a glimpse of snow-covered Olympics jutting up beyond a sparkling…
OLYMPIA -- Budget protesters dressed as zombies marched on the Capitol Friday in a demonstration against cuts to social services. Well, shuffled is probably more accurate. Zombies don't actually move very fast, and these zombies moved so slow that by the time they got to…
The chances of Dennis Kucinich winning a congressional seat in Washington if he's redistricted out of his seat in Ohio may be pretty slim politically. They are not-existent, historially, according to this post from SmartPolitics. No congressman has ever served back-to-back terms from different states,…
OLYMPIA -- The House returns for votes on some bills, sometime today. The bills to be voted up or down (presumably up, else why bother with the vote?) haven't been released yet, but the list of potential bills offers plenty of interesting items from which…
OLYMPIA – Planning on driving to a state park or recreation area for some fun in the great outdoors after July 1? It'll cost you. The same for visiting a state heritage site or wildlife area, using a state boat launch or trail. Under a…
OLYMPIA — There will be no presidential primary in Washington state next year. A law signed Thursday cancels the primary mandated by a voter initiative in 1989. That move will save the state general operating budget an estimated $10 million for an election that Washington…
OLYMPIA -- The State Redistricting Commission, which will redraw the lines for the legislative districts and add a 10th congressional district in Washington, will hold a hearing in Spokane on July 12. Location and time to be determined. They'll also be in Walla Walla July…
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a longtime congressman and sometime presidential candidate from Ohio, could be districted out of his House seat in the Buckeye State. That has prompted speculation that he could move elsewhere, to a simpatico Blue-state district, to run for election and remain in…
As ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., got an invitation to CIA headquarters this week to see the photos of Osama bin Laden taken after he was killed in Abbottabad. He said thanks but no thanks. Here's his preparied…
OLYMPIA -- The House of Representatives has the day off, but the Senate convenes this morning. There's no schedule yet, so they'll probably go into caucus after handling routine things. There are rumors of votes on bills later in the day. The process will reverse…
OLYMPIA – Washington will stay in the forefront of federal health care reform, and could save as much as $26 billion over the next decade, with a half dozen bills signed into law Wednesday. Even though the federal health care reforms are being challenged in…
OLYMPIA – With a Senate panel considering a new rewrite of the state’s medical marijuana laws, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Wednesday she’ll push to get the federal government to rewrite its laws and make the drug legal to treat some conditions. The newest attempt to…
OLYMPIA -- With speculation mounting that the Legislature will need a second special session to finish all work on the budget, Gov. Chris Gregoire is stepping up her Shermanesque statements. "I'm not calling them back," she said when the standard question about the prospects of…
OLYMPIA -- The sponsor of a new medical marijuana proposal conceded Wednesday it was put together quickly after a disappointing partial veto of a previous measure, and critics ranging from patients to dispensaries to law enforcement criticized it on most points. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells, D-Seattle,…
OLYMPIA -- Both House and Senate Ways and Means committees have hearings today with long lists of bills on the agenda. Among the bills in the Senate is the latest iteration of a medical marijuana law, introduced late Tuesday and scheduled for a 10:30 a.m.…
Maj. Margaret Witt, a Spokane nurse who won a major legal battle against the Pentagon in the campaign against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” will not return to uniform and her unit. Instead, she’ll retire with full benefits and with an unlawful discharge wiped from her…