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Original Stories
By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Feb. 4, 2012
A decision by a Democratic chairwoman to kill a pair of high-profile education bills has triggered an all-but-unheard-of standoff in a Senate committee and a backroom blowup among the Senate Democrats. And it demonstrates this year, as last, that the moderate Roadkill Dems hold all the cards.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Feb. 3, 2012
Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposal for a $1.50 tax on oil-by-the-barrel to pay for road construction and environmental projects is looking like it has a dead battery, as three key senators say the governor’s plan just isn’t clicking. Meanwhile, a pair of influential House lawmakers have introduced a constitutional amendment that would block the green lobby's efforts to tax "Big Oil" once and for all.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Feb. 3, 2012
House Republicans show what they mean when they say "Fund Education First," unveilling a partial budget plan that deals only with K-12 education. Everything else can come later. Democrats say it's no way to write a budget.
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A Republican walkout in the House Education Committee was the highlight of deadline day in the state House, as hundreds of big ideas bit the dust.
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By: Krista Norsworthy | Washington State Wire | Feb. 1, 2012
House and Senate committee chairs are throwing in the towel on a big rewrite of Initiative 937, the measure that requires utilities to purchase costly wind and solar power they say they don’t need – but don’t count this one out. Modifications to at least a few of those stringent purchasing requirements still may reemerge later in the session.
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So far the session has been all-gay-marriage, all the time, and Wednesday's vote has Republicans hoping lawmakers will find time for the budget.
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As lawmakers consider putting $1 billion on plastic, a state commission headed by the treasurer says state debt has already reached record levels.
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At the year’s be-there-or-be-square gathering for Republicans in Ocean Shores, the talk was about the GOP's long-running 'Seattle problem.'
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Just when it seemed a long-running partisan attack on a conservative grass-roots group was over, a litigious attorney is launching a court battle.
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By: Krista Norsworthy | Washington State Wire | Jan. 27, 2012
Now we finally know how badly those Discover Passes are selling -- or do we? The way things are going, the state will be short $38 million by 2013. But state parks officials are being optimistic about things and saying they'll only be down $24 million. Either way, sounds like trouble.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 25, 2012
Gregoire's transportation plan skids for the ditch! Consternation over an oil-barrel tax has prompted deep divisions in the business community -- and normally it takes an united front to put anything over.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 26, 2012
The big jobs plan from the state Labor Council and the Associated General Contractors is a minute on the lips, forever on the hips. It's just that it's dinnertime, and there are plenty of hungry people at the table.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 24, 2012
It's the umpteenth try, but Senate Energy Chair Kevin Ranker looks on the bright side. If everyone hates the proposal equally, it has to be good.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 23, 2012
It was the end of civilization as we know it -- No phone! No light! No motorcar! Not a single luxury! Yet somehow Olympia lived to tell the tale.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 19, 2012
Maybe it's too soon to say this year's session is out of control, but Republican leaders say it sure seems like all sense of discipline has gone out the window. Remember when people were saying that this year's session was all about the budget? When will they find the time for it?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 19, 2012
State officials say they have a plan to make sure their new health exchange is a success -- by severely limiting competition from private insurers.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 16, 2012
There's a list-making craze at the statehouse these days as lawmakers ponder big reforms that might cause more faint-hearted Legislatures to choke.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 13, 2012
Who said this session would have a narrow focus? A broad coalition throws down the gauntlet to the Washington Education Association.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 13, 2012
In a classic Catch-22, the state says the public can't object to the lucrative gas-tax deals the governor's office has struck with Indian tribes.
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By: Washington State Wire | Jan. 12, 2012
There are high hopes for Washington's fledgling jet-biofuel industry, touted as a shining example of green technology. But environmentalists and others are opposing a plan to divert more irrigation water to its production.
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By: John Stang | Washington State Wire | Jan. 12, 2012
Washington isn't recovering as fast as other states, says the new Washington Economic Climate Study, but there are a few bright spots -- including energy prices that have remained stable.
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By: Washington State Wire | Jan. 11, 2012
Gov. Christine Gregoire offers a crafty transportation proposal that revives a taxing debate about fees and taxes and the two-thirds vote rule.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 10, 2012
If the opening-day speeches in the House were any indication, it's going to be a stormy 60 days. Or more. Many, many more.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 9, 2012
This year's job is to write a budget so awful that voters will scream. If lawmakers do it well enough, they might sell them on a tax increase.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 6, 2011
Bring on the debate! Republican leaders warn that gay marriage will bring the Legislature to a standstill, but Dems say they're willing to risk it.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 6, 2012
Attorney General Rob McKenna announces a push for a new kind of protective order. Maybe it won't deter the most determined stalkers, he says, but it might make them think twice.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 6, 2012
So now we know why Glenn Anderson announced over Christmas break that his current term will be his last. Anderson is the second Republican to launch a campaign against Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, a Democrat, following Bill Finkbeiner, who announced last month.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 5, 2012
There was applause in the governor's office and groaning in the statehouse as Gregoire announced backing for a gay-marriage drive.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Jan. 3, 2012
Take a look at this picture. Can you guess why small-group negotiations regarding changes to I-937 went nowhere? But some folks are still trying.
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By: Mike Baker | Associated Press | Dec. 28. 2011
A preliminary plan centers the new 10th Congressional District on Olympia -- giving Democrat Denny Heck the green light for his second congressional campaign.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 23, 2011
A state-sanctioned 'Black Friday' might turn out to be one of the biggest sales events of the year, generating millions of dollars in additional revenue for state and local governments and creating some 1,500 jobs, says the Washington Retail Association. But while the association shops its bill, let's note that there are plenty of skeptics. Sales tax holidays are among the purest debate cases around.
