As 2009 begins, the State of Washington faces many pressing issues, most notably a projected $5+ billion deficit, rising unemployment, aging infrastructure and gridlock on our highways. I’m heartened to hear that our dedicated legislators are hard at work in Olympia, fighting for the citizens of our state with such groundbreaking legislation as SB 5038, “An act relating to making technical corrections to gender-based terms.” | Read More »
I’ve been perusing the bills filed so far in the new legislative session here in Washington. There are a lot of them, many of them dealing with taxes. Cigarette Tax, 2 Excise Tax, 3 Income Tax, 2 Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax, 2 Property Tax, 25 Public Utility Tax, 8 Sales Tax, 19 Special Fuel Tax, 2 Use Tax, 16 Note: There appears to be overlap | Read More »
As if license fees based on engine displacement aren’t onerous enough, SB6900 also includes provisions to tax vehicles based on CO2 emissions. CO2 Emissions (Grams per Mile) Fee Schedule Up to 161 $0 162 to 193 $70 194 to 241 $225 242 to 266 $275 267 to 298 $325 299 to 362 $400 Over 362 $600 I admit to being completely ignorant as to the | Read More »
Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever… The Terminator, 1984 The State of Washington, reprising the role of the Terminator, is coming after your wallet again. Despite every indication to the contrary, the Legislature appears to be under the | Read More »
Blessing or burden? A 16 year old Port Angeles, Washington, girl gave birth to a precious baby boy in the early morning hours of January 29th, alone in the bathroom of her father’s house. After the baby was born, the girl submerged his face in the toilet bowl until he stopped breathing, placed him in a plastic garbage bag and threw him into the trash | Read More »
I find myself in the awkward position of agreeing with Washington State Governor, Christine Gregoire. I know they say there’s a first time for everything, but still, it’s weird. According to the Seattle Times, Gregoire favors deportations as a way to cut state’s jail costs. I agree with that! Her proposal estimates that deporting illegal immigrants — who are serving or would serve time in | Read More »
Associated Press SEATTLE — Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a winter storm emergency Wednesday as many Western Washington residents hoped for a traditional rainy Christmas after a week of heavy snow, jammed airports, closed roads and cabin fever. Huh? I admit to being a little confused. Yes, much of the state has had record or near record snowfall but here in Snohomish County (one of the | Read More »
Chuck DeVore may look like your run of the mill Assemblyman from California, but I assure you, he has the heart of a dragon-slayer. Chuck has chosen to take on the daunting task of defeating Barbara Boxer in 2010 and giving conservative Californians a voice in the U.S. Senate. (In case you have a few spare bucks lying around, Chuck is taking donations now online.) | Read More »
Following in the footsteps of the popular show, MythBusters, the Seattle Times ran an article today exploding the popular notion that the Washington State Constitution requires the adoption of a balanced budget. I’m not sure which is more disturbing: the fact that our legislators were ignorant of the requirements of our Constitution for so basic a function as budgeting or the fact that intrepid Seattle | Read More »
As much information as I could glean in 24 hours. It ain’t much, but it’s all I’ve got. Luke Esser, Bellevue, King County Jeff Kent, Bellingham (??), Whatcom County Fredi Simpson, Wenatchee, Chelan County Luke Esser State Chairman, WA Republican State Committee PRESENT -State Chairman, Washington State Republican Party, elected January 27, 2007 -Attorney at Law…
WSRP Chair, Luke Esser, recently sent an update on the outcome of the election. Washington Republicans fared quite well, actually, considering it was a blue tidal wave year. An excerpt.
The following is Patty Murrays’ response to a constituent’s request for more information about her position on the Marriage Protection Amendment. Thank you for contacting me regarding the Marriage Protection Amendment. I am glad to know your views on this matter…
According to the Seattle Times, “State regulators are wondering whether online political activism amounts to lobbying, which could force Web-based activists to file public reports detailing their finances,” (Can Blogging be Lobbying?) and name their financial backers. As if most bloggers have financial backers. Does my husband count? Do I have to make a disclosure?
Today Rodgers won election as the Vice Chairwoman of the House Republican Caucus. Here’s a link to the Seattle Times article (you can skip the first part about Patty Murray if you don’t have a strong stomach). And here’s a Wikipedia article about her. I know this isn’t actually much information to go on. Unfortunately, since she’s from the other side of the state, I | Read More »
Jay Inslee(D) is our US Representative in the 1st District. He was originally elected to the House in 1992 from the 4th District, but proved too liberal for his Central Washington constituents and was defeated by Doc Hastings after one term. After moving to the west side, he ran for Governor in 1996 but was defeated in the primaries by Gary Locke. In 1998, he | Read More »
After reading AceinTx’s update on the RMSP, I did a (very little) bit of checking into Dave Reichert’s record. For anyone who doesn’t know, Reichert was a popular King County Sheriff, under whose tenure the Green River Killer was arrested, tried and convicted. Capitalizing on that popularity, in 2004 he ran for Jennifer Dunn’s open seat in the US House and defeated local talk show | Read More »
I’ve now been in contact with the Chair of the SnoCo Republicans. I’m not in a position to say that my previous diary entry on this topic was wrong but I have at least been assured that they are planning for 2009 (city and county races) and beyond and I’ve been invited to the next meeting. In contrast to my first contact, there seems to | Read More »
First off, thanks to Moe for suggesting something I can actually do with all this pent up, post-election energy. Second, let me apologize in advance for the sketchy information I’m about to offer. I haven’t been as involved in local politics as I probably should have been. When I have more information on any of the following, I’ll post new diaries. WA-01 includes parts of | Read More »
A few days ago, I e-mailed the Snohomish County Republicans in disgust over the sorry state of their website. I was looking for inspiration and an action plan and all I found was pre-election news. After having received no response, this morning I e-mailed a few people on the Executive Committee individually. Here’s what I found out.
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