|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 05:23:43 pm
So guess what's on tomorrow's list of bills to be addressed by the governor: The toxic toys bill, which is formally known as the "Children's Safe Products Act." It bans lead, phthalates and cadmium from toys and other products designed for kids. Critics of the bill say it goes too far and would ruin Washington's Christmas. Rumor has it that the governor will veto parts of the bill, leaving it for next year's Legislature to jimmy with. Of course, no one will confirm that for me. But if you read through the bill you can get a pretty good idea of a section that's ripe for cutting. (Hint: Section 3, which explicitly bans lead, phthalates and cadmium.) What would that accomplish? Well, Section 4 authorizes the Department of Ecology to come up with a list of harmful chemicals that should be banned from toys. If that section stays, the department could get the ball rolling on the list and give next year's legislators something to start thinking about. Of course, that's just a suspicion. We'll find out tomorrow. Update: Here's the full list of bills to be considered tomorrow. Enjoy. Update 2: Someone smarter than I (and there are many of you, aren't there?) pointed out that another section of the bill is prime for a veto. That would be section 8 (like housing!), subsection 5. It says: "The department shall adopt rules to finalize the list of high priority chemicals that are of high concern to children identified in section 4(1) of this act by Jan. 10, 2010." Or at least I think that's the part. Like I said, they're smarter than I. Again, we'll find out tomorrow.
Categories: Governor, Legislature
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 01:44:50 pm
Sen. Pam Roach is back. For those just tuning in, last episode: Roach had been chastised by Senate GOP leadership for making staffers spend too much time with her, complaining too much about other members and asking caucus staff to pledge allegiance to her ... She responded by accusing leadership of acting like monkeys, then left for Latin America... Tomorrow, she'll meet with The News Tribune's editorial board. She requested the meeting and the board is obliging, but Dave Seago told her he considers the matter too insider a matter to editorialize. I haven't decided yet if I'll go. If I do, I'll let you know what comes of it. In the meantime, here's her response to Dave about the newsworthiness of the meeting:
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Joe Turner @ 01:24:09 pm
Our colleagues at the Associated Press tell me that Gov. Chris Gregoire is going to finish signing and vetoing the rest of the bills from the legislative session tomorrow, even though she has until Saturday to do so. I've got a call into Marty Brown, the governor's legislative liaison and man-in-charge of souvenir bill-signing pens, to verify that. The list of bills suggests she will, in fact, be signing (or vetoing) 44 bills on Tuesday, so she'll definitely have writer's cramp, if nothing else. That's 44 our of 335 passed by the Legislature this past 60-day session. And the operating and capital budgets are on the list. Also on the list are the toxic toys and beer and wine tasting (in grocery stores) bills .
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 01:03:33 pm
Two audits from the State Auditor's Office came today. Here's the findings: 1. The Historical Society apparently doesn't have a catalog of its artifacts, nor does it keep track of ticket sales. 2. The Department of Early Learning, doesn't keep track of whether criminal background checks were completed for their employees. Click the links for the full info. I'll be writing about campaign donors.
Categories: Auditor
Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:27:54 pm
Last week, I wrote a story about how the Steilacoom II-class ferry that the state wants to have built might evenutally end up on the Point Defiance-Talequah run. That would be a case of the 50-car vessel replacing the 48-car Rhododendron. Then I got this e-mail I figured I should share with everyone. I'm not a regular ferry rider to Vashon, so I don't know the ins and outs of the ferries. Read on:
Categories: State government
Posted by Joe Turner @ 11:34:48 am
Our McClatchy colleague, Chris Mulick at the TriCity Herald, wrote this story. I just stole it from him so you could read it here.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 11:26:45 am
In about a half hour, Mark Mays is going to announce his candidacy for the congressional seat now held by U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers. (No, it's not the football-player-turned-TV-commentator.) Mays, 59, (he'll be 60 in April) was just on his way to make the announcement when I reached him on his cell phone. Mays is a Democrat. So was former U.S. Rep. Tom Foley, who represented the 5th Congressional District for 30 years or so until he was unceremoniously dumped in the Republican Revolution of 1994. Made no nevermind that he was Speaker of the House for all of America. Here's the news advisory that was sent out over the weekend.