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You might get the idea that this is the budget crisis to end all budget crises. Truth is, there's no end in sight, and some are sounding the alarm.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 18, 2011
One of the most sordid campaign tactics in state history gets its final payoff -- a $290,000 penalty -- but is it just the cost of doing business?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 16, 2011
Everyone's a reformer these days -- the governor has a couple ideas that might save a few million -- but she says no reform ideas are big enough.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 15, 2011
Blame it on Christmas -- certainly not the Legislature. See? Even the Christmas tree got in the way of the special session's adjournment ceremony.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 14, 2011
It’s looking like Washington lawmakers will be calling it quits today and returning home for the holidays, and the only present the governor will get from them is a $480 million budget cut. Adjournment fever swept the House Tuesday evening and is expected to infect the Senate today.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 13, 2011
The Washington Legislature writes a $479 million budget bill that dodges the big questions, but manages to accomplish one important thing – it gets lawmakers out of Dodge.
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By: Erik Smith | Dec. 12, 2011
Democrat Jay Inslee's Olympia fund-raiser calls attention to the fact that he can raise money during session and Republican Rob McKenna can't.
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By: Washington State Wire | Dec. 11, 2011
Jay Manning, former director of the state Department of Ecology and former chief of staff for Gov. Christine Gregoire, performs the all-important role at any fund-raiser -- the part that comes right after the candidate speaks.
Manning made “the ask” Saturday at an Olympia fund-raiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee.
Manning, now an attorney in private practice, praised Inslee for his “great and brilliant” speech, and then got down to business. It takes three things to win a race for governor, he told the crowd of ...
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 9, 2011
State Sen. Linda Evans Parlette, R-Wenatchee, says she's giving up on a bill that would have bailed out a troubled Wenatchee taxing district that defaulted last week on $42 million in debt. For weeks, state officials have been predicting great harm. Now we get to find out!
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 10, 2011
Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown confirmed Friday what lawmakers have been talking about for days – a gameplan that has them passing a few hundred million dollars in cuts within a week, then going home and coming back for the real work in January. And no, she says, they haven't been wasting time.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 10, 2011
A baffling mystery was solved Friday when U.S. Bank admitted a multi-million dollar goof. Just as a Wenatchee taxing district defaulted on $42 million in debt, the bank paid off Central Washington University, Franklin County, Douglas County and others. Now it wants the money back. And so begins the nasty mess that was triggered when lawmakers decided to let Wenatchee sink.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 9, 2011
In a case that has become a rallying point for Democrats, regulators ignored a staff recommendation and will keep looking for something to punish.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 8, 2011
A gameplan seems to be emerging, and it postpones the big battles to January.
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By: Jan Teague | Washington Retail Association | Dec. 9, 2011
In this op-ed piece, Jan Teague, president and CEO of the Washington Retail Association, argues that the two new lawsuits filed by unions and others against Initiative 1183 are self-interested attempts to protect an obsolete liquor-sales system that benefits few. It won't sit well with the public, she says.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 8, 2011
Chances seem to be dimming that the Legislature will pass a bridge-loan bill to stave off harm from a $42 million default in Wenatchee, and now it may just be a matter of time before the first of a cascade of creditor lawsuits are filed in the case. Meanwhile, Senate Ways and Means Chair Ed Murray introduces a bill requiring greater scrutiny of taxing districts.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 7, 2011
A bill that aims to avert the potentially costly effects of a $42 million default in Wenatchee seems to be having a near-death experience in the Senate. Ways and Means chair Ed Murray says he doesn't plan another hearing on the measure, and advocates are counting votes to pull it to the floor. It's a nail-biter for local governments statewide, and taxpayers could wind up paying millions of dollars in additional interest.
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By: Fox News | Dec. 9, 2011
OFM's Marty Brown explains that Washington's much-touted $10.5 billion spending cut is really a cut in projected spending, not actual spending.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 7, 2011
Here's what's behind one of the most controversial PDC decisions in ages. If both sides play dirty, the AFP case certainly doesn't prove it.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 5, 2011
The state House approves a measure aimed at staving off harm of a $42 million Wenatchee debt default, but with an amendment that could create a standoff with the Senate. Meanwhile, experts warn that if momentum falters in the Legislature, years of lawsuits will ensue and Washington taxpayers will have to pay millions of dollars in additional borrowing costs.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 5, 2011
Updated 1:30 p.m. Monday with details about bill's passage in the state House, 56-33.
A bill that aims to head off the costly statewide consequences of a Wenatchee-area municipal default is headed to the House floor, perhaps as soon as today – and there’s no telling what will happen. State officials warn the clock is ticking, and if lawmakers fail to act, Washington taxpayers will lose millions.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 3, 2011
Democratic moderates of the House and Senate say they want big reforms before they even start talking about a tax package. There goes the session!
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 3, 2011
UPDATE, Dec. 5 -- The King County Council voted 9-0 Monday to appoint Pollet to the vacant 46th Legislative District House seat.
Pollet, an environmental attorney with a long track record in Washington public affairs, is headed to the statehouse amid the shuffle following the death of Scott White -- and he's one to watch.
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By: Washington State Wire | Dec. 3, 2011
There were no protests in the Rotunda December 2nd as the annual Christmas-tree lighting ceremony kicked off Christmas season at the statehouse. Actually, it’s known officially as the “Holiday Tree,” the result of a rather long-running and divisive debate over holiday observances at the Capitol. Meanwhile the big week of protests at the Capitol during the first few days of the Legislature’s special session this year had prompted fears that the shouting and sign-waving might carry over into a ceremony designed to celebrate holiday cheer.
Bu...
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 2, 2011
A recent bond refinancing in Kennewick will cost taxpayers $200,000 more because of the troubles in Wenatchee -- and it may be just the beginning.
