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Thursday, January 31st, 2008
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 04:44:00 pm
If you can't make it to the Democratic caucuses next Saturday and want to participate by affidavit, you better have a good excuse and act fast. The affidavit isn't just for those who have to work. You must be disabled, in the military or not attending for religious reasons. If you pass that test, here's one more: You need to submit the form by no later than 5 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 1. Don't worry, there's a fax number. Godspeed and good luck. One more note about the caucuses and primaries: You must sign a statement at either caucus that says "I consider myself a Democrat" or "I consider myself a Republican." To participate in the primary, you'll fill out either the Democratic Ballot or Republican Ballot, meaning you have to pick your party there, too. I asked Secretary of State Sam Reed and Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy earlier this week if they thought that would detract the third of Washington's voters who consider themselves independents from participating. Reed said that, since more "hardcore" voters participate in the caucuses, that crowd likely won't care. If you're not hardcore and really don't know, you could just show up and listen. McCarthy said the primaries are a bit different. Yes, you have to pick a party and yes, it is a partisan activity, but it's out of necessity. She said there's a possibility it could discourage voters. What about you? Do you care? If you happen to be a member of the nonpartisan staff in the Legislature, you might: They've been asked not to participate.
Categories: President
Posted by Joe Turner @ 03:34:15 pm
Maybe not this year, but it's possible. Some background: Sales tax on construction of the new Narrows Bridge, about $59 million, was deferred until 2012. That's when the project (aka tollpayers) have to start making $5.9 million annual payments over the following 10 years. If Seaquist's bill becomes law, that debt would be forgiven. The reason it has a chance when similar proposals have been ignored in the past is because of the Highway 520 bridge project. House Transportation Committee chairwoman Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, wants the same deal for her bridge, which some day also will have tolls on it. And Seaquist just told me she's given her blessing to extending the same break to the Narrows Bridge. Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, might be able to play the fairness card. If it works, that's $59 million less that bridge commuters will have to pay in tolls. I must point out tollpayers still would be paying about $1.9 billion through 2030. But it would be something. Here's the rub: When the Legislature exempts a highway project from sales taxes, that's money that won't go into the state general fund. That's the money that pays for schools, prisons, social programs and almost everything else that makes state government operate. The folks who write the regular operating budget don't like it when transportation budget writers take money from or keep money from going the general fund. That's where the real battle will be fought. Here's the full news release from Seaquist:
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Joe Turner @ 01:10:25 pm
Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, just dropped by the office to tell me to expect a letter from the state Department of Community Trade and Economic Development. The letter will say the agency is not going to award the $1.1 million grant to Citizens for Responsible Justice to provide transitional housing to recently released prison and jail inmates. "This is good news," Carrell said. Sure enough, the e-mail just arrived. CTED doesn't come right out and say C4RJ was lying in its application, but it's pretty close. CTED Director Julie Wilkerson, in a letter to the Tacoma City Council, said "in the absence of sufficient supporting documentation, CTED has withdrawn our conditional approval of this project application. C4RJ was formally notified today that we will not enter into a contract with them for this project." Wilkerson specifically mentions C4RJ's failure to back up what it said when the group applied for the grant to provide transistional housing to about 70 prison and jail inmates over the next 18 months. She said there was "insufficient documentation of . . . collaborative partnerships...regular meetings or close working relationships with neighbors and law enforcement agencies, non profit status, housing availability and a valid business license." Here's the news release Carrell just sent out:
Categories: Legislature, Tacoma
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 12:35:38 pm
Here's some notes from my conversation with John Kerry, who's headed to Tacoma tomorrow to stump for Obama: "I've come to Tacoma several times. I had a wonderful rally there. I loved it... OK, OK. I'm listening. I asked him what he learned from the attacks ads in 2004 from the so-called Swiftboat Veterans for Truth - and if he sees a parallel to the attacks on Obama (several internet rumors have claimed Obama is Muslim, wouldn't be sworn in on the Bible, etc.).
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 11:33:47 am
Waiting for John Kerry to call me, I ran over to Pritchard to get coffee and grab bill reports. Today, there's a mere three pages of bills, a real downer compared to the small stack we'd get at the beginning of the session. My favorite today: HB 3325, "authorizing the establishment of qualified shopping cart recovery programs." Make your own joke on that one.