Categories: Congress, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 11:06:19 am
OK. I wrote that headline just to grab your attention. But it worked, didn't it? It's the rank-and-file who make the endorsements, but then they are the bosses in the union, right? Those 12 are in the state House of Representatives. That's 12 out of 98. Every campaign season we get the endorsement list from the Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents about 40,000 state employees, maybe more. I don't know. They're always looking for more people on the fringe of state government. Anyway, it's hard to find news value in that release. It's a labor union. Labor unions mostly endorse Democrats. But everyone once in awhile, they do endorse a Republican, usually because they are stuck with them. That means there's no way a Democrat is ever going to defeat a Republican in, say, Gary Alexander's 20th District in Lewis County. So when the Federation endorses someone like Rep. Skip Priest, R-Federal Way, that means something. I don't know exactly what it means, but it does mean something because Priest wasn't elected for life. The 30th District is still a swing district. Read on. Look for the occasional Republican. Maybe Dennis Eagle of the Federation will explain why they won the endorsement. The Federation endorsed 3 Republicans in state Senate races.
Posted by David Wickert @ 08:54:50 am
It’s helpful for a reporter to have a reputation for toughness. You know, someone willing to ask the hard questions, someone who strikes fear into the hearts of elected officials and bureaucrats everywhere. So imagine my horror when I was outed this morning as the owner of a cat named Muffin. In an article on the most popular pet names in Pierce County, reporters Jason Hagey and Ian Demsky report that “County Executive John Ladenburg has a dog named Muffin. In an eerie coincidence, the News Tribune reporter who covers county government has a cat named Muffin.”
Categories: Pierce County
• 3 comments
Posted by David Wickert @ 07:52:49 am
Pierce County Councilman Dick Muri made it official Sunday: he’s running for re-election. The Steilacoom Republican is seeking his second term on the council. Democrat Vincent Stewart has filed to run against Muri. For Muri’s announcement, read on. Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Posted by Hunter George @ 06:00:21 am
If you're confused about the state of the math WASL, you're not alone. The governor signed a law last week that drops the math portion of the WASL as a graduation requirement. In response to media coverage, the state school superintendent's office sent an advisory Friday that attempts to clarify when various requirements kick in. Here's the advisory. Friday, March 28th, 2008
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 04:39:57 pm
I posted earlier about the training we went to this morning. I know you're probably all getting ready to leave work, dying to know what we learned. Here goes. Now, I can't cover everything ... but I can point you in the direction of some pretty fabulous Web sites for following campaign money: 1. Follow The Money Have fun! Tell us what you find.
Posted by Joe Turner @ 03:01:18 pm
Here's what their offices sent out:
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 02:24:06 pm
Next Saturday, bill signings will officially be over, and Gov. Chris Gregoire will be able to start raising money in earnest. She'll take a day of rest, then kick off a statewide bus tour on Monday. The tour starts in Auburn, then continues to Tacoma, Vancouver, Yakima, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Bremerton, Port Townsend, Everett and Seattle. I'll be there for the first portion of the trip, blogging along. Think of your questions now, people. Update: The days of the week are now correct. Earlier, in a time warp, I had the wrong days of the week!