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By Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 30, 2011
Looks like big trouble for the bill that aims to prevent a $42 million default for an arena project in the city of Wenatchee. Without a loan from the state, default comes at 10 a.m. Thursday. Local governments and the treasurer's office are sweating, but there's not much alarm at the statehouse, and even less activity.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 1, 2011
Everyone seems to think that the only victims of the Wenatchee default are on Wall Street. Not so. Washington investors will take a big hit. At least $2.1 million of the debt was purchased by public agencies, and how long will it take them to ask the Legislature for help?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Dec. 2, 2011
But just wait for that sales-tax hike! The governor announces good news, at least on two of the major taxes employers face, for workers' comp and unemployment insurance.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 29, 2011
A court decision nixing sales taxes on cell phones is a billion-dollar hit, but a convoluted fix is a big disconnect, cable companies say.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 29, 2011
That's warmth meaning heat. And noise, too, lots of it. Lawmakers can expect plenty more this week as the Occupy the Capitol protest continues. At least the Rotunda campout was thwarted. Washington State Wire captures the spectacle in pictures.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 28, 2011
So many intrigues are at work at the people's palace that you wonder if the players will start hiring food-tasters. And the whole thing is so taxing!
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 23, 2011
Lawmakers can say no and ally themselves with those wicked one-percenters, or they can allow the capitol to become a K.O.A. and endure indoor weenie roasts for months on end.
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By: Washington State Wire | Nov. 22, 2011
Gov. Christine Gregoire's budget gamble -- which requires a public vote on tax hikes to stave off the worst of the budget cuts she has proposed -- brought plenty of reaction from Washington-state political figures Monday. Washington State Wire collects the formal statements of delight and dismay.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 22, 2011
Gov. Christine Gregoire unveilled a budget strategy that one might call the biggest gamble in recent years. She's counting on voters to pass a tax increase. But what if they don't think state government is worth half a cent?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 18, 2011
Lawmakers must break all speed records to avoid a $42 million municipal default that could have big reprecussions for local governments statewide.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 17, 2011
Lawmakers still face a $2 billion problem. And that's the good news from the latest revenue forecast from the state's top economist, Arun Raha. Things slipped by the tiniest amount, but not enough to make a difference.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 17, 2011
An extra $400 million sure might come in handy right about now. But the tribes are the elephant in the room, and they aren't saying a thing.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 15, 2011
It's one of the biggest ironies of Washington politics, and maybe half the political world will find it funny -- the tale of the "session freeze."
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 11, 2011
The state's small grocers say they need big changes in I-1183 if they're going to be able to compete with Costco.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 9, 2011
Time for a toast! Or a great big stiff one, depending on your mood. Washington voters Tuesday night ended the state’s 78-year ban on booze sales in supermarkets. Say goodbye to the state liquor stores and hello to Albertson's-brand vodka.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 8, 2011
McKenna's no Democrat, that's for sure -- but he's definitely making a pitch for the voter in the middle.
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By: Washington State Wire | Nov. 8, 2011
Attorney General Rob McKenna outlines a rather specific plan for state government with a pitch aimed for the average voter in next year's gubernatorial race. And he shows why the public employee unions, teacher unions and trial lawyers are running to the other team for help. Washington State Wire presents the full text of his address.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 7, 2011
State's top economist hints that his next revenue forecast won't be much worse than the last, but European crisis is a worry.
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115 mayors sign a letter of protest -- and it looks like two high-level political messages got crossways at the Capitol.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 7, 2011
There's so much spinning here it's bound to make you dizzy. Republican Rob McKenna's endorsement for I-1183 has Democrats howling about hypocrisy, but you have to wonder where the hypocrisy comes in. Could it be that sometimes an endorsement is just an endorsement?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 3, 2011
Solon will say so long to his Senate seat. The Vancouver lawmaker will have to vacate his position next year for his statewide bid. Pridemore's way was cleared last Friday when Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown decided she was staying put.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 3, 2011
Lawmakers wanted to award a distribution contract to a private operator, locking the state into operating the stores for the next 10 years.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 2, 2011
Gregoire opposes I-1183, but her new budget proposal seems to be making the case for it. Go and figure!
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Nov. 1, 2011
Businesses will die! That's what employers are saying as L&I contemplates an average 2.5 percent workers' comp tax increase.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 28, 2011
The unions are saying no, but the state may have a trump card. Marty Brown, director of the Office of Financial Management, explains.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 26, 2011
The budget office wants to reopen talks on health benefits, and the Federation already is drawing the line. This one's going to be a biggie.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 28, 2011
Gov. Christine Gregoire gives lawmakers a wake-up call: Favorite programs have to go, she says. No wonder the Legislature has been silent.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 25, 2011
You'll never believe what was coming out of the Irv Newhouse Building! Or maybe you would.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 25, 2011
A new survey from pollster Stuart Elway shows this year's liquor privatization initiative may be a hit this time around. I-1183 is running 53-38, with 9 percent undecided. Meanwhile, SEIU's home-care initiative is looking like a slam-dunk.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 25, 2011
A puckish proposal from the House GOP leader calls attention to the Legislature's $2 billion problem -- about which no one seems to have a clue.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 24, 2011
It's what happens when the state's most influential business and labor groups amass a $2 million war chest against I-1125, and ads go unanswered.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 24, 2011
As the fabulous Viaduct is turned to rubble, a ceremony shows the Queen City has developed an attitude problem toward cars over the last 52 years.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 21, 2011
You never would have thought it when the campaign started, but Tim Eyman's I-1125 is proving the shocker of the year. And the big dogs are scrambling to put it down. When was the last time you saw Boeing and the Machinists agree on anything?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 19, 2011
Holy cow! It's up to $23 million! Costco just dropped the biggest bundle ever on I-1183, the measure that would shutter the state liquor stores.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 19, 2011
Nasty, mean-spirited Seattleites are cheering the destruction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Phooey on them! Shows there's no romance in their souls.
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By: Erik Smith | University of Washington Daily | Oct. 18, 1984
That's right -- 1984. Twenty-seven years ago, in an editorial column for the University of Washington Daily, Washington State Wire's Erik Smith managed to predict what was going to happen to the world's most beautiful freeway, if Seattle didn't wake up and smell the coffee.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 17, 2011
Murmurs of thank-you could be heard from the state's business associations as the governor extended the state's moratorium on new regulation for the second year in a row. State Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, still sees something a little spooky about it, though.
