Twenty state senators are asking the president and Congress to authorize a war dog memorial in the nation's capital.Tens of thousands of such dogs were trained for scouting, guarding, tracking, detecting mines, flushing out tunnels, carrying messages and sniffing out bombs from World War I…
It was a very different kind of Sept. 11th back in 1852, when the Washington Territory's first newspaper, "The Columbian," published its first issue.The Secretary of State's office has scanned 18 issues of the weekly paper and posted them on-line.The papers can be a little…
www.washingtonvotes.org, a website that aims to render the sausage-making of legislation more accessible to everyday citizens, is a worthwhile visit for anyone who reads this blog (or the printed version in each Sunday's paper).Its list of most-viewed bills, for example, includes SB 5079 (calling a…
Speaking of the proposed 51st state, a key part of the debate was the fact that rural counties like Ferry get lots more transportation dollars than they put in. From 1984 to 2003, for every dollar in gas tax from Ferry County, $5.08 is spent…
We were salivating when we saw House Bill 2183, "clarifying the application of the state Constitution with respect to traffic violations committed by legislators."Were politicians trying to write themselves a motorists' get-out-of-jail-free card, a sort of diplomatic immunity when speeding or parking illegally?Alas, no. The…
Rep. Rodney Tom, R-Bellevue, wants to raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes from $1.42 to $2.50.The more-expensive smokes would likely prompt 98,000 Washingtonians to give up smoking, Tom estimates. The additional tax from those that keep smoking would raise $150 million dollars a…
Thanks to the Internet, you can easily do at least a cursory check into the credentials of your doctor, lawyer, or that contractor who's replacing the water heater.And if you run afoul of the law, you can now check to see if the judge has…
We pause from statehouse brow-knitting over the worsening health care mess, big budget woes, controversial election reforms and what to do about taxes to bring you House Bill 1964 , a modest proposal that states simply that "The Walla Walla sweet onion is designated as…
Spotted hanging on the wall in a Republican Senate staff office: a ring-style life preserver with name "Dino Rossi" on it. Really.
As the fight over who really won the governor's race turns into a sort of Lawyer Olympics, we pause to award a bronze medal for snide tactics and political theater to the Building Industry Association of Washington.The BIAW supports Republican Dino Rossi, who lost the…
Our vote for Most Ambitious Bill of 2005: Rep. Mark Miloscia's "House Bill 1810: Ending Homelessness in the State of Washington."The bill tells a state agency, county governments and some cities to end homelessness within 10 years. It also requires an annual count of the…
"You know, in Iraq, they had to provide a birth certificate to be able to vote." -- Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, who's promoting re-registration for every voter in Washington. After years of people signing up to vote when they get a driver's license, the state…
"I was afraid I would have to change my name to `None of the Above.'" -- Rep. Dan Kristiansen, D-Snohomish, who's sponsoring a bill that would let voters vote for "none of the above" instead of leaving an office blank.
The Republican who would be governor -- Dino Rossi -- turned up in the wings of the state House of Representatives Monday. He went behind closed doors to meet with House Republicans. The message: that despite Friday's court ruling that a re-vote is probably not…
A bevy of local lawmakers want to create a new state license plate featuring Gonzaga University. Cost: $40. The state Department of Transportation would get $12, and after deducting the cost of making the plate and running the program, the rest of the money would…
Yet again, a group of mostly east-of-the-cascades senators are proposing cleaving Washington in half, creating a new state of Eastern Washington."Since statehood, the lifestyles, culture and economies of Eastern and Western Washington have been very distinct and dramatically different," reads Senate Joint Memorial 8009 ,"while…
Speaking of wood, thieves are apparently descending on the state's forests -- public and private -- and stealing prime wood to make musical instruments.The pictures would make any deer or elk hunter cringe -- large trees felled and left to rot, with the thieves just…
Little-known fact: Washington apparently has the highest number of registered-nurse lawmakers of any legislature in America. (Eight.)
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
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