Categories: Governor
Posted by Joe Turner @ 01:44:55 pm
We just got this news release from NARAL:
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 01:19:26 pm
Gov. Chris Gregoire will have two bill-signing ceremonies on Monday, one at 11 a.m., another at 2 p.m. Here's the news release from her office:
Categories: Governor, Legislature
Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:36:55 pm
Yesterday, I wrote about how the Todd submitted a bid to build a 50-car ferry and the bid of $26 million was almost $10 million higher than what the state expected. Todd Pacific Shipyards sent a letter to state ferries chief David Moseley, explaining what the bid was so much higher. Material costs are higher. Standards to pass Coast Guard inspection are different. State changed its design a lot, not a little. This is not the same boat, the Steilacoom II, that Pierce County bought for $12 million in 2006, Todd CEO Stephen Welch said. "Though our submitted bid would construct a 50-auto ferry that essentially looks like the Pierce County Ferry, changes unique to this project and required by your invitation to bid will result in a significantly different and improved, but more costly, ferry," Welch said in the letter. And contrary to what you may have read in our Friday print edition, the state DID NOT REJECT the Todd bid. The story was accurate. The headline wasn't. Read the full story here.
Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:00:46 pm
Neal Kirby, principal of Centralia Middle School for the past eight years, announced today he is running against incumbent Sen. Dan Swecker of Rochester in the Republican primary election. Kirby's bio says he was a state representative in 1990 from the 7th Legislative District in Eastern Washington. That included Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens and parts of Okanogan and Spokane counties. My reference book says Kirby was appointed to the Legislature in 1989 and at the time, he was a Democrat. Kirby thinks that Swecker sides too often with Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire, and apparently Kirby doesn't think people from Lewis County should do that. Read what Kirby has to say in his own words:
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 09:48:17 am
Today, I'm in the basement training room of The News Tribune with a dozen other journalists from papers in the area, learning how to track earmarks. The training, through the Associated Press Managing Editors, is lead by Larry Makinson of the Sunlight Foundation. It's only 9:45 and we've already learned about a juicy earmark to a Seattle outdoor company secured by Washington lawmakers. Right now, I'm opening a 4.2 MB spreadsheet of earmarks from Taxpayers for Common Sense. Time to go learn.
Categories: Open Government
• 3 comments
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Posted by Joe Turner @ 06:17:10 pm
Here's the news release from Gov. Chris Gregoire's office:
Posted by Joe Turner @ 02:46:45 pm
Here's a story I've written for Friday's print edition of the paper. It may take a while longer for Pierce County to get back the Steilacoom II, the vessel it is leasing to Washington State Ferries to temporarily take over the Port Townsend-Keystone route. That’s because the only bid for a 50-car ferry that would permanent take over that route came in almost $10 million higher than expected. And state ferry officials are scratching their heads, trying to figure out why. Todd Shipyards of Seattle said it would build the new vessel for $26 million. State engineers figured the cost would be closer to $16.8 million.
Categories: Legislature
• 1 comment
Posted by Joe Turner @ 01:30:34 pm
Here's what the Washington Secretary of State put on its Web site of past election results for the Dino Rossi-Chris Gregoire race for governor in 2004:
Well, that's interesting. But why does the Secretary of State, the chief custodian of state election results, not tell us what actually happened? The results on that page are official, but wrong. Sheesh! UPDATE: OK. I think I finally found a link that has the wrong vote totals, BUT it also has a disclaimer that actually tells you what the margin of Gregoire's victory was. That would be 133 votes. (I sure hope the link works for you.) Here's one more LINK. Use this one to get all the recounts, as well as the final court decision. Thank you, Trova!