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By: Washington State Wire | Oct. 13, 2011
At this year's Washington Policy Center dinner, possible presidential contender Mitch Daniels explains how he changed the course of Indiana state government. Washington State Wire presents the full text. And for those with a literary bent, see if you can identify the joke he lifts from Mark Twain.
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By: Washington State Wire | Oct. 13, 2011
John Bolton, former U.N. representative and a prominent figure in Republican foreign policy circles, says foreign policy problems are sneaking up on the Obama Administration as the nation retreats from the world stage. Washington State Wire presents the full text of his address to the Washington Policy Center annual dinner Wednesday night.
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BY: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 11, 2011
Campaign claims drinking will increase 48 percent if voters pass I-1183. Trouble is, it's based on a report that had more to do with wine than booze.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 10, 2011
In what looms as a major public-records issue, the state won't reveal how much gas-tax money it is giving to individual Indian tribes.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 6, 2011
A new report confirms what critics have been saying for years -- Indian gas is cheaper. Are the tribes using taxpayer money to beat the other guys?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 5, 2011
Initiative 1163's home care training program would cost big bucks when the state is broke, says Gov. Christine Gregoire.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Oct. 4, 2011
From Washington's heartland comes anger about the state's whopping minimum-wage increase, but Rs might be wary of consequences. The same issue harpooned Dino Rossi's gubernatorial campaign in 2008.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 30, 2011
Eyman's anti-tolling initiative is opposed by every major interest in the state. But unless the opposition raises money, the fight looks even.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 30, 2011
Washington once again will be Number One for the minimum wage, beating most states by nearly two bucks an hour. It's a surprise to no one, and perhaps good news for some. But business says it's a terrific way to put the brakes on hiring.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 29, 2011
As unemployment remains stagnant and it looks like a double-dip recession is around the corner, Washington residents can take pride in one thing -- we'll stay Number One when it comes to the minimum wage.
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By: Washington State Wire staff | Sept. 23, 2011
They've done it before and they'll do it again! They're going to lick that budget crisis! That's what they're all saying now, anyway, as the Legislature heads toward a special session. Washington State Wire collects the official statements pumped out by the state's political figures.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 23, 2011
Usually when a charge is called misleading, it's all a matter of opinion. But this claim has already been argued before a judge -- and rejected.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 23, 2011
Christmas at the Capitol becomes a possibility as the governor announces a big nasty special session, to start right after Thanksgiving. Anyone with vacation plans better hope those tickets were refundable.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 22, 2011
If you thought the September revenue forecast was bad, you ain't seen nothing yet, Gov. Christine Gregoire tells the annual AWB confab in Cle Elum. Sounds like she might be willing to hold the Legislature's feet to the fire.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 22, 2011
Activists greet the Association of Washington Business with a 'Showdown at Suncadia.' But can you really call it that if the other side doesn't come out out to play?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 21, 2011
Somebody at the Department of Social and Heath Services forgot to file paperwork on time – and the mistake is going to cost Washington taxpayers $5 million. Red-faced department officials say they're going to get to the bottom of it and take "appropriate action." Suffice it to say, docking somebody's pay probably isn't going to work.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 20, 2011
It's not as steep as it sounded originally, but at a time like this? Business says zero's more like it, and even Rob McKenna weighs in.
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By: Washington State Wire Staff | Sept. 23, 2011
It's going to be a nasty special session, Gov. Christine Gregoire said as she announced she would call lawmakers back Nov. 28. Washington State Wire presents the full text of her remarks.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 19, 2011
A plan to raise rates in mid-recession to beef up L&I's bank account gets the razzberry from business and kudos from labor. Surprise, surprise.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 19, 2011
So many lawmakers would be rendered homeless by the latest redistricting proposals that Washington could have a refugee problem.
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By: Washington State Wire staff | Sept. 15, 2011
Who says Olympia isn't prepared for the next budget crisis? Everyone had a press release ready to go. Here's what everyone had to say about the dire revenue forecast.
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Gloom and doom were the big winners at the September revenue forecast. Will lawmakers go to the voters next year for a tax increase?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 12, 2011
L&I is pitching another big tax hike in the middle of a recession, but this time disaster isn't looming. Business is not amused.
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Auditor Brian Sonntag, by far the most popular politician in the state, will step down next year. Did he reach a dead end?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 12, 2011
It's a wretched piece of work, say the folks at the McKenna campaign. And if anyone files a complaint, what a mess this is going to be. Ask yourself this: Who's gonna provide legal advice to the Public Disclosure Commission?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 9, 2011
Does the public have the right to challenge the agreements the Gregoire Administration has struck with Indian tribes? The Supreme Court will decide.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 3, 2011
Time to be afraid -- very, very afraid. Economist Arun Raha forecasts a hurricane about to burst off the Washington coast. The economic review presages a revenue forecast that wipes $1.4 billion off the books.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 2, 2011
Supreme Court splits rulings on cases challenging AG's power. And talk about unintended consequences -- one of them could be bad news for the 520 bridge.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 2, 2011
A flap over 'plain English' raises a point -- there's no official state-government estimate for the cost of the union-backed home-care training program. The best guess from its backers is $37 million for the first two years.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Sept. 8, 2011
Two Tri-City PUDs push a delightfully simple fix to an astonishingly complicated law: Utilities shouldn't have to buy power they don't need.
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They say the state is mucking with an initiative that would close the state liquor stores, and they're sowing plenty of fear, uncertainty and doubt.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 30, 2011
The state's "fiscal impact statements" are supposed to be in plain English, but pity the poor readers of the state voters' pamphlet! You'd never know the cost of the SEIU-backed home-care training program is around $50 million every two years. Does the Office of Financial Management need a copy editor?
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By: The Washington State Wire Editorial Board | Aug. 30, 2011
The state workers' comp system seems to be making some progress, but new law is horribly complicated -- and the jury is still out.
