Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 310
Thinking back to the Sunday evening storm of major proportions – it seemed to cut a swath through our town, leaving many homes and yards virtually untouched, while others in its path were hit with winds of speeds not experienced around here for many years, if ever! In my mind it was certainly comparable to a tornado. The amazing thing about this storm – when it hit it created such an impact that literally the insides of our homes turned brown with dust. We’ve been through dust storms that have cut visibility down to zero, but...
Relating to Sunday night’s storm… we have just experienced Mother Nature at her best – or at her worst! She has visited us with a vengeance, depending on where you live in Ritzville. However, I wanted to let the residents know there is help out there. If anyone feels they need assistance with the clean up process – please call City Hall and place your name on a list. This will be a slow procedure as there are many “war zones” out there and the clean up in certain areas is massive and our city crew is really stretched t...
The fact that I was at the Benton-Franklin fair last weekend means two things. First, we’re through with harvest – and second, fair season in our part of the state is in full swing. For the next month there’s at least one fair in a 9th District community each weekend, starting with Ritzville this week, then Connell and Colfax, then Othello, then Rockford. If the trip to the Kennewick fairgrounds last Saturday didn’t fit your schedule, I hope you’ll take in another fair in our region this year. Nothing celebrates our agric...
If you know the expression about being out of the frying pan and into the fire – well, that’s a pretty good description of what July has been like. Last Monday marked just one month since the Legislature adjourned, yet here we are several days into harvest already. It’s quickly approaching full stride and should stay that way for the better part of the next two weeks, so this will have to be a brief report I’m still satisfied with the overall outcome of the 2013 legislative session, even if it took much longer than was nee... Full story
The 2013 legislative session wrapped up – finally – on Saturday evening. It took a lot longer than it should have to negotiate a new two-year state operating budget; then again, we (in the Senate majority) were dealing with a majority in the House of Representatives and a governor who were obsessed with the idea of raising taxes. Obsessions like that don’t go away quickly. Fortunately for taxpayers in the Ninth District and across Washington, our coalition held firm and produced a budget that has a lot to like. As someo... Full story
I’ve had many meetings with our new governor this year. While we don’t see eye-to-eye on many of the issues, we’ve been able to have civil conversations. That’s why I was taken aback Tuesday when Governor Inslee took some hard shots at our Senate coalition in the course of telling the news media that a second special session would begin the next day. You may have seen or heard reports that Olympia is bracing for a state-government shutdown in case the Senate and House of Representatives can’t get a new budget in place by... Full story
The Senate Ways and Means Committee met earlier this week for the first time during this special session, which has reached day 19 of the 30 days allowed by the state constitution. We took action on a handful of bills that are wrapped into the state operating-budget debate: one that would strengthen the state’s driving-under-the-influence law, another having to do with Washington’s estate tax and two more that basically reiterate our Senate bipartisan coalition’s position on support for higher education. Information on some...
We met as a full Senate last Monday to formally begin this overtime period; quite a number of senators remained at the Capitol much of the week to take part in budget talks, committee meetings and, in my case, work at the leadership level toward moving things along so we can adjourn for the year. My office calendar shows the new House Republican leader came to talk, as did the governor’s legislative director, the superintendent of public instruction, the state auditor, the state treasurer, and Association of Washington Busine...
What to expect between now and the special session It’s unusual to have a two-week layoff between the end of a regular session and the start of a special session; in a sense, I figure it will probably be sort of like the time between the end of the National Football League playoffs and the Super Bowl, where things are going on behind the scenes while the news media all look for something (anything!) new to report. Believing as I do that the Senate’s approach to a new state budget will appeal far more to the families and emp...
House Democrats finally disclose details of their near-record tax proposal To propose tax increases is just talk. To pass tax increases – well, that’s different, because action is required. As I pointed out last week the House budget would raise taxes in our state by $1.3 billion, and while it would put a lot more money toward K-12 education it would allow more increases in college tuition. Our Senate budget, in contrast, puts a lot more money into K-12 education and higher education, to the point of enabling a decrease in...
Last Friday, with 16 days left in the legislative session, the Democrats who control the House of Representatives adopted their proposed state-operating budget to cover the next two years. On the surface, the timing wouldn’t seem to be a concern. Over two weeks is enough for the Senate and House to agree on a budget if there aren’t too many major differences to settle. However, the House budget goes even farther than the governor had when it comes to raising taxes, even though the Senate’s no-new-taxes budget shows it doesn...
Last Wednesday the Senate budget leaders brought their plan forward; sure enough, the differences were stark. The budget has taken up so much of my week that there unfortunately was time for just a few visitors from our district, including Washington State University President Floyd. There’s more budget work ahead, also. I and the other members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee approved a revised version of the Senate budget; following several more adjustments, we brought it before the full Senate last week, where it p...
