Ross Hunter to leave House for Early Learning post
Rep. Ross Hunter, the House Democrats' chief budget writer, will leave the Legislature to become director of the Department of Early Learning.
Spin Control archive for Aug. 2015
MONDAY, AUG. 31, 2015
SATURDAY, AUG. 29, 2015
Sunday Spin: Some tolls aren't GoodToGo!
The state's GoodToGo! system doesn't seem so good when you get a bill for a toll on a road or bridge you didn't use.
FRIDAY, AUG. 28, 2015
Former Rep. Duane Sommers dead at 82
Former state Rep. Duane Sommers remembered as a pragmatic, congenial legislator.
THURSDAY, AUG. 27, 2015
9th Lege District: Lathim lead holds up in recount
OLYMPIA -- The recount of the 9th Legislative District House race confirmed that former Franklin County Sheriff Richard Lathim will run against appointed Rep. Mary Dye in the general election.
Today's fun video: Testing Trump on dogs
Jimmy Kimmel last night played Donald Trump's order to a journalist to "sit down" for dogs. The video results are inside.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26, 2015
McMorris Rodgers to Inslee: Boosting trade is good, carbon reduction plans bad
OLYMPIA – Republican members of Congress from Eastern Washington think it’s great their Democratic governor is helping to boost foreign trade, but they want him to back off on carbon reduction plans and any efforts that could block new coal terminals.
Inslee's office unveils wildfire info website
Gov. Jay Inslee's office unveiled a new website with information on Washington's wildfires.
Spokane County risk director responds to campus safety concerns
Steve Bartel says the county is working on installing additional security at the courthouse and Public Safety Building, but those efforts have been stalled by budget concerns.
TUESDAY, AUG. 25, 2015
Patty Murray says she'll support Obama's Iran deal
The Washington senator joins 28 other Democrats saying they'll support a nuclear deal with Iran brokered by the Obama administration.
MONDAY, AUG. 24, 2015
Planned Parenthood responds to weekend protests
The organization says this weekend's events represent continued political attacks from "fundamentalist extremists."
SATURDAY, AUG. 22, 2015
Sunday Spin: Legislators balk at Supreme Court order
OLYMPIA – With a significant part of the state in flames and entire towns being evacuated, this is no time to throw the word “crisis” around lightly. So it must be noted first and foremost that when the group that runs the state Senate invoked the “C” word Friday, they mean a crisis of a more theoretical nature.
FRIDAY, AUG. 21, 2015
Federal emergency declared for Washington wildfires
President Barack Obama ordered federal aid to state and local agencies fighting wildfires in Washington that began Aug. 13.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 19, 2015
Inslee confirms 3 dead in Twisp fire
OLYMPIA -- Saying his "heart breaks" over the loss of life, Gov. Jay Inslee confirms three firefighters died battling the blaze in Twisp.
TUESDAY, AUG. 18, 2015
Rand Paul rally at Doubletree next week
Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul will hold a rally at the Doubletree Hotel at 2:30 p.m., Aug. 26. It's between events in Seattle and Coeur d'Alene.
GET sales suspended for up to 2 years
OLYMPIA -- The state will suspend sales of GET units for as long as two years as the board overseeing the college tuition program wrestles with the downside of what many lawmakers touted as a major benefit of the last session: Lower tuition at state colleges.
MONDAY, AUG. 17, 2015
Washington presidential primary a "go" for May 24
Washington will hold its presidential primary on May 24, Secretary of State Kim Wyman said Monday. That may be late in the process, and the state's political parties might not use the results, but the primary will take place.
SATURDAY, AUG. 15, 2015
Sunday Spin: The uneven history of the WA prez primary
If the voters "have spoken" on the Washington presidential primary, it hasn't been with a clear voice.
FRIDAY, AUG. 14, 2015
Eyman initiative survives court challenge
A King County judge refused to block the latest effort to force the Legislature to approve tax increases by a super-majority. But he said it likely does violate the state constitution.
70 years ago today
On Aug 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced to the Japanese people the country was surrendering to the Allies. Washington state marked the occasion at the World War II memorial on the Capitol campus.
Capitol flag lowered in honor of Morton
OLYMPIA -- The flags at the state Capitol were lowered to half-staff today in honor of state Sen. Bob Morton.
THURSDAY, AUG. 13, 2015
Bestiality was legal in Washington until 2006
Gruesome fatality in 2005 linked to Enumclaw horse ranch exposed loophole in state's animal cruelty laws that Washington Legislature quickly remedied, establishing the criminal charges that suspected Spokane animal sex abuser Travis Austin Joy now faces.
Here's today's Supreme Court order on public school funding
To see the complete order from the state Supreme Court that fines the Legislature $100,000 a day for not producing a complete plan to improve public schools, go inside the blog.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 12, 2015
Which state employees were the highest paid last year?
The annual report on state employee salaries is out, and The Spokesman-Review's searchable database has been updated. Details, and the link, inside the blog.
A closer look at McMorris Rodgers town hall
The Iran deal and the Planned Parenthood scandal weren't the only topics Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers addressed at a town hall on Tuesday.
Today's fun fact: It's World Elephant Day
Happy World Elephant Day. If you have lunch with an elephant today, you should pick up the tab.
The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.
Blog Archives
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