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By: The Washington State Wire Editorial Board | Aug. 23, 2011
Nearly 100,000 jobless in Washington stand to lose extended benefits beginning at the end of December. Lawmakers may have trouble on their hands.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 18, 2011
It's not just the state's gas-station owners anymore. Some of the state's biggest business associations are getting behind a lawsuit that challenges the deal the state made with Indian tribes, giving them a big and growing chunk of gas-tax money. It'll make it harder to pass a gas tax increase next year, they say, and the whole thing stinks.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 19, 2011
A plan to privatize Washington’s liquor distribution system will make headlines just before the election, and some folks smell a rat.
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By: Washington State Wire | Aug. 19, 2011
Not that there's anything wrong with wanting to save the Earth, but a lot of it strikes Todd Myers as about as silly as the hula hoop. The former communications director of the Department of Natural Resources authors a book that draws heavily on the experience of Washington state -- where green is gold.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 16, 2011
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee posted big numbers last month, but it took a big check from the state party to put him over the top.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 11, 2011
That was the big surprise in the reports released Wednesday by the state Office of Financial Management on the initiatives that will confront voters in November. Reports also confirm that Washington could make big money by shutting down the state liquor stores.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 10, 2011
Will the state's ongoing budget crisis drive Washington to drink? A new report finds I-1183 an appealing temptation.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 10, 2011
Borrowing costs would go through the roof if voters approve Initiative 1125 this fall, complains state treasurer Jim McIntire.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 8, 2011
A dismal session for labor in the state Legislature gives unions a campaign theme for next year -- the 'war on workers' isn't just about Wisconsin.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 8, 2011
That darn economy! It just keeps keeps getting worse, and now the governor's office is telling state agencies they better start planning for more cuts. The trouble could force lawmakers back into session this fall.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 5, 2011
The timber industry says the Clean Water Act might do to private forest lands what the Endangered Species Act did to the national forests.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | Aug. 1, 2011
The deficit debate proves Washington, D.C. could use a moderate approach to politics, says Steve Hobbs, a leader of the Legislature's centrist faction. More to the point, it might take a moderate Democrat to win the seat Jay Inslee will vacate in 2012.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 30, 2011
Democrat wanted to spend $1 million in congressional campaign funds on governor's race, but regulators say there are limits.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 29, 2011
Attorney General Rob McKenna announces another lawsuit to haul the Obama Adminstration into court -- but this time it ought to make the activists happy, not to mention everyone who doesn't live in Nevada. It attacks a clever legal strategy Obama has employed to shut down the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 27, 2011
Is hydropower "renewable energy?" As lawmakers try to fix I-937, Gregoire wants to reopen a debate that shut down the Legislature two years ago.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 26, 2011
Once again, Democrats are suing the people to overturn the two-thirds-vote requirement that makes it tough to raise taxes.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 22, 2011
Two years in a row? SEIU has been arguing for years that signature fraud is rampant -- maybe it has proved it.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 22, 2011
A highly controversial banking tax exemption comes under attack from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee. But border-county merchants can breathe a sigh of relief -- the panel says the sales-tax break for out-of-state shoppers ought to continue.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 21, 2011
Lawmakers might groan when they hear this one, but one of the biggest and nastiest battles the Legislature has faced in recent years is on the way back -- over the renewable energy standards imposed by Initiative 937.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 20, 2011
Love won't bring them together, but Tim Eyman will. All seem to hate initiative promoter's I-1125, and they're trying to slam on the brakes.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 18, 2011
A state program was supposed to show how to set up a health insurance exchange. Instead it showed what happens when the feds take back a promise.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 19, 2011
The hospitals have filed the first of the big lawsuits everyone expected. So how long is it going to take before the budget blows up?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 15, 2011
Democrats are taking their campaign-tracking efforts to a new level this season. Makes you wonder -- where's the line?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 13, 2011
The $30 pass may save the state parks, but some people say there's gotta be a better way. Did you know you need one for every car you own?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 12, 2011
Costco spent big bucks to break the state record for signature gathering on this year's liquor initiative, but it's not the only one. All three initiative campaigns this year have topped $1 million.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 9, 2011
All three of this year's big ballot measures turned in enough signatures to go before voters in November. Here's what's at stake.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire| July 8, 2011
A last-minute deal on chicken-coop rules in D.C. averts a big-bucks campaign here -- and it becomes clear the state measure was a bargaining tactic.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 6, 2011
To absolutely no one's surprise, state Sen. Jim Kastama is kicking off his campaign for secretary of state. The same qualities that have gotten him in hot water in the political arena are just what you want in an elections official, he says.
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By: Mike Baker | Associated Press | July 7, 2011
Literally dozens of state workers are getting pink slips.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | July 5, 2011
Dem candidate wants to raise more money for Washington-state startups. What he really seems to be raising is the hair on the back of people's necks.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 30, 2011
It's a plum job ripe for the taking now that Sam Reed is stepping down. Thurston County Auditor Wyman is the only Republican in the field, but it seems like a whole crowd of Dems is giving it the eye.
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Special to Washington State Wire | July 5, 2011
The centerpiece of Federal Health Care Reform, the state health exchange, must be ready by mid-2013. Planning is now underway with a $23 million federal grant, and coordination with a Joint Legislative Select Committee will begin on July 26.
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By: Washington State Wire | July 1, 2011
Corrections secretary Eldon Vail makes an abrupt resignation and announces his retirement just before the end of the day Friday before the 4th of July weekend.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 30, 2011
It's a plum job ripe for the taking now that Sam Reed is stepping down. Thurston County Auditor Wyman is the only Republican in the field, but it seems like a whole crowd of Dems is giving it the eye.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 28, 2011
Gregoire chief of staff Jay Manning says he's going to be pursuing "interesting professional opportunities." Not that we're guessing, but the resignation comes one day after Democrat Jay Inslee launched his campaign for governor.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 28, 2011
State's top elections official is exiting the way he ran the office -- with grace, civility and much attention to form.
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By: Washington State Wire | June 29, 2011
Thurston County Auditor Kim Wyman becomes the first Republican to enter the race for secretary of state. She's worked closely with Republican Sam Reed, who announced Tuesday he will not seek reelection next year.
