Labor poetry about Wal-Mart:
"Attack! Demoralize! Destroy! Create and exploit the working poor!"-the refrain from a poem about Wal-Mart by a labor activist at the state Democratic convention.
Eye On Olympia
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2004
TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2004
On to the "City of Destiny"...
With the state GOP convention wrapped up (and carted home in delegates' souvenir canvas tote bags), it's the Democrats' turn.Republicans were happy last weekend to take pokes at former Veep Al Gore, saying he's gone from boring to angry.On Friday, we'll get a chance to…
Hell as hockey...
"I will fight for lower congressional spending until hell freezes over. And then I will crawl out, stand up and fight on the ice." Reed Davis, a Republican running for Sen. Patty Murray's job. Davis, jilted by the state GOP leadership, had to make his…
MONDAY, MAY 24, 2004
The governor's legacy...
Much has been made -- and will continue to be -- about Gov. Gary Locke's legacy as he prepares to leave office in January. Was he the Education Governor? Will his lasting mark be his "what can the state afford?" budget strategy? Or the big…
MONDAY, MAY 17, 2004
But both can sometimes bite...
"In every swamp, there are mosquitoes and alligators." Tax foe Tim Eyman, pooh-poohing his critics.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2004
In the limelight with the Supremes, Part I...
Say you steal a garden hose to put out a house fire. Then I write a story about it -- "Blog Reader Steals Hose" -- and never mention the fire.Is that defamation?It's true, certainly. Fair? No. But can a true story, by leaving out key…
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2004
Talmadge drops out...
Lawyer, former lawmaker and ex-Supreme Court justice Phil Talmadge is giving up his quest to become governor.Talmadge said Thursday that he has a benign tumor, called an angiomyolipoma, on his kidney. It's not life-threatening, he said, but may require surgery that would keep him off…
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2004
Ellensburg can rest easy...
A growing chorus of seismologists in Washington and California are taking pains to point out that the upcoming NBC miniseries "10.5", about a catastrophic earthquake, is just TV. (The promos feature a startling image of Seattle's Space Needle toppling.)The four-hour show depicts a huge quake,…
FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2004
A little hearing aid for the GOP 's gubernatorial hopes...
Seeing a political opening, Senate Republicans are planning a highly unusual legislative hearing on whether Attorney General Christine Gregoire's office tried to get an outside consultant to soften criticism of the AG's office. Gregoire, a Democrat, happens to be running for governor.A Seattle Times story…
THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2004
Re: your hanging: Sorry about that...
We strongly suspect that Chief Leschi would argue that it's too little and much, much too late, but nearly 150 years after Washington's territorial government hanged the Nisqually chief for allegedly murdering local soldiers, the Legislature is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the…
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2004
The Oracle at Olympia...
"Things are constantly evolving...All options are open." Gov. Gary Locke, asked whether he would veto the leading proposals to replace the state's unconstitutional blanket primary.
TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004
Zags in the House...
For more than half an hour Monday night, the House of Representatives turned into a living room.Someone figured out that the big video screens that show voting roll calls also work quite well as TVs. The Gonzaga game was immediately tuned in, and while clerks…
MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2004
Gay marriage II...
"We pay our bills. We pay our taxes. We're good citizens. We're tired of waiting." Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, one of four openly gay state lawmakers, calling for state approval of gay and lesbian marriage.
FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2004
A new lease on life...
Battered women and rape victims who have to flee their homes for their own safety got some help from state lawmakers last week.Both the House and Senate have unanimously passed HB 1645, which makes it easier for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking…
Clubbing a tax to death...
State lawmakers last week cut young golfers a break, saying that high school golf teams shouldn't have to pay taxes when they practice at local golf courses.The state tax code technically requires collection of a tax, even when golf courses donate the use of their…
THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2004
And this is the simpler of two competing proposals...
Something as indiscreet as straight talk is not encouraged in Olympia, where a tax is invariably called a "revenue plan," and state prisons are crammed with "offenders," not inmates.Even so, lawmakers have outdone themselves this year in attempting to find a name for a proposed…
THURSDAY, FEB. 26, 2004
Know your neighbors...
A new statewide sex offender database was launched Thursday. By typing in your address, the database will create a map with dots showing the nearest registered Level II and Level III sex offenders. Clicking on the dots reveals a photo and information on the offender.The…
About that elephant in your back yard...
If you're thinking of getting a pet rhino, do it soon. A bill to ban private ownership of a long list of wild animals is stampeding through the Legislature.Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1151 would ban possession of "potentially dangerous wild animals," including:-lions, tigers and…
Losing the environmental vote...
"It like we have a choice of draining the swamp and killing the crocodiles, or adding water and feeding the crocodiles. And unfortunately, I think we did the latter." Rep. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, apparently referring to a House proposal to use state money to help…
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25, 2004
And McCaslin was there...
A hundred and fifty years ago Friday, about two dozen members of the territorial legislature convened for their first session. They met on the second floor of a general store near Olympia's waterfront, and lawmakers arrived on foot, by horseback, and in canoes. Their average…
Good news for WSU...
"We're really just paralyzed in Spokane until we move ahead with that. The classrooms are full." WSU's Larry Ganders, on why the state should pony up $31 million for a new Riverpoint Academic Center at WSU's Riverpoint campus in downtown Spokane. House and Senate budget…
FRIDAY, FEB. 20, 2004
Dueling for dollars...
Monday will be money day in Olympia, as the House and Senate both unveil their budget proposals within an hour of each other. Stay tuned...
THURSDAY, FEB. 19, 2004
The Fourth Estate tax...
"If there was ever a case of us shooting ourselves in the foot -- giving the newspapers a tax break -- this is it." Rep. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, on a bill to grant a sales-tax break for computers used in printing and publishing.
Got a lockout?
The annual Dairy Day in Olympia, coming on the heels of the always-popular Potato Day, rarely causes much of a stir. After all, what's objectionable about touting your industry by handing out free ice cream bars?Some lawmakers were annoyed this year, however, when the annual…
Letting fly...
Patriotism trumps homeowners' association rules, under a bill passed unanimously this week by the state House of Representatives.House Bill 2934 says that homeowners' associations may not ban a resident from flying the U.S. flag. It allows for "reasonable rules" for the placement of the flag…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.