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…
People thinking about running for local council or district offices who haven't yet made up their minds need to make a decision pretty quick. Filing week starts Monday morning. On the ballot this year are council seats in cities and towns throughout Washington, as well…
OLYMPIA --Negotiators are making progress on a budget compromise that would cover the state's operating costs for the next two years, Gov. Jay Inslee said this morning. But not enough that Inslee could say for certainty whether the Legislature will be working full-time starting Monday,…
OLYMPIA – Taxes collected from all retail sales grew by 5 percent in Washington last year, the biggest jump from one year to the next since the recession began in 2008. Figures released Thursday by the state Department of Revenue showed that taxes from retail…
Washington beer drinkers pay a higher tax than any state west of the Mississippi in the continental U.S. So says the Tax Foundation in its weekly map feature that shows various tax rates. The rate in Washington is 76 cents per gallon, which is eighth…
OLYMPIA – State officials who ask the Legislature for more money or expanded programs could be fined, and pay the penalty out of their own pocket, if they don’t properly file lobbying reports with the Public Disclosure Commission. A bill sponsored by Rep. Matt Shea,…
OLYMPIA – Anyone convicted of a felony involving a gun could be required to register with the state law enforcement agencies for four years under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Jay Inslee. The felony firearms registry, which would be maintained by the Washington State…
Former Spokane Mayor Mary Verner has landed a new job at the Department of Natural Resources. She will start next month as the deputy supervisor of resource protection and administration, said department spokesman Matthew Randazzo. That is the lead position over the resource protection division,…
During a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing today, Sen. Patty Murray questioned Air Force officials about reports that nearly two-thirds of military women who reported sexual assaults were retaliated against by their commanders. The answer by Gen. Mark Welsh, Air Force chief of staff, "we have…
As reported in this morning's paper, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers formally came out against a proposed West Plains casino as "encroachment" on Fairchild Air Force Base and the Spokane Tribe, which is planning the development, reiterated that it is no such thing. Want to read…
Congratulations to Councilwoman Amber Waldref, this year's top Bloomsday finisher among elected leaders (at least among those whose time we checked). She easily beat out the rest of her City Council cohorts, though in defense of the others, she is the youngest elected official we…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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