crosscut.com : Oregon

The state's economic strength helps Gregoire

Crosscut — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:00:01 PDT

Some misery is more equal than others, as new figures show. The governor also gains a notch by being able to dole out budget savings.

When the Northwest was red

Crosscut — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:00:01 PDT

There's a cool Web site that lets you look at the electoral college results in presidential races since 1789. It features a U.S. map that shows the color of states as they were carried every four years: red for Republican, blue for Democrat, purple for Whig. It's fun to look at the Great Nearby and see the trends.

Physician-assisted suicide: two stories

Crosscut — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:19:01 PDT

George Eighmey, the father of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, spoke yesterday at a conference in Yakima, and concluded his very sober presentation with two stories, both about his experiences sitting with patients just before they died from lethal medication. Physician-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon, and in case you missed it, it's on the ballot this election here in Washington state.

(Historical) context is everything

Crosscut — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:00:01 PDT

Making arrowheads, tossing spears, wandering old homesteads, and studying petroglyphs: All are part of a Washington state program designed to ensure that material progress doesn't completely obliterate the past. Part 1

Sausage Links, pork barrel edition

Crosscut — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:29:01 PDT

What's the most important news of the day? It's not the passage of the Wall Street bailout bill. It's not the pundits' reactions to last night's vice-presidential debate. No. The most important news item of the day is that Saturday, Oct. 4, is the last day to register to vote. So if you haven't already, do it. ...

Sausage Links, the big debate edition

Crosscut — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:00:01 PDT

So. Tonight's the big vice-presidential debate between Republican Gov. Sarah Palin and Democratic Sen. Joe Biden. Which Palin will show up? Will we see the pitbull with lipstick or the incoherent Couric interviewee? It's anybody's guess. But with expectations already at rock-bottom, it's fair to assume she'll look better than many liberals think. What about Biden? As former Gore advisor Michael Feldman wrote in the Washington Post this morning, Biden's mission is not to screw it up. ...

'Death with dignity' vs. 'physician-assisted suicide'

Crosscut — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:07:01 PDT

Words often have powerful meaning, and the debate over terminology used in a ballot measure and in news reports could well determine the fate of Washington's Initiative 1000, known by its supporters as "death with dignity" and by critics and some in the media as "physician-assisted suicide" or simply "assisted suicide."

Sausage Links, budget deficit edition

Crosscut — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:38:01 PDT

David Goldstein at Horse's Ass wrote over the weekend — post gubernatorial debate — that "there is no state budget deficit," prompting me to wonder what the hell he was talking about. I thought, "Did I miss something?" As Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire said in Saturday's gubernatorial debate, the state is currently generating a surplus. But it has been widely reported — even by Horse's Ass blogger Josh Feit — that the state faces a projected $3.2 billion deficit in the coming years. Gregoire even told The Seattle Times on Friday that she expects a deficit next year. So what gives? The folks at Washington Policy Center Blog put it another way:

Taking 'Death with Dignity' lessons from Oregon

Crosscut — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:00:01 PDT

Washington state voters must soon make up their minds about I-1000, a measure supporting physician-assisted suicide, which appears on the ballot this November. Former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts championed a similar law in her home state and supports I-1000. Here's a look at the results of Oregon's law, passed in 1997, and the issues surrounding it.

Pit bulls, bears, and lipstick: more attacks involving animals

Crosscut — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:00:01 PDT

Lessons learned from the places where people, animals, and politics collide.

Inside the Obama campaign: How he wins

Crosscut — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:00:01 PDT

A source "tight in the Obama campaign" has sent out a memo, meant to reassure anxious supporters by deflecting attention from national polls, where McCain is rising, and to the state-by-state electoral tally, where the election will be settled. While there might be some disinformation in such a message, and things are obviously still fluid, it makes for interesting reading. Washington and Oregon remain firmly in the "Obama solid" category, while Montana has joined Idaho in the "McCain solid" group.

Sausage Links, Caddyshack edition

Crosscut — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:16:01 PDT

The Oregonian reports that a popular driving range in Oregon is asking golfers to cast their "swing votes" by aiming practice shots at 8-feet-tall metal likenesses of John McCain and Barack Obama. While no one is exactly sure whether people are trying to hit candidates they support or oppose, so far, McCain is in the lead. ...

Sausage Links, assisted suicide edition

Crosscut — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:00:01 PDT

Geov at Horse's Ass is making his case for Initiative 1000, or the "death with dignity" measure. It is powerful stuff. He was diagnosed with a terminal disease in 1991, and through various surgeries and transplants he has managed to stay alive, though one or both of his non-native organs could fail any day.

Washington and Idaho score very high as business-friendly states

Crosscut — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:31:01 PDT

In the governor's race, Gov. Chris Gregoire understandably often cites the state's recent rating by Forbes magazine, which names Washington as the third best state for business. The magazine's annual ranking put Virginia first and Utah second; Idaho retains its high rank, this year as 7th. Oregon finished 16th, Colorado is 6th, Minnesota is 11th, Montana is 24th, California is 40th, and Alaska is 48th.

Sausage Links, Postman stops ringing edition

Crosscut — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:00:01 PDT

It's a sad day for state journalism. Seattle Times chief political reporter David Postman, the author of the ever-popular Postman on Politics, announced today that after some 14 years at the paper, he will leave to join Vulcan Inc., a company founded and run by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The Capitol press corps appears to be devastated. I sure am. ...

Northwest national candidates through the ages

Crosscut — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:00:01 PDT

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is hardly the first from this corner of the country to run for one of the highest offices, but those who made it to the general election are relatively few.

In the garden: Le Tour des Plants

Crosscut — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:23:01 PDT

Although I wouldn't have picked the name myself, I have to admit it makes me grin just looking at it: Le Tour des Plants. Start your hybrid and bicycle engines running, my gardening friends, because more than 35 locations throughout Oregon and southern Washington are going to be hosting "plantastic events" beginning on September 13th and lasting through the following weekend. We're talking gardening tours, scavenger hunts, accessible experts, workshops, rare plant findings, and, why not? Bluegrass music.

Palin wouldn't be the first Northwest secessionist on a national ticket

Crosscut — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:45:01 PDT

Alaska governor and John McCain running mate pick Sarah Palin is raising eyebrows over her ties to the Alaska Independence Party. The AIP wants to put Alaska statehood up for a public vote. Some party members would like Alaska to secede from the United States. Whether Palin was once a party member, supporter, or merely sympathetic to the states' rights cause, she would not be the first pro-secession politician from the Northwest to run for vice president on a major party ticket. It has happened before.

A state agency eyes public-private transportation funding

Cascadia Center — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:00:01 PDT

No less than the Washington State Investment Board, which oversees public pensions, is giving serious consideration to government-business partnerships to make infrastructure improvements. Experts identify several possibilities, including the Highway 520 bridge rebuild, I-5 across the Columbia River, and improvement of ferry service.

Miller times

Crosscut — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:13:01 PDT

Between national party conventions, I took an advance look at Joseph Miller's upcoming memoirs, The Wicked Wine of Democracy, to be published next month by University of Washington Press. The book provides an almost too-candid portrayal of politics and lobbying in the Northwest and nationally over 50 years and is an intriguing chronicle of some of the main figures in Northwest political life.