Mon., Jan. 13, 2014
The new majority of the Spokane City Council flexed its muscles twice on Monday in the first 4-3 votes of the year. Both votes rejected nonbinding efforts to back a state Senate bill designating energy produced at the city’s Waste-to-Energy Plant as renewable. But council…
Mon., Jan. 13, 2014
Sen. Brian Dansel, R-Republic, at his desk on the Senate floor. OLYMPIA -- Brian Dansel, the Republic Republican elected to the Senate in November, was formally sworn in to the Senate with other new members Monday, then sent to the governor's office. It's not like…
Mon., Jan. 13, 2014
Newly appointed Rep. Leonard Christian received his committee assignments Monday on his first day in the Legislature. Appropriations. Capital Budget. Government Operations & Elections. Labor & Workforce Development. He also attended his first Appropriations Committee hearing, where Chairman Ross Hunter assigned him to the front…
Mon., Jan. 13, 2014
House Speaker Frank Chopp presides over the opening day of the session. OLYMPIA -- The House moved swiftly to reiterate its support for expanding college aid to qualifying students who aren't legal residents, passing the so-called DREAM Act less than an hour after the session…
Mon., Jan. 13, 2014
Gov. Jay Inslee talks with TVW's Anita Kissee before the session starts. OLYMPIA -- The Legislature returns to the Capitol for its 2014 session with caucuses in the morning and formal opening at noon. Opening days are often light on substance other than opening speeches.…
Sat., Jan. 11, 2014
OLYMPIA – Keeping tabs on the Legislature, which sometimes features dueling floor sessions or dawn-to-dusk committee hearings, can be challenging in the state capital and even more so for Spokane residents some 300 miles away. But the Internet and other technology makes it easier than…
Sat., Jan. 11, 2014
OLYMPIA -- Add one more politicians' bet to the list of wagers over today's Seahawks-Saints game. Gov. Jay Inslee's office said today he has bet Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal that if the 'Hawks win, Jindal will donate 100 pounds of Louisiana seafood to a food…
Fri., Jan. 10, 2014
Newly appointed state Rep. Leonard Christian will take his oath of office Sunday during the morning service at New Life Church in the Spokane Valley. Christian was appointed this week to fill the seat left open by the retirement of Larry Crouse. The 2014 legislative…
Fri., Jan. 10, 2014
Photo courtesy of Sen. Patty Murray's office. Russell Wilson has been the key to the Seahawks' success this season. But he has also had a role in something a bit bigger -- the agreement on the federal budget worked out by Sen. Patty Murray of…
Fri., Jan. 10, 2014
#TDSBreakingNews Washington State faces "too many pot growers" problem. In related news, Washington State wins award for "Best Problem". — The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) January 10, 2014 As reported earlier this week in Spin Control: OLYMPIA — Washington is seeing a green rush of sorts…
Fri., Jan. 10, 2014
If it's playoff season, that can mean only one thing in politics: Elected officials from Washington will make bets with elected officials in other locales over the outcome of Saturday's game between the Seahawks and the Saints. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell made a…
Fri., Jan. 10, 2014
Yesterday, I asked readers to guess which Spokane leader uses this signature. It belongs to City Councilman Jon Snyder. The above example comes from this letter. Snyder claims the signature is simply a big J. Me: "Is it a backward J?" Snyder: "I'm left-handed." He…
Thu., Jan. 9, 2014
OLYMPIA -- Problems with a pair of Seattle area "mega projects" could make it harder for Washington residents to swallow tax increases for transportation, some legislators said today at a preview for the 2014 session. Expected cost overruns for the new 520 floating bridge across…
Thu., Jan. 9, 2014
Hint: It belongs to a Spokane City Council member. (The three dots that are at the bottom of this image are not part of this official's signature.)
Thu., Jan. 9, 2014
We're halfway through the 113th Congress, and legislative watchdog GovTrack.us has handed down its marks for lawmakers based on multiple indicators of legislative success. Inland Northwest legislators had their fingers in several pieces of sweeping, high-profile federal legislation enacted in 2013, including an update to…
Thu., Jan. 9, 2014
Applications for marijuana stores in Spokane County Applications for marijuana growing licenses in Spokane County OLYMPIA — Washington is seeing a green rush of sorts in marijuana, with far more people wanting to grow and sell the drug legally than the state will allow. State…
Wed., Jan. 8, 2014
The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook Jon Stewart takes on the people who take on global warming because of this weekend's cold snap in the Midwest and East. Not to say "told ya so," but check out Prediction…
Tue., Jan. 7, 2014
OLYMPIA -- There is, in fact, no crying in baseball. Or so Dorothy Roth, a real-life version of the women baseball players portrayed in the movie "A League of Their Own", confirmed to Gov. Jay Inslee Tuesday as he issued a proclamation honoring her. Back…
Tue., Jan. 7, 2014
OLYMPIA -- Paull Shin, an Edmonds Democrat who served in the Senate since 1999, said today he will retire his seat immediately because of health problems. In a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and his Senate colleagues, Shin said he was resigning "with the deepest…
Tue., Jan. 7, 2014
Applications for marijuana stores in Spokane County OLYMPIA -- Washington has many times more people who want to sell or grow marijuana that the state will allow, and all the applications have yet to be processed. The Washington Liquor Control Board today released the names…
Mon., Jan. 6, 2014
Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart will soon be handing out duties to the city’s six other council members. The Spokane City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to give Stuckart the power to chose which members serve on what boards. But Stuckart abandoned his proposal…
Mon., Jan. 6, 2014
Spokane once again has a permanent leader for its water department. The Spokane City Council on Monday unanimously approved Mayor David Condon’s appointment of Dan Kegley as the water director. The city was without a water director from June 2012, when previous director Frank Triplett…
Mon., Jan. 6, 2014
OLYMPIA -- Two senators from Southwest Washington were admonished to use "professional, business language" and the caucuses should help members deal with "interpersonal conflict," a special Senate committee said today. Put in plainer language, Sen. Ann Rivers should not have called Sen. Don Benton a…
Mon., Jan. 6, 2014
OLYMPIA -- For years, Tim Eyman and company proposed initiatives to require a super-majority for taxes. Voters approved them even though opponents said they were unconstitutional. Turns out opponents were right, or so said the state Supreme Court in last year's ruling that such a…
Mon., Jan. 6, 2014
OLYMPIA -- Sen. Andy Hill has some ideas to speed up the budgeting process that may not endear him to his colleagues. Everyone else who waits on the Legislature to cobble together a budget might cheer them, however. The Redmond Republican who will repeat last…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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