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Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Lisa Brown lay out health care philosophies at Spokane conference
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said the role of the federal government is to increase choice and competitiveness in the U.S. health care market, while Democrat Lisa Brown urged a push toward universal coverage in remarks Thursday afternoon to assembled industry heads and education experts in downtown Spokane. The Republican congresswoman appeared via teleconference at the sixth gathering of The State of Reform, a conference that has brought together local lawmakers, health insurance executives and care providers to address critical changes in the industry. Addressing the conference on camera from Washington, D.C., McMorris Rodgers said Republicans had not adequately provided their “full vision” for health care reform in the lead-up to the unsuccessful reform bill last year that would have made sweeping changes to the Affordable Care Act.
Spokane County Treasurer Rob Chase trying to block Avista’s sale
Rob Chase doesn’t want Avista Corp. to sell to a Canadian utility, and the Spokane County commissioner candidate says he’s deploying a little-known part of federal laws to try to block it. Washington regulators, however, said the laws Chase cites don’t apply to the sale.
Ad watch: Ephrata group targets McMorris Rodgers, Newhouse with questionable claims about taxes, veterans
A political action committee from Ephrata, targeting Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse, is making some overly simplistic claims about legislation the Republican members of Congress have supported regarding federal spending on veterans and taxes. The ads have yet to show up on traditional broadcast networks, but they’re being shared on social media by political groups opposed to the incumbents in this year’s midterms.
Campus vote shaping up as battleground in race between Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Lisa Brown
Younger votes tend to sway Democratic, but they’re also the demographic less likely to fill out a ballot by Election Day. Can Lisa Brown and her supporters find enough votes on the region’s campuses to make up a primary deficit? A computer analysis of past elections show that’s a long shot, but it hasn’t stopped young Democrats from get-out-the-vote efforts, and conservatives are making similar pushes at the region’s campuses.
National implications of the 5th Congressional District race
Spokesman-Review reporter Kip Hill speaks with KHQ’s Stephanie Vigil about the national implications of the race between incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Lisa Brown for the 5th Congressional District.
With court fight over, gun control measure goes around Legislature to voters
Supporters and opponents of gun control initiative campaign didn’t pause while the courts decided whether it would be on the ballot.
Recently appointed Superior Court Judge Shelley Szambelan faces challenge from attorney Dennis Cronin
Dennis Cronin thinks there’s reason to worry about Spokane County Superior Court. And it all starts with the image it presents to the public. Like a castle up high, overlooking the city with jutting spires and an impressive, protruding tower, the attorney likens it all to a medieval stronghold – the judges the elite royalty, the attorneys perhaps like barons and baronesses, and everyone else: commoners, servants, and at the bottom, detainees.
State Rep. Bob McCaslin faces former Spokane Valley planner Mary May in November election
Political novice Mary May, a Democrat, acknowledges that unseating an incumbent Republican in a state House race in the GOP-dominated 4th Legislative District would be no easy task.
Idaho schools chief switches up rural school pitch
Idaho’s top schools chief will no longer ask for money to create a rural schools network after lawmakers rejected the proposal nearly every year the Republican leader has been in office.
Spokane County clerks candidates differ on experience, goals for reform
Two candidates for county clerk, incumbent Tim Fitzgerald and challenger Michael Kirk, have similar goals to boost technology, but they differ on reform
Lisa Brown thesis from 1986 prompts new GOP attacks
The document, written in 1986 in furtherance of a Ph.D. at the University of Colorado, was published online in its entirety by the Washington Examiner on Thursday morning. Brown declined to comment on the specifics of the thesis, but said through a spokeswoman that the attacks from the right echoed similar claims in the 1990s that didn’t sink her chances in the state Legislature.
Idaho coalition to fight ‘historical horse racing’
An Idaho group made up of state and local political leaders have launched a statewide effort to oppose a ballot initiative seeking to legalize so-called “historical horse racing.”
Scott Maclay, sheriff’s candidate who changed name to DumpOzzie Dot Com, dies in motorcycle crash near St. Maries
Michael “Scott” Maclay, the Harley-riding respiratory therapist who changed his name to DumpOzzie Dot Com as part of a conspiracy-theory-fueled campaign to unseat Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, died in a motorcycle crash Monday afternoon near Mashburn, Idaho.
Opponents and supporters of Washington Initiative 940 on deadly force were allies, and could be again
Initiative 940 will pit once and possibly future allies against each other this fall.
Jordan calls DMV contract a ‘boondoggle,’ Little is ‘frustrated’
Paulette Jordan blasted the “Otter-Little Administration” for the problems with state Division of Motor Vehicles services that forced shutdowns this week and have frustrated county sheriffs and motorists for two years.
Where they stand: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Lisa Brown give stances on marijuana, opioid addiction treatment and drugs
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers has softened her stance somewhat on the legalization of marijuana, six years after Washington state voters approved the creation of a recreational market for the drug. Lisa Brown said she supports efforts in the House to address the growing number of opioid overdose deaths in the United States, but prefers a different proposal that includes a dedicated commitment of funds.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Lisa Brown have agreed to four debates that don’t include Gonzaga/League of Women Voters event
The four debates are more than the congresswoman has agreed to in past campaigns to hold her seat. But three of those confirmed are occuring at venues and with groups suggested by the Republican, while Brown has requested additional events with the Spokane Coalition of Color and at a local college.
Primary candidates want recount of 25 precincts to check for ‘anomalies’
Primary candidates seek hand recount of ballots in what they believe are suspicious precincts.
Deadly force initiative, I-940, headed to Washington ballot without proposed changes
Initiative 940, which changes the rules for reviewing cases of the police use of deadly force, must go on the November ballot, a divided Washington Supreme Court rules.
Sen. Cory Booker to Democrats at Cantwell rally: Stand up to adversity
Sen. Cory Booker urges Democrats to stand up in this “moral moment.”