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 10:42:42 am
I'll be getting details in a few minutes (from the man himself) of a John Kerry visit to Tacoma tomorrow. No, you didn't wake up in 2004. Kerry is stumping for Obama. I'll post all the details of our chat here, of course. In the meantime (7.5 minutes or so), got any questions for him? I can't promise I'll ask them, but I'm interested in what you're interested in.
Posted by David Wickert @ 09:49:04 am
Pierce County Democrats have two events scheduled for Saturday. Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Jay Inslee will join a South Sound for Hillary rally at 1 p.m. at King’s Books, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma. Also, the party will have a “maucus” – or mock caucus – at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the central committee office, 3049 S. 36th St., Suite 102. For more information, call (253) 473-6812. Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
Posted by Hunter George @ 07:25:01 pm
Jerry Cornfield of the Everett Herald has an interesting piece today about Chang Mook Sohn, who's been delivering the state's official economic forecast since 1984. He's also considering a run for state treasurer this fall. In the meantime, as Jerry reports, the state is preparing to find a replacement. Here's a link to the post.
Categories: Campaign news, Treasurer
Posted by David Wickert @ 02:48:21 pm
Pierce County Council members are sensitive to the suggestion that politics plays a role in key votes. But sometimes it’s hard to conclude otherwise. Take Tuesday’s discussion of proposed new ethics rules, which featured three of the four candidates for Pierce County executive. Councilmen Calvin Goings and Shawn Bunney cast the only votes against tabling an ethics ordinance Tuesday. Perhaps not coincidentally, both are running for county executive. Goings, a Democrat, has been pushing ethics reform for months. He makes no secret of his plans to set the agenda for the executive campaign. In private, some on the council accuse Goings of grandstanding. They also say Bunney, a Republican, is following Goings’ lead in an effort to avoid handing his opponent a campaign issue. What politician wants to be seen as opposing ethics reform? With Goings and Bunney seemingly jockeying for position, County Auditor Pat McCarthy – another Democratic executive candidate – joined the debate Tuesday. She urged the council to amend the ethics proposal to ban elected officials from accepting campaign contributions in November, when the council finalizes the county budget. A cynic might suggest all three are “playing politics” with ethics reform. We’ll know when we see the details of the final ethics ordinance.
Categories: Pierce County, Open Government
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 12:02:25 pm
It's been a couple days since Joe Turner and I made it over to Pritchard for an extended coffee session. This morning, I missed the good old days of going over bill introduction sheets, blogging and harassing lobbyists. Today, I grabbed the (now much slimmer) packets and found this gem, with bipartisan support. HB 3313 would designate coffee as the state beverage. It's currently sponsored by 14 lawmakers. Now ... let's make a little bet on which beverage lobby will jump all over this. My guess: Craft beer makers.
Categories: Legislature
• 1 comment
Posted by Hunter George @ 09:26:54 am
Sen. Patty Murray today endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Here's a link to the story on our home page. And here's the Clinton campaign's press release:
Posted by Hunter George @ 09:21:00 am
Les Blumenthal wrote a story that quoted Reps. Adam Smith and Brian Baird on their reasons for voting against the economic stimulus package developed by the House and the White House. Here's the full statement released later by Smith's office: Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 05:03:43 pm
I just got off the phone with Luke Esser, who heads the state's Republican party. He tells me that he's spoken with the regional campaign contacts for each of the major Republican contenders, and he has some good news. "What most have said is, count on us coming to the state of Washington," he said. He said he's "encouraged" the campaigns to schedule visits and joked that he considered it "soft lobbying." Yes, I did ask. And no, that doesn't mean he's filed with the PDC ... For Democrats, similar good news, courtesy of the Associated Press:
Methinks where Obama goes, so goes Clinton. And that other guy. Which brings me to this: I'm working on a story about the caucuses and primaries that are fast approaching. Are you flummoxed? Confused? Delighted? Going to participate in either? It's your civic duty to let me know.
Posted by Hunter George @ 04:45:03 pm
Ballots for the Feb. 19 presidential primary go in the mail to most Washington voters on Friday (Pierce and King will operate poll sites as well). That means some of you may cast a vote this weekend. And the state party caucuses are Feb. 9. So it's about to get real busy around here... I'm working with politics reporter Niki Sullivan, wire editors, page designers and online producers to develop a coverage plan designed to help you make an informed vote (or votes, if you go to a caucus and vote in the primary) over the next few weeks. The Associated Press has produced a handy grid called "Where they stand" that lists each candidate's position on such issues as education, health insurance, Iraq, Social Security, taxes and the proposed economic stimulus package. I'm in discussions with other editors about when to run it in our print edition (I'm shooting for Sunday, space permitting). Our parent company, McClatchy Newspapers, put together an online issues database that's pretty handy. Here's a link. For daily news, McClatchy's political home page is packed with stories from around the country. Stay tuned for more updates.
