WA county unemployment rates
OLYMPIA -- The state released unemployment rates for Washington counties this morning. Check out the map above, or go to the department website for more details
Spin Control archive for Jan. 1, 2014
TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014
Today's fun video: Stewart skewers feds over VA problems
The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook Jon Stewart on The Daily Show expresses outrage over the lack of outrage in the Obama administration over problems at Veterans Affairs Centers.
MONDAY, MAY 19, 2014
Party time
The top-two primary continues to give candidates a chance to show creativity to dream up political parties. Under the old law, a candidate claiming to be a member of a minor party with a clever name had to take the rudimentary steps of forming it,…
Bring on the Zamboni
Judicial races in Washington usually are notable for having very little notable to report. Candidates compare resumes, look for people to place in long lists of endorsements in their newspaper ads and generally avoid controversy in an effort to seem judicious. One state Supreme Court…
Millennials: The latest hot thing?
The latest hot thing in politics seems to be Millennials. Last week the Youth Engagement Fund and Project New America released a poll that said voters aged 18 to 29 will determine the fall elections. It delves deeply into the political psyche of Generation M…
FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014
McMorris Rodgers draws 3rd opponent as filing week closes
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers drew a third challenger and several other political races filled out Friday on the last day for candidates to file for office in Washington. Tom Horne of Nine Mile Falls filed as a Republican against McMorris Rodgers, who is seeking a…
Today's video: Murray presses VA officials
Sen. Patty Murray tried to get answers Thursday from Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and other VA officials on longstanding reports of problems in their system. They didn't have much. . .
THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2014
4th Cong District: Then there were 10
The number of candidate's for Central Washington's 4th Congressional District seat climbed into double digits for Thursday as a second Democrat and an independent joined the crowd. Tony Sandoval, a Yakima businessman, filed as a Democrat. Richard Wright of Kennewick, who ran unsuccessfully against Doc…
Today's fun video: ID gov debate
There are about as many differences between Washington and Idaho politics as there are differences between the two states. As this video demonstrates, Idaho gubernatorial debates are quite a bit more entertaining, as dark horse candidates Harley Brown and Walt Bayes join Gov. Butch Otter…
Seahawks get White House invite
The Seahawks are being invited to the White House next Wednesday for some presidential atta-boys. The White House announced President Obama will honor the team for their Super Bowl victory and "for their efforts to give back to their communities." Perhaps he'll also thank Richard…
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2014
4th Cong District: Holmquist Newbry makes 8
In a sign that politics abhors a vacuum almost as much as nature, an open seat in Central Washington’s 4th Congressional District has drawn eight candidates with two days left in the state’s filing week. State Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry, R-Moses Lake, on Wednesday afternoon…
Washington job numbers up 1
OLYMPIA – Washington has gained back the jobs it lost during the Great Recession and sees its employment slowly expanding. Figures released Wednesday by the state Employment Security Department put the state unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, down two-tenths of 1 percent from March and…
City of Spokane plans park/streets meetings
Spokane city officials will hold six public meetings this month on their plan to refinance bonds to raise money for street maintenance and the proposed Riverfront Park Master Plan. The proposal involves refinancing three older bond issues, paying them off and raising an extra $25…
TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014
4th Congressional District filling up
Central Washington's 4th Congressional District continues to attract candidates Tuesday with seven would-be representatives filing for the seat being vacated by Doc Hastings. . . To read the rest of this item, or to comment, click to continue inside the blog.
DNR to explore halt to timber harvests near slides
OLYMPIA -- The agency that manages state forest lands will ask whether it's legal to declare a moratorium on timber harvests near landslide areas. The Forest Practices Board, which sets rules for harvesting timber, will also review those rules "with a particular eye to public…
MONDAY, MAY 12, 2014
Today's fun video: What happens when you put Putin on ice
Russian President Vladimir Putin took to the ice over the weekend for a hockey game and scored six goals. Makes you wonder how they kept Putin off Russia's Olympic hockey team, although he was probably too busy planning the annexation of Crimea to practice regularly.…
Day 1 of filing week
A noon-time campaign event by state Sen. Michael Baumgartner brought several Republicans into the Spokane County Elections Office on the first day of filing week. State Reps. Jeff Holy of Cheney and Leonard Christian of Spokane Valley joined Baumgartner in filing their paperwork and paying…
Filing week starts today
Washington residents with political ambitions have until Friday afternoon to make them official by filing for office. Voters will elect 10 members of the U.S. House, half the state Senate, the full state House, four state Supreme Court justices and many county executive posts in…
SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2014
Sunday Spin: Clarification on candidate ad rules
Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton wrote recently to say that at the urging of a legislator she had delved deeper into state election law than when we last spoke, and discovered state law does not require candidates to list the office or position they are…
SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014
3rd District gathering Monday
The Third Legislative District's delegation will hold a gathering something between a town hall and a coffee klatch Monday afternoon. Dubbed a "mobile office" meeting, Sen. Andy Billig and Reps. Timm Ormsby and Marcus Riccelli will be at Indaba Coffee, 1425 W. Broadway to give…
FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014
'Outrage' of the day
The Tea Party is outraged at President Obama. And it's not about the fact that he was born in Kenya or that Obamacare is assembling death panels to kill our grandparents or he's issuing orders to send all gun owners to FEMA camps. Or any…
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2014
Top Inslee aide stepping down
OLYMPIA -- Ted Sturdevant, the head of Gov. Jay Inslee's legislative affairs and policy office, will step down at the end of June. In an e-mail to legislators today, Sturdevant said he decided "it's time for a different pace and a different work-life balance." Sturdevant,…
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2014
Today's fun web site: Test your political knowledge
Lots of web sites offer quizzes of government and politics. This one on Buzz Feed comes complete with photos and GIFs that make it more fun than usual. Questions probably are only moderately difficult for regular Spin Control readers.
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
Mudslide communities getting tourism money
OLYMPIA -- Areas near the Oso mudslide will get some state money to boost tourism this summer as a way to help their economies. Gov. Jay Inslee approved a $150,000 request from the state Commerce Department to supplement local business and government spending on promoting…
"A country run by idiots"
Audience comments during the Spokane City Council’s debate over adding gender identity to local civil rights protections were at times so graphically vile that Councilman Jon Snyder suggested it was evidence of why the ordinance is necessary. Former state Rep. John Ahern, for example, warned…
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