Categories: Governor, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:15:32 pm
Yes, the announcement you've been waiting for is finally here: Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler Announces Re-Election Bid. I remember when Kreidler was the very first congressman from Washington's 9th Congressional District, the new one that runs from Burien to Bucoda. And two years later he got beat by Randy Tate. I wonder what ever happened to Randy Tate. Anybody know? Read about Kreidler's new campaign in his (or his campaign manager's) own words:
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 11:34:30 am
I got a call this morning from Jonathan with the Kiplinger Letter in the other Washington (D.C.). He wanted to know if the 2004 election ended with Gov. Chris Gregoire winning by 133 votes, as we've reported, or 129, as he'd seen elsewhere. In a quest for the answer, Joe visited the Secretary of State's Web site. And? Betcha didn't know that Rossi won by 261 votes. Or did Gregoire win by 129? Neither. She won by 133 votes. And don't worry: Joe pointed it out to Sam Reed's office (which means you better click fast because those links won't work soon). Update: No need to click quickly. Reed's office tells us that the reason the results are still there is that they're the actual, certified election results. And they won't be taken down. So click away. Bookmark it, even! Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Posted by Joe Turner @ 05:12:11 pm
The vote was 597 to 534. It was the Washington State Residential Care Council, an industry group, that got most of the votes from owner-operators of Adult Family Homes. The Washington Federation of State Employees, the 40,000-member union, was runnerup. And second place is last place when it comes to elections that decide which group will represent some 2,000 folks in negotiations with the governor on benefits and compensation for those who take care of elderly and disabled on Medicaid. However, the union is challenging 144 ballots. So that might change the outcome. I got word of this too late to verify everything with the Public Employment Relations Commission, which oversaw the election. A hearing is automatic when there are that many ballots being challenged. "Federation wins $5.8 million for Adult Family Home Providers" That's what a pro-union Web site claimed leading up to the final days of the election.
Of course, the Residential Care Council also had a hand in winning higher reimbursement rates for Adult Family Home operators. But don't expect the Federation to acknowledge that in a bitter fight with the council over representation of those operators.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 03:54:14 pm
Click here for a story on a trip U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Seattle) and two other lawmakers took right before the Iraq war. What's the problem? The trip was allegedly financed by Saddam Hussein. McDermott's rep says they had no idea. I have no trouble believing that.
Categories: Congress
• 2 comments
Posted by Joe Turner @ 03:26:41 pm
Yeah, I know that's a mouthful. But that's what Gov. Chris Gregoire did in the few words she used to explain why she vetoed part of House Bill 2878, the $7.5 billion state supplemental transportation budget. The Legislature wanted the Washington Transportation Commission to develop recommendations "to reduce and control tolling operations costs" on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge and the soon-to-open HOT lanes on Highway 167. Lawmakers also wanted the state Department of Transportation to come up with incentives for toll-collection company, the public and others to hold down costs and "These incentives shall be presented to the transportation commission by Sept. 30, 2008." The governor didn't like that. And she nixed it. "As a cabinet agency, the department is accountable to the governor and it is not the role of the transportation commission to evaluate and direct the department's operations," Gregoire said in her veto message. It was only a couple years ago that the Legislature put the entire 7,000-worker DOT directly under the governor's authority and gave her the power to hire and fire the transportation secretary. The seven-member commission used to have that power. Gregoire did say that she will have DOT provide a report on incentives to reduce toll operating costs to her budget office and the Legislature -- in December, not September. Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, one of the lawmakers who wanted the commission to oversee toll cost reductions, said he welcomes the governor's commitment to keep an eye on costs. "I look at this as an affirmation by the governor that everyone is invested in more accountability and efficiency," Kilmer said earlier today. "The governor is stepping up to the plate and saying the buck's going to stop with her department." Maybe. But I can't imagine it's much fun to be a member of the transportation commission anymore. You don't get to hire the transportation secretary. You don't really get to set toll rate and ferry fares because the Legislature has to give them final approval. And the Department of Transportation staff can ignore you because you're not really their boss. If you want to read the governor's full budget veto message, click here.
