Finis...
"When they start singing, you know it's time to go home."-- Rep. Alex Wood, D-Spokane.
Eye On Olympia archive for Jan. 1, 2007
MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2007
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2007
Transportation budget: good or bad for Spokane...
You'd be hard-pressed to find a point of sharper disagreement among Inland Northwest lawmakers than the issue of whether the state transportation budget approved this morning by the House of Representatives is a good thing or a bad thing for Spokane.Local Democrats Chris Marr and…
FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2007
What's in it for you...
After weeks of negotiations, state House and Senate lawmakers released their agreed-upon capital budget for 2007-2009 tonight, with a vote coming soon. For the blog's Spokane-area readers, here's a look at some of the local projects slated for cash:*Mirabeau Point Children's Universal Park: $800,000.*Mobius: $800,000.…
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2007
Of coal and Kool-Aid...
There was one final flurry of debate yesterday on SB 6001, a measure aimed at curtailing Washington's contributions to greenhouse gases. (This is a bill that drew no less than 45 attempted amendments this year.)The bill was back in the Senate for a final stop…
MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2007
One major hurdle down: House committee sides with Senate on rainy day fund...
For months, the Governor and Senate have been calling for an amendment to the state constitution to steer a little of the state's revenues into a hard-to-tap rainy day fund.Virtually all lawmakers seem to agree that it's a good idea. You don't have to go…
Olympia in the rear-view mirror...
Most of the action remains subterranean right now, with a handful of key lawmakers hashing out deals behind closed doors.After an informal poll of staffers and lobbyists, the betting seems to be for the budget to come out sometime Wednesday, with the session wrapping up…
Keep the change, judge...
One thing that doesn't come across on TVW or much of the news coverage out of Olympia is how choreographed and scripted most (but not all) of the House and Senate floor debate is. Daily, tourists and visitors sit in the galleries, presumably expecting some…
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2007
One reason why the bill took 7 years to pass...
"Pretty much everyone hates seeing someone driving while they're talking on a cell phone. I hate it, and I do it all the time."-Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2007
We were rooting for the Martha S., but hey...
State vegetable? Check.State frog? Check. (Oh, pardon: state amphibian.)State boat?No?Lawmakers moved to right that wrong Wednesday, as the Senate approved Rep. Brian Blake's bill to declare the Aberdeen-based Lady Washington as the state's official ship."The bill sometimes hit rough waters, but it's now sailing on…
After you...No, after you...No, after you...
The House yesterday approved SB 5088, an anti-jackass bill intended to discourage people from cutting in line while waiting for the state ferries. As things stand now, the only penalty at state officials' disposal is to send the offender to the back of the line.The…
TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007
Domestic partnerships bill is on its way to the governor...
Senate Bill 5336 passed 63 to 35.A sampling from the debate: "This legislation is not about civil rights...There are no pink triangles. There are no straight-only restrooms...The reason we have the amendment is bec this is ultimately a debate about the institution of marriage."-Rep. Glenn…
A week after declaring a state vegetable (an onion), we have a state amphibian...
Meet Pseudacris.Barring an unexpected veto by Gov. Chris Gregoire, this little frog is about to become Washington's official "state amphibian."The state Senate a few minutes ago unanimously passed a bill to bestow that title on the Pacific chorus frog, known to science as Pseudacris regilla."We…
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2007
How the session's going -- or not -- for the GOP...
Excerpts from GOP legislative leaders' meeting Friday with capitol reporters:On Thursday's angry confrontation between Rep. Dan Roach and Rep. Lynn Kessler: "Easter being the season of hope and renewal, we'll go and take a break and come back with hope and renewal." (Rep. Richard DeBolt,…
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007
The Screamer...
I can't vouch for the math, but here's a very interesting way to graph data: inflation-adjusted home prices, 1890 to present, as a roller coaster. (Thanks to The Slog.)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2007
Don't miss this...
"NGA, CCSSO, NASBE Officials to Offer Briefing on NCLB Recommendations"-- Press release this morning from the National Governor's Association and other groups.
MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2007
Speedway proponents pull the plug on the Kitsap Peninsula site...
Great Western Sports, Inc., which for two years has been eyeing and trying to convince lawmakers to steer millions of local tax dollars into a NASCAR track on the Kitsap Peninsula, has given up on the project."We've just made this decision, and now we're going…
The governor: a news conference sampler...
Gov. Chris Gregoire, from this morning's weekly "availability" with capitol reporters:On the new state quarter: "It is 100 percent Washington," Gregoire said, noting that the heads side shows, well, George Washington and the tails side shows a leaping salmon and Mt. Rainier. The mountain, visible…
SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2007
No rest for the Senate...
It's an ambitious day for the Senate, as the more deliberative body goes to work on a long list of bills, not least among them the Senate's capital, transportation and operating budgets and the tens of billions of dollars contained therein. (Also working hard on…
FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2007
Budget dust: The $2.2 million typo...
Whoops.Because of a state budget-writer's typo, more than $2 million for a local project was left out of a Senate budget proposal Wednesday.After months of asking lawmakers for millions of dollars in help building a new downtown YMCA and YWCA, the project's line in the…
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007
Inflammatory rhetoric...
One of the most vivid pieces of lobbying so far this year has been manufacturers' pushback against an environmentalist-backed bill that would ban certain toxic flame retardants."You wouldn't let your child PLAY WITH MATCHES," reads a mailer from a group called Keep American Fire-Safe. "So…
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2007
Road dogs...
"It kind of reminds me of that old saying about `Joe's Veterinary and Taxidermy: Either Way You Get Your Dog Back.' I think the Senate budget gives you your dog back in a lot better shape than the other alternatives."Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, on the…
MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2007
Making things more business-friendly...
For years, and with mixed results, reporters trying to make their stories relevant to average readers have struggled -- sometimes as a result of news-chain editorial edict -- to get "real people" into their stories.Public relations firms long ago realized that they could capitalize on…
House operating budget debate: a sampler...
"This is a strong proposal for a strong Washington."-- Rep. Helen Sommers, D-Seattle."We are the largest state we've ever been in history...More people -- more things -- more stuff."-- Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish."This budget is an act of optimism. We are betting on the families…
A sampling from the debate...
"This budget goes a long way toward keeping our promises that we made" during the 2003 and 2005 gas-tax increases. "We kept the promise by sticking to the project list."-- Rep. Judy Clibborn"It's a budget with working families in mind."-- Rep. Mike Sells, noting that…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
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