OLYMPIA -- The Legislature as a whole is moving at a standard "let's get back up to speed" pace of the first week of session, but individual members are itching for attention to key issues. That's the only conclusion one can draw from the fact…
OLYMPIA – Banning plastic shopping bags throughout the state would keep them from showing up along roadsides, in landfills and in the bellies of whales in the Puget Sound, the sponsor of a proposed ban said Wednesday. But it would also force people out of…
Arun Raha reads from a list of his Top 10 "Arun-isms". OLYMPIA -- Dr. Arun Raha, the state's chief economist who delivered some the worst financial news in more than a half-century but managed a quip or a laugh to help ease the pain, is…
The ballots are counted in New Hampshire, which means presidential candidates and the nation's political reporters can ignore the state for another three and a half years. But before rushing off to South Carolina to dissect whether this will be the end of the GOP…
Residents of Spokane's 3rd Legislative District might be getting a call around 6 p.m. Wednesday inviting them to participate in a tele-town hall. A what? you might say. It's like a town hall meeting, only on the telephone. Sen. Lisa Brown and Reps. Timm Ormsby…
Sofia Smith of Seattle sings the National Anthem to a joint session of the Legislature before Gov. Chris Gregoire's State of the State speech. OLYMPIA -- By reading the posts below, you can get the highlights of Gov. Chris Gregoire's State of the State speech…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal to place a $1.50 per barrel fee on oil produced in Washington state got a cold reception from Republican leaders. Speaking at a press conference after the State of the State address and Republican response, House Minority Leader Richard…
OLYMPIA -- The budget and reforms represent a bold agenda, but there's one more request, Gov. Chris Gregoire said. "It is time for marriage equality," she said. That brought strong applause and cheers from Democrats on one side of the chamber, but stone silence from…
OLYMPIA -- When we build roads, they don't take care of themselves, Gov. Chris Gregoire said. The state has to do it. The state faces a $1.6 billion shortfall on road maintenance over the next decade and a $1.3 billion shortfall on the ferry maintenance.…
OLYMPIA -- Ask the universities to innovate and partner with low-performing schools, Gov. Chris Gregoire urged the Legislature. "All of our students, not just tghose who can afford itg, must have more skills and knowledge to compete in this century," she said. "When we ask…
OLYMPIA -- We're reforming, Gregoire says, but that won't be enough. State work force is down. State pensions have been reformed. So have Workers comp and unemployment insurance systems. "Unlike other states, we have not used the recession to undermine the environmental protections that provide…
OLYMPIA -- Do four things in the 60-day session, Gregoire tells the Legislature Pass the budget quickly, Approve a half-penny sales tax. Pass my school reforms. Pass a major transpsortation and jobs package.
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire says she's not slowing down in the last year of her administration, and warned the Legislature not to either. Instead, she borrowed a term from auto racing, that they should "win in the turns" by speeding up when other states…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire's state of the state address begins with a moment of silence for people who died over the last year: State Sens. Bob McCaslin, Alex Deccio and Scott White. Former Gov. Al Rosellini. Nine members of the Armed Services from Washington…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire will deliver her state of the state address to a joint session of the Legislature at 10:30 a.m. So let's see, is it technicallly the State of the State address, the State of Washington State addres, the State of the…
New Spokane City Council President may have lost an automatic seat on the Spokane Airport Board on Monday, but he still has the power to create a seating chart. And he exercised that right by shuffling the seats on the dais that already were reshuffled…
Former Spokane City Council President Joe Shogan was well-known for his vigilance enforcing a ban on people wearing hats when testifying to City Council. So any long-time observers of the City Council may have wondered if newly elected City Council President Ben Stuckart would be…
"It seems like we were just here, less than a month ago. Oh wait. We were." - House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, in his floor speech on the opening of the 2012 Regular Session. Every body was thinking it. Lots of people quoted Yogi Berra's…
OLYMPIA -- Steven Gonzalez, a former King County Superior Court judge, was sworn in today as the newest member of the State Supreme Court. Gonzalez was appointed late last year to fill the seat left open by the retirement of Justice Gerry Alexander, who reached…
OLYMPIA -- The beginning of January doesn't just mark the beginning of the Legislature. It is also the beginning of the initiative filing season. Earlier today, an Everett attorney filed paperwork for an initiative that would define marriage as strictly between one man and one…
House Speaker Frank Chopp listens to floor speeches on the opening day of the 2012 session. OLYMPIA -- The Legislature started it's 60-day session with the usual pomp and circumstance, and a preview of the debates ahead over the next 59 days. As soon as…
House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt of Chehalis and Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, talk just before the 2012 legislative session begins. OLYMPIA -- The 2012 legislative session starts at noon, with a bit of pomp and circumstance. Legislators also have committee hearings in the afternoon,…
OLYMPIA – There is nothing so hopeful, it seems, as a state Capitol on the eve of a legislative session. Even in a year like 2012, when the state faces yet another budget crisis and the Legislature has a mere 60 days to solve it,…
Former Mayor Mary Verner and the leadership of the city's fire union tentatively agreed to a new contract in the final days of Verner's term. But the deal still will need to be ratified by the union's membership and the new City Council. Former City…
What may well be the first gubernatorial debate of the Washington election season could happen June 12 in Spokane. Or not. The Association of Washington Business, which has a long history of gubernatorial matchups in front of its membership, wants to have Attorney General Rob…
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