Posted by Joe Turner @ 11:19:29 am
I didn't pick up on the fact that state Sen. Tim Sheldon of Potlatch will be running on the Democratic ticket this time when he seeks reelection to his other job, as a Mason County commissioner. But our colleagues at The Olympian did. In 2004, Sheldon ran as an independent.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Posted by Jason Hagey @ 04:28:58 pm
Tacoma's Human Services Commission got tough this year. Centro Latino, the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association, and the Salvation Army were among the nonprofits that the commission is recommending receive none of the federal block grant dollars doled out by the City of Tacoma. Edwina Magrum, commission chairwoman, told City Council members Tuesday that the group strictly adhered to a set of scoring criteria to make its recommendations about how to divvy up federal block grant money. Applications that didn't receive a score of at least 81 out of 100 failed to make the cut. Magrum didn't name names, but delivered some harsh words to some that received low scores. "Some of these groups, we've been trying to encourage them to improve since at least 2003," Magrum said. "We're not seeing the improvement." If the City Council follows the recommendations, they could have some significant impact on Tacoma's homeless shelters.
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 04:04:26 pm
Surprising no one, the Washington Education Association endorsed Gov. Chris Gregoire for governor today. They've got 81,000 members across the state in elementary through higher education. In a press release, they praised Gregoire's commitment to education, saying she managed in a supplemental budget year to squeeze $105 million more for education. But wait, there's more:
Posted by David Wickert @ 03:59:53 pm
The state Public Disclosure Commission on Wednesday will take up the case of state Rep. Dennis Flannigan, who has admitted he failed to properly report stock he owned in three companies. Flannigan, a Tacoma Democrat, says he bought 4,000 shares of Hythiam Inc. in 2006. The company licenses the Prometa drug treatment program. Flannigan helped secure state funding for the program. He says his Hythiam stock ownership was cleared by a House of Representatives attorney. He said he voted on the $33.4 billion, two-year state budget that included Prometa funding but said he refrained from voting on a specific Prometa funding measure.
Categories: Pierce County, Legislature
Posted by Joe Turner @ 03:35:46 pm
Read the news release:
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 02:45:24 pm
I got an e-mail today from a reader wondering what happened to the "toxic toys bill," alternately called the "Children's Safe Products Act." It's the one that would ban lead, cadmium and phthalates from products meant to be used by children. It almost died, but was saved in the final days of the session. It was sent to the governor's desk but hasn't been signed yet. Her office tells me the bill is being considered in the policy shop. That means a policy analyst is going over every word. In the meantime, the governor may be getting lobbied by toy companies. Why would I think such a thing? Well, the Toy Industry Association called me today, for starters. If they're making sure I have their contact information, seems like they expect something might happen that will lead to this bill turning into another story.
Categories: Legislature
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 11:17:06 am
An unnamed source -- hungry for something funny to happen at the capitol -- sent me this:  It's a photo from the Senate Republicans' Web site, advertising a list of "punts" made by Democrats this session. Only, here's the rub: A source says the "Punt List photo shows a guy who has just place-kicked a football. Either that, or those guys executing a pretty damned snazzy Back Street Boys move a good 12 feet behind the kicker are the two most useless blockers in the history of punting." But is it true? Could Senate Republicans have been duped? Do they not watch arguably the second-most patriotic sport in the country? I asked another unnamed source who is something of a football expert:
Categories: Legislature
• 1 comment
Posted by Joe Turner @ 10:58:01 am
State Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, got elected to the three-member board of commissioners in Mason County in 2004. And he can continue to keep both jobs because the only prohibition in state law is that your name can't appear twice on the same ballot. But since Sheldon had four-year terms in each office and they are staggered (he won't be up for reelection to the Senate until 2010) he can keep running for each office every two years. Sheldon is Democrat in the state Senate, although some would dispute that because he doesn't vote like the Seattle urban liberals. But he's an independent as a commissioner. I'll be curious to see how Washington Secretary of State designs the ballot for this campaign season. Remember, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Top Two primary system, handing a defeat to the Democrat and Republican parties who wanted closed primaries to keep maverick senators like Sheldon in line. (Not that it worked in Sheldon's case in 2006) Click here to see what our colleagues at the Kitsap Sun wrote.
