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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control archive for Sept. 2011

FRIDAY, SEPT. 30, 2011

Condon revises water rate ad 

Mayoral candidate David Condon has released a new version of a campaign ad attacking Mayor Mary Verner for water rates. Condon said in an email that changes were made based on a truth-test article about the ad that ran in Saturday's Spokesman-Review. A quick review…

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Verner doesn't blame Hession 

Spokane Mayor Mary Verner said last week that a campaign statement on the Otto Zehm matter wasn't meant to pin blame on others. Responding to a news release criticizing her response to the Otto Zehm cases from her election opponent, David Condon, Verner released her…

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THURSDAY, SEPT. 29, 2011

Biz groups turn thumbs down on I-1125

OLYMPIA -- Washington business groups, including Greater Spokane Inc., are taking turns dissing Initiative 1125, a proposal that would put restrictions on the way state sets and spends tolls on roads and bridges. The Association of Washington Business recommended a vote against I-1125 last week…

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Caucuses set on different dates

OLYMPIA -- Washington Republicans and Democrats will hold their precinct caucuses on different days -- actually they'll hold them in different months -- in the first step of the presidential nominating process next year. Republicans have scheduled their precinct caucuses for Saturday March 3, which…

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WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28, 2011


MONDAY, SEPT. 26, 2011


Irony alert on postal protest

This just in: Members of the postal unions and community supporters are planning a protest on Sept. 27 in every congressional district, asking the honorable congresspersons to do everything in their power to save the Postal Service. That includes a demonstration outside Rep. Cathy McMorris…

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WSU in NYT: The Anti-Christ in politics 

Not sure how often this happens, but over the weekend, a guest column by a Washington State University professor was featured in the New York Times. Matthew Sutton, an associate professor of history at WSU, writes about the prospect that the apocalyptic beliefs of some…

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Obama in Seattle: The official report

President Obama hit up Seattle Sunday afternoon for some campaign cash. There were no public events, unless you consider the motorcade driving down a closed-off freeway or along a city street. There also was limited press coverage (so limited that The Spokesman-Review did not send…

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SUNDAY, SEPT. 25, 2011

Sunday spin: How special can a session be?

OLYMPIA – With almost all the news about Washington’s financial state hovering between dismal and abysmal over the last two weeks, it was good to catch one silver lining in the dark black revenue clouds that sit over the Capitol. Revenue collections were up in…

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SATURDAY, SEPT. 24, 2011

Baumgartner 2010 words could bite

State Sen. Mike Baumgartner is weighing a run for the other Senate, the one in Washington, D.C. The Spokane Republican said he’ll make up his mind in the next few weeks about whether he’ll wage a campaign against Democrat Maria Cantwell, who’ll be seeking her…

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FRIDAY, SEPT. 23, 2011

AWB: No on tolling init; yes on liquor init 

OLYMPIA -- The Association of Washington Business, which is occupies the role of the state's chamber of commerce, likes the ballot measure to turn the state's liquor business over to private business. It doesn't like the ballot measure to restrict tolling policies on roads and…

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AWB endorses Baxter

OLYMPIA -- The Association of Washington Business endorsed Jeff Baxter Friday in the race for the state Senate seat in Spokane Valley's 4th District. The AWB is meeting this week at Suncadia lodge -- a resort near Cle Elum -- for its annual "policy summit".…

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Some (incrementally) good budget news

OLYMPIA -- After more than a week of bad budget news for Washington state, the Revenue Department did find a silver lining in at least one dark cloud. That is, the amount of revenue Washington state collected in fiscal 2011 was up almost 6 percent…

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Truth test: Condon's new ad on water rates 

Fresh off the City Council’s vote to raise water rates for next year, Spokane mayoral candidate David Condon released a new commercial this week attacking that decision. The ad so far is running only on YouTube, but he said it likely will hit TV airwaves…

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THURSDAY, SEPT. 22, 2011

Special session on budget starts Nov. 28

OLYMPIA -- The Legislature gets to spend the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas playing Scrooge to state agencies. Gov. Chris Gregoire said she is calling legislators back for a special session starting Nov. 28 to deal with declining revenue projections that are likely to decline…

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WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21, 2011


TUESDAY, SEPT. 20, 2011

WA has new salary search engine

OLYMPIA -- The folks at the Office of Financial Management and Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program have developed a new website for looking up who makes what in state government. The website is a follow-up to the release last month of all the people who…

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MONDAY, SEPT. 19, 2011

The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.



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