Governor, why isn’t $2 billion more in revenue enough? Our new governor was not required to propose a new state budget, and his predecessor had already done so in December. Nonetheless, and perhaps to appease members of his political base more than anything, Governor Inslee stepped forward Thursday with a set of “budget priorities.” It would be an understatement to say our coalition was underwhelmed by the governor’s not-quite-a-full-budget proposal. All Governor Inslee needed to do was allocate the revenue the state expects... Full story
With senators back to working fulltime in committees it probably seemed certain to most Olympia-watchers that this week’s high point would come Wednesday with the release of the latest state revenue forecast. Not so fast. On Tuesday our Majority Coalition Caucus did what no one else expected during a legislative session so focused on basic education: we stood up for higher education with a simple, thoughtful approach that would reduce tuition while increasing support for Washington’s state-run colleges and universities. Tha... Full story
The Majority Coalition Caucus, which assumed leadership of the Senate on the first day of this legislative session, faced its most serious test this month. The basic question was: Could we deliver on our promises to put jobs and education first in a way that put policy ahead of politics? I’m pleased to say the answer is yes. The workload was a tad bit lighter last week, which allowed me more time to meet with people from the 9th Legislative District and surrounding areas. The visitor list included officials from the Lind-Ritz...
Many of you know I’m not one to hold my fire when a state agency does something irresponsible, such as waste taxpayer dollars. At the same time, while state government is still bigger overall than it really needs to be, I’ll gladly point out examples of good government. One of those is our state Department of Agriculture, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year. Dan Newhouse, a Sunnyside farmer with whom I had the pleasure of serving in the House of Representatives, has been WSDA director for several years; if any... Full story
I had expected the biggest news from last week – the seventh week of our 2013 legislative session – would be the fact that all 15 of the Senate committees have now completed their work on Senate bills. Then, Thursday morning and with little notice, the state Supreme Court issued a long-awaited ruling on the voter-approved law that made it more difficult for the Legislature to approve tax increases than other bills. Court says ‘no’ to taxpayer-protection law; MCC ready with solution In the past 20 years the voters of our state... Full story
Feb. 22 is, in the language of the Legislature, the “last day to read in committee reports in house of origin” for all legislative policy committees. Translation: it’s officially the last day for the Senate and House policy committees to act on legislation originating in the Senate and House, respectively. Legislation not acted upon before the end of today will be considered “dead” for the year, although bills have been known to come back from the dead with the same text under a new number. The legislative fiscal committee...
With a few exceptions the news from the Senate’s fifth week of work was still being made at the committee level, where bills continue to receive public hearings and what’s called “executive action” – meaning a committee decides whether to recommend passage of a measure. The week began on a positive note with a unanimous Senate vote for our innovative, early-action school construction bill. I previously mentioned Senate Bill 5445; it would make a $475 million appropriation to the state school-construction account months ah...
Dear Friends, The Legislature is already past the halfway mark of the time allotted for its policy committees to complete their first round of work. In the Senate that means our 13 policy committees have two weeks left to act on Senate bills (the two fiscal committees always get extra time – until March 1 this year). While our Majority Coalition Caucus is moving forward on our three priorities – jobs, education and a sustainable budget – our members are continuing to pursue legislation that would help people they serve and b...
Our Majority Coalition Caucus was all set to end the third week of the 2013 legislative session by sending several good job-creation bills on their way to the House of Representatives. As the majority we had enough votes to pass bills that would reform the state workers’ compensation system in ways that will help Washington employers stay in business and possibly grow (which means more jobs). However, job creation isn’t our coalition’s only goal – we also want to leave the chaos and bickering to the “other Washingto...
The second week of the legislative session is history now. It’s continuing to be very busy for me over here but, as I mentioned to the editor of the Lewiston newspaper the other day, it’s been a good sort of busy. As I look at some of the legislation being proposed by the members of our Majority Coalition Caucus and follow some of the public hearings going on among the Senate committees, I can’t help but be encouraged. Ideas that have been stifled for many years are finally being discussed openly, and that alone is progr...
Dear Friends, I hope your Christmas was merry and the holiday season as a whole was a safe and happy time for you and your loved ones. Things have been unusually busy for me lately; that’s because the November general election set into motion a lot of changes that couldn’t be completed until Monday, when the 2013 legislative session began. There is much to tell you – but first, a couple of personal notes. As momentous as the session’s opening day was, because of what happened in the state Senate, Sunday was an even be...
Though the 2013 Washington legislative session faces many challenges in the state’s budget, the session also offers opportunities to improve the state’s economy by investing in workforce development via public higher education. Seventy percent of jobs in Washington state will require some postsecondary training by 2018, according to a report by Georgetown University. This trend is based on two principles: more education leads to greater productivity, and skill req...
Expiration of Bush-era tax cuts, changes for 2013 and upcoming deadlines With the new calendar year approaching, it is important to review the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts – the “Fiscal Cliff,” changes for 2013 tax year, and upcoming 2012 deadlines. The Bush-era tax cuts, more than 150 tax provisions, are scheduled to expire at the end of this year. This could result in a much higher tax liability on your 2013 income tax return. As we near the edge of this “Fiscal Cliff”, several changes are looming, including...