President Obama sat down with Zach Galifianakis for a mock interview, with the main purpose of plugging the health care website but which wandered into many bizarre topics. Am guessing that conservative pundits who get angry when Obama goes on ESPN to make his NCAA…
OLYMPIA -- Be prepared for more pale teens, particularly during the winter months in Washington. Most minors would be banned from sessions in tanning booths under a bill receiving final approval in the Legislature this morning. With a 42-6 vote, the Senate agreed with changes…
OLYMPIA -- One would expect to see a budget agreement sometime today, considering the Legislature has less than 72 hours left in the session, and it takes time to take the agreement and turn it into a printed document on which the two chambers can…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate is pulling an all-nighter. More than two dozen senators will take turns speaking from tonight through tomorrow morning to drum up support for legislation to address climate change. Technically it's not a filibuster, since the senators aren't delaying a vote…
OLYMPIA -- Sen. Tracey Eide, a Federal Way Democrat, said she will not run for re-election this year, opening up a seat in one of the state's swing districts. Eide, an 18-year-veteran of the Legislature, has served for the last two years has shared bipartisan…
OLYMPIA – There is so much talk in legislative debates of the need to level the playing field that one wonders if an army of bulldozers should be dispatched to sporting facilities around the state. Such leveling is almost always a major part of any…
OLYMPIA -- The Seahawks' flying mascot Taima made a guest appearance in the Legislature this morning, posing for pictures and being present in the House when a resolution of his honor was adopted. The resolution, by Rep. Kevin Parker, R-Spokane, commended the augur hawk as…
Mike Leach addresses state Senate. OLYMPIA -- The Washington Senate elevated the 1915 Cougar football team to the status of National Champion today, honoring the team that went undefeated and won the 1916 Rose Bowl. With current WSU Coach Mike Leach at the rostrum, the…
Padden calls for a vote on firearms bill. OLYMPIA -- A person under a restraining order for domestic violence can be ordered to surrender all firearms under a law that passed the Legislature this afternoon. In a 49-0 vote, the Senate sent to Gov. Jay…
Inslee said legislators have moved to the center, but still haven't come together on a transportation package. OLYMPIA -- With time running out in the legislative session, Gov. Jay Inslee acknowledged "something's got to break very very soon" to pass a package that would pay…
Inslee urges Legislature to approve student testing bill. OLYMPIA -- The Legislature should approve a bill requiring statewide testing in an effort to keep $40 million in federal funding for local schools, Gov. Jay Inslee said today. Speaking at a press conference while teachers opposed…
Activists trying to rally support for immigration reform outside Spokane City Hall got a rude welcome to the Inland Northwest this morning. A young man walked briskly past the ongoing news conference and, with TV cameras rolling, muttered, "Go back to Mexico." He then continued…
Majority Coalition members watch vote count on liquor sales bill. It passed 26-23. OLYMPIA -- In a fight over fixing problems with an initiative that got the state out of the liquor business, the Senate tried to make it cheaper for restaurants and bars to…
OLYMPIA -- Native Americans who were arrested and jailed for"off-season" fishing in tribal waters before a federal judge ruled they were within their treaty rights are getting the legislative version of an apology. A unanimous Senate approved and sent to Gov. Jay Inslee a bill…
OLYMPIA – Sean Green's big plans for a nationwide manufacturing and sales empire got a boost today when the Spokane native got Washington's first license to grow legal marijuana. Green, who operates medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane and Shoreline, will begin growing recreational marijuana Thursday…
Last year we brought you the story of Shelby, the dog who showed up at a Senate hearing in support of a bill to make it easier for landowners to fight off wolves attacking their livestock and pets. The six-year-old Siberian Husky mix didn't speak,…
WASHINGTON - Sen. Patty Murray continued her criticism of President Obama's proposed cuts for cleanup of waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, taking his budget director to task at a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee which she leads. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Office of Management…
OLYMPIA — In a prelude to end-of-session budget negotiations, the House dumped the Senate's no-new-taxes budget that extended some tax loopholes for businesses, replacing it with a plan to spend an extra $140 million on education and other programs, partly by raising several taxes. Democrats…
OLYMPIA -- A plan to name Palouse Falls the official state waterfall passed the Senate and was sent to Gov. Jay Inslee this afternoon. On a 46-3 vote, a plan devised by students at Washtucna Elementary School cleared its last legislative hurdle and seems likely…
OLYMPIA -- A unanimous Senate voted to bar tax breaks for the state's fledgling marijuana businesses. On a 47-0 vote, it passed SB 6505, which says the state's new marijuana entrepreneurs who have filed for licenses to grow, process and sell recreational marijuana won't be…
OLYMPIA -- A bipartisan plan to use state lottery money for bonds to build new classrooms passed easily in the House today. On a 90-7 vote, the House approved a bill to build some 2,000 classrooms for kindergarten through Grade 3 classes which will be…
The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers made the national "fake news" last night for her use of Bette in Spokane as an example of Obamacare problems. Stephen Colbert referred to her as "Republican den mother" and aired…
OLYMPIA -- Bottled water would carry the standard sales tax and out-of-state shoppers would have to apply for a refund of taxes they pay at the register under a proposal approved this morning by the House Finance Committee. On an 8-5 party-line vote, the panel…
OLYMPIA -- Washington could levy a 75 percent tax on e-cigarettes under a proposal narrowly approved this morning by the House Finance Committee. On a 7-6 vote, the committee approved a plan to tax the mixture of nicotine, flavoring and water vapor despite objections from…
OLYMPIA – Facing a wide range of challenges for allowing different forms of legal marijuana, the Senate budget panel voted to set up a 22-member committee board to try to work things out. The proposed State Cannabis Industry Coordinating Committee would have four legislators, representatives…
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