The campaign against Initiative 1000 started airing the ads earlier this week. It's part of a $750,000 broadcast advertising campaign.

I'm told Martin Sheen is volunteering his time, but it will appear on state Public Disclosure Commission reports as an in-kind contribution.

Here's what the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide posted on its Web site, with a link to the site. Click on Sheen's face to see the TV ad. I haven't heard it yet, but one of my colleagues said it's running on radio stations, too.

Initiative 1000 Opponents Debut Actor Martin Sheen in Commercials

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2008

Olympia---Today, the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide announced it has started a $750,000 broadcast advertising campaign, featuring actor Martin Sheen. Sheen agreed to help publicize the dangers of Initiative 1000, the assisted suicide measure on the November ballot in Washington State.

"Martin Sheen is an outstanding actor and a person of impeccable integrity. His tireless efforts to help low income people across the country and his concern for vulnerable populations have earned him the reputation of a man who is compassionate and walks his talk," said Coalition Chair, Chris Carlson. "We are happy to add his distinguished voice to the growing chorus of people opposed to assisted suicide being legalized in Washington."

=> Read more!

Used to be that TV ads for a legislative district race were out of the question. But now cable TV can pinpoint ZIP codes to make if affordable and worthwhile for candidates to advertize.

And the race between Republican Bruce Dammeier and Democrat Ron Cerqui is going to be one of the harder fought ones out there. They're both going after Rep. Joyce McDonald's seat in the 25th Legislative District.

McDonald, a Republican, is running for Pierce County Council. So, Dammeier has to win for the GOP to hold onto the seat.

Still, a TV ad does cost money, so it's an indication of how important the race it.

A note from Bruce:

Yes, it is a cable buy for Pierce County. We will be on a wide variety of cable channels, including ESPN, CNN, FOX, and Discovery.

Here is a link to Dammeier's Web site, if you want to watch his ad.

And here's his news release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dammeier Releases TV Ad Highlighting Lifetime of Service

Puyallup, WA- On Saturday October 4th, the Bruce Dammeier campaign will begin airing a new television ad emphasizing Bruce’s commitment to community service and his pledge to work hard on behalf of 25th District
residents year-round, not just during session.

=> Read more!

We were puzzling around the newsroom this morning over Gov. Palin's accent. So how does the Woman from Wasilla end up sounding like a character out of Fargo?

It's not a put-on, but a quirk of history, according to this piece in Slate, which explains the connection between the mid-West and the Matnuska-Susitna Valley:

The next town over from Wasilla, Palmer, has a large settlement of Minnesotans — who were moved there by a government relief program in the 1930s—and features of the Minnesotan dialect are thus prominent in the Mat-Su Valley area.

Now, can somebody explain those annoying bangs? Oh, I guess somebody did.

From Les Blumenthal in our D.C. bureau:

In the end, none of them flipped.

The four Washington state House members who voted against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout Monday voted against it again today.

But another of the state’s Democrats, Rep. Jim McDermott of Seattle, switched his vote and opposed the financial rescue plan.

Others voting no were Republicans Reps. Dave Reichert of Auburn, Doc Hastings of Pasco, Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Deer Lake and Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee of Bainbridge Island.

All of them had been under increased pressure to switch their votes. But in the end, House leaders had well over the 12 votes they needed to pass the legislation. The final tabulation was 263-171.

“I just couldn’t do it,” said Reichert, adding that nothing had really changed from the earlier version of the bill.

Hastings said he was “mad as hell that the reckless actions of Wall Street created this situation” but that didn’t mean taxpayers should foot the bill for the “risky decisions” the financial community had made.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, who supported the bailout, said “this was not an easy vote, but we are not in easy times. This legislation, while not perfect, is necessary to address the weakness in our economy and protect and help the American people.”

Do developers pay enough to cover the cost of providing public services to new subdivisions? That’s a question Pierce County has wrestled with for years.

Two years ago, the County Council answered that question by approving a 20-year, $488 million spending plan to widen roads, build new ones and rebuild intersections. About 39 percent of the cost was covered by new traffic “impact fees” charged to developers.

But the matter is hardly settled. Some say developers (and the new residents they sell houses to) should pay a greater share of the cost of roads, schools and other services.

I asked the candidates for county executive if they would support raising traffic or school impact fees. Here’s what they had to say.

• Republican Shawn Bunney said he would support raising the fees. He noted he was among the six council members who voted to implement the first program two years ago. “It’s not just about support (for impact fees),” Bunney said. “It’s about leadership to build things and get things done.” That seemed to be a jab at fellow executive candidate Calvin Goings. Goings cast the lone vote against the plan approved two years ago, saying it didn’t charge developers enough. You can listen to Bunney’s full comments here.

• Democrat Goings said he still supports higher impact fees – but not now. “We are in a financial crisis right now,” Goings said. “So the last thing government should do is make it more difficult for people to build homes or businesses.” You can listen to Goings’ full comments here.

• Executive Excellence candidate Mike Lonergan said he might support higher fees. “What we need to do is know what we want, know where we want to go and then pattern both our incentives and our fees and regulations to get us there,” he said. You can listen to Lonergan’s full comments here.

• Democrat Pat McCarthy wouldn’t say “yes” or “no” to higher fees. She said she believes the fees are necessary, and she favors a “balanced approach.” She also wants to ensure the fees are used to compensate the affected communities. You can listen to her full comments here.

In Sunday’s News Tribune, you can read the candidates’ responses to other questions. And next week on Political Buzz you can hear more excerpts from my interviews with them. You’ll hear their take on County Executive John Ladenburg and the influence of builders and developers on county government. And you’ll hear more about why they believe they’re qualified to be county executive.