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 04:20:34 pm
It appears that Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul can get anything he wants at Alice's Restaurant. Exceptin' Alice, of course. Normally we wouldn't rush to blog with yet another endorsement announcement. But when Arlo Guthrie – son of Woody, friend of Alice, father of Abe and Sarah Lee – endorses a candidate and that candidate happens to be Ron Paul, well we couldn't resist. "I love this guy," Guthrie said in a press release issued by the campaign. "Dr. Paul is the only candidate I know of who would have signed the Constitution of The United States had he been there. I’m with him, because he seems to be the only candidate who actually believes it has as much relevance today as it did a couple of hundred years ago. "I look forward to the day when we can work out the differences we have with the same revolutionary vision and enthusiasm that is our American legacy." Will Paul's Guthrie trump Huckabee's Chuck Norris?
Categories: Campaign news, President
Posted by David Wickert @ 02:34:17 pm
Pierce County Council spokesman Brad Chatfield says the council likely will postpone action on a major ethics overhaul when it meets at 3 p.m. Chatfield says a flurry of last-minute amendments has convinced council members they need more time to study the matter. As currently written, the measure would prohibit county employees from accepting most gifts and require lobbyists to register and disclose their finances.
Categories: Pierce County
Posted by Jason Hagey @ 11:48:31 am
The City of Tacoma's ethics board dismissed a complaint against Councilman Spiro Manthou during a special meeting last night. Ken Kingsbury, chairman of the Tacoma Narrows Business District, and Ginny Eberhardt, chairwoman of the West End Neighborhood Council, complained that Manthou was involved in planning a meeting that excluded Kingsbury and Eberhardt, and that an e-mail regarding the Tacoma Musical Playhouse contained false informmation. After reviewing potential ethics violations, board members concluded that the allegations against Manthou did not constitute "conduct prohibited by the code of ethics," said Yvonne Yaskus of the City Clerk's office. The meeting lasted about 45 minutes. Neither Kingsbury nor Eberhadt attended. Manthou also did not attend.
Categories: Tacoma
Posted by David Wickert @ 10:24:06 am
Score one for open government. The Pierce County Council today is expected to endorse state legislation that would require audio recording of governing bodies’ closed-door meetings. Attorney General Rob McKenna and State Auditor Brian Sonntag have requested the legislation. It would allow people who claim a closed-door session was improper to petition a court to review the recording to determine whether the “executive session” complied with state open meetings requirements. And it would make the recordings a public record not subject to disclosure except by court order. The state Open Public Meetings Act allows elected officials to hold closed-door sessions to discuss pending litigation, personnel matters and real estate transactions. But the law requires that all votes be held in public session. County Councilman Shawn Bunney introduced a resolution supporting the proposed legislation. It passed the council’s Rules Committee last week and will go to the full council today. Last week Bunney said the closed-door sessions can be “a hotbed for potential abuse.” He said taping the closed meetings will “help ensure a greater level of trust” in government.
Posted by David Wickert @ 09:38:20 am
Expect some sparks today when the Pierce County Council reconsiders a sweeping ethics proposal. The original proposal – tabled last month – would prohibit county employees and elected officials from accepting most gifts. The original version’s supporters – Councilmen Tim Farrell and Calvin Goings – say amendments proposed by Councilman Roger Bush would gut the ban on gifts and exclude some paid lobbyists from registration requirements. Bush says his plan merely brings county requirements in line with time-tested state rules. The council meets at 3 p.m. at the County City Building to consider the ethics ordinance. Download a copy of the proposal here.
