WALeg Day 15: Voting laws, minimum wage and powdered booze
OLYMPIA -- It's a potpourri of issues at legislative hearings today, including election law changes, a $12 minimum wage and restrictions on powdered alcohol.
Spin Control archive for Jan. 1, 2015
MONDAY, JAN. 26, 2015
SATURDAY, JAN. 24, 2015
Sunday Spin: A cosmic shift in pot hearings? 2
Last week’s hearing on changes to the state’s medical and recreational marijuana was enough to make someone who has covered pot hearings for parts of five decades sense a cosmic shift.
FRIDAY, JAN. 23, 2015
WALeg Day 12: Impaired driving rules up for discussion
OLYMPIA -- A relatively slow Friday in the capital, but a bill with major changes to the drunk or drugged driving laws gets its first hearing in the House Public Safety Committee.
THURSDAY, JAN. 22, 2015
WALeg Day 11: No need for boxing gloves at Spokane med school session
OLYMPIA -- WSU and UW official don't object to each others' plans for medical education in Spokane...as long as it doesn't get in the way of their proposals.
WALeg Day 11: Senate committee to hear med school plans for Spokane
OLYMPIA -- The presidents of Washington State University and the University of Washington will explain each institution's plans for medical school expansion in Spokane this afternoon.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21, 2015
WALeg Day 10: Where'd all these Spokanites come from?
OLYMPIA -- About 130 Spokane-area residents are expected in the Capitol for the next two days to lobby for a list of local priorities.
TUESDAY, JAN. 20, 2015
WALeg Day 9: March for Life brings thousands to Capitol
OLYMPIA -- The March for Life, an annual anti-abortion rally often among the biggest of any legislative session, brought about 3,000 people to the Capitol Tuesday.
WALeg Day 9: Bill would blend state's 2 pot systems
OLYMPIA – Medical marijuana would come under some of the same licensing requirements as the recreational form of the drug but its buyers would pay fewer taxes under a plan to harmonize the state’s two pot systems. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells, D-Seattle, announced Tuesday the Comprehensive Marijuana Reform Act.
WALeg Day 9: 'Ag-gag' bill called unneeded, unconstitutional 2
OLYMPIA -- An 'ag-gag' bill similar to one passed last year in Idaho would hurt whistleblowers and interfere with free speech rights, legislators were told.
McLaughlin: County commission seat would be 'a natural fit'
Nancy McLaughlin hasn't been approached about a long-rumored appointment to the County Commission if Todd Mielke ascends to chief executive officer. But she's excited by the idea.
No clapping! No cheering! No booing! 5
It's no mystery why the Spokane City Council's current agenda has a new front page. Where before, the council's agenda always began with a screaming, large-font-ed, "The City of Spokane...," now, the agenda sets out the ground rules for behavior. We can blame the three...
WALeg Day 9: Ivory sales, campaign "dark money" and ag-gags 1
OLYMPIA -- Busy day expected at the Capitol with hearings on bills that would prohibit the sales of ivory and rhinoceros horns, require better disclosure of "dark money" in political campaigns and establish an "ag gag".
MONDAY, JAN. 19, 2015
WALeg Day 8: Guns banned in legislative galleries
OLYMPIA -- The House and Senate banned firearms and blades in the visitors galleries and committee rooms.
WALeg Day 8: MLK Day resolutions plus other hot topics
OLYMPIA -- The House and Senate will both pause for formal recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. today. They also have committee hearings on flame retardants, remote testimony and traffic cameras.
SATURDAY, JAN. 17, 2015
Sunday Spin: Acronyms can bite you in the S 2
OLYMPIA – The Capitol environs are replete with acronyms. Agencies are known by three-letter describers and programs are rarely mentioned by their full names. But last week’s Senate hearing into the shipping slowdowns at the state’s major ports showed the problems of over reliance on acronyms.
FRIDAY, JAN. 16, 2015
Seahawks-Packers bet, take 2
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee is betting beer, apples and oysters on the Seahawks.
THURSDAY, JAN. 15, 2015
Here come the Seahawks-Packer bets
Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are betting beer and cheese that the Seahawks will beat the Packers Sunday.
WALeg Day 4: Gun-control groups plan legislative scorecard 3
OLYMPIA -- A coalition of gun-control groups plans to grade legislators on their efforts to adopt new laws and oppose changes to the background-check law approved last November by voters.
Dominguez considering run against Stratton
Adrian Dominguez, an epidemiologist with the Spokane Regional Health District and member of Spokane's Police Ombudsman Commission, might be a candidate for City Council this year. If so, he would run in District 3 for the seat currently occupied by Councilwoman Karen Stratton, who was...
The first meme of the election year
Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, who is up for re-election this year, has become a meme. But will he go viral?!
WALeg Day 4: Shea tells gun rights activists I-594 is not law 2
OLYMPIA --Rep. Matt Shea told gun rights activists today they can ignore voter-approved background checks on private gun purchases because they are unconstitutional. "An unconstitutional law is no law at all," said Shea, who said he is supporting bills to repeal Initiative 594.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14, 2015
WALeg Day 3: Shippers duck hearing on port problems
OLYMPIA – Shipping delays at West Coast ports are hurting a wide range of Washington businesses, a pair of Senate committees was told Wednesday. What the Legislature can do about those problems in the short term, however, appears limited.
TUESDAY, JAN. 13, 2015
Stuckart rules out mayoral run, will seek re-election as council president
Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart has decided to run for re-election, ending months of speculation that he would challenge Mayor David Condon for the mayor's office. "I've done a lot of reflection," Stuckart said. "But I like being on legislative side. The council has...
Inslee calls for carbon tax; GOP balks
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee repeated calls for a tax on carbon pollution to secure "a birthright to a healthy Washington" but Republican leaders said it would be bad for business.
WALeg Day 2: State of state live tweet
We're covering Gov. Jay Inslee's state of the state address with a live Twitter feed from the House of Representatives floor.
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