Like any other new policy proposal, the recommendations of the Basic Education Funding Task Force will have to fight its way through a Legislature focused on budget problems.

But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of interest in the final report which was released today (warning, it is a big file).

The task force was charged with looking at how the state pays for education and how it might change the way money is doled out. It also looked at what should be considered basic education and how to get some long-discussed reforms in place.

Here are some of the major findings:

– Stop paying teachers based on the degrees they earn and instead reward them for earning certification and then for how well they do, based on a new peer evaluation system;
– Create a mentoring program for new teachers;
– Give bonuses to schools that increase academic achievement;
– Attack the achievement gap by providing resources so disadvantaged children will get more instructional time to help them catch up.

In return for accepting some of the changes, schools would see more state money and teachers would be paid a lot more than they are now.

Here's a shorter summary of the report prepared by the bipartisan group of legislators most responsible for the final result.

Sure, a swearing in ceremony is supposed to be serious. After all, most of these folks spent a lot of money to win these offices.

But Lt. Gov. Brad Owen felt the need to speed things along and lighten then up after Brian Sonntag took the oath for his fifth term as state Auditor. Unlike previous office holders who shook the hands of a few of the dignitaries on the rostrum in the House Chambers, Sonntag shook every single hand.

Owen started tapping his finger on the podium and then started humming the theme from Jeopardy. You know, the music that plays while contestants are trying to find the answer to Final Jeopardy.

Sonntag finally made it back to his seat and said in a stage whisper, "Hey, they're all voters."

Gov. Chris Gregoire kicked off her fifth year in office Wednesday by calling upon lawmakers and citizens to be brave and help each other survive what may be the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“This is our time. A time like no other. Our time to show courage,” she said. “Our time to reach across the aisle – Democrats and Republicans – to help our people. We cannot ride out the hard times and then go back to business as usual. Instead, we must renew hope for Washingtonians who are suffering today, and lay for them a platform for a better tomorrow.”

The governor, who won reelection in November to a second four-year term, was delivering her second inaugural address to a joint session of the House and Senate.

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Rep. Al O'Brien, D-Mountlake Terrace, a retired Seattle police sergeant, has sponsored a bill to look into the possibility of surgically implanting tracking devices in sex offenders who have been released to the community.

His proposal, embodied in House Bill 1142, would hire the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to see whether implanting "subcutaneous" radio frequency identification devices could be used economically to keep an eye on offenders.

The group would report back to the Legislature in December.

That RFID technology is what the state uses on the Narrows Bridge to electronically collect tolls from motorist. It's that little chip in the decal that we put on our windshields.

One thought that comes to mind is that scene from Total Recall, when Arnold Schwarzenegger's character realizes he is being tracked and pulls the huge bulbous device out of his nostril. I think of this only because, just as ex-cons sometimes disable their ankle bracelets, so too would some of them scratch the RFID tag out from under their skin.

Here's a link to the full text of the bill.

The bill has been referred to te House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee, but I don't think it's scheduled for a public hearing yet.

John Ladenburg, who also is a huge Bob Dylan fan (so don't get him started on that tangent), does a pretty good imitation of Bill Crystal's "Fernando" character.

For those of you who think Saturday Night Live began with Tina Fey, that's the "You look mahvelous!" schtick from the very early years of SNL. (For more info, see an earlier post on Don Fernando Brad Owen.)

There. Now you have some non-political questions to ask the former Pierce County executive.

The Ladenburg Legacy

Tacoma, WA – You’ve read The News Tribune’s editorial about John Ladenburg’s legacy, and also the comments of Pierce County political leaders gathered by the TNT’s David Wickert. Some letters to the editor and blog posts have presented contrasting views. Now let’s hear from Ladenburg himself.

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