Wed., Feb. 28, 2007
Just because it's a headline you don't see every day...
Man Will Not Be Charged in Death at Screaming Yak.
Eye On Olympia archive for Feb. 2007
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 28, 2007
Wed., Feb. 28, 2007
Gregoire to state prisons' chief: No releasing felons because there's not enough cell space...
"Outraged" by the recent release of dozens of felons due to a shortage of space, Gov. Chris Gregoire took the rare public step this afternoon of publicly blasting her own corrections secretary, Harold Clarke.The prisoners who were let out of jail had been arrested again…
Wed., Feb. 28, 2007
And here's the audio clip that sparked that faceoff...
Get the Flash Player to see this player.Audio courtesy of TVW
Wed., Feb. 28, 2007
Bill to stop the clock on statutes of limitations in child-sex-abuse cases getting some static..
Sen. Chris Marr is running into some political headwinds in his push to change the law so all sex crimes against children can be prosecuted until the day the abuser dies.Consider:•A week after Marr, D-Spokane, had more than half the state Senate signed on as…
TUESDAY, FEB. 27, 2007
Tue., Feb. 27, 2007
Stirring the pot...
Everett horticulturalist Steve Sarich suprised everyone Tuesday by showing up at a Senate hearing with a small cardboard box that I think said "raspberries" on the side.Raspberries they were not.Sarich, there for a hearing on a bill (SB 6032) to toughen the legal protections for…
MONDAY, FEB. 26, 2007
Mon., Feb. 26, 2007
Same-sex marriage and domestic-partnership proponents gather at the capitol...
More than 1,000 people showed up today for "Equality Day," lobbying lawmakers and holding a noon rally to call for legalization of gay marriage, or, at least, a state-run domestic partnership registry. The latter bill is moving ahead, legislative leaders say, although so far, no…
FRIDAY, FEB. 23, 2007
Fri., Feb. 23, 2007
At last, we can stop all that talk about "biggest city between Seattle and Minneapolis"...
After a century of second-city sulking for the Lilac City, I'm pleased to report that finally, Spokane's ticket to undying fame and much-deserved respect is in a little clause tucked away deep in Senate Bill 5318, as amended.First, though, some background: the bill would require…
Fri., Feb. 23, 2007
Your right to know no...
Attorney General Rob McKenna has memorably described the slow creep of exemptions to public disclosure laws as a coral-like "accretion" that grows slowly, steadily -- and is very hard to get rid of.Former state Rep. Toby Nixon, an outspoken proponent of open government, has compiled…
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 21, 2007
Wed., Feb. 21, 2007
Humane Society of the United States: years of mea culpas re: moles and gophers...
The Humane Society of the United States, the prime mover behind the 2000 initiative that banned "body-gripping" animal traps, has spent virtually every year since then defending the measure against repeal by an unlikely alliance of suburban Democrats and rural Republicans.The ruralites have always hated…
TUESDAY, FEB. 20, 2007
Tue., Feb. 20, 2007
Speaking of TVW...
"I will expect a level of decorum appropriate for being delivered into someone's living room."That's Rep. Ross Hunter a few minutes ago, warning the standing-room-only crowd -- both fans and foes -- at a NASCAR speedway hearing that they're on live TV.Here are some samples…
Tue., Feb. 20, 2007
NASCAR track tries to get traction...
Calling it the most important economic development proposal he’d seen in 31 years in Olympia, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen today urged skeptical lawmakers to back a $368 million NASCAR track on the Olympic Peninsula.With the jobs, taxes and tourist dollars the track could bring, Owens…
FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2007
Fri., Feb. 16, 2007
Governor signs gambling compact with the Spokane Tribe...
A minute ago. More soon.
Fri., Feb. 16, 2007
Doing away with "smokers need not apply"...
More than a dozen House lawmakers want to make it illegal for employers to discriminate against smokers based on their use of tobacco off the premises and during non-working hours.Two years ago, Washingtonians overwhelmingly banned workplace smoking. Nothing in state law, however, bans an employer…
THURSDAY, FEB. 15, 2007
Thu., Feb. 15, 2007
"This is why I came to Olympia."
