OLYMPIA – Washington homeowners would be restricted from putting fertilizer with phosphorus on healthy lawns under a bill that passed the House Monday. Despite complaints from Republicans that homeowners are able to decide what fertilizer to put on their grass or that restrictions will send…
Spokane-area legislative boundaries could change significantly by next year to make up for population shifts from the city’s urban core to the suburbs. While much of the attention so far on the 2010 U.S. Census figures has centered on Washington gaining its tenth congressional district,…
OLYMPIA -- Both chambers will be voting today on legislation that managed to make it through committees. The House started powering though relatively non-controversial bills shortly after 10 a.m., and the Senate followed soon afterward with a resolution recognizing the YMCA. (Random side comment: How…
With all the celebrating that has taken place since Boeing was declared the winner in the Air Force’s New Tanker Sweepstakes, it may be wise not to start adding all those jobs and money into the state’s moribund economy just yet. After all, the new…
OLYMPIA -- Spokane-area freshmen senators continue to get razzed even when they aren't making their first floor speeches. More senior members were joking around the Sen. Andy Hill, R-Redmond, during the vote on his first bill, when they observed it was hard to tell all…
OLYMPIA --Much of the South Puget Sound is closed or moving slow today, scared back to bed apparently by Seattle television weather persons proclaiming a snow-pocalypse. It's actually a rare day in Olympia, with snow on the ground and blue skies. The Legislature has floor…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate passed Spokane Republican Mike Baumgartner's first bill easily Thursday, but not before the traditional hazing of a freshman member. As sponsor of SB 5500, Baumgartner got to move for its passage late Thursday morning, and decided to address head-on a source…
OLYMPIA -- Most of the heavy lifting today will either be done in the Ways and Means Committees or Transportation Committees, or by people trying to shovel snow off their driveways. Snow is falling at a good clip around Olympia and in the South Sound,…
Some quick hits on the 2010 Census data as we work furiously to answer the Flakey Foont question "What does it all mean?" Spokane remains the Avis of Washington cities, with Tacoma dropping into a more distant third. Spokane is at 208,916, Tacoma is at…
OLYMPIA -- The House and Senate are both moving relatively uncontroversial bills before heading for long hearings in their respective Ways and Means committees this afternoon. The Senate has bills on teaching the history of Civil Rights, one on a Puget Sound corps, and receiverships.…
Spokane Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin's landslide reelection victory in 2009 has made her name pop up as a possible candidate for just about any local office. Last year, she was courted by Republicans to run for state Legislature. She declined. She had left open the possibility…
OLYMPIA – The U.S. Supreme Court answered once and for all Tuesday whether a conservative group can hide the names of donors to a campaign against an assisted suicide initiative. It can’t. The court refused to hear an appeal of lower courts’ rulings against Human…
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Crisis in Dairyland - Revenge of the Curds www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook Is anyone else irked by some television news accounts that…
OLYMPIA -- The House and Senate both have actual floor sessions today, considering some bills that have come out of committees. Among the first to move is SJR 8205, a possible constitutional amendment that would be on the fall ballot, a technical or "housekeeping" change…
OLYMPIA -- Fourteen year-olds can probably forget about voting in this year's school board races. English may be the language everyone in the state uses for official events and documents but it’s unlikely to be declared the state’s "official language." The death penalty will likely…
In honor of Presidents Day, here is some Oval Office worthy trivia. Before President's Day, the U.S. used to have Washington's Birthday as a federal holiday. What's Washington's real birthday? The faces of what four presidents are carved onto Mount Rushmore? What four state capitals…
Former City Councilman Mike Allen announced last week that he is entering the race to challenge Richard Rush in hopes of once again representing south Spokane. Allen, a former Eastern Washington University administrator, was named to the council to replace Mary Verner after she was…
Happy Presidents Day, which should take on extra special meaning considering the wishes come from the only state named for a president. Most government offices are closed, which seems a bit odd concerning the day honors the 44 people who have been at the top…
Former Rep. Mike Padden is running for the 4th District Senate seat that he was shut out of in the recent appointment process. Padden announced today that he'll run this fall for the seat formerly held for 30 years by Bob McCaslin, and to which…
Now that most dust has settled from filling the Spokane Valley’s 4th District Senate seat, it may be safe to answer the question of who was guilty of committing politics to fill that spot. Answer: Everyone. While it’s generally true if everyone’s guilty, no one…
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire signed most of the supplemental budget designed to keep Washington from slipping into red ink by June 30, using her veto pen for several sections that added back $6.4 million of spending. She said she liked the Legislative spending plan…
OLYMPIA -- The House passed the state's "middle action" supplemental budget, shrinking the state's projected deficit with some $242 million in cuts. In a 55-41 vote along partisan lines, the House gave final approval to the bill, which now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire for…
OLYMPIA -- The House of Representative is debating the supplemental budget, which was passed earlier by the Senate and can't be amended. Democrats appear to have the votes to pass it but Republicans plan to argue as much as possible against it. It's being described…
OLYMPIA -- The state Senate passed a supplemental budget this morning that cuts about $242 million from planned state spending through the end of June. With little debate, the Senate gave 37-10 approval to the spending plan, which helps ease but doesn't completely solve the…
OLYMPIA-- With a resolution that read like a sports page account of their come-from-behind Division I football championship win, the Senate honored the Eastern Washington University Eagles during this morning's session. Members of the team held the NCAA trophy high and stood with EWU President…
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
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