A proud distinction for former underdog
After a century of second-city sulking for the Lilac City, I’m pleased to report that finally, Spokane’s ticket to undying fame and much-deserved respect is in a little clause tucked away deep in Senate Bill 5318, as amended.
Some background: The bill would require state officials to participate in wildlife management and conservation efforts with other states and Canadian provinces, as part of the “Yukon to Yellowstone conservation initiative.”
For the uninitiated, this largish swath of land in two nations is apparently referred to as “Y2Y.” Y2Y stretches from Cokeville (pardon?) in west-central Wyoming 1,990 miles to the Peel River in the northern Yukon.
Interestingly, the bill now includes this line: “As the largest city within the Y2Y region in the United States, the City of Spokane should be recognized as the United States capital of Y2Y.” That’s right: the Biggest City Between Cokeville and the Peel.
Except for Calgary.
Dang it.
Track promoters agree to a vote
Great Western Sports, one of two companies calling for a NASCAR speedway on the Kitsap Peninsula, has agreed to go along with a public vote on whether the project should be half paid for with a small slice of the sales tax and a tax on admission tickets to the track.
The vote would take place in the “public speedway authority” area – i.e. the places that would pay the tax. That’s likely to be a three-county area with at least 400,000 people in it, under the proposed bills allowing public financing of the speedway.
“We are prepared to listen to the will of the people on this important project,” said Grant Lynch, president of Great Western Sports.
It’s unclear how much of a risk track proponents would really be taking by agreeing to a public referendum. At recent hearings, Lynch has testified that Great Western’s polling shows strong public support for the 83,000-seat track, particularly in south Kitsap County.
Funeral roll call for dead bills
Although it can be risky to definitively pronounce a bill dead – lawmakers have a number of procedural tricks they can use to resuscitate seemingly lifeless proposals – here’s a tentative list of some of this year’s likely casualties in the Senate:
“SB 5160: Establishing an organic foods commission.
“SB 5161: Requiring labeling on food from cloned animals.
“SB 6007: Paying for flying sharpshooters to kill coyotes during calving season (Sen. Bob Morton, R-Orient).
“SB 5103: Requiring that new school buses include lap and shoulder belts for every rider.
“SB 6037: Freeing high schoolers from having to pass the WASL test to get their diploma.
“SB 6042: Requiring a daily recess period for elementary school children.
“SB 5181: Requiring ballot-measure signature gatherers to wear identification.
“SB 5529: Modifying elected officials’ oath of office “to include support for the principles of the Declaration of Independence.”
“SB 5636: Prohibiting signature-gathering by sex offenders.
“SJM 8205: Doing away with the right of initiatives and referenda.
“SB 5907: Requiring health professionals to report unprofessional conduct by their co-workers to medical disciplinary officials.
“SB 5168: Giving a sales-tax refund to low-income students.
“SB 5071: Giving grandparents visitation rights, especially if a parent’s refusal to let a child see his or her grandparents would harm the child.
“SB 5095: Collecting DNA samples from people arrested – not just convicted, like now – for the state’s DNA database (sponsor: Sen. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley).
“SB 5335: Allowing gays and lesbians to marry.
“SJR 8219: Amending the state constitution to say that only a man and a woman may marry.
“SB 5580: Requiring tanning salons to post signs warning that repeated exposure to ultraviolet light may cause skin cancer.
“SB 5704: Establishing a pilot program to conduct mineral prospecting on ocean beaches.