As lawmakers rush to reinstate his Initiative 747, ballot measure promoter Tim Eyman isn't exactly lavishing them with praise. In hearings today, he called lawmakers "amateurs", told Democrats "You've kind of sold out every principle you believe in," and exhorted them to broaden the bill…
Colfax businessman and farmer Joe Schmick, 49, will replace Rep. David Buri, R-Colfax in the state House of Representatives.County commissioners from Spokane, Whitman, Adams, Asotin, Franklin and Garfield counties voted Monday for Schmick out of a pool of candidates recommended by district Republican precinct committee…
"In 1707, the British navy lost four warships and 2,000 lives in the Isles of Scilly. The first ship to hit the rocks was Admiral Shovell's. Three more ships full of sailors and soldiers followed the leader to their deaths."So begins what has to be…
A new poll between the two presidential frontrunners suggests that Washington is a tossup in next year's election.The University of Washington's Washington Poll reports that an Oct. 22-28 poll of 601 registered voters (margin of error: =/- 4 points) found that 46 percent of the…
Catching up...Among the questions I'm frequently asked by visiting Eastern Washingtonians during the legislative session: "Where can we get something to eat?" (It's comes in third, after "Is parking always this hard to find?" and the inevitable "Do you have a bathroom?")Until now, the nearby…
Embattled Rep. Jim Dunn, stripped of his committee assignments and state travel money and publicly rebuked by his own caucus leader after an alleged "inappropriate" remark to a woman after a recent Tri-cities meeting, is vowing to run for re-election next year.Here's what Dunn had…
Flanked by sheriffs from several counties, Gov. Chris Gregoire this morning announced a sweep -- eventually statewide -- to corral sex offenders who refuse to register or violate other terms of their release.Three sex offenders were arrested in the hours following the 6 a.m. Monday…
S-R reporter Tom Clouse reports today that Washington State University was offered the chance to host the 2008 vice presidential debate in Spokane....And said no.WSU had been hitting up corporate donors to cover the $1.35 million cost of a presidential debate, in anticipation of "the…
Saying that the state has no assurance that all local governments will comply with her request to keep their 2008 property-tax increases below the now-unconstitutional 1 percent limit, Gov. Chris Gregoire has called a one day special session "to deal solely with property taxes.""I believe…
As Rep. Jim McIntire, D-Seattle, noted at the start of yesterday's revenue forecast, the economy looked like the Olympia weather outside: a little rainy.Chang Mook Sohn, the state's chief revenue forecaster, says that tax and other revenues are now likely to be $130 million lower…
At Politico.com, writer Ryan Grim has a roundup of the types of leaks that political reporters tend to get, and why. A couple of examples:The Pre-emptive Leak: A corollary of the above, this is a strategy to disseminate damaging news extremely early in a campaign…
In Seattle in about an hour and a half, People for Our Public Schools will make "an announcement" that will presumably be a declaration of victory in the tight race to make it easier for school districts to pass property tax levies.Early reaction from lawmakers:“The…
S-R staff writer Erica Curless has a wonderful story this morning about wonderfully-named Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and his "Capitol for a Day" visits around the state.These are a variation on Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire's town-hall meetings, but apparently with less advance publicity.Shoshone County wasn’t…
In a stunning turnaround from election night a week ago, late-arriving ballots, particularly from King County, now have HJR 4204 winning, at least for now. The numbers:YES: 722,031 NO: 716,998Numbers still coming in...Stay tuned...
Boy, this is starting to feel like 2004.New vote tallies are starting to roll in on HJR 4204, the constitutional amendment to allow passage of school tax levies by a simple majority, rather than the decades-old requirement of a 60 percent "supermajority."The amendment is still…
Sure, it'll have Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. But Washington's 2008 presidential primary ballot will also include folks like Democrat Mike Gravel (bring U.S. troops all home in 120 days, free health-care vouchers for all, end the federal income tax in favor of a national…
Palousitics covered the GOP precinct committee officers' picking of three nominees to replace former Rep. David Buri, R-Colfax.The day, according to writer (and PCO, apparently) Tom Forbes, started with six nominees: Jeff Phelps, Tedd Nealey, Joe Schmick, Michael Echanove, Allan Gainer and Darin Watkins.Here's some…
GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi wants Gov. Chris Gregoire to call a one-day special legislative session by the end of November to reinstate the 1 percent property tax cap that the state Supreme Court yesterday threw out."This cannot wait until January," Rossi said, raising the…
Gov. Chris Gregoire enjoys slightly more support than Republican challenger Dino Rossi, according to a new poll from the University of Washington.The poll (Phone interviews of 600 registered voters, margin of error +/- 4 percent) shows the following support for the following candidates:Gregoire: 47 percentRossi:…
In a split decision, Washington's highest court minutes ago ruled that a property tax cap approved by voters in 2001 is unconstitutional."The text of the initiative misled voters about the substantive impact of the initiative on existing law," Justice Bobbe Bridge wrote for the court's…
The state Supreme Court says it's likely to issue its opinion tomorrow morning in Washington Citizen Action v. State of WA, which challenges the constitutionality of Washington's I-747 property-tax limit. (Among the plaintiffs: Whitman County.)It's a complex case, but here's a primer:Prior to 2000, local…
Local Democratic lawmakers Chris Marr and Don Barlow will hold a town hall meeting Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Southside Senior Activity Center, 3151 E. 27th Ave., Spokane.Topic: health care issues, "including long-term-care insurance, nursing homes, the sale of Deaconess and…
Oh, it's good to be back. The Fred Russell trial in Cowlitz County, my base of operations for the past 3 1/2 weeks, is over. (Russell, the WSU student who drove drunk and killed three other students in 2001, before fleeing to Ireland for several…
Harold Clarke, Secretary of the state Department of Corrections, has resigned. He's moving to Massachusetts, which has hired him to head that state's prison system.In a six-sentence news release, Gov. Chris Gregoire thanked Clarke for his work.“Secretary Clarke has made significant contributions to public safety…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
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