OLYMPIA -- Ron Sims will be the new chairman of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, which operates the state's online system for finding health insurance. Sims, a member of the Washington Health Alliance board, is a former King County Executive and former deputy secretary of…
To check for locations, enlarge the map or click on the locator pins. OLYMPIA -- When the Liquor Control Board announced the "winners" of its lotteries for recreational marijuana stores, it also mentioned there were other applicants getting the green light to secure a license…
Guns continue to be a popular accessory in 2014 campaign ads.
Billy Frank Jr. earlier this year along the Nisqually River. AP photo. Billy Frank Jr. once told a biographer that when he dies, he wanted to be remembered as a fisherman. Leaving it at that for Frank, who died Monday at 83, would be like…
President Obama takes shots at reporters, news networks and Congress at the White House Correspondents Dinner
Janet Gilpatrick never held elective office but put her stamp on the politics and governance of Eastern Washington for some 17 years by making sure things got done right for someone who did. That someone was Tom Foley, the Spokane congressman who rose through the…
Last week’s steady stream of candidates announcing they plan to run for some office or another is a sign that filing week is nearly upon us. May 12 through 16 is the time for a candidate to go from talking about running for office to…
To enlarge the map, click on the + sign. To see the name of the proposed store in a particular location, click on the icon. Google+ map by Jim Camden Some of the most popular locations for Eastern Washington’s new pot entrepreneurs are close to…
OLYMPIA -- Marijuana retail stores in the Spokane area could be heavily concentrated on North Division, East Trent and East Sprague, based on the results of the state lottery. The Washington Liquor Control Board this morning released the results of the double-blind lottery for most…
The original logo for legal recreational marijuana in Washington, which was developed for the Liquor Control Board but never officially used. But we kind of like it, anyway. OLYMPIA – More than 300 businesses that get the first crack at opening the state’s recreational marijuana…
Inslee and Yu arrive at the Temple of Justice where Inslee announced her appointment to an opening on the state Supreme Court. OLYMPIA -- In his first appointment to the state Supreme Court, Gov. Jay Inslee replaced that court's most conservative member with its first…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee is scheduled to name his choice to fill an opening on the state Supreme Court at noon today. Inslee plans to make the announcement in the Temple of Justice, the Supreme Court building across from the state Capitol Building. He'll…
OLYMPIA -- Numerica Credit Union is the first financial institution in the state willing to accept clients whose business is recreational marijuana, the Washington Liquor Control Board was told Wednesday. But only for Spokane area businesses, Becky Smith, the board's marijuana licensing manager, said: “They…
OLYMPIA – The state Revenue Department is stepping up efforts to make medical marijuana dispensaries pay their taxes. After more than two years of “educational outreach” designed teach medical marijuana businesses that they must register with the state and pay taxes, the department says in…
Spokane City Council Chairman Ben Stuckart is already making plans for next year's election, saying today he will seek another term in his current position. Stuckart, currently part of a liberal/progressive/Democratic majority on the council, had been rumored as a potential candidate for mayor against…
OLYMPIA – The Legislature needs to pick up the pace at coming up with more money to improve the state's schools, a special committee is telling the state Supreme Court in a report due Wednesday. Although it may not have done as much for schools…
OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee appointed a new task force to find ways for Washington to reduce carbon emissions as part of an executive order that attempts to find ways to fight climate change. At a speech at Shoreline Community College Tuesday, Inslee outlined goals…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee is scheduled to announce the next steps in his plans for Washington state to fight climate change during a speech this morning at Shoreline Community College. A joint legislative committee is scheduled to adopt the official response to the state…
People with low regard for the Oregon ethos will get the most laughs out of this segment from Sunday's "Last Week Tonight" show. Warning: It's from HBO, where they feel no need to bleep out swear words.
OLYMPIA – For a political reporter, state initiatives have become gifts that just keep on giving. There have always been plenty of unusual ideas for ballot measures that crop up every spring, sort of like dandelions in the political lawn, and knock-down campaign battles over…
OLYMPIA -- The attorney general will investigate possible legal action against an Iowa group that spent nearly $300,000 on last year's food labeling initiative but didn't report its donors until after the election. The state Public Disclosure Commission referred a case against Food Democracy Action…
OLYMPIA -- A top official from the Spokane School District was fined $500 today for improperly using the district's resources to support ballot measures in 2009 and 2012. Mark Anderson, the district's associate superintendent for School Support Services, agreed to a settlement with the state…
Anyone holding out hope that the first cohort of new air-refueling tankers would be located at Fairchild Air Force Base can give it up. Pegasus won’t be landing on the West Plains any time soon. The Air Force confirmed Wednesday the first new KC-46As will…
OLYMPIA — Recreational marijuana purchases in Washington will be take-out but not delivery, proposed new rules say. The Liquor Control Board, which is overseeing the establishment of the state's legal marijuana system, appears likely to ban home-delivery of the drug along with several other tweaks…
Marine One flies over the site of the March 22 mudslide taking President Obama to Oso. AP PHOTO President Obama stopped in Washington state on his way to Asia, landing in Everett and traveling to Oso to see the devastation of last month's mudslide and…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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