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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Olympia

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009


Kiplinger's rates Olympia sixth-best city  

In a study of more than 360 metropolitan areas by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, Olympia was rated 6th-highest in the nation for salary growth. Pay there rose an average of 22 percent from 2004-2008, according to the magazine. Median household income in Olympia is now…

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In wake of today's court ruling, Washingtonians on both sides of the same-sex marriage divide try to gauge lessons from California...

California's supreme court has upheld Proposition 8, the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling, however, allows thousands of same-sex marriages performed prior to the ban.California's experience has been closely watched in Washington, where gay marriage opponents have filed a referendum to undo a…

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FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009



News roundup...

-Speaking in Spokane, the state's revenue forecaster, Arun Raha, says he expects the recession to end in August or September.-The Seattle Times' Joni Balter is skeptical that the solution to Washington state's revenue woes is an income tax. Look at Oregon, she writes. -The Washington…

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009



No raises for state elected officials...

Not surprisingly, the citizen's panel that sets salaries for lawmakers, the governor, many judges and other state-paid officials has voted not to give any of them raises for the next two years."The Commission regrets the need to take this action," said a statement put out…

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Here's the budget veto list...

The governor's office has posted the listed of items she vetoed in the budget. Some, like vetoing lawmakers' plan to take $29 million from the state auditor's office, are substantial. But in dozens of cases, the vetoes were simply technical adjustments, such as taking out…

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TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2009



Buy local produce, not art...

The next time you're buying apples, potatoes or cherries, the state wants you to buy locally."Next time you shop, look for Washington products, or ask your grocer for them," Gov. Chris Gregoire says in a commercial on the state-backed Heart of Washington website. "It's a…

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MONDAY, MAY 18, 2009


FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2009




THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2009


TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009

Rep. Cox bows out (again)...

State Rep. Don Cox is retiring from the statehouse for a second time.Cox, 69, says he won't run for re-election this fall. He was appointed Jan. 19 to the seat left vacant by then-Rep. Steve Hailey, R-Mesa, who died abruptly of cancer just after Christmas.Cox,…

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MONDAY, MAY 11, 2009

Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.