Eye on Olympia: Maybe next year …

One of the truisms of politics is that your foes can be your friends, at least when it comes to getting re-elected.

Case in point: Seattle Democratic Sen. Ken Jacobsen and Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda.

Jacobsen, a liberal environmentalist, backed what he considered a modest bill requiring state wildlife officials to work with proponents trying to protect the 2,000-mile-long Yellowstone-to-Yukon wildlife corridor. Sure, we already are, said the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Kretz, a conservative rancher, quickly circled the wagons, firing off several press releases that drew people from hundreds of miles away to blast the plan in hearings.

“If you want to light up Eastern Washington, do things like this,” Kretz said afterward.

Kretz’s most recent press release on Senate Bill 5318 notes that the proposal “remains in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee pending future action.” But the only “future action” likely for the bill before the session ends Wednesday seems to be a trip to the recycler. The committee chairman, Jacobsen and Kretz all say the bill is dead for this year.

Teachers: 4 percent or 5?

The 81,000-member state teachers union has been running two-for-one radio ads that pointedly pin the blame for suspending past teacher raises on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s main Republican challenger this year – and urge her and lawmakers to do better.

“Remember Dino Rossi?” the Washington Education Association ad begins. “Well, he’s hoping you don’t remember his record on education.”

Teachers have never gotten the money they were denied in 2003 and 2004 when lawmakers – including then-Senate budget writer Rossi – suspended voter-approved raises in the face of a massive budget deficit. Lawmakers restored the annual increases, based on Seattle’s consumer price index, in 2005.

This year, House lawmakers proposed adding an extra 1 percent increase for teachers to partly make up for the years when those Initiative 732 raises were halted. Combined with this year’s regular cost-of-living increase, teachers would see a nearly 5 percent raise this year.

The Senate, however, proposed just the 4 percent raise, with budget writers saying they instead wanted to spend money on things like expanding all-day kindergarten.

The WEA says Washington’s teachers are paid $3,000 less than the national average and $12,000 less than their West Coast counterparts. (Washington teachers averaged $45,718 a year in 2004-05, according to the National Education Association.)

“We all know good teachers are the single most important factor in our child’s education,” the ad says. “Our kids deserve the best.”

Rossi called the ads a “smear campaign.” Democratic Gov. Gary Locke is the one who originally proposed suspending the initiative, he said, and lawmakers in both parties voted for the budget.

Despite a budget deficit of more than $2 billion, Rossi said, he wrote into the budget pay raises for teachers in their first seven years on the job, so none would be earning less than $30,000 a year.

“Our teachers are very valuable to us, and I understand that,” Rossi said. “My father was one.”

It remains to be seen whether lawmakers and the governor will agree on the extra 1 percent. Gregoire said Monday that “if I could, I would” give teachers the make-up money. She was clearer, however, on the proposal to delay the expansion of all-day kindergarten: No way, she said.

“It is flat unacceptable to me to turn that back,” she said. “Flat unacceptable.”

Don’t put it in the brochure…

Here are some excerpts from recent legislative testimony regarding the ski lodges at Mount Spokane. The snow park’s management is desperately seeking money to fix them up.

“… Weakened infrastructures caused by rot, mold, mildew and poor design … first floor floods often with water and silt … Nine (9) sets of windows have been blown into Lodge 1 this season from snow releasing from the roof … mold and mildew are prolific through both buildings. The interior walls and ceilings of the food and beverage areas are black with mold … the septic backs up through the ground level floor drains causing raw sewage to flood the day care, rental shop, SnowSports Center and food storage areas … there are no fire suppression systems …”

Result: Even in a year when lawmakers said “no” to a lot of requests, they found $200,000 to $300,000 to try to help.

How much is enough? It’s a secret…

In December, Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed leaving $1.2 billion in state savings this year to help stave off major budget cuts in future lean years. After a bleak revenue forecast and months of hearings, House and Senate budget writers have instead proposed leaving $750 million in savings. It’s still a lot of money, they note.

Not enough, Gregoire said this week. She called $750 million “simply unacceptable.”

So what’s acceptable, reporters asked.

Gregoire said she’s told lawmakers where that number should be.

So … where should it be?

“I’m not negotiating publicly,” the governor said.

Expanding the DNA database…

Lawmakers are considering expanding the state’s fast-growing DNA database, saying it’s working well as a way to track down criminals. As things stand now, a biological sample must be collected from people convicted of any felony and a few gross misdemeanors: stalking, harassment and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

House Bill 2713 would broaden that. Among the additional crimes: patronizing a prostitute, fourth-degree assault with a sexual motivation and failure to register as a sex offender.

“What we’re trying to get at is precursor crimes for future sex offenses,” said Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe.