Drivers rally behind NASCAR track

The NASCAR lobby revved into high gear Thursday with racing stars Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip and current driver Greg Biffle trying to persuade dubious lawmakers to support a plan that would bring a $368 million racetrack here.

“It’s a win-win situation for us, it’s a win-win situation for the people in Washington state,” Petty said. “There are millions of and millions of race car fans out there that have never heard tell of Washington.” Taxpayers would be expected to cover about half the cost of the track.

Mad cow secrecy: Lawmakers who helped create secrecy provisions that block public scrutiny of cattle operations are backpedaling after a series of state e-mails were released indicating that key safeguards designed to keep unhealthy cattle out of the food supply are being overlooked. Missing health certificates for imported Canadian cattle and other problems were openly described in the state Agriculture Department messages.

An industry group is suing the state for releasing the e-mails to a group of Eastern Washington cattle ranchers worried about mad cow cases in Canada, citing a new exemption in the state Open Public Records Act that it contends blocks such disclosure. Lawmakers now say they never intended the exemption to be used to block holding government accountable for protecting the food supply.

Rainy day fund: The Senate has voted to authorize the creation of a rainy day fund that will eventually build to a more than $1 billion nest egg in case of emergency or a downturn in the economy. The measure passed Wednesday and heads to the House. If it passes the Legislature, it will be on November’s ballot. Under the plan, at least 1 percent of annual tax revenue would have to be diverted to the fund.

Higher education: The presidents of Washington’s six public colleges and universities praised Gov. Chris Gregoire’s higher education budget Tuesday. The governor has proposed freezing tuition at community colleges for two years and limiting annual tuition increases at Washington universities to no more than 7 percent. She has asked for raises for instructors, smaller class sizes, more financial aid, and additional enrollment spaces for 8,300 students.

– Staff and wire reports