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By: Washington State Wire | June 28, 2011
Now that we've heard from Inslee, it's time we revisit Republican Rob McKenna's campaign kickoff. For the first time anywhere, Washington State Wire presents the full text of McKenna's opening salvo. And it's clear there's quite a contrast between the two.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 27, 2011
But what he leaves out may be the defining issue of the race -- the state's big budget mess, and the direction of state government.
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By: Washington State Wire staff | June 28, 2011
With Democrat Jay Inslee's campaign launch, we've now seen the keynote addresses from what are likely to be the two major candidates for governor. Washington State Wire presents the Inslee kickoff -- and for once you can judge the message for yourself.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 24, 2011
Congressman Jay Inslee is ending all doubt – if there ever really was any – with an announcement that he will kick off his campaign for governor Monday. It sets up a race with Republican Rob McKenna that will attract national attention, and party chairs say they can't wait.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 23, 2011
The Obama Administration nominates a prominent environmental dam-buster for a key Interior post. So who gets Cantwell's vote? Greens or business?
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In one of the biggest-ever challenges for the state public records law, Gov. Gregoire makes a Nixonian argument for secrecy.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 22, 2011
Republican Rep. Bruce Dammeier isn't waiting -- while state Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup says he's considering an up-or-out bid for secretary of state, Dammeier says he's off and running to fill the job in 2012.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 20, 2011
If Sam Reed's out, Jim Kastama's in. The Puyallup senator makes a strategic announcement in a race being eyed by as many as half a dozen people. Interesting thing, Kastama says, is that the centrist stands that might have made rough sledding for re-election next year also make him a good candidate to oversee elections.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 18, 2011
In just 21 days, backers of Initiative 1183 must collect more than 300,000 signatures, the fastest qualifying effort ever seen in this state.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 19, 2011
Bad news for the state budget, worse news for everyone else. That tidal wave in Japan and the spike in oil prices have postponed recovery once again.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 16, 2011
A bill-signing ceremony in the governor's office wrapped up all the loose threads of this year's legislative session. Gregoire says the budget undoes the work of a career, and most of those who hoped for vetoes wound up sadly disappointed.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 16, 2011
Time to worry about that legacy! An unusually pensive Christine Gregoire says this year's budget unwravels just about everything she tried to do as governor -- but at least it sets the state up for a rebound. Here's her account, in her own words.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 13, 2011
Gov. Christine Gregoire announces she won't seek a third term as governor in 2012, opening the door to Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee, who has been laying the groundwork for months.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 15, 2011
The annual dinner of the Suburban Cities Association sounds like the worst ever, says Auburn Republican Pam Roach -- because the panel discussion is packed with Democrats.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 14, 2011
King County Councilman Reagan Dunn, running on a McKenna slate, has a campaign months in the making and a resume that has taken a lifetime to build.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 13, 2011
It's one for the birds! A big-bucks campaign for the chickens is one of the eye-openers on the latest finance reports for this year's initiatives.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 10, 2011
Another year brings another attack on state Auditor Brian Sonntag's performance-audit program -- the program the Legislature loves to hate. Sonntag is mounting a last minute effort for a veto from the governor.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 9, 2011
Republican Rob McKenna vows to change the course of government -- of course, he's going to step on a few toes in the process. You can already tell.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 8, 2011
It's the last big drama of the session -- will Gregoire sign a bill that privatizes the state liquor warehouse and protects the liquor stores?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 7, 2011
Attorney General Rob McKenna will eliminate all doubt Wednesday – he’s running for governor. Not that there really ever was any. He becomes the first candidate to enter the 2012 race -- can Inslee be far behind?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 8, 2011
After an overwhelming vote of 'no confidence' in Childrens' Administration director Denise Revels Robinson by the agency's front-line employees, the top official in the Department of Social and Health Services declares her unqualified support.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 7, 2011
In another sign of management problems at the Department of Social and Health Services, Children's Administration workers have delivered a stinging rebuke to their top manager.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 6, 2011
Pressure is on for a veto as the governor considers a bill that would privatize the state liquor warehouse and maybe block a much broader initiative.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 6, 2011
Looks like it will be up to the initiatives this year to keep the state entertained.
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| By: Brad Shannon/ The Olympian |
Governor Calls for State Supreme Court to Settle Doubts About the Legislature's Supermajority Requirement
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 2, 2011
Just wait 'til the governor signs the budget! So many lawsuits are on the way you'll see a traffic jam at the courthouse. Here's the pre-game lineup.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | June 1, 2011
A strange Q&A on House floor sets up a hopeless challenge to I-1053 – but could force AG to defend Tim Eyman just before gubernatorial election.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 26, 2011
A new coalition of Republicans and Roadkillers emerged this year and steered the Legislature toward the center.