Categories: Pierce County
Posted by Joe Turner @ 06:57:53 am
Word is, Randy Dorn has been toying with the idea of running for statewide office. Problem is, Terry Bergeson already occupies the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Dorn is executive director of the Public School Employees union, the one that represents the janitors, cooks and computer technicians. (See blog posting from last week.) That's not a bad foundation to have if you go for state schools chief. Or he could run against Rep. Jim McCune, a Republican who got a scare two years ago when newcomer Jean Marie Christensen made such a strong showing in the closed primary elections. Problem there is, Christensen is still running and shows no signs of getting out of the way, so Dorn would have an opponent in the Democratic primary election this fall. One advantage to Dorn's running for the legislative post: He could keep his "day" job with the union. Frank Warnke, a former state senator, once held both jobs. CORRECTION: A reader pointed out that my original posting incorrectly had Rep. Jim Dunn as the incumbent in the 2nd District. Of course, it is Jim McCune.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Monday, January 28th, 2008
Posted by Joe Turner @ 02:29:05 pm
At least, I think so. I just finished reading two stories -- one by The Associated Press, another in the Everett newspaper -- that said there now are six openly gay members of the Legislature. Both stories list all six members. I was thinking about doing a story myself, but that's old news now. So I figured I'd approach it from a different angle. Since there are 147 legislators, 49 senators and 98 representatives, and six are gay, that must mean that 141 are heterosexual. Right? I'm not going to list all 141 here because the list would be too long. Besides, I'm not sure if they're all straight. Perhaps later this session, Niki Sullivan and I will try to figure out how many cat-lovers and dog-lovers are in the Washington Legislature -- as long as they're open about it.
Categories: Legislature
• 1 comment
Posted by Joe Turner @ 02:13:33 pm
This is a followup to the story that I wrote for last Friday's edition about House Bill 2688. That's the bill that would stop the Washington Department of Corrections from sending our inmates out of state if the inmate is active in the life of his children. Deputy Corrections Secretary Ruben Cedeno testified that DOC doesn't "expect" to have to send any more inmates to Arizona, Minnesota or Oklahoma, but the following e-mail comes from the top guy, Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail. He sent the following e-mail to the fiancee of an inmate who already is out of state.
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 11:10:37 am
Did you just know Obama would run away with 55 percent of South Carolina's votes in the primary. Are you tired of telling your friends how smart you are? Might I suggest Kingmaker. It's basically everything wonderful about fantasy sports mixed with everything exciting about politics. Sign up - for free - and get 100 points to start. Then wager on the outcome of Florida's primaries tomorrow. Then do some studying and bet on Super Tuesday. You can even bet on whether either party will have a candidate with enough delegates for their party nomination by March 5. If you're like me, you'll squander your 100 points and end up at the bottom of your pool in no time. Good luck.
Posted by Joe Turner @ 09:35:08 am
Kilmer has introduced a couple measures to help "international services." That means Frank Russell of Tacoma (Russell Investment Group). I don't know precisely what all the bills would do yet because there's no report on how much money it will cost the state treasury each year. That will come later. It's a tax credit based on the number of employees. I don't know how this would keep Frank Russell from moving to Federal Way, because the company could get the credit as long as it's somewhere in Washington. To get the really big bucks in tax breaks, you have to threaten to move to Chicago. Here's Senate Bill 6627, the English language version of the tax credit measure. The real rescue effort appears in SB 6626, which would give Frank Russell a deferral of sales tax on construction of a headquarters building that costs at least $30 million and is the workplace for at least 300 employees. Sens. Jim Kastama, Marilyn Rasmussen, Debbie Regala, Rosa Franklin, Chris Marr, Mike Carrell and Paull Shin are co-sponsors of the bill. Click below to read Kilmer's full news release.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
Posted by Joe Turner @ 06:21:52 pm
Didn't the Supreme Court just say that it's still OK to lie about your opponent in a political campaign? Something about free speech. Well, Sens. Tim Sheldon and Marilyn Rasmussen are sponsoring Senate Bill 6202, which says you can't tell a deliberate lie about an opponent AND it must be defamatory. Sheldon, you may recall, was the guy who was lied about in one of his Senate campaigns. That was the case that the Washington Supreme Court ruled on. The PDC last Thursday agreed to support the bill. They supported the last one, too.
