crosscut.com : Olympia Journal

Sausage Links, cougar-hunting edition

Crosscut — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:28:01 PDT

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.

Sausage Links, tree-cutting edition

Crosscut — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:09:01 PDT

Timber! The Seattle Times has a series of special reports about the lack of oversight in the logging industry and the cost to state taxpayers. According to the report, no one checked when Weyerhaeuser started clear-cutting unstable slopes, some of which eventually slid and cost millions of dollars to clean up. Naturally, David Goldstein at Horse's Ass blames Republican-led deregulation. ...

Sausage Links, top-two headache edition

Crosscut — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:23:01 PDT

David Postman had a busy morning. First, The Seattle Times chief political writer reported the proper way to describe the ~~death with dignity~~ "assisted suicide" initiative. Then he dropped a political firebomb, reporting the state's political parties haven't yet given up trying to ax the "top-two" primary, with both Republicans and Democrats claiming the entire '08 election won't count. I thought that headache was over. Turns out it's just getting started. ...

Sausage Links, "freedom to get drunk and blow stuff up" edition

Crosscut — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:23:01 PDT

Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald has today's top story, reporting this morning that Tim Eyman's Initiative 985 and the Service Employees International Union-backed Initiative 1029 would — if passed by voters in November — increase the state's budget deficit by an estimated $300 million.

Sausage links, Seattle SuuuuuuperSonics edition

Crosscut — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:00:01 PDT

Today's the day of reckoning for the city of Seattle and the SuperSonics. Judge Marsha Pechman will rule at 4 p.m., and we'll know who wins this OK Corrall shootout. Mayor Greg Nickels will hold a press conference at 5 p.m. to discuss the decision (live on the Seattle Channel). Here are the pre-announcement perspectives: state Rep. Bob Hasegawa, Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat, Stranger writer Josh Feit, Crosscut writers Ross Anderson and Sue Frause. ...

Sausage Links, hammer-time edition

Crosscut — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:00:01 PDT

Tri-City Herald reporter Chris Mulick digs deep into Washington state's bungled attempt to land a $2 billion uranium enrichment plant, along with its 400 high-paying jobs. According to Mulick, Gov. Chris Gregoire chose not to pursue bidding for the plant, deciding instead to play it cool politically. As a result, Idaho got the plant. Washington lost the money. And Dino Rossi just got more ammo for his campaign. Still, Gregoire's got a sizable lead in the polls, at the moment. ...

Sausage Links, attack-ad edition

Crosscut — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:24:01 PDT

Gov. Chris Gregoire unleashes her latest "hit" campaign on GOP challenger Dino Rossi today, primarily attacking Rossi's state Senate record. Now, of all outlets that would come to the defense of a Republican, the first place not to look would be a local left-leaning blog like Horse's Ass. But after yesterday's political circus surrounding Gregoire's previous ad, backhandedly comparing Rossi to TV mob boss Tony Soprano, Horse's Ass blogger David Goldstein rushes to Rossi's defense. ...

Sausage Links, media-bashing edition

Crosscut — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:00:01 PDT

Lefty blogger David Goldstein at Horse's Ass has been battering the local media lately. Yesterday, he unleashed on Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Chris McGann for his coverage of Gov. Chris Gregoire's now infamous state gambling compact. Today he asks Crosscut's Ted Van Dyk to apologize to Gregoire for his own coverage of Casino-gate. ...

Polimedia lunch links, 'let's party' edition

Crosscut — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:06:01 PDT

Eric Earling at Sound Politics responds to Gov. Chris Gregoire's recent assertion that the Building Industry Association of Washington "is the most powerful special interest lobby" in the state, pointing to the Dem's own PACs as evidence. In case you missed the Top of The News, Gov. Christine Gregoire's donors won big-time after they helped her squeak out a victory in 2004. ...

Polimedia lunch links, binge-drinkers edition

Crosscut — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:38:01 PDT

From today's edition of The Seattle Times comes this report from The Los Angeles Times, in what could be the first many reports profiling John and Cindy McCain's ties to the nation's big-time beer brewers. ...

Polimedia lunch links, flip-flop edition

Crosscut — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:05:01 PDT

Jim Camden at the Spokesman-Review mined his YouTube account for videos of Barack Obama's now infamous switch on campaign financing, while also noting John McCain's back flip on the off-shore oil drilling ban. ...

'Save Our Sonics' banner flying over Olympia

Crosscut — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:00:01 PDT

Spotted at 12:45 p.m. over the Washington state Capitol in Olympia: A single engine plane pulling a banner that reads "Save Our Sonics: Next Year is Too Late," with a TV helicopter in hot pursuit.

Rep. Helen Sommers will indeed retire

Crosscut — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:19:01 PDT

The second-longest-serving member of the Washington Legislature has confirmed she will not run for re-election. Longtime House Budget Chair Helen Sommers, D-Seattle, told me: “This is my last session. I’m not going to run again.” Asked why, she laughed and said: “Because I’m 75 years old and I’ll be 76 in a couple weeks. That’s why.”

'The Highway of Death' and taxes

Crosscut — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:00:01 PDT

U.S. Highway 2 between Everett and Stevens Pass is widely regarded as the most dangerous in the state, and yet getting money appropriated for making it safer seems to be an uphill battle. Could that be because local Republican legislators keep voting against highway taxes?

Word is Rep. Helen Sommers might retire, and she's not commenting

Crosscut — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:00:01 PST

One of Washington's most powerful politicians has been returning campaign contributions. That might not mean much at this early stage, but the Seattle Democrat, who chairs the powerful House budget committee, won't say she's definitely running again, either.

Washington lawmakers plan to pass a major highway-tolling bill

Crosscut — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:01 PST

No sense waiting: With failure of Proposition 1 in metro Puget Sound, they say, guidelines need to be established for the inevitable use of tolls to pay for transportation improvements.

Shake-up at the Washington governor's mansion

Crosscut — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:00:01 PDT

Two top-level departures signal preparation for Chris Gregoire's 2008 re-election bid, politicos say.

Another gubernatorial speechwriter bites the dust

Crosscut — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:00:01 PDT

As a seasoned executive and lawyer, Gov. Chris Gregoire proves to be a tough customer. But workload alone is an issue. Three people have held the job in two years.

The 2008 campaign for governor is begun

Crosscut — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:00:01 PDT

Chris Gregoire hasn't officially announced a re-election bid, and possible GOP opponent Dino Rossi hasn't agreed to a rematch, but the fundraising and rhetoric are under way.

Democrats try on the idea of Lisa Brown for governor in 2012

Crosscut — Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:01 PDT

She's the Senate majority leader, she's from Spokane, and a serious run might necessitate a run for treasurer, first, to gain statewide name recognition.