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By: Washington State Wire | May 26, 2011
Sure, they were tired, but it was a good kind of tired. Sometimes crisis brings people together, legislative leaders declared at their traditional end-of-session news conference Wednesday night.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 25, 2011
No one could have complied with rules imposed by a union-backed initiative, and hundreds could have been fired -- but somehow the requirements showed up in the budget anyway.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 24, 2011
Quick as a flash, House and Senate budget-writers announced their budget deal Tuesday morning and the House passed it just a few hours later. Lawmakers are in a rush to get out of town by their scheduled adjournment Wednesday night. But a quick scan -- about all that was possible -- shows that for all the talk of a $5 billion shortfall, there are only $2.6 billion in actual cuts.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 23, 2011
After five months of combat, lawmakers announced a deal Sunday night on the most contentious business-versus-labor issue of the session. The modest worker-comp agreement doesn't allow lump-sum settlements of injured-worker claims, but still might save a few bucks for the state's troubled insurance program. It won't end the debate for all time, but certainly does the job for this legislative session -- and it makes adjournment possible Wednesday.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 24, 2011
A vote on the Senate floor finally ends the big battle of the session over workers' comp. And while most folks usually try to find a way to declare victory when a compromise is reached, labor is denouncing this one and saying it got rolled.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 22, 2011
A budget deal may be announced today, but workers' comp, the other big outstanding issue of the session, looks a little iffier. The state Labor Council Saturday denounced efforts to compromise on the issue -- no deals, it says. Will the House Ds back labor up?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 21, 2011
While lawmakers consider a plan that would make it impossible to close the state liquor stores, restaurants and grocers hope to beat them to the punch.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 21, 2011
Sounds like a budget deal will be reached today, but workers'-comp remains the holdup as the Legislature steams toward a Wednesday adjournment. Lawmakers met behind closed doors for five hours at the governor's office Friday night. A deal on workers' comp seemed imminent when a rumor reached reporters outside that they might be sending out for pizza. But they didn't, and there was no agreement. Talks resume today.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 20, 2011
No problems getting the budget done on time, but workers' comp remains the big hangup as lawmakers steam toward adjournment Wednesday. The governor's office is trying to broker a deal, but it's kind of hard to negotiate when the House speaker isn't around. Lawmakers are getting frustrated. You know how most sessions end with a whimper? This one might end with a bang.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 19, 2011
The House is coming back to work this weekend after all -- and the simple one-paragraph announcement from the House Dems Wednesday night tells us plenty about how the Legislature's endgame will play out. The biggest question remains workers' comp, and whether moderate Democrats in the House -- the 'Roadkillers' -- will dare to challenge their party's leaders.
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Labor and its allies have been attacking business tax breaks all session long, but guess what? Unions are excused from paying the state's big B&O tax.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 17, 2011
After all these weeks of nothing, it's finally coming down to the wire on worker's comp. The biggest issue of the year for business and labor will either be a battle or a fizzle, and a meeting today in the governor's office will set the stage. Just to give you an idea, House Speaker Frank Chopp is saying the bill will pass over his dead body. And there are others who say no workers' comp, no budget.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 16, 2011
Terror gripped the statehouse when members became aware that the Olympia Fair Budget Coalition was sending an army of the undead to protest budget cuts. That was the reason lawmakers didn't get much done Friday, as opposed to every other day of the current special session.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 13, 2011
SEIU filed 19 initiatives and until now we didn't know whose ox would be gored. Under I-1167, border merchants and debt collectors pay for home care.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 12, 2011
It's the kind of fight insiders love. And it just goes to show that rulings of the Seattle Times are not binding on the Legislature.
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The money keeps coming from the state's wildly successful tax-amnesty program, and Gregoire makes a pitch for the Life Sciences Discovery Fund.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 11, 2011
It's Owen's call -- two big challenges on nursing home and hospital taxes are beginning to play out on the Senate floor. The hospital one is a budget-buster that could knock a huge hole in spending plans and send lawmakers scurrying for cover. Watch for that one in a few days. Meanwhile, a similar challenge to a nursing home tax was launched Tuesday in the Senate. Final decision is up to Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, who seems to hold the budget's fate in his hands.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 9, 2011
Union's home care initiative finally kicks in -- now workers have to pass a state test that isn't offered and take a course many can't get. Or else they have to be fired. It's a story Franz Kafka might love.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 6, 2011
Just as Auditor Brian Sonntag's performance-audit program scores its greatest success ever, lawmakers deliver an odd kind of thank you. The Senate budget proposal begins a process that could dismantle it.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 5, 2011
A bill that creates a $98 billion tax loophole for the state Legislature got its first hearing Wednesday. It was the formal kickoff of the left coalition's war on tax breaks -- perhaps the biggest battle of the year for business. But just wait until this one reaches the floor of the Senate. Passage might not be as easy as people think, says state Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 3, 2011
Will Christine Gregoire really try to keep lawmakers in session until they pass a workers' comp bill? Stay tuned.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | May 2, 2011
A site worth watching -- could it be the birth of a Labor Council news operation?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 29, 2011
An astonishing story -- Two years after Ecology repudiated its own numbers, unknowing lawmakers kept debating a supposed 'science-based' policy.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 29, 2011
Bid for legitimacy backfires with veto, and now it's open season for any sheriff who wants to shut down the friendly neighborhood weed store.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 27, 2011
A clever move by the Legislature to jack up liquor prices without a vote could backfire, opponents warn -- courts might toss out the entire budget.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 26, 2011
The Washington Legislature kicked off its special session by doing not much at all.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 24, 2011
Former state Rep. Jim Jacks speaks up about his mysterious resignation -- but is there more to the story? The House remains silent.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 22, 2011
They didn't vote yes. They didn't vote no. They just didn't vote. Some Dems are calling for their heads, and some Republicans say they were weenies.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 21, 2011
The workers' comp battle is coming to a boil in the state House. While most of the politicking took place out of public view, the chance of a floor battle between Democrats remains high in the waning hours of the session. Will things explode or will it turn out to be a soggy firecracker? Meanwhile, liberal Dems, including state Rep. Sherry Appleton, file bills intended as a warning shot to business.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 22, 2011
The session ends with a whimper as lawmakers slip out the doors, but they'll be back soon enough. Gov. Christine Gregoire is sending them back to work next week. Here's what everyone had to say about that.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 20, 2011
Eight Democratic signatures on a new worker-comp proposal stunned the House Tuesday and shut down debate on the capital budget. The moderate Dems, led by Deb Eddy, have come up with what they call a compromise plan to reform the state insurance program. More important, eight Democrats and 42 Republicans are enough to rule the House. Suddenly the world is turned upside down.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 15, 2011
Senate Democrats finally launch the war everyone has been expecting -- they're going to the ballot with a "anti-loophole" referendum.
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Chalk it up to the power of SEIU -- while worker hours and benefits are cut, the union training program gets money. And it had to come from somewhere.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 19, 2011
The Senate passed its budget Monday evening, pretty much as expected, with huzzahs for bipartisanship because there wasn't much else to celebrate. Just like their friends in the House, they're whacking billions of dollars' worth of state programs. Meanwhile, an effort to derail the budget with a tax ruling goes awry.
