Today's fun video: SNL looks at Obamacare promos
Saturday Night Live suggests other places President Obama could try to boost the website for the Affordable Care Act.
Spin Control archive for March 2014
MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014
SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2014
Sunday Spin: What the McMorris Rodgers report tells us about campaigns
Cathy McMorris Rodgers may or may not get the House of Representatives equivalent of 20 lashes with a wet noodle for improperly mixing campaign business with congressional business. But documents released from an official investigation into a disgruntled former employee’s complaint makes one thing clear:…
Bills, bills and a plate of oysters
OLYMPIA – Children will have to have lawyers before a court can sever their parents’ rights. Juveniles will have more protection against self-incrimination in Washington. Marijuana growers won’t get tax breaks that other farmers get. People who sign local initiative petitions more than once will…
FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014
Gun surrender law could save lives, victim says
Stephanie Holten, center, talks with Rep. Laurie Jinkins and Grace Huang of the state Coalition Against Domestic Violence. OLYMPIA – When her ex-husband pointed a gun at her and threatened to blow her head off while she knelt in her Spokane living room, there was…
Has the Dream of the '90s found its way to Spokane?
Spokane's latest push to expand urban farming opportunities had at least one councilman wondering if TV sketch comedians Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein might be lurking nearby. "Sometimes when I'm reading this ordinance I feel like I've landed in an episode of "Portlandia,'" Councilman Mike…
THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2014
Inslee signs suicide prevention bill, dozens of others
Gov. Jay Inslee hands the pen used to sign a suicide prevention bill to Zoe Adler, 5, of Seattle, while her brother Jake, age 9, looks on. OLYMPIA – With strokes of a pen, Gov. Jay Inslee approved statewide suicide prevention training for medical professionals,…
Inslee signing boatload of bills
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee is scheduled to sign more than four dozens of bills this morning, including: -- a bill to raise fees on vehicle tab replacements and transfers for people who do that online or at county auditors' offices to help pay for…
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014
Today's fun video: Strangest qualification for Congress
For her first qualification for the U.S. Senate, Joni Ernst of Iowa lists one of the most unusual ever. If the pigs in this commercial look a little nervous, they may have good reason...
Robocall may have prompted death threat
Robocalls may be annoying, particularly during campaign season, but for Rep. Kevin Parker, one apparently prompted a death threat. The Spokane Republican contacted the Washington State Patrol this week after someone left a message on his office voice mail with graphic threats to him and…
TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014
Today's fun video: Dissing coverage of Flight 370
The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook You can't make up how bad some of the coverage of the Malaysian Flight 370 was. At least Jon Stewart didn't have to as he reviewed some of the low…
Senators' per diem pay going up 33%
OLYMPIA -- State senators will be able to collect an extra $30 a day for expenses during legislative sessions under a rule approved Tuesday by a committee of their members. The Senate Facilities and Operations Committee voted 4-3 to raise the allowance for daily expenses…
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
FEMA gives Oso mudslide emergency declaration
OLYMPIA -- The Federal Emergency Management Administration issued a verbal declaration that makes the area around the Snohomish County mudslide eligible for immediate assistance. Gov. Jay Inslee received assurance from FEMA this morning that it will issue a limited emergency declaration for the mudslide area…
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014
Sunday Spin: Tab fees could go up to pay for ferry
OLYMPIA – Coming soon, to a county auditor’s office near you, may be a chance to help pay for a new ferry. Whether you want to or not. Whether there’s a ferry anywhere near you or not. Whether you have ever ridden or expect to…
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014
Today's fun video: Local reference at start of "Late Night"
Not the best March Madness joke ever, but there's no such thing as bad publicity, particularly if they say your name right. And Seth Meyer does do that. It's the first joke of the monologue, after the obligatory commercial from NBC.
THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014
WA Supreme Court decision on Yates
OLYMPIA -- The Washington Supreme Court handed serial killer Robert Yates what could be a pyrrhic victory in his appeal of his 408-year sentence for 13 murders and one attempted murder. Yes, the court said in a 7-2 ruling, the two 20-year-sentences for a pair…
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
Immigrant protections added to labor law
OLYMPIA – Washington employers who threaten their immigrant employees with deportation or the destruction of their documents while forcing them to work can be charged with a felony. A new law signed Wednesday stiffens the penalties for coercing workers into forced labor, adding to existing…
Inslee offers E. Washington asides at bill signings
Gov. Inslee pets service dogs Huckleberry and Huey who attended a bill signing with Darly Abbot of Olympia. OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee might want to think about making more trips across the mountains to Eastern Washington. Back from Tuesday's sojourn to Dayton, Starbuck and…
Smile when you call it "weed"
OLYMPIA – “Weed” is not an official weed, at least not in Washington, not now. So says the state Noxious Weed Control Board, which recently discussed whether various forms of cannabis, from recreational marijuana to industrial hemp, should be considered for its list of plants…
Pot possession prosecutions plummet
OLYMPIA -- Prosecutions of adults for misdemeanor possession of marijuana have practically dropped off the charts since the passage of Initiative 502, the ACLU of Washington said today. Data from the Administrative Office of the Court says there were 7,964 such prosecutions in 2009. That…
Today's fun video: Obama fills in brackets
In what has become an annual tradition, President Obama filled in his NCAA brackets for ESPN. The clip picks up when the president is at the Sweet 16 level, so you'll have to look at the ESPN website to realize that he dissed Gonzaga, expecting…
TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014
As Palouse Falls. . .
OLYMPIA – Palouse Falls is officially the state water fall. In a ceremony this afternoon with the Eastern Washington falls as a backdrop and dozens of Washtucna Elementary students around the table, Gov. Jay Inslee signed the bill that bestows the title on the geologic…
MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2014
Inslee hints at state action over Hanford cleanup
OLYMPIA – The federal government's latest plan to cleanup nuclear waste at Hanford is short on details and the state is considering its options to force a better one, Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday. . . To read the rest of this item, or to…
Justice Jim Johnson to step down
OLYMPIA -- State Supreme Court will lose one of its more conservative members next month as Justice Jim Johnson announce today he will retire at the end of April. Jim Johnson -- the court has also has Justice Charles Johnson -- is a former state…
SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2014
If you find yourself missing the Lege. . .
OLYMPIA – So the Legislature blew Dodge on time for the first time since 2009. Sure, you’re saying “good riddance” now, but that may change if they avoid a special session and don’t show up until next January. Political junkies who have been glued to…
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014
WA Lege 2014: The done and the undone
OLYMPIA – The Legislature closed up shop with seven minutes before its constitutionally mandated midnight stopping time Thursday, ending a short session that was short on expectations, and many would argue, short on accomplishments. After passing an updated operating budget that even supporters said contained…
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