Today's fun video: Quick look at Tuesday
A look at the grilling of NSA officials from Tuesday, courtesy of Talking Points Memo
Spin Control archive for Jan. 1, 2013
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013
TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2013
Good forecast could mean Lege gets outta town
State economist Steve Lerch, right, explains figures from the latest economic forecast to Rep. Ross Hunter Tuesday. OLYMPIA -- The state's economic outlook is improving, in part because of better home sales, and the state could have an extra $231 million in tax revenue over…
MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2013
Is Tuesday D-Day for the budget? 1
OLYMPIA -- After 141 days of regular and special session, the most important day for the 2013 Legislature could be Tuesday. That's when the June economic forecast will be released, and good numbers on increasing revenue coming in and decreasing demand on services could be…
Coal ports: Economic plus or minus?
OLYMPIA – Building new coal terminals near Bellingham and Longview will have major economic benefits for the entire state, a new study conducted for the Washington Farm Bureau suggests. “All Washington exporters stand to benefit,” John Stuhmiller, Farm Bureau director, said. More trains and bigger…
SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2013
Sunday Spin: Signs of progress in the Lege?
OLYMPIA -- There are signs that the ice dam that is the Washington Legislature may be starting to melt after the glaciation of the regular and first special sessions. Such deep freezes are normally hard to sustain in the Capitol, in part because there are…
FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013
Senate passes estate tax 'fix'
OLYMPIA -- Minutes before midnight, the Senate passed a change to the state's estate tax that supporters called a technical fix and opponents called an unconstitutional "reach back". After a day of negotiations and discussions about other bills that might be traded in exchange for…
THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013
Speedy work after a slow day
OLYMPIA -- After spending most of Thursday in meetings or "at ease" the Legislature moved with uncharacteristic speed to pass bills as part of a complicated deal and beat a deadline on fixing the estate tax. The Senate passed a change to the Model Toxics…
No on I-522 money flooding in from out of state 4
OLYMPIA – In another sign that Washington will be the national battleground this fall over genetically altered foods, opponents of a ballot measure requiring those products to be labeled raised almost $1 million last month. None of it came from Washington state. . . To…
No Senate vote yet on estate tax 'fix'
OLYMPIA -- The Senate remains "at ease" while leader discuss a possible "fix" to a problem with the estate tax. The House passed the bill late this morning, in what was described in that chamber as an agreement over language worked out between the two…
Baumgartner cancels potluck
OLYMPIA -- Sen. Mike Baumgartner's annual Flag Day Potluck is the latest casualty of the Legislature's inability to get a budget. The potluck, scheduled for Friday at Comstock Park, was cancelled because Baumgartner can't attend. He's in Olympia with the other legislators (most of them…
House passes estate tax 'fix'
OLYMPIA -- The House approved a change in the estate tax to address a loss in court that could cost the state more than $40 million in the coming weeks. On a 53-33 vote, it approved a deal negotiated with Senate Republicans that could keep…
Hamilton says he's city resident in new court filing 15
City Council candidate Mark Hamilton says he hasn't lived at his address in the city of Spokane since November and barely lived in the home since September as a result of construction in the home. But Hamilton, a real estate agent and the pastor of…
Inslee sending proxy to Paris Air Show
OLYMPIA -- With the state looking at the prospect of wandering off a fiscal cliff without a budget, Gov. Jay Inslee today canceled a planned trip to the Paris Air Show next week to helpboost Boeing and the rest of the state's aviation industry. The…
Condon and Stuckart no Simon and Garfunkel
WARNING: This video is painful to watch and hear. Its only saving grace is that this exercise helped raise money for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Let's hope this duo does not reunite. The political pro of Street Music Week remains -- sorry, mayor and…
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013
A new class of troopers 1
OLYMPIA -- The Washington State Patrol swore in 27 new troopers Wednesday, graduates of the 101st class from the agency's academy. State Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst administered the oath of office as Gov. Jay Inslee, Chief John Batiste and family members watching from the…
Special Session: The sequel 1
OLYMPIA -- The Second Special Session began this morning with a bang -- of the gavel, anyway -- and not much more than a whimper in the House, which went into recess until tomorrow morning. The Senate had about two dozen folks on hand for…
TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013
Special Session 1 over. Special Session 2 ahead
OLYMPIA – The Legislature closed for about 17 hours overnight Tuesday – the amount of time between its ineffectual first special session and a second special session that some say could bring the state to a fiscal cliff. Gov. Jay Inslee criticized the largely Republican…
Gavel down on Spec Sess 1
Speaker Pro Tem Jim Moeller and Lt. Gov. Brad Owen are projected on the wall of the Senate as each brings down a gavel to close the special session. OLYMPIA -- The First Special Session of the 2013 Legislature closed this afternoon with the bang…
Spec Sess No. 1 approaches last gasp
OLYMPIA -- The First Special Session of the 2013 Legislature is expected to be gavelled to a close around 3:30 p.m. Legislators are being told to be back at their seats around then, and this special session will end less than 18 hours before the…
Inslee: Second special session called 3
OLYMPIA -- Criticizing Senate Republicans for pushing ideology over budget compromise, Gov. Jay Inslee this morning called the Legislature into a second special session starting Wednesday. He also said he was directing his cabinet to study what state government services would have to be shut…
Spec Sess Day 30 or Day Minus-1
OLYMPIA -- It's the final day of the First Special Session. Or possibly the eve of the Second Special Session. Take your pick. Legislators don't have much incentive to pass anything today unless they could pass it in both chambers, because at the beginning of…
MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013
Spec Sess Day 29: Get ready for double overtime
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature slid toward a second special session today with all sides agreeing they couldn't finish negotiating and adopting a two-year operating budget before time runs out in the first special session Tuesday at midnight. Both chambers have passed an operating budget, but…
Today's fun video: Obama v. Obama on NSA spying
The only comment we'll make is that it's amazing how much grayer President Obama is than Candidate Obama.
Spec Sess Day 29: Formal farewell to Sen. Mike Carrell
Rep. Maureen Walsh leads Senate in the chorus of "I Can See Clearly Now" at the close of the memorial service for Sen. Mike Carrell. OLYMPIA -- The Senate held a formal memorial service for Sen. Mike Carrell this morning, with tributes from several of…
Spec Sess Day 29: Tick, tick, tick
OLYMPIA -- Two days. That's what's left in the oh-so special session. With each chamber having passed a budget in the last several days we all know the parameters of a possible deal. So the thing to watch for will be some sign of movement…
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