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If you're asking people for money, you probably don't want to call them a bunch of gutless idiots who lack common sense. It doesn't work very well.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 13, 2011
It doesn't rely on a liquor-distribution gimmick like the House did, to raise $300 million, but the Senate plan has the same problem. If anyone asks for a ruling on tax increases, the whole thing could blow apart.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 17, 2011
Lawmakers conceded the obvious last week and said they won't finish on time. Not like it's a surprise, but we get to ask: Who screwed up?
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Lawmakers blur the line between taxes and fees and beg for trouble. Hospitals and liquor interests mull challenges that could scuttle the budget.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 15, 2011
Well, so much for that! A procedural vote on the House floor spiked a worker-comp bill that has been the hottest issue for business this year. Democratic leaders have their feet on a measure that would allow lump-sum workers' comp settlements, and Republicans weren't able to force a vote in the House. So what happens next? This one ain't over yet.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 9, 2011
When the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee declares that one of the best things about this year's budget is that the House "met a legal requirement" to write one -- well, that kind of tells the story, doesn't it? No one seems happy with this one, and no wonder.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 9, 2011
All session long, people have been asking -- is there a tax increase Republicans can support? Well, here's one that A Republican can support. Glenn Anderson proposed, then withdrew, a tax increase that would have required big businesses to pay higher taxes to reduce college tuition. And it calls attention to another proposal from business that would do a similar thing in a kinder, gentler way.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 14, 2011
How come state Rep. Jim Jacks resigned? Enquiring minds want to know, but there won't be any answers from the House chief clerk's office. At least two media organizations have been rebuffed in public records requests -- and one of them was Washington State Wire. We're in the dark because the Legislature isn't subject to the same public records rules as every other public agency in the state.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 12, 2011
Looks like the worker-comp debate won't be ended by today's bill-cutoff deadline. The biggest business bill of the session remains mired in a House committee where labor opposition has blocked a vote. But don't call it dead, says Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt. Senate staffers say the bill has a big fiscal impact for the state itself -- saving it $16 million a year -- and that means the measure remains alive until the session's final day.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 8, 2011
A bit of that Wisconsin energy came to the Evergreen State as a week of labor and activist protests culminated in a massive demonstration Friday. And we got pictures -- lots of them!
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 7, 2011
Republicans are hinting a floor fight may be coming over workers' comp. They're counting votes -- and publicly daring House Democrats to join them.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 7, 2011
How come Dems want to privatize the state's liquor distribution? Maybe it's that shuttering the state stores would be a thousand times harder.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 7, 2011
Worried that lawmakers may be considering a state takeover of K-12 insurance programs, the state's biggest teachers' union is declaring war.
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Maybe the biggest surprise in the House Dems' 2011-13 budget proposal is that they aren't doing the naughty things everyone expected.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 7, 2011
Gary Weeks, Governor Gregoire's director of Washington's Department of Labor and Industries and its Oregon counterpart, says there's nothing to fear in a worker-comp bill now stalled in a House committee due to heavy labor opposition. Voluntary lump-sum settlements for injured workers are a big reason Oregon has managed to keep rates low for the last 20 years, he says -- and the Washington proposal offers better protections.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 4, 2011
The cost of the Indian gas-tax deal comes home. With jaw-dropping numbers like these, how will the state sell another gas-tax increase to voters?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 1, 2011
You can call it a new tax on the foolhardy or a challenge to a tribal tax loophole, but the real appeal is moolah -- $380 million every two years.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | April 1, 2011
Unions and activists will bring thousands of marching, chanting, bullhorn-wielding protesters to Olympia to offer helpful suggestions on the budget.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 30, 2011
Washington Roundtable execs -- at the round table, get it? -- say the state ought to measure its performance the way they do it in the boardroom.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 27, 2011
Why should tribes have all the fun? Seems like the Legislature's resistance to statewide gambling is weakening as the budget hole deepens.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 25, 2011
House Democratic leaders are keeping a worker-comp bill bottled up, and in the face of union opposition, Gregoire appears to shy away.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 24, 2011
The guv backs away from the biggest idea in this year's worker-comp debate -- lump-sum settlements -- because labor has it bottled up in the House.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 23, 2011
Here's what the fighting is about -- If the state allowed lump-sum settlements, injured workers would cash out like you wouldn't believe. A first-ever fiscal estimate shows the state would save heaps of money, enough to put the worker-comp program back in the black. But because workers would make less in the long run, opponents in labor call voluntary settlements a bad choice.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 22, 2011
They also did a lot of finger-wagging, as you can see here. Neither business nor labor seems enthusiastic about a House worker-comp reform proposal, each for its own reasons.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 19, 2011
Mike Sells, the chairman of the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee, says he's putting his foot on a business-friendly worker-comp bill passed by the Senate. Meanwhile, House Democratic leaders have quietly introduced a package of more modest worker-comp reforms, including a couple of new ideas that haven't been heard yet this session. That leaves moderate House Dems to decide -- do they want to fight?
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 18, 2011
Gov. Christine Gregoire fires a shot across the Legislature's bow -- don't even think about funny-money accounting gimmicks in this year's budget.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 17, 2011
All eyes were on state economist Arun Raha Thursday as he issued his latest forecast for state tax revenue -- and the state's big budget problems got even bigger. Seems like the forecasts just can't keep up with the bad news of the last couple of years -- by now everyone seems to assume they're going to get it wrong. And the numbers keep getting worse.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 17, 2011
That darn economy! It never does what it's supposed to! The latest revenue forecast deepens the state's budget problems, wipes out $778 million.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 16, 2011
Just about everyone with a stake in the battle over the TransAlta coal plant in Centralia is urging lawmakers to approve a deal that would end coal-burning by 2025. It's a big concession for the environmental groups that had wanted it closed ten years sooner, and there's some talk that the Legislature might want to tinker with the plan.
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By: Erik Smith | Washington State Wire | March 14, 2011
How are they gonna stuff that big fat state budget into an itty-bitty Volkswagen? It's gonna take magic, that's for sure. And the fun starts Thursday.
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