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 08:10:17 am
Knute Berger has an interesting article on Crosscut.com about the brewing battle over historic preservation in Seattle. A city council committee hearing was the venue but the issue might have begun when the city's preservation board voted to grant protection to a 60s-era diner in Ballard. The developer is suing and the case could threaten the city's preservation program. Most of those who testified supported preservation and Seattle's system. And U.S. Supreme Court decisions have backed up preservation laws. But often battles like this begin in Seattle and are then exported elsewhere so it is worth keeping an eye on.
Categories: Attorney General
Monday, March 24th, 2008
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 02:44:24 pm
Now that the Legislature is over and most everyone has gone home, I'm feeling something I've self-diagnosed as "blog withdrawal." Thankfully, I've got something to post about and it involves one of my favorite things to write about: Money! While digging through data (compiled in an Excel spreadsheet by the lovely and talented Ian Demsky) about presidential campaign donors in Tacoma, I saw the following fun fact and thought of you, readers... If you divide campaign donors into ZIP codes, here are the top five spending areas: 1. North End and Ruston, 98407, ($33,710) That's all I've got for now. Send any tips, comments and unsubstantiated rumors my way and I'll see what I can do.
Categories: Legislature
• 14 comments
Posted by Joe Turner @ 02:03:08 pm
Gov. Chris Gregoire has a second bill-signing ceremony on Tuesday after the one in Seattle. She's coming back to her office in Olympia to sign (or veto) a batch of health-care and medical-related bills that were passed by the Legislature earlier this month. Read on:
Posted by David Wickert @ 01:47:22 pm
Sound Transit’s governing board will decide soon whether to take a transit expansion plan to voters later this year. Though a final decision may not come until June, the board must decide on a draft expansion plan by April 10 if it hopes to bring it to voters in November, according to agency spokeswoman Linda Robson. Last November voters rejected an $18 billion roads-and-transit construction plan for Pierce, King and Snohomish counties. The plan included an extension of light rail from Sea-Tac Airport to Tacoma. Since then the Sound Transit board has been weighing when to offer voters a transit-only expansion plan. Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, who serves on the Sound Transit board, said some members believe it makes sense to place a scaled-down measure on the ballot this November. They believe the big turnout of a presidential election year would work to Sound Transit’s advantage. Ladenburg is not convinced.
Categories: Roads & Transit
Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:00:56 pm
There's another Haugen on the political landscape. His name is Jon Haugen, an airline pilot from Felida, who is running on the Democratic ticket against incumbent Sen. Joe Zarelli of Ridgefield, top ranking Republican on the Senate budget-writing committee. The other Haugen, of course, is incumbent Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island. She's chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee. And she's running for re-election this fall. Someone with the same last name certainly isn't unusual in the Washington Legislature. There were Pat Sullivan and Brian Sullivan. And Betti Sheldon and Tim Sheldon. At least they were all Democrats. Then there was Rep. Dawn Morrell, D-Puyallup, who ran against and defeated then-incumbent Rep. Dave Morell, R-Puyallup, probably just because she had an extra "R" in her name. But I digress. Sometimes a candidate with the same last name can really embarrass you. Just ask Sen. Jim Hargove, D-Hoquiam. Former Rep. Steve Hargrove, an extremely conservative Republican who was swept into office in the 1994 Republican Revolution, was regularly getting his name in newspaper headlines during the 1995 and 1996 legislative sessions. But only part of his name. His last name. And they weren't flattering. They were headlines like: Then-House Speaker Clyde Ballard, a Republican, actually did kick STEVE Hargove off the House Appropriations Committee because STEVE Hargrove was always voting "no" on any bill that spent any money at all. And there were some programs that Ballard and his Republican majority actually wanted to spend money on. Anyway, every time STEVE Hargrove made the headlines, JIM Hargrove would have fits. Even though the pair represented different legislative districts (23 and 24), they were right next door and newspapers like the Bremerton Sun wrote about both Hargroves. And most of the time, the headline only used the last name. And JIM Hargrove was afraid most readers -- and voters -- wouldn't read beyond the headline. As it turned out, both Hargoves were on the ballot together in 1996. JIM Hargrove as reelected. STEVE Hargrove was not. Even so, I image Mary Margaret Haugen will be paying at least a little attention to what the headlines say about Jon Haugen's campaign. Read what our colleague at the Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, Kathi Durbin, wrote a story today about Jon Haugen's candidacy.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 10:10:26 am
