OLYMPIA -- Whether they are more likely to support gun rights or stronger background checks, Washington voters appear to be confused about a pair of seemingly conflicting gun initiatives and could approve both of them this fall. That's the conclusion of a new Elway Poll…
OLYMPIA -- State agencies will lower flags on or outside their buildings to half-staff Tuesday to honor victims of the Oso mudslide, and keep them lowered through next Tuesday. Gov. Jay Inslee ordered the flag-lowering Monday afternoon for all state agencies and asked other governments,…
Rodney Tom addresses a delegation from Spokane last January. OLYMPIA -- Rodney Tom, a Republican turned Democrat who joined with GOP members of the Senate to form a ruling coalition for the last two years, will not run for re-election this fall. Tom, currently the…
OLYMPIA -- The state needs to a better job of checking its Medicaid managed care programs for cost overruns, the state auditor's office said today. A limited audit of the Health Care Authority's system to check doctors and other specialists in eight high-risk areas showed…
To see the rankings by the Pew Charitable Trust for the state's elections performance mentioned in today's Spin Control column, click here. Haven't read the column yet? It's inside the blog.
Congress is taking time next week off from its crushingly exhaustive work schedule for members to return to their districts to meet with voters and possibly cut ribbons or hunt Easter eggs. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers announced two public events for the first part of…
Hillary Clinton comes up with some good comebacks after a shoe goes flying past her while speaking in Las Vegas.
OLYMPIA -- Some state agencies failed to wipe old computers clean of sensitive or personal data before sending them to be sold as surplus, a new state audit says. Random checks of computers that agencies sent to the state's surplus warehouse last summer revealed about…
A recent survey that shows most Americans can't find Ukraine on the map has been grist for the political pundit mill, as well as a funny bit from Stephen Colbert. But given Americans' general lack of geographic knowledge, was anyone surprised? After all, we've been…
Bob Quast, running as a write-in for U.S. Senate in Iowa, makes it very clear where he stands on gun rights, term limits and law degrees. Just wondering: How well would a Senate candidate with an ad like this do in Washington? Or in Idaho?
(Editor's note: This is an update of the short story that first appeared this morning on the newspaper's website. It generated more than 100 comments there, and you can join the conversation by clicking here.) OLYMPIA — President Obama will make a stop in Washington…
OLYMPIA -- It must be time for mid-terms. A pair of political watchdog groups is giving out grades for the states. Washington is passing; Idaho may be headed for summer school. The Pew Charitable Trust released its biannual ratings on how the states handled elections.…
Spokane County commissioners may have thrown a wrench into the plans of some would-be marijuana growers hoping to set up in unincorporated parts of the county. An interim zoning ordinance approved Monday says anyone growing recreational marijuana will have to be on at least eight…
By spending nearly a year meeting with neighborhood groups and others to develop an urban farming plan that addressed various concerns before bringing it to a final vote, Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart has created an unexpected new problem. Any plan on almost any…
With the signing of the supplemental operating budget and some other bills Friday, lawmaking by the Legislature officially ended for 2014. But the other kind of lawmaking, by the public, is just heating up. . . To read the rest of this item, or to…
OLYMPIA – Tucked inside the 291-page budget Gov. Jay Inslee signed last week is a paragraph that tells state agencies to ask for money for new-fangled tech gear a better way. It’s what’s known as a proviso, sort of a marching order from the Legislature,…
OLYMPIA – The ink from his signature wasn’t even dry on the Legislature's current budget before Gov. Jay Inslee was challenging lawmakers to do more on their next one. Inslee signed the state’s supplemental operating budget, vetoing some elements such as a section that would…
OLYMPIA -- A proposal to regulate the use of drones by law enforcement and other agencies was vetoed Friday. Gov. Jay Inslee said the bill did not do enough to protect the public's right to privacy and raised questions about public records. In its place,…
OLYMPIA – Washington high school students will need 24 credits to earn a diploma, with an extra credit of math and science, starting in 2019. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill Thursday that legislators said will help give students a “meaningful diploma” increasing both the…
OLYMPIA – Washington will announce the winners of licenses for its first legal recreational marijuana stores at the beginning of May, after a complicated “double-blind” lottery is held at the end of this month. The first legal sales aren’t likely until the beginning of July,…
For a fake newscast April Fool's joke, it's not bad.
OLYMPIA – Northwest residents need more than vague plans and missed deadlines for the cleanup of nuclear waste at Hanford, Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday. If the federal government doesn’t come up with a more specific plan or agree to one proposed by the state…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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