Posted by Joe Turner @ 06:10:47 pm
Former state Sen. Jim Clements, Selah Republican, often used to refer to himself as "just an ol' porch dog." I was never quite sure what that meant, but everyone always laughed when he said it. Now, he's the newest member of the state Public Disclosure Commission, the official "watch dog" of all campaign finances and punisher of misdeeds. Guess it's time for the porch dog to wake up. SeaTac's city manager fessed up to one of those misdeeds earlier this week and drew a $2,500 fine. The PDC waived $1,500 of it, as long as City Manager Craig Ward sins no more for four years and pays the $1,000 balance within 60 days. Ward "authorized the expenditure of public funds to produce and distribute a mailing and a video reproduced on DVDs in support of a September 2006 city ballot proposition," according to the commission. That sort of thing seems to be happening more and more often. Officials keep crossing the line. Ward also has to organize a regional training session to teach local officials about the "right way" to use public facilities in election campaigns. Friday, January 25th, 2008
Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:41:17 pm
It's actually "craft distillery" in Senate Bill 6292. “Washington already allows people to make their own beer and wine, so I think allowing them to produce, consume and even sell modest quantities of distilled spirits should also be allowed,” Marr, a Spokane Democrat, said in a news release. The bill defines craft distillery as an establishment that produces up to 20,000 gallons of spirits per year using a pot still, and in which more than fifty percent of the raw materials used in the production are grown in Washington. Operators would have to get a $100 license each year and would be allowed to sell their spirits under applicable laws. I was wondering whether I was using the word "moonshine" correctly, so I looked it up on Wikipedia:
No truth to the rumor than Marr also want to rename the North-South Freeway in Spokane "Thunder Road."
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 11:48:03 am
Eyman just swung through the press houses here in Olympia, something he does every time he's here to testify on a bill, looking for free publicity or just plain bored. This time, he handed out mock-ups of his latest ballot proposal, Initiative 985, which have an example of how the petitions should be filled out: Printed Name of Voter, Signature of Voter, Your Home Address, City, County. Eyman fills out the sample: John Q. Taxpayer, (signature), 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Olympia, Thurston. The trivia question for reporters is who lived at that fictitious address. I had to Google it. The answer: THE MUNSTERS, from the television series. I-985 would open up carpool lanes to all traffic during non-peak hours, make the state spend money on congestion relief and dedicate tolls and some tax revenue to a special account. Eyman, a former Mukilteo mail-order watch salesman, now makes his living promoting ballot measures. He said he probably won't start collecting signatures until mid-February.
Categories: Campaign news, Initiatives
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 10:31:56 am
Every week, House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, holds a little get-together in his office for members of the press. Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, does the same. The biggest thing to come out of these meetings has been the on-again, off-again UW stadium minidrama. But the most curious thing has been a mysterious poll Chopp has referred to over the past two meetings. He initially brought it up last Thursday when discussing a proposal to fund family leave, one of the "kitchen table issues" they're interested in working on this session. One idea is to pay for the leave (which you'd get for having or adopting a baby) with a 1-2 cent per hour payroll tax. Chopp said the plan, which would be referred for voter approval, had "overall public support," but that they'd find out more after polling is done. What poll? He didn't know. Who are you polling? He wasn't sure. All he knew is that he was writing questions for it. Hmm... Fast forward to yesterday. The poll comes up again in conversation. Here's something to help you imagine the scene, complete with the Junior Mints he hands out:  Now, imagine Chopp turning his head your way, holding up his hand and saying the poll -- though we're still not sure what poll -- would not be paid for with tax dollars. At this rate, I might have some idea what the poll is about by the end of session. Until then, I've got this to ponder: Is family leave really a "kitchen table issue"? Joe and I couldn't decide. I say it's more of a bedroom issue, whereas Joe claims it's a bathroom issue. That's when I stopped asking questions.
Categories: Legislature
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
Posted by Jason Hagey @ 03:47:39 pm
Tacoma's ethics board will meet Monday evening to review a complaint against Councilman Spiro Manthou. Ken Kingsbury, chairman of the Tacoma Narrows Business District, and Ginny Eberhardt, chairwoman of the West End Neighborhood Council, complained in a Dec. 18 letter about Manthou and Jon Rake of the Tacoma Musical Playhouse. The three-page letter is pretty detailed, but the issue relates to the effort last year to create a new mixed-use center along Sixth Avenue near Jackson Avenue. Included with the complaint letter was an e-mail Rake sent to members of the Narrows Business District. Kingsbury and Eberhardt allege that the e-mail contained false information, and refers to the need for a meeting that excluded Eberhardt. "At this point we would also like to ask the City Attorney about the ethical implications of Mr. Manthou and Mr. Rake getting together and asking members to meet without all members, and by slandering our names to all other members of the Tacoma Narrows Business District," the letter states. Manthou said Thursday that he wasn't aware of Monday's meeting, but wasn't worried about it. He doesn't believe he did anything wrong. Eberhardt also wasn't aware that the letter had triggered a meeting of the city's ethics board, and didn't have much comment. "We were very concerned," she said. "We felt it was important to write the letter we wrote." The Board of Ethics will meet Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Room 248 of the Tacoma Municipal Building, at 747 Market Street.
