Today is "Top-Two" Primary's Eve, and as usual, the pundits have circled and speculated about tomorrow's big turnout. But we'll get to that in a second. First, Oregon congressional candidate Mike Erickson has a lesson for us titled What not to do when going on a "humanitarian trip" to Cuba. In 2004, Erickson said he visited a Cuban "medical center, met with doctors, and attended a presentation on the plight of the disabled." But according to a recent story in The Oregonian, the medical center Erickson said he visited does not exist. The story goes on to say that Erickson and some friends spent nearly $1,698 each for the weeklong Cuban vacation, which conveniently coincided with the Habanos Festival, an annual celebration of Cuban cigars. ...
Barack Obama visited his family in Hawaii last week, and Hawaii is America's state with the closest ties to Asia. His visit reminds us that the Democratic nominee-in-waiting would be the first non-white U.S. president in history, one with close ties to Asia, and not due only to his much-discussed schooling in Indonesia.
Angie Vogt at Red County Washington has posted an exclusive one-on-one interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi. However, don't expect attacks like those seen in Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire's interview with the Stranger last week – this one is fairly vanilla. From the start, Rossi channels the Obama-patented change mantra, saying "this election is not about me, it's not about Christine Gregoire; it's about changing the culture and direction of state government for a generation." It may be a sign Rossi is looking to court more independent voters like this. Or that he's sticking to the high road for now. His campaign, however, isn't so sure he'll be ahead after Tuesday's primary election. But they aren't worried. ...
What does it teach kids to slaughter a grove of mature trees in a city whose urban forest is already in crisis? A city which will need a new generation to help fix serious environmental problems like cleaning up Puget Sound and dealing with cancer-causing pollution?
Washington state pollster Stuart Elway unveiled his latest poll — and it's a doozy. Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire is crushing GOP challenger Dino Rossi by 16 points. A SurveyUSA poll taken last week, however, showed Gregoire only up 49 percent to 46 percent – a pretty big discrepancy. Either way, voters will get a chance to refine their choices in coming months, as the two gubernatorial candidates agreed yesterday to debate at least three times before the Nov. 4 general election. So far, the debates would be in Seattle, Yakima, and Spokane. ...
Two huge legal principles clashed in last week's Washington Supreme Court decision holding that the privacy rights of teachers trump public disclosure in cases where allegations of sexual misconduct were unsubstantiated. The case, Bellevue John Does 1-11 v. Bellevue Sch. Dist. No. 405, resulted in a 6-3 split on the court.
Behind the scenes, playing no role in the legal ruling but surely on the minds of the nine justices, are two developments of recent years that have changed both the playing field (literally) and the stakes in public disclosure.
Plastic bag fees are so rive gauche. First, Seattle instated a 20-cent fee on disposable plastic bags. Then Portland decided to consider a similar idea. Now, the residents of Pullman say they want a bag fee, too. ...
Seattle Post-Inteliigencer political writer Chris McGann reports how Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi's opposition to abortion, gay marriage, gun control, stem cell research and gay rights' expansion has been underplayed by his campaign in an effort to sway liberal voters. Rossi, however, says those aren't the issues he's running on. Meanwhile, Josh Feit at the Stranger has some potentially bad news for Gregoire – the ominous Obama-Rossi yard sign juxtaposition. ...
Is beer the sleeper issue of the 2008 election? The folks at FiveThirtyEight seem to think so. Apparently, Cindy McCain's company, Hensley & Co., is set to make at least a million bucks from InBev's takeover of Anheuser Busch — a merger which Sen. Barack Obama called a "shame" and which has already sparked some antitrust interest. ...
Ready to pay $6.85 round-trip to drive across the 520 bridge? Me neither. That's the proposed toll that would raise money to help pay for improvements to the floating fossil. But the idea of a toll begs another question, something I've been dying to get reader input about: Do you think having a toll on local bridges like 520 will sway voters to vote for the proposed light rail measure this November? Thoughts?
