Tue., Feb. 24, 2009
OLYMPIA – To state Sen. Chris Marr, it’s a simple cost-benefit analysis.The cost: an estimated $18.2 million a year in state road damage from metal tire studs hammering away at concrete pavement.The benefit: better traction only during a relatively rare driving condition: a roadway slick…
Tue., Feb. 24, 2009
OLYMPIA – In what one senator described as “Spokane versus Spokane,” health and government officials clashed Monday over a proposal to remove most of the elected officials who now oversee the Spokane Regional Health District. “Unfortunately, our regional health district has been politicized,” Sen. Chris…
Mon., Feb. 23, 2009
Armed with barbecued chicken and ribs, children's advocates from Spokane made the pilgrimage to Olympia Monday to urge local lawmakers to look elsewhere when making billions of dollars in budget cuts.Setting the theme: tin cups, apples for a nickel, and a song: Bing Crosby's 1932…
Mon., Feb. 23, 2009
Looks that way. The Associated Press is reporting that: "A senior administration official says that President Barack Obama's likely third pick for Commerce secretary is former Washington Gov. Gary Locke."
Mon., Feb. 23, 2009
Much going on today. In the meantime, here's some lunchtime reading:-Effin' Unsound parses last week's discusson of a marijuana bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling it "surreal at times."-Sen. Pam Roach and husband plant two trees for the future: "Jim just bought two walnut…
Fri., Feb. 20, 2009
Economist Arun Raha's revenue prediction yesterday, was met without much apparent surprise by the folks on the state forecast council.(“I don't think this has changed a lot from what our internal expectations were for the last couple of weeks,” etc.)But that has been follwed by…
Thu., Feb. 19, 2009
For the remainder of the 07-09 biennium: down $721 million from what was thought in Nov.For the 09-11 biennium: down $1.587 billion. Biggest drops: sales and use tax ($823 million) and real estate excise tax ($394 million).Total loss from November's numbers: $2.3 billion.
Thu., Feb. 19, 2009
Three months after a state revenue forecast left Washington looking at a $5.7 billion budget shortfall over the next year and a half, a top legislator says she expects things to be $2 billion worse when that forecast is updated in about 15 minutes."I don't…
Thu., Feb. 19, 2009
Worthwhile reading on your lunch hour:-Unions, others are polling on what state tax increases voters would find palatable. From the Tacoma News-Tribune's Joe Turner:Meanwhile, the shadow legislature of unions and other stakeholders is out their holding "focus groups" in communities. They're trying to figure out…
Wed., Feb. 18, 2009
Whoever wrote this summary of Senate bill 5870. It summarizes the bill like this:Declares it is the duty of the sheriff or any deputysheriff to kill any dog found running at large (after the firstday of August of any year and before the first day…
Wed., Feb. 18, 2009
In tomorrow's paper: A controversial “cap and trade” plan that would put Washington at the forefront of efforts to combat global warming has been dramatically watered down under pressure from businesses and rural Republicans.Nonetheless, proponents say they remain optimistic. The bill, requested by Gov. Chris…
Wed., Feb. 18, 2009
Some emotional speeches this morning in the House and Senate, which honored Japanese-American war veterans and the roughly 12,000 Japanese-American citizens who were rounded up and herded into internment camps in 1942 under Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066.The House passed House Resolution 2009-4617 this…
Wed., Feb. 18, 2009
Tomorrow we'll get the revenue forecast council's best "preliminary" guess of how the state's budget shortfall is likely to over roughly the next two and a half years.In December, the shortfall was a forehead-smacking $5.7 billion -- which, in retrospect, some lawmakers now view as…
Tue., Feb. 17, 2009
The state's public colleges are putting on a full-court press in Olympia today, with mascots prowling the capitol, Cougar ice cream being handed out, and bands in the rotunda. The most feared mascot seemed to be the Evergreen State College's geoduck, which male lawmakers and…
Mon., Feb. 16, 2009
The $787 billion economic stimulus bill to be signed tomorrow by President Obama “is not the end of what we need to do,” U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said Monday.She said the package, which includes billions for transportation, education, unemployment benefits and other help, was the…
Sat., Feb. 14, 2009
A woman in Blaine is proposing Initiative 1040, which would "prohibit state use of public money or lands for anything that denies or attempts to refute the existence of a supreme ruler of the universe, including textbooks, instruction or research."
Fri., Feb. 13, 2009
There was some blunt talk yesterday from members of a House committee, as officials from the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture tried to argue against deep budget cuts that they say will backfire by hurting local fundraising.In this clip, Reps. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, and…
Fri., Feb. 13, 2009
Gov. Chris Gregoire this morning appointed state Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, as director of the state Department of Agriculture."As a farmer and state legislator, Dan brings a wealth of experience to the Department of Agriculture and understands the important role agriculture plays in our state's…
Thu., Feb. 12, 2009
This one's of interest mainly to readers in Spokane. From tomorrow's paper:OLYMPIA _ A controversial proposal to merge the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture with its Western Washington counterpart appears to be dead.One of the state's most powerful lawmakers said Thursday that the Senate…
Thu., Feb. 12, 2009
Lunchtime reading for you:The New York Times had an interesting story recently about Japan's experience with massive government spending, much of it on public works projects of dubious value. (Having lived in Japan for a few years, I can attest to the absurd scale of…
Wed., Feb. 11, 2009
In tomorrow's paper:OLYMPIA _ Emotions ran high Wednesday, as state lawmakers discussed allowing illegal immigrant students – many of them brought to this country as young children – to qualify for millions of dollars in state college grants.“As I look into their eyes and their…
Wed., Feb. 11, 2009
From tomorrow's print paper:OLYMPIA _ When he took over as acting president of Eastern Washington University, John Mason was given a sign for his office.“Thou shalt not whine,” it reads.On Wednesday, Mason mostly stuck to that commandment, even as he described how proposed state budget…
Wed., Feb. 11, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, writing on her blog, says that the federal stimulus bill "is not a state bailout bill."The money it includes for state "is just not big enough to make up for the deep dive our state revenues have taken" she writes.…
Wed., Feb. 11, 2009
A surprisingly bipartisan group of 15 senators is proposing a tax break for newspapers.Senate Bill 5942, introduced this morning by Sen. Margarita Prentice, would lower newspapers' business and occupation tax rate from .484 percent of gross to .2904 percent from 2010 to 2015. No fiscal…
Wed., Feb. 11, 2009
From an interview last night with Rep. Mark Miloscia, who's proposed tacking on an extra 18.5 percent sales tax onto adult videos, cable shows, etc."Somebody brought this to me and I said `Wow. Well, why not?'" said Miloscia, D-Federal Way.His bill is actually a nearly-verbatim…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