Categories: Tacoma
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 03:38:27 pm
This just came in from Gov. Chris Gregoire's press office:
It is kind of what was expected. Here's what I wrote about the topic this morning.
Categories: Governor
Posted by Hunter George @ 03:30:02 pm
The Tri-City Herald's Chris Mulick reports on his Olympia Dispatch blog that WSU fans are voicing their unhappiness with the UW's taxpayer-funded stadium proposal.
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 11:06:30 am
The AP is reporting that this year's Super Tuesday (Feb. 5, when 24 states will hold primary elections) may not be as super as previously thought. And that might be good for us. "The race for delegates is so close in both parties that it is mathematically impossible for any candidate to lock up the nomination" on what some have called "Tsunami Tuesday," according to an AP analysis. (To be clear: The AP did not analyze the origins of the name "Tsunami Tuesday," nor did they use the term, though I desperately wish they had.) Washington holds its caucuses on Feb. 9, when all Democratic and half the Republican delegates from our great state will be chosen. Ten days later, we'll have our primary, which has been derided as a "beauty contest," since none of our Democratic delegates are chosen (though the other half of the Republican delegates are). So why do you care: Delegate-hungry candidates might soon swarm our down-home coffee shops and picturesque parks. That could certainly make Washington feel a bit more special in advance of the caucuses. And Secretary of State Sam Reed says he thinks the primaries could be important in creating momentum. Here's hoping. In the meantime, who are you rooting for? Or do you have electile dysfunction? UPDATE (from Hunter): The Olympian's Adam Wilson has a how-to story today about participating in the primary. We'll do our own story next week, but considering how convoluted our process is you can never explain it too many times.
Posted by Joe Turner @ 10:35:13 am
This afternoon, I'll be covering a hearing on House Bill 2688, which would tell Washington prison officials they can't transfer our inmates out of state if the inmates are staying in touch with their kids. I wrote about the out-of-state inmates back in October. We have 1,200 of them in privately-run prisons in Oklahoma, Minnesota and Arizona. The Department of Corrections said then and will say again it already does take into account family connections before they transfer inmates. This is a hot-button issue for inmate families and those who want to punish inmates for their crimes. Families say it's about the children, not their criminal parent. Pressure to send Washington inmates out of state will lessen somewhat later this year when the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center north of Tri-Cities opens up an expansion and state can start bringing back some of those who were sent elsewhere. Look for more details in Friday morning's paper.
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Hunter George @ 07:30:00 am
Former U.S. Attorney John McKay will give the keynote address at a City Club of Tacoma luncheon on Feb. 20. McKay, you'll recall, was in the group of U.S. attorneys that were forced out by Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, who ultimately had to step down as well. The City Club event will be held at noon at the Landmark Convention Center, 47 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma. Reservations are required by Feb. 18. Cick here for more information.
Categories: President
Posted by Joe Turner @ 06:00:00 am
Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but this time of year there are always rumors about an incumbent legislator who might not run again. That, of course, would open up the field to any number of wanna-be officeholders. The latest one is that Rasmussen won't run again for her 2nd District Senate seat. "There nothing to those rumors," the Eatonville Democrat told me Wednesday evening. That's roughly what she said to Ken Madsen, Pierce County assessor-treasurer, Tuesday night when Madsen reportedly said to her, "you're going out of here feet first, aren't you?" "That's right," Rasmussen said. The rest of the rumor was that Rep. Tom Cambell, R-Roy, would then try to jump from the House to her Senate seat and might end up facing former Democratic state Rep. Randy Dorn, who's now with the Public School Employees union. Campbell said that part's not true either. "I'm happy here," he said. "I've got the best of both worlds." He does. Even though he's a Republican, the Democrat majority made him chairman of the Select Committee on Environmental Health. And he's got 14 years in the House. Rasmussen said she sees Dorn every once in a month of Sundays at her church, Our Lady of Good Counsel. Dorn's wife is a regular, Rasmussen said. I guess we'll know if Dorn is running if he suddenly starts attending mass more often.
