The Washington State Library has posted copies of an 1880s Spokane newspaper on its growing "Historical Newspapers Online Project" website.Three years of issues of the Spokane Falls Review, a four-page Saturday weekly which debuted in 1883, can be viewed along with other territorial newspapers at…
State Sen. Bill Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland, said Thursday that he won't run for re-election this fall. "At this time, my family and I have agreed that the time is right to step aside and give someone else an opportunity to represent the district as senator while…
Less than a week after Chinese President Hu Jintao's two-day stopover, Gov. Christine Gregoire said Monday that Mexican President Vicente Fox may visit the state soon."Right now, every indication is he'll be here towards the end of May," Gregoire said, adding that she will know…
Chinese President Hu Jintao got a surprise this week when he woke up on Day 2 of his swing through Seattle, en route to Washington, D.C.Howard Schultz, chairman of Seattle-based Starbucks, and Gov. Chris Gregoire greeted Hu with, yes, a cup of Starbucks coffee.(Photo taken…
Photos by Richard Roesler, copyright The Spokesman-Review 2006Vice President Dick Cheney showed up in Everett Monday to stump for a Republican congressional candidate.Much of his 16-minute speech, however, was devoted to defending administration policy on the Iraq conflict and government surveillance.Outside the Holiday Inn hotel…
More than half a century ago, after floods inundated their home, William and Myrta Reed fled their island home near Washougal.It must have been a heartbreaking decision. The couple had moved there after migrating west from their family home in Parkerbury, Iowa. They'd raised four…
Numbers from latest Strategic Vision Poll: 800 likely voters, surveyed March 24-26, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points:Gov. Chris Gregoire's job performance: -Approve: 39 percent.-Disapprove: 52 percent.State Legislature's job performance:-Approve: 42 percent.-Disapprove: 47 percent.President George Bush's job performance:-Approve: 32 percent.-Disapprove: 58 percent.President's…
John M. Groen, 46, an Eastern Washington native who is now a Bellevue attorney, is challenging state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, who announced two months ago that he's running for re-election."I, like most Washington citizens, feel that too many justices on this court…
Secretary of State Sam Reed and Attorney General Rob McKenna said Wednesday that the sate will appeal a recent King County Superior Court ruling allowing voting by felons who've served their prison time and probation but still have unpaid fines or other court debts. (See…
Rep. Mary Skinner, R-Yakima, was diagnosed with colon cancer on Friday, her office announced today. She's slated for surgery on Thursday at a Yakima hospital. Intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments will follow in April.In a statement, Skinner said she hopes to be back at work…
Attorney General Rob McKenna says he'll challenge the Washington Education Association's recent victory over the state Public Disclosure Commission (see "Teachers union wins Supreme Court case..." below). McKenna's asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule the state Supremes.At issue: how the union can spend mandatory…
State Sen. Stephen Johnson, R-Kent, said Wednesday that he'll run against Justice Susan J. Owens for a spot on the state Supreme Court.If he wins, the court may be able to save some money on stationery. This is a court, after all, that already has…
A Snohomish County judge ruled Friday that the state improperly shifted around $250 million to various state accounts in order to raise the state spending limit, according to a spokesman for one of the plaintiffs.Last summer, a group of conservative, farm and business groups (the…
The state Supreme Court this morning upheld the Washington Education Association in a five-year-old case over whether the union was improperly using non-members' fees for politics.In a 6-3 ruling, the court ruled unconstitutional a state law banning unions from spending non-members' fees on politics.The majority…
It was a short session this year, but it didn't act like one.Lawmakers proposed, debated, then killed or passed 2,640 bills this session, including a broad array of big-issues items: dozens of sex offender bills, three budgets, a massive Columbia River water storage program, etc.As…
What a weird way to end things.On Wednesday night, lawmakers in the normally fractious House of Representatives were pouring on the bipartisan, obviously heartfelt praise for retiring Rep. Don Cox, R-Colfax.In the normally collegial Senate, however, the year ended on a bitter note. According to…
Perhaps it was a sign from God for lawmakers to get the hell out of town -- or, for those who have to brave the mountain passes to get home, an attempt to try to keep them in Olympia.Either way, shortly after the gavel fell…
Late Tuesday night, the state Senate approved a slightly-toughened version of Rep. John Ahern's felony DUI bill. This bill, which has been repeatedly on the verge of failing, only to be revived by an unlikely alliance of House Democrats and House and Senate Republicans, now…
The House and Senate today inked a budget compromise that includes millions of dollars for local programs and projects.Among them:-$10 million for Washington State University to start construction on a $63 million new bioscience lab complex in Pullman.-$2 million for repairs to Avista Stadium.-$2 million…
The Senate later this morning is expected to pass Sen. Lisa Brown's still-unnumbered resolution "recognizing the talent and hard work of the Gonzaga University Bulldogs men's basketball coaches and players."A sampling:"Whereas, Gonzaga University's basketball bans are the self-proclaimed `Zag Nation,' and the Bulldogs keep giving…
It must have pained some fiscal conservatives, but Republican leaders last night argued against a provision that would add an estimated $10 million more to state coffers without additional taxes or fees on anyone.At issue was Senate Bill 6896, which sets up a series of…
In a victory for environmental groups (and anyone with an old computer monitor gathering dust in the attic) the Legislature on Monday voted to require electronics manufacturers to set up a collection and recycling program for computers, TVs and monitors.In Washington State alone, according to…
Wasting no time, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday signed into law a $5-million-a-year diesel tax break passed Friday.The change, which includes an emergency clause, takes effect immediately.For years, Washington has exempted red-dyed diesel for farm use from the regular state fuel tax. Instead, users paid…
The Senate on Friday unanimously passed a bill to crack down on diploma mills and bogus college degrees.House Bill 2507 was amended to include language from a now-defunct bill by Sen. Mark Schoesler to make it a class C felony to knowingly grant false academic…
Both the House and Senate have approved moving Washington's primary election date (that's the election in September) to four weeks earlier, starting next year."This victory has been years in the making," said Secretary of State Sam Reed.Really? Really. A similar proposal died last year, wrapped…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
