Stories by Jim Camden for the Spokesman-Review

News > WA Government

Washington Electoral College electors who shunned Hillary Clinton to stop Trump fight fines in Supreme Court

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 23, 2019

Washington Supreme Court to decide a remaining issue from the 2016 presidential election.

News > WA Government

Gun violence ‘has to stop somewhere,’ mother of Freeman shooting victim testifies

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 22, 2019

Mother of Freeman High School shooting victim Sam Strahan says common sense gun laws “will save lives.”

News > Idaho

Spin Control: Why Habib skipped presiding over joint session of Legislature

Sun., Jan. 20, 2019

Lack of a concealed weapons ban in the House gallery and security concerns prompted Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib to stay away from the joint session.

News > WA Government

Primary choice: Satisfy independent voters or national Democrats

Sat., Jan. 19, 2019

Proposals to change the state’s presidential primary system likely to leave some group unhappy.

News > WA Government

Rep. Matt Shea urges crowd to resist gun restrictions with firearms ‘behind every blade of grass’

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 18, 2019

Rep. Matt Shea calls for a gun behind every blade of grass and people willing to fight gun control.

News > WA Government

Jerry Brown warns Washington lawmakers: climate change will get worse

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 18, 2019

Former Gov. Jerry Brown joins Gov. Jay Inslee in lobbying legislators for new laws to fight climate change.

News > WA Government

Harrington mayor helps Gov. Jay Inslee pitch state funds to close broadband ‘gaps’

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 17, 2019

Gov. Jay Inslee proposes state effort to close broadband “gaps”.

News > WA Government

Inslee tax plan draws critics, supporters in budget hearing

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 17, 2019

Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed tax increases generated the expected support and opposition Wednesday as the Senate began hearings on new revenue for the state’s upcoming budgets.

News > Spokane

Proposal for new restrictions on pot shops questioned

Wed., Jan. 16, 2019

Proposal to increase new restrictions on marijuana businesses could be expensive and hard to enforce.

News > Spokane

Republicans question motive, cost of Inslee proposals

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 15, 2019

Republicans say Gov. Jay Inslee’s State of the State speech was long on new programs without saying how to pay for them.

News > WA Government

Inslee: Climate is state’s most ‘imminent threat’

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 15, 2019

Washington should fight climate change as well as improve schools and the mental health system, Gov. Jay Inslee tells Legislature.

News > WA Government

Diverse Washington Legislature opens for 2019 session

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 15, 2019

New Legislature starts session with most diverse membership.

News > WA Government

Spin Control: Keeping up with the Legislature from afar

Sun., Jan. 13, 2019

It may be easier than ever to keep tabs on what lawmakers are doing over in Olympia.

News > Spokane

Spokane-area senators lead both parties as new session starts

Sun., Jan. 13, 2019

Spokane and the rest of Eastern Washington finds itself in an enviably strong position as legislators return to the capital Monday for the 2019 session.

News > WA Government

Washington legislative preview: Issues to watch in the coming months

Sun., Jan. 13, 2019

Washington legislators return to Olympia on Monday expecting more money to flow into state coffers than ever before, but with demands to spend even more.

News > WA Government

McMorris Rodgers: End the shutdown with a new deal on border security and DACA

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 8, 2019

Congress and the president should reopen the government by striking a new deal on border security and DACA, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said. But the Senate should vote again on the deal it approved just last month to end a reckless shutdown, Sen. Patty Murray said.

News > Spokane

Bill says defy NCAA, let college athletes accept pay

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 8, 2019

Legislator proposes letting college athletes in Washington to receive payments for “services provided” despite NCAA rules.

News > WA Government

Spin Control: What’s in store for 2019? Maybe this. Maybe not.

Sun., Jan. 6, 2019

With 2019 stretching before us, Spin Control makes some predictions.

News > Washington

Already affected by shutdown, tribes fear it will get worse

UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 5, 2019

The Colville Confederated Tribes face significant losses in their timber programs from a continued federal government shutdown, along with losses in social and health services, the tribal chairman said this week.

News > Washington

Inslee offers online pardon process for some pot convictions

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 4, 2019

Washington residents with a single misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction can request a pardon online.

News > Washington

Washington state gets a new kind of clout in new Congress

Fri., Jan. 4, 2019

As a new Congress opens with Democrats controlling the House, Washington trades clout in leadership for some better positions on committees.

News > WA Government

Eyman-Fagan initiative would eliminate many vehicle license fees, including Spokane’s

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 7, 2019

Washington voters likely will have the chance to eliminate fees that many cities, including Spokane, use to pay for paving and transit projects. With members of a ready-made opposition campaign present, Tim Eyman, along with Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan and his father Jack Fagan, presented the final boxes of signatures for Initiative 976 to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office last week.