The Thurston County Superior Court has set a time to hear Referendum 71 proponents' challenge to the proposed wording of their measure: 10 a.m. Tuesday.Here's more on R-71 and what this challenge is all about.
People trying to overturn a new law giving expanded rights to same-sex domestic partners have filed an 11th-hour appeal of the proposed ballot language.The move sets their own signature-gathering effort back at least a week, but seems aimed at boosting their odds by trying to…
In a study of more than 360 metropolitan areas by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, Olympia was rated 6th-highest in the nation for salary growth. Pay there rose an average of 22 percent from 2004-2008, according to the magazine. Median household income in Olympia is now…
California's supreme court has upheld Proposition 8, the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling, however, allows thousands of same-sex marriages performed prior to the ban.California's experience has been closely watched in Washington, where gay marriage opponents have filed a referendum to undo a…
A 66-year-old Sequim woman reportedly became the first person to use Washington's new assisted-suicide law, approved by voters in November. The group Compassion & Choices says that Linda Fleming, diagnosed a month ago with late-stage pancreatic cancer, took lethal medication Thursday night with her family,…
-Washington week of torture, sex, GOP-Epic battle for croquet supremacy-and Fire-breathing dragon races psychedelic hippo
Gov. Chris Gregoire, who testified at a federal EPA hearing in Seattle this morning, is ordering state agencies to move ahead with changes aimed at reducing greenhouse gases. Here's the press release:OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire today issued an executive order, directing state actions to…
-Speaking in Spokane, the state's revenue forecaster, Arun Raha, says he expects the recession to end in August or September.-The Seattle Times' Joni Balter is skeptical that the solution to Washington state's revenue woes is an income tax. Look at Oregon, she writes. -The Washington…
I'll be amazed if someone doesn't file a court challenge to the proposed ballot language for Referendum 71, which asks voters to veto a new law giving same-sex domestic partners the same state rights and responsibilities as spouses.Not that the language is that murky. But…
Gov. Chris Gregoire, who will be in Seattle tomorrow to testify at what promises to be a packed and lively EPA hearing on global warming, says that she will afterwards "announce a landmark initiative to reduce greenhouse gases in Washington."The hearing is one of only…
Not surprisingly, the citizen's panel that sets salaries for lawmakers, the governor, many judges and other state-paid officials has voted not to give any of them raises for the next two years."The Commission regrets the need to take this action," said a statement put out…
As the Washington Policy Center's Jason Mercier points out, Gov. Gregoire's list of line-item vetoes in the state budget yesterday did not save the Department of Natural Resources' plane.That was despite an 11th-hour appeal from new Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark, an experienced pilot who used…
The governor's office has posted the listed of items she vetoed in the budget. Some, like vetoing lawmakers' plan to take $29 million from the state auditor's office, are substantial. But in dozens of cases, the vetoes were simply technical adjustments, such as taking out…
Calling it a "necessary evil," Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday signed a nearly three-inch-thick state budget bill, cutting billions of dollars in planned state spending over the next two years. The $35 billion spending plan, hashed out by state lawmakers over several months, makes it…
Hundreds of people crammed into Seattle Montlake Community Center yesterday to watch the governor sign legislation granting same-sex domestic partners many of the rights of spouses.The place was crammed with kids. There were strollers, scampering toddlers and a class of fidgeting preschoolers in matching red…
The next time you're buying apples, potatoes or cherries, the state wants you to buy locally."Next time you shop, look for Washington products, or ask your grocer for them," Gov. Chris Gregoire says in a commercial on the state-backed Heart of Washington website. "It's a…
The Secretary of State's office today released the summary and ballot language for Referendum 71, which seeks to overturn a just-signed law granting domestic partners most of the rights of spouses.Anyone can appeal the wording. Last year saw a heated challenge by opponents of the…
SEATTLE _ In a victory for same-sex partners _ and a starting gun for social conservatives intent on a repeal _ Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday signed into law a bill granting domestic partners most of the rights of spouses."They will make for stronger families,…
At least 2,300 school teachers have gotten notices saying they might be laid off, and the number is expected to rise, according to the Washington Education Association.From a statement put out by the 82,000-member union:The 2,300 figure does not include jobs eliminated through attrition, such…
From the governor's office:Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday will take action on three bills which expand rights to domestic partners: Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1445, relating to domestic partners under the Washington State Patrol retirement system. Engrossed House Bill No. 1616, relating to the…
The Department of Social and Health Services is phasing out all its regional offices for the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, the agency confirmed Friday. The offices manage state contracts with local providers for drug- and alcohol treatment."Our regional offices don't provide any direct…
President Barack Obama has nominated Jenny Durkan, a close associate of Gov. Chris Gregoire and a friend who helped defeat the 2004 gubernatorial election court challenge, to be the top federal prosecutor in Western Washington.Durkan, 51, is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame…
With a stroke of the pen, Gov. Chris Gregoire today created "the Washington Council on Aerospace," intended to remind Boeing and related industries that Washington loves them."The council will oversee state efforts to ensure that Washington remains the leading location in the world in which…
From my weekly print column...The state budget, slated to be signed into law early next week, includes no new state tax increases. Lawmakers were unable to get a two-thirds vote, even a for a 25-cent increase on your phone bill to pay for better emergency-call-handling.…
State Rep. Don Cox is retiring from the statehouse for a second time.Cox, 69, says he won't run for re-election this fall. He was appointed Jan. 19 to the seat left vacant by then-Rep. Steve Hailey, R-Mesa, who died abruptly of cancer just after Christmas.Cox,…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
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