In Friday morning's paper: Before unveiling her budget plan Thursday, Gov. Chris Gregoire glanced around the crowded room. “Before we begin,” she said, “I'd like to ask all of you to remove your shoes and take them outside. Particularly boots.” That was the first and…
Gov. Chris Gregoire's two-year budget plan, released Thursday, suggests closing a $5.7 billion budget shortfall with deep cuts. Here's a look at some of the biggest cuts, local cuts, and some new local spending: Education: -do away with cost-of-living raises for teachers and other school…
Here's the list:Lake OsoyoosBrooks MemorialBogachielTolmieFay BainbridgeFort OkanoganWenbergFort WardJoemma BeachKopachuckLake SylviaOld Fort TownsendSquilchuckNolteand the Camp Moran environmental learning program.
In the hubbub around Gov. Gregoire's budget proposal today, one of the dissenters was from a lawmaker close to Gregoire: Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown. Brown was unhappy that Gregoire's budget assumes about $1 billion from the feds, calling the assumption a "glaring flaw" that…
From my snowbound colleague Jim Camden, helping out from Spokane: Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposal to close a projected budget deficit without raising taxes drew praise from Republicans and “wait and see” comments from fellow Democrats Thursday. If it holds up through a process that will…
-2,400 fewer jobs -and a 13 percent across-the-board cut to the state's four-year colleges and 6 percent for community and technical colleges.
Among the cuts: -no cost of living increases for state workers or teachers. -a 24 percent cut to class-size reduction money in schools. -reducing nursing home reimbursement rates, mental health services. -doing away with state payments under the General Assistance-Unemployable program, which provides health care…
Cuts, by area: K-12: 5.6 percent Public safety: 6.3 percent Early learning: 6.4 percent Higher education: 7.6 percent Health care and human services: 12.2 percent Natural resources: 12.2 percent
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
