Mon., March 21, 2011
OLYMPIA -- Washington voters will not be asked to raise gas taxes or any other tax related to roads, at least not this fall. 2012, however, is another matter. As they announced the House proposal for an $8.9 billion transportation budget, the chairwoman and ranking…
Mon., March 21, 2011
OLYMPIA -- Corrections officers from around the state are in Olympia this morning to testify in support of a bill that would grant them collective bargaining rights for safety issues. Meanwhile, the governor is at the Monroe Corrections Facility announcing the results of the study…
Sat., March 19, 2011
The Senate debates a resolution honoring Bob McCaslin, courtesy of TVW Many years ago, when I’d written something he enjoyed about low voter turnout, Bob McCaslin sent me an oversized reproduction of an editorial cartoon that summed up his feelings on the topic. A disheveled,…
Fri., March 18, 2011
In keeping with tradition for the start of the NCAA basketball tournaments, President Obama filled out his bracket and the White House released it. Something new was added to the mix this year, however. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized Obama for spending too much attention…
Thu., March 17, 2011
OLYMPIA -- With the projected gap between income and expenses growing another $500 million to $5.1 billion, Gov. Chris Gregoire said the Legislature may be forced to eliminate popular programs they had hoped to merely trim. They aren't going to be able to raise taxes,…
Thu., March 17, 2011
OLYMPIA -- The gap between state projected revenues and current programs grew by $778 million in the latest economic forecast for the next 27 months, resulting in a possible deficit of about $5.1 billion if nothing were changed in the next biennial budget. Arun Raha,…
Thu., March 17, 2011
OLYMPIA -- Today is F-Day in Olympia, as in Forecast Day. Arun Raha, the state's chief economist, will issue his forecast of the amount of revenue the state can expect to collect in the 2011-13 biennium, which will guide budget writers in the Legislature for…
Wed., March 16, 2011
OLYMPIA – Legislators are spending some of their time on pot this week. Not smoking it, of course, but discussing it as both a potential revenue source, through outright legalization, and an administrative problem for the medical marijuana voters approved in 1998. A day before…
Wed., March 16, 2011
OLYMPIA -- Spokane social service agencies, facing budget cuts like anyone who gets some money from the state, hosted lunch for the Spokane-area legislators today and used an old Saturday Night Fever song to make their point: "Stayin Alive." Groups that work with street kids,…
Wed., March 16, 2011
OLYMPIA -- Hearings today include several bills on community colleges, another on cigar lounges and a "work session" on marijuana. And no, the last one doesn't involve learning how to roll. Senate Higher Education has an afternoon session that features a bill on need grants…
Tue., March 15, 2011
Howard Dean -- former Vermont governor, former Democratic National chairman, former presidential candidate -- is coming to Coeur d'Alene Casino and Resort next month to talk to Idaho Democrats. Dean will be the guest speaker at the state party's Spring Training luncheon on April 16th.…
Tue., March 15, 2011
OLYMPIA – Because Washington state outlaws paying a surrogate mother to have a baby, some couples with fertility problems go to Oregon or California where they can hire women to carry a child. Because state law also presumes that the birth mother has parental rights,…
Tue., March 15, 2011
OLYMPIA -- A heavy hearing day today for legislative committees, with animal issues in the morning for the House Agriculture Committee and domestic partnerships and growth management bills before the Senate Government Operations Committee after lunch. Two bills in Government Ops deal with a topic…
Mon., March 14, 2011
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature is in "hearings" mode today and Gov. Chris Gregoire has a special guest to discuss education, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Both chambers have a hearing on Information Technology piracy legislation, a key priority for Microsoft in this session. Both have…
Sat., March 12, 2011
Left in the legislative ash heap last week was a bill to revise rules for initiative campaigns by charging as much as $500 to file a ballot measure and putting stricter rules on people paid to gather signatures. Like previous attempts to change ballot measure…
Fri., March 11, 2011
There's a break in the legislative action this weekend, so several Spokane-area legislators will be back in their home districts to hold town hall meetings. The break is a result of the Legislature passing a major deadline for voting bills out of one chamber, and…
Fri., March 11, 2011
OLYMPIA -- A Senate proposal that would result in the Legislature rejecting contracts negotiated between the governor's office and state employees' unions will likely face opposition from Democratic leaders in that chamber. "It does not make sense to me," Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane,…
Fri., March 11, 2011
OLYMPIA -- Washington officials are bracing for more bad budget news next week, and the only real question seems to be "How bad?" Already expecting a $4.6 billion gap between the cost of existing programs and the expected revenue for the coming two-year budget cycle,…
Thu., March 10, 2011
Heard a little bit about stuff happening in the Middle East lately, in places like Tunisia and Libya and Yemen? Sure, haven't we all. But how well do you know where those places really are? Click on the box above, and it will take you…
Wed., March 9, 2011
The U.S. Senate is considering a new bill designed to help small breweries with a tax cut, which will in turn create jobs. Or so says a press release from Sen. Maria Cantwell, who is a co-sponsor of the legislation, along with Sen. Mike Crapo.…
Wed., March 9, 2011
OLYMPIA -- Another full day of hearings today for the House and Senate, with bills that include topics such as fertilizer. Some people may think that most of what the Legislature spends its time on is a certain type of fertilizer. But this is lawn…
Tue., March 8, 2011
OLYMPIA – Some animals fared well this week as the Legislature rushed to pass bills before a critical deadline. Folks hoping to sip local liquor at the farmers market, buy pot at a state liquor store or require proof of citizenship before the state gives…
Tue., March 8, 2011
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is among the House of Representatives most active social media-ists. This is her monthly YouTube video, which may be most notable for all the different places and different people the camera catches her smiling in or with as the background music…
Tue., March 8, 2011
OLYMPIA -- Having gorged on floor votes in the last few days, both chambers of the Legislature return to committee action to hear bills the other house sent them. It's an unusual mix of bills, including a bill on embalmers and another on disposition of…
Mon., March 7, 2011
OLYMPIA – The state's environmental community is fighting a plan to allow four lightly populated Eastern Washington counties to opt out of the Growth Management Act. But in trying to generate opposition to the proposed change, the group Futurewise seriously overstated the impact that law…
