OLYMPIA -- Senate Democrats formally proposed this afternoon a plan to suspend the super majority required to raise taxes through the middle of 2011 and make other permanent changes to the tax-limiting initiative voters approved two years agoSenate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, called Initiative…
OLYMPIA -- Both houses of the Legislature passed resolutions honoring law enforcement officers killed in West Side incidents late last year. The House of Representatives then gave overwhelming support to bills that were spawned by those slayings.By a vote of 96-0, the House approved changes…
OLYMPIA -- Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, took exception to a portion of Sunday's column regarding the pace of legislative action on addressing the state's budget crisis. He offered an op-ed column, which didn't fit the editorial page's guidelines, and will be trimmed down to a…
OLYMPIA -- Senate just passed unanimously the resolution honoring fallen law enforcement officers.Action moves to the House, which is considering a similar resolution.
OLYMPIA -- The Senate is voting this morning on a resolution to honor the law enforcement officers killed last year in the Puget Sound area. Look for it to pass unanimously as soon as speeches are done.Later in the morning they'll be voting on other…
OLYMPIA – The dispute between Spokane’s two biggest hospitals spilled over into the legislative session Tuesday as a Senate panel considered changing a law that would determine how a judge could settle any impasse.The dispute involves Inland Northwest Health Services, a non-profit jointly operated by…
OLYMPIA – A state agency has used illegal traps to kill moles around the Capitol and the governor’s mansion for about a decade, ever since voters banned them with an initiative.That surprised another state agency, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which enforces the law…
OLYMPIA -- Today is the day that policy bills in the House have to get out of their committees, or else.Or else what? Well, in most cases, if they involve policy rather than money, they're dead. Thanks to amendments, complicated rules, and some members's abilities…
An update on story posted earlierOLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire said she’s confident the federal government will come up with some $435 million in money for Medicaid reimbursements over the next 18 months, easing somewhat the cuts the state would have to make on health…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire said she's confident the federal government will come up with some $435 million in money for Medicaid reimbursements over the next 18 months, easing somewhat the cuts the state would have to make on health care spending.At a morning press…
“They’re working at a fever pitch,” -- Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, describing legislative activity last Monday.OLYMPIA – When one is the new guy in town, it often behooves one to withhold judgment on things that seem different than the place where one used to be.…
OLYMPIA -- Japanese-American students pulled out of college and sent to internment camps during World War II would be eligible for honorary degrees under a bill approved by a legislative committee.Members of the South Vietnamese army who came to the United States after the Vietnam…
Retiring Rep. Alex Wood said Friday he won't endorse any candidates vying to replace him until at least after the June election filing deadline.Wood, a Democrat, serves the 3rd Legislative District representing central Spokane."I wouldn't be surprised if I don't endorse anyone except the final…
OLYMPIA -- It is Housing and Homeless Advocacy Day today, with the state's Low Income Housing Alliance will be meeting in and around the Capitol.The House is set to vote on a bill that allows churches to host temporary homeless camps on their property and…
OLYMPIA – Washington state will delay plans to close the Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women to see whether it can stay open as a facility shared by Spokane County and City.State Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail announced Thursday the Medical Lake center is getting a…
Wonder what to believe among all the things you heard before, during and after President Barack Obama's "State of the Union" speech?PolitiFact.com breaks down some of the comments of both sides. Click here to see who was lying and who was truthing.And as a bonus,…
OLYMPIA -- Voter registration drives may as well skip the state prisons for now. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put a temporary hold on its order that felons should be able to vote in Washington, even if they are in prison.The Appeals Court…
John Ahern's campaign released this form Wednesday after Bob Apple denied endorsing Ahern. Both Ahern and his campaign manager, Josh Kerns, said they witnessed Apple signing it last year at the county fair.The top of the form is quite clear: "I endorse John Ahern for…
OLYMPIA -- There's not much action expected on the floor of the House, and the Senate has no floor action at all, so almost everything interesting will happen elsewhere today.The governor has a 10:30 a.m. press conference to talk about federal transportation projects. U.S. Sen.…
OLYMPIA—Spokane and any other city in Washington that uses cameras to catch red-light runners could have their ticket fines limited to $25 under a proposal before the Legislature.State Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Pierce County, the prime sponsor of House Bill 2780, said the cameras create an…
The field of candidates is growing in the race to replace retiring Democratic state Rep. Alex Wood.Spokane City Councilman Bob Apple confirmed this week that he will compete for Wood’s seat representing the 3rd Legislative District, the most reliably Democratic district in eastern Washington.
OLYMPIA -- The House of Representatives voted unanimously this morning to freeze any bonuses for state managers.In a 97-0 vote, they passed Substitute House Bill 2998, which leaves only a few exceptions for bonuses to executives in state government. The state paid out about $1.9…
OLYMPIA -- Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick was among law enforcement brass who told said they should be allowed to fire an officer who lies without fear of being overruled by an arbitrator.Kirkpatrick joined sheriffs from King and Chelan counties who supported SB 6590, which…
OLYMPIA -- A proposal to ban certain semi-automatic firearms was praised by the mother of a shooting victim and a city police chief, but roundly panned by gun-rights activists.The proposal, SB 6396, which would ban weapons commonly called "military style assault weapons" once covered by…
OLYMPIA -- Senate Democrats announce their "jobs" program this afternoon, which will lay out how they plan to help the state out of the recession.Landscape professionals, who may have some concerns about bans on phosphorus in lawn fertilizer, are lobbying legislators; so are state troopers.…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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