OLYMPIA -- The Legislature starts the second half of the special session with the pace it maintained through most of the first half. . . if standing still can be said to be a pace. While much of the rest of the state returns from…
The lineup card for the August primary shows we’re fielding quite a few rookie candidates for local office this year. Welcome to the ring. Watch out for all those hats being tossed around. Many of you will do as well as most of the veteran…
OLYMPIA -- The collapse of a section of the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River could spur the Legislature in to action over the much-debated transportation package with its increased gasoline taxes, but some of that action could be to rearrange how money is spent.…
A new survey suggests Washington voters would rather the Legislature cut spending than raise taxes, the folks at Moore Information say. Wow. Bet you didn't see that coming. (Next week, Moore will poll people on whether they'd rather have rain or sunshine tomorrow.) As with…
OLYMPIA -- Employers can't ask their current workers or job applicants for access to their social media accounts under a law signed Tuesday. Sometimes called the "Facebook Bill", Senate Bill 5211 makes it illegal for an employer to request a worker or a job applicant…
OLYMPIA -- Washington will set up a special fund to pay for losses of livestock to the state's growing wolf population under a bill signed Tuesday. The new law sets aside up to $50,000 each year from the money raised by selling personalized license plate…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee downplayed any conflict between the state's two research universities over operations at the new joint medical school facility in Spokane, saying he wouldn't even call it a disagreement. "I'm confident that we can find a way that Huskies and Cougars…
Spokane City Council candidate Mark Hamilton’s residency problems continue. Two voters in Spokane's northeast council district filed a lawsuit today claiming that Hamilton's name should not be allowed on the ballot because he was not a resident of the city or district for a full…
Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Mike Padden talk before the autopsy bill is signed. OLYMPIA – Spokane County’s medical examiners should feel free to talk about the results of investigations into deaths that involve actions by law enforcement officers. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill…
OLYMPIA – A legislative compromise over a controversial bridge over the Columbia River was sliced out of the state’s $8.8 billion transportation budget Monday by Gov. Jay Inslee, who insisted it would endanger federal money and could lead to the bridge not being built. Just…
Ava Conner, 6, accompanied her mother Jennifer to the Capitol for today's rally for a transportation package. OLYMPIA -- Shouts of "Pass it Now" filled the Capitol steps this morning as supporters of a new package of taxes and road projects tried to goad the…
The progression of thought for some politicians about the wisdom of the voters can be as predictable as it is ironic. At the end of the first campaign, most winners are honored – and sometimes pleasantly surprised – at being chosen by voters. It is…
OLYMPIA -- Anyone looking for a frenzied pace of activity in the special session would so far be disappointed, and today might best exemplify the pace. The House isn't doing anything and the Senate had its own version of casual Friday. Lt. Gov. Brad Owen,…
Official logo for legal marijuana in Washington state, courtesy Washington State Liquor Control Board. OLYMPIA — Anyone planning to grow legal marijuana in Washington should expect to do so inside, pass a tough background check and keep up with their paperwork. The state agency setting…
OLYMPIA – Out-of-state money pouring into the campaign coffers of this fall’s initiative to require labeling of genetically modified food products make clear that Washington will once again be a battleground state for progressive causes. Supporters of Initiative 522, which would require any product sold…
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook The Daily Show makes fun of President Obama's "I didn't know about this until I heard it on the news" explanations for recent scandals.
The Capitol Building above Capitol Lake on Wednesday morning. OLYMPIA -- Day 3 of the special session is quiet, inside the Capitol and out. The Senate Government Operations Committee had a "work session" in the morning on recall elections. The Senate had a four-minute pro-forma…
The city may have grounds to challenge two proposed charter amendments and seek court orders to keep them off the ballot, lawyers have told the Spokane City Council. Groups supporting the initiatives say that would be “a direct subversion of the democratic process” but the…
OLYMPIA – As a Senate committee approved tougher laws against impaired drivers Tuesday, some senators wondered aloud if the Legislature isn’t at least partially responsible for putting more drunks on the road by expanding the places where alcohol is consumed. Less than an hour after…
OLYMPIA -- A law that toughens the state's drunk driving laws, in part by increasing mandatory jail time, received unanimous approval this morning from the Senate Law and Justice Committee. Despite concerns by some senators that it didn't go far enough, or provide money to…
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee has shortened his top priorities on the Legislature’s “to do” list for the special session to three things: Pass an operating budget. Pass a new package for transportation projects. Toughen penalties for those who drive drunk or high. At a…
OLYMPIA -- Neither the governor nor the leaders of the caucus controlling the Senate will negotiate the budget in the news media. We know this, because the said so this afternoon in press conferences, which were called to talk about the special session that started…
OLYMPIA -- The special session of the Legislature began officially at 9 a.m. with a flurry of inactivity. The House passed a few resolutions and adjourned until Tuesday morning. The Senate went at ease until the afternoon, when Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler said enough…
OLYMPIA – The Legislature returns to town Monday in search of a compromise on a two-year operating budget that keeps the state in the black, uses relatively few accounting gimmicks, may or may not raise taxes and doesn’t get them hauled into court on a…
Remember how Congress moved almost like greased lightning to keep stop the slowdown in commercial flights that the sequester was going to cause? And remember how the jaded among you said that was just because they were getting to leave on recess, and didn't want…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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