That's freshman Sen. Chris Marr, after the Senate overwhelmingly passed his bill to add tens of thousands of low- and middle-income kids to state-subsidized health coverage over the next two years.Click here to read the full print story.
Thu., Feb. 15, 2007
Putting their hearts into it...
Valentines' Day promotions:-Sen. Janea Holmquist, who yesterday introduced a bill "to reinstate the voters' first and true love: the blanket primary." (SB 6048) The bill would reinstate the vote-for-anyone-in-any-party primary the state had for decades until a party lawsuit torpedoed it. To avoid a repeat,…
Thu., Feb. 15, 2007
Eight lawmakers call for investigation of the president and vice president...
These characters drew plenty of attention yesterday as they strolled the capitol grounds in a steady rain. "Your guilty!" one passerby shouted at them. "Yes, very guilty," agreed the larger-than-life Dick Cheney head.Inside the costumes were Eastside Fellowship of Reconciliation director Linda Boyd, dressed as…
TUESDAY, FEB. 13, 2007
Tue., Feb. 13, 2007
Some GOP lawmakers to governor: Just say no to Spokane gambling deal...
In a last-minute appeal, three Yakima-area Republican lawmakers are calling on Gov. Chris Gregoire to reject the proposed gambling compact between the state and the Spokane Tribe of Indians.The compact, they note, is "the most generous" one so far, allowing the Spokanes to have 900…
Tue., Feb. 13, 2007
Veteran's cemetery near Spokane is all but a done deal...
The state House of Representatives voted unanimously Monday to establish an Eastern Washington state veterans cemetery in Spokane County, capping a years-long push by local veterans and the state Department of Veterans Affairs."This cemetery reflects our duty to honor our veterans and their families," said…
MONDAY, FEB. 12, 2007
Mon., Feb. 12, 2007
Meanwhile, on the other side of the issue...
Social conservatives are trying to appeal to an even higher-net-worth power, it turns out.Joe Fuiten, president of the politically-active group Positive Christian Agenda, has sent out an alert to members asking them to immediately take action on Senate Bill 5336:"WE DO NOT HAVE THE VOTES…
THURSDAY, FEB. 8, 2007
Thu., Feb. 8, 2007
You now own a railroad...
After years of often-rancorous negotiation with a Kansas-based rail operator, the state has agreed to buy a 108-mile stretch of rail line between Cheney and Coulee City.The purchase price is about $5.6 million, according to Mark Blazer, senior vice president for the western region of…
Thu., Feb. 8, 2007
From Google's Quote-of-the-Day...
In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress. - John Adams
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7, 2007
Wed., Feb. 7, 2007
Dunmire, annoyed at lawmakers, pledges another quarter-million to Eyman's efforts...
For the past couple of weeks, one of the people who's been turning up in one hearing after another has been a Woodinville man named Mike Dunmire. Dunmire, a wealthy, retired investor, has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into intiatives run by promoter Tim…
TUESDAY, FEB. 6, 2007
Tue., Feb. 6, 2007
Fueling concern...
As a lot of western Washingtonians discovered last month, when the lights go out, so do the gas pumps. Wind storm damage that left some neighborhoods without power for a week left some drivers desperately searching for powered stations to fuel up their cars."There was…
Tue., Feb. 6, 2007
State to buy thousands of HPV doses, distribute for free...
State officials are planning to spend millions of dollars on more than 100,000 doses of a new vaccine that helps prevent cervical cancer, Washington state Secretary of Health Mary Selecky said Monday. The state hopes to distribute enough of the free human papillomavirus vaccine to…
MONDAY, FEB. 5, 2007
Mon., Feb. 5, 2007
Keep studying, kids...
"I'm not interested. I'm not interested. I am not interested."---Gov. Chris Gregoire, when asked what she thinks of some lawmakers' proposal to delay not just the graduation requirement that high schoolers pass the math portion of the Washington Assessement of Student Learning, but the reading…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
Blog Archives
| Feb. 2007 | ||||
| 28 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 21 |
| 20 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 12 |
| 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 01 |