Randy Boss waged the campaign in the Legislature this year to prevent the late Sen. Bob Oke's colleagues from asking the Washington Transportation Commission to name the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge after Oke. Now, Boss has moved his campaign to the local level, to counter-act efforts by Judy Oke and Pierce County Councilman Terry Lee of Gig Harbor from petitioning the commission for the same name change. Read Boss' e-mail thread:
Posted by Jason Hagey @ 09:44:23 am
 Danish architect and lecturer Lars Gemzoe is coming to Tacoma next month to talk about making downtown Tacoma a more inviting and people-friendly place, particularly the moribund Tollefson Plaza. City Manager Eric Anderson and Councilman Jake Fey spent about an hour visiting Gemzoe at his office last year when they traveled to Sweden and Denmark as part of a tour organized by International Sustainable Solutions. "He's a brilliant architect," Anderson said. Anderson and Fey were discussing ways they could apply what learned from their trip and apply it to downtown Tacoma, and decided to arrange for the visit. Gemzoe is the co-author of "New City Spaces, Strategies and Projects," and "Public Spaces, Public Life." He is a senior consultant and associate partner of Gehl Architects, and a senior lecturer of urban design at the Center for Public Space Research at the the School of Architecture in Copenhagen. He is expected to give a presentation at the City Council study session April 22, and meet with the Tollefson Plaza and Century Park Design Group, the city said. The city is paying $15,000 to bring Gemzoe to town. City officials may return to Sweden and Denmark this fall for another urban sustainability tour. Anderson said he intends to make another visit, and he's hoping to persuade as many council members as possible to join him.
Categories: Tacoma
• 2 comments
Friday, March 21st, 2008
Posted by David Wickert @ 02:31:47 pm
Thought plans to name the Narrows Bridge for the late Sen. Bob Oke were dead? Not on the Pierce County Council. Council Chairman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, has sponsored a resolution asking the Washington State Transportation Commission to name the new bridge in honor of the state senator. The council on Tuesday is set to refer the measure to its Rules Committee, chaired by Lee. A public hearing tentatively is scheduled for April 7. The full council would take it up April 8.
Categories: Pierce County
• 7 comments
Posted by Joe Turner @ 01:57:15 pm
Gov. Chris Gregoire is getting around to signing the supplemental transportation budget for 2007-09 much faster than I thought she would. She's going to sign it next Tuesday in Seattle. Generally, budget bills are among the last that governors sign because of their complexity. But come to think of it, the budget is pretty straightforward. Except for the new steel ferries, there ain't much new in it. The tolling policy bill, HB 1773, should be of interest to the Gig Harbor misery-loves-company crowd. Although it doesn't impose tolls on any projects just yet, you can see that tolls are in the offing for projects all over the state, starting with the Highway 520 bridge. And that could happen as soon as Sept. 30, 2009. That's the deadline for the state to accept about $135 million in federal funds, provided they agree to early tolling on the bridge. The new policy says tolls can stay forever for projects built after this year. Yes. That would exclude the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Tolls for that project are likely to come off sometime in 2030. For those of you who have been following the antics of the Port of Seattle and its collective thumbing its nose at State Auditor Brian Sonntag, you'll be interested in HB 3274. I haven't read the whole thing, but I'm told it mostly requires Port officials to do what they should have been doing for a long time: comply with state bidding laws. Read on:
Posted by Joe Turner @ 01:16:01 pm
|