Categories: Legislature
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 01:42:47 pm
I'm healthy. Under 30. Active. Cheap. In other words, I'd be perfect (if not for my employer-provided health insurance) for a bill introduced by Sen. Linda Evans Parlette, R-Wenatchee that would create health insurance plans tailored to young people. See SB 6030 here. California is one of several other states that have the plan, which, for reasons beyond me, they call Tonik. Here's a snippet from their Web site:
Sounds radical. And like a new brand of alcohol-infused energy drinks. The bill had a hearing on Monday, along with the various universal healthcare bills we covered. If the bill goes any further, I'll be sure to inform you before I quit my job to mountain bike full time with my Tonik 5000.
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 01:03:31 pm
There's a bill up for hearing in about 30 minutes that would ban gifts to state legislators, regardless of their value. That includes trips to conferences in Hawaii, tickets to the Rolling Stones (or bigger name acts like Hannah Montana). The bill (HB 1157, found here) was introduced last year, but didn't get so much as a hearing. At the time, House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said the bill was overkill and that it gave the impression that lawmakers were being feted around like ... well, other lawmakers -- specifically the ones in Congress. "I don't see a problem right now. If there was a problem and it was rampant, I'd say absolutely," Kessler said. So, we can infer that either it has become rampant or the bill is getting a hearing just for kicks. I know some of our readers are lobbyists. What do you think? Have the 900-some of you gone on a rampage?
Categories: Legislature
• 1 comment
Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:53:25 pm
The House today passed the Public Works Trust Fund bill, House Bill 2437, on a 97-0 vote. The real significance of this bill is who gets to be its prime sponsor, the first name on the bill. The fact that it's Larry Seaquist should tell you a few things: 1. He's up for reelection. (yes) It's always nice to go into campaign season and be able to tell your constituents you brought home the bacon and that you were behind a jobs-creating measure. (yes and yes). To find the bacon for the 26th Legislative District in Pierce and Kitsap counties....
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Joe Turner @ 11:49:49 am
I meant to post this Monday when I got it, but got sidetracked. Sen. Mark Schoesler brings his "aw shucks" wit to some issues. This is one of those times. They can't exactly make the same threat as the professional teams. I mean, the other professional teams.
UPDATE: I ran into Schoesler in the hallway this afternoon.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Hunter George @ 11:00:52 am
This item was worth it just so I could write that headline. Actually, it really is a good thing. The county just sent out a press release saying Councilman Shawn Bunney will be on the program Thursday with fitness trainer and TV personality Jillian Michaels of NBC's "The Biggest Loser."
Michaels' appearance will be at MultiCare's ninth annual "Do Something Healthy" program tomorrow from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, 1500 Broadway. Tickets are sold out. More information is available here.
Categories: Pierce County
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 10:31:13 am
I covered the anti-abortion rally on the capitol steps yesterday. Aside from writing the story, I spent a chunk of the day processing this surreal experience: Rep. Jim Dunn, R-Vancouver, doing "the good Christian thing" by pointing across the way at the abortion rights protesters, proclaiming that they're "minions of the evil one." A friend used to say that when you point a finger at someone, four more are pointing right back at you. Aside from the fuzzy math, I saw her point: Dunn lost all of his committee assignments late last year after telling a staffer that he was buying her a drink so he could take her to bed. Just as the irony circuit in my mind was shorting out, a half dozen streakers wearing nothing but silver masks bounced by the thoroughly bundled-up crowd. Here's a picture of the crowd, minus the nudies:  Never a dull moment.
Categories: Legislature
• 1 comment
Posted by Joe Turner @ 09:34:03 am
Just got this from a legislative staffer, who, for obvious reasons, must remain anonymous. Remember Dole doing those Viagra ads after he got out of politics?
Don't know what drug you'd take for that particular condition. Maybe you blog readers can suggest something.
Categories: Attorney General
• 1 comment
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
Posted by Joe Turner @ 08:09:00 pm
And by so doing, creates a new acronym: MIZ That's for Military Improvement Zone(s). You can never have too many acronyms in government. Here's what Kelley is proposing, in his own words and a link to the actual bill if you're really into reading statutes:
Categories: Attorney General
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