Remember when everyone thought Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner wasn't going to get extra money from the party to beat U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn? Well, think again. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has "reserved $949,000 of air time to boost Burner's campaign." Here's the reaction from the right-wingers at Sound Politics. ...
Don't make a megalith, advises a prominent expert in forestry. Instead, think of a virtual environment with porous walls and many disciplines. The result could put the University of Washington in the lead for solving the world's environmental problems.
Seattle Times political reporter David Postman makes an interesting point about Evergreen Progress PAC's latest two TV ads attacking former Republican State Senator Dino Rossi. The ads allege that Rossi "voted to freeze teacher pay" and "voted to cut state funds to reduce class sizes" when he was in office. But, as Postman notes, "so did a majority of the Legislature that year in budget-cutting moves originally proposed by Democratic Gov. Gary Locke." In 2003 the Washington Education Assocation "actually had some good things to say about Rossi's role in budget negotiations." ...
Praise the Lord and release the hounds — because our good state Legislature has enacted a law which makes it legal once again to use dogs to hunt cougars. Now, I didn't even know cougar hunting was legal in Washington — minus Cougars wearing crimson — but apparently, it is. While the bill was actually passed by the Legislature in February, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold a public meeting on Friday to discuss whether the pilot program should continue for another three years.
Meanwhile, Micheal Reitz of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has compiled a list of some other curious laws enacted by the Washington Legislature this year. My personal favorite: Violators may face up to $1,000 or up to a year in jail for selling raw or unprocessed huckleberries without a permit.
So far, not a lot of policy is coming out of the Dino Rossi campaign, but it may be very interesting when it does. That's because the Republicans are getting pretty desperate for bold new ideas to turn around their national tailspin. I'll give some examples below.
Today, child care standards vary wildly from state to state. And even within states, standards may vary depending on the size or type of provider: Smaller, at-home providers are frequently subject to much less rigorous requirements.
THE NEW REPUBLIC
Revive Indian Heritage program, supporters tell Seattle schools
The supporters held a rally for the Indian Heritage Middle College, an alternative high-school program, asking Seattle schools today to keep it in the district. The program was supposed to close last year but was delayed by Superintendent Jose Banda. Now it is supposed to move to a space in Northgate Mall.
Educators say shorter school days allow teachers to complete required non-class work at a time when there is no money to pay teachers to do the work outside of school hours. But education analyst Jami Lund said the uptick in partial days is driven by something else -– collective bargaining and districts willing to give up class time when there is no money for teacher raises.
KING-TV
New Wash. engineering program for low-income students
The UW and WSU have developed a plan that takes 32 low-income high school graduates and puts them into a five-year engineering program. The program allows students to get used to the college workload before entering the regular engineering curriculum the next year.
GEEKWIRE
Smith-Blum drops state education bid, may run again in Seattle
School Board Member Kay Smith-Blum says she is dropping her candidacy for a State Board of Education position. She will stay on the Seattle School Board until at least the end of her term this year and may seek re-election.
The ACT test for high school students will have a computer version available by 2015. A pen and paper option will still be available for a while. More students are now taking the ACT than the SAT for their college entrance exam.
NEW YORK TIMES
Michael DeBell won't run for another term on Seattle School Board
After eight years on the board, DeBell is hanging up his hat, with hopes of doing something new. Three school board seats will be on the ballot this year.
SEATTLE TIMES
Who will lead the Washington Education Association?
Kim Mead, an Edmonds teacher, becomes leader of the state's most powerful union of public school teachers this summer. She won election as the WEA's president late Friday night.
Oregon operates the second-most-expensive public preschools in the nation, at a cost of more than $8,500 per child for a half-day, Head Start-like program, according to a study just released.
OREGONIAN (PORTLAND)
Washington state man is national teacher of the year
Through his work in transforming his small school into a place where nearly every student graduated with some college credit, Jeff Charbonneau — a science teacher from Zillah High School in Yakima Valley — was named national teacher of the year by the Council of Chief State School Officers.
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