Fred Russell may be sitting in a cell, but his name’s popping up frequently in Olympia, where state lawmakers are weighing changes to catch drunken drivers and toughening the sentences for those who kill.“We will tell people once and for all that this is unacceptable,”…
Less than a week ago, www.horsesass.org blogger and Seattle liberal talk-radio host David Goldstein wrote: So why hasn’t KIRO fired me? Well, perhaps because I bring them raw talent with a lot of upside, a virtual lock on local liberal talk in this very liberal…
The state Legislative Ethics Board has issued "a letter of instruction" to Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum, after Hinkle's legislative staffer sent a newspaper a letter of his support -- on state letterhead -- for a local school ballot measure."Apparently unbeknownst to the Representative, the…
State Rep. Steve Hailey, a legislator from Eastern Washington, announced this morning that he is undergoing treatment for colon cancer.Hailey, R-Mesa, said he was diagnosed shortly before the legislative session started Jan. 14th. He last week began chemotherapy, he said, an is planning to continue…
A former community organizer, House Speaker Frank Chopp is joining Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, in backing the idea of a small state match for families that claim the federal earned income tax credit."I think this is a high priority, if we can fit…
With some significant tweaking, the Senate consumer protection committee on Friday gave a thumbs-up to Sen. Ken Jacobsen's "Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights."The bill, which originally would have mandated cash refunds to passengers stranded for long stretches on the tarmac, has been "watered down" --…
More on the UW stadium proposal, from a story I had in this morning's paper:House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said that not a single one of the House's 97 other lawmakers has asked him to support the proposal."That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?"…
As Congress hashes out an economic stimulus plan that could land a $300 to $1,200 check in your mailbox, state lawmakers are pitching their own plan to put a couple hundred dollars more in the pockets of hundreds of thousands of Washington's working poor.Senate Bill…
Numerous Washington State University Cougar fans are not happy at the prospect of taxpayers shelling out $150 million to help build a new stadium for arch-rival University of Washington, according to serious Cougar fan and Tri-City Herald reporter Chris Mulick.To get a feel for the…
Republicans, outnumbered nearly two to one in both the House and Senate, are trying to pick their battles this year. High on the list: a package of flood-relief bills including a property tax break and tax relief for farms."It's going to take them a couple…
One of the most interesting discussions in Olympia between now and mid-March is likely to be how lawmakers decide to pay for a program they voted last year to launch in October 2009.A paid family leave program patterned loosely on California's, it would give a…
The race to replace state Rep. Bob Sump, the Republican from Republic, is on. (Props to Chris Mulick, who reported this first.)Sump, a longtime lawmaker in the sprawling 7th district, announced last year that he'll step down at the end of 2008, giving plenty of…
Regular readers of this blog know that I'm a fan of the blog boingboing, "A Directory of Wonderful Things." (Among the many recent offerings: "Little people concealed in hockey bags fleece Swedish bus passengers.")Today, the website notes this cautionary tale from the New York Times:…
Never underestimate the fervor of a Washington State Cougars fan. I did a story last fall that included these folks:Take, for example, 2001 alum Darin Hanson, who delayed buying a new car until Dodge made it in a WSU-like shade."It gives me an immense amount…
In a statehouse where competing interests clash for a limited amount of state cash and legislative time, Spokane-area business groups, universities, city and county officials and community groups have painstakingly learned a key lesson in recent years: it helps to be singing in chorus.Nearly 80…
Bruce Eldredge, the departing longtime CEO of the Eastern Washignton State Historical Society (better known for its Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane) got some kudos from the state Senate this morning.After 7 years with the society and museum, Eldredge is moving to…
Saying that a quirk of state law allows bloodthirsty dog owners to sic their animals on foxes and coyotes -- even in pens -- Rep. Hans Dunshee is sponsoring a bill to make it a crime if an owner "directs, commands or facilitates a canine…
And so it begins.If anyone had any doubts that the looming election won't heavily overshadow this year's legislative session, look at last night.For most of an hour, Gov. Chris Gregoire touted her three years in office and a series of Democrat-led initiatives and reforms: a…
Runner-up for poet laureate: UW lobbyist ("state relations director) Randy Hodgins, with these lines in a recent blog post:So let’s have a final systems check. Shoes are polished, tie is straight (for now), shirt tucked in and two pens clipped inside the coat pocket. Time…
Democrats, not surprisingly, were underwhelmed. In a statement sent out to reporters minutes after Rossi's streaming-video "Real State of the State" speech, state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz called it an: "online gimmick which offered zero substance or even variation from his tired stump speech…
A day before Gov. Chris Gregoire gives here state-of-the-state speech to the assembled House and Senate tomorrow night, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi is giving his version via the Internet.Rossi's calling it the "Real" state of the state address. It will be webcast at 6…
Ballot measures are blossoming this year, with more than two dozen potential initiatives to the people filed so far.Among them, of course, are former Gov. Booth Gardner's death-with-dignity assisted suicide measure and Tim Eyman's anti-traffic-congestion proposal.Less known so far is the proposal by Steilacoom's Michael…
Just in time for today's start of the 2008 legislative session: Our video (with help from expert tour guide Tony Aitken) tour of the Washington state capitol. In it, you'll learn why there are 42 steps to the building, why the House and Senate seats…
Former Gov. Booth Gardner returned to the statehouse Wednesday, again facing a bank of news cameras for what he called his "last campaign": a battle to allow terminally ill people to have a doctor's help in ending their own lives.Gardner, diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in…
This morning, former Gov. Booth Gardner is slated to file a "Washington Death With Dignity Initiative" patterned on Oregon's decade-old assisted-suicide program. Gardner is struggling with Parkinson's disease.If proponents gather enough signatures and voters approve the measure on the November ballot, mentally competent adults diagnosed…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
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