Following California off the cliff
Posted Wed, Nov 18, 6 a.m.
States that love the citizen initiative are most in danger of fiscal insolvency, a study says, and Oregon may be next to tank.
READ MORE 12 COMMENTSMost Popular
Crosscut articles of the past 10 days with the most clicks.
- Updated: Crosscut's new approach
- The 787: Not the plane of the future
- A guide to the City Hall transition
- A bad election for moderates
- Mayor McGinn: Welcome to City Hall inertia!
- Concert Review: The Pixies' Doolittle live
- Revisiting Bellingham's Fairhaven Highlands development
- Battle in Seattle, 10 years after
- Following California off the cliff
- Sex, death and 'Bodies'
Most Commented
Crosscut articles of the past 10 days with the most reader comments.
- A bad election for moderates
(28 comments) - Updated: Crosscut's new approach
(16 comments) - Memories of a horrible November
(14 comments) - Battle in Seattle, 10 years after
(14 comments) - Sex, death and 'Bodies'
(12 comments) - Following California off the cliff
(12 comments) - Mayor McGinn: Welcome to City Hall inertia!
(9 comments) - A guide to the City Hall transition
(9 comments) - Once again an insurgent mayor conquers city hall
(6 comments) - Most kids left behind
(6 comments)
Popular Blog Posts
Crosscut blog posts of the past 10 days with the most clicks.
- U.S. approves Salish Sea name
- KVI kisses Kirby goodbye
- I Forgive You, Paul Dorpat (and maybe Ivar’s, too)
- Crosscut By 2: Why slow runners are good for marathons
- Loyalty is a two-way street
- Free advice for the unemployed
- Island Girl: The gift that keeps on taking
- Island Girl: A tribute to Sandra Day O'Connor
- A few last living words from World War I
- Campaign contributions: who gives and what do they get?
Washington Legislature
Crosscut most recent
A once-in-a-generation chance for regionalism
Posted Mon, Nov 2, 6 a.m.
The idea gets lip service each election, but this year could be different, especially for King County. A veteran advocate lays out some guidelines and examples.
READ MORE 4 COMMENTS
Divorce for gay rights
Posted Thu, Oct 29, 6 a.m.
Island Girl: A new resident of Washington finds the prospect of Referendum 71's defeat so abhorrent that she's considering a logical pro-marriage response: splitting up.
READ MORE 10 COMMENTS
Gregoire signals new willingness to talk taxes
Posted Tue, Oct 27, 6 a.m.
As the state's projected deficit grows, the governor's new chief of staff says he "would be surprised" if the shortfall can be closed without new revenue.
READ MORE 9 COMMENTS
In Olympia, recession is looking like an opportunity missed
Posted Thu, Oct 22, 6 a.m.
Desperate times call for bold measures, but structural and political obstacles make any meaningful change unlikely, our columnist says.
READ MORE 10 COMMENTS
This camp is your camp
Posted Thu, Oct 15, 6 a.m.
Using a state pilot project, the Cascade Land Conservancy has made it possible to preserve historic Hidden Valley Camp for future generations. It's more than a win for holding back sprawl, it also saves an incubator of the Northwest's conservation ethic.
READ MORE 3 COMMENTS
King County's running out of cuts
Posted Tue, Oct 6, 6 a.m.
A tax-averse lawmaker comes to a surprising conclusion: time to find new revenue for King County. Will Olympia listen?
READ MORE 24 COMMENTS
Gov. Gregoire's surprising signal on taxes
Posted Mon, Oct 5, 6 a.m.
Come make the case for a tax increase, she tells legislators, adding that she's still against such an idea during a recession. That may be an artful waffle, but it's a distinct shift from her firm line against new taxes at the last session.
READ MORE 4 COMMENTS
Bigger lessons in the Green River floodplain
Posted Wed, Sep 30, 6 a.m.
'Flood control is an oxymoron,' one expert says. Maybe, instead of spending so much money trying to control our rivers, we should buy out property owners and let the water run free.
READ MORE 9 COMMENTS
Gathering storms for Democrats in Olympia
Posted Tue, Sep 22, 6 a.m.
The next session of the legislature could be an ugly one for majority Democrats, with restive labor unions and still more cuts to make in the budget.
READ MORE 1 COMMENTS
Dear Legislator. Never mind.
Posted Tue, Sep 1, 6 a.m.
Sen. Adam Kline opposes a new recommendation to make all written communications to legislators subject to public disclosure. He thinks the law should be like the press shield laws, helping protect those who reveal sensitive information.
READ MORE 15 COMMENTS
Could the California fiscal death spiral happen here?
Posted Tue, Aug 11, 6 a.m.
Not so far, contends the State Treasurer. But our two-thirds requirement for raising spending cripples the ability to act quickly, giving credit markets the jitters.
READ MORE 3 COMMENTS
Take away the incentives for too many c-sections
Posted Thu, Aug 6, 6:53 a.m.
The state performs 11,000 unneeded caesarean births each year, in part because of insurance incentives. A measure passed by the last Legislature could help change the pattern.
READ MORE 4 COMMENTS
A simple way to cut health care costs
Posted Wed, Jul 29, 6 a.m.
The overlooked step in helping patients: 'adherence' to taking one's medicine
READ MORE 4 COMMENTS
Is White Center really part of Seattle?
Posted Thu, Jul 23, 6 a.m.
Legislative tinkering is making annexation of the North Highline/White Center area slightly more attractive, but the City Council is not buying Mayor Nickels' numbers. If Seattle helps thy neighbor might it also beggar thy neighborhoods?
READ MORE 13 COMMENTS
Tim Eyman and the California malaise
Posted Thu, Jul 16, 8:05 p.m.
With another Eyman anti-tax measure heading for the ballot, Washington continues to echo the California and Oregon pattern of defying democracy and putting the Legislature into an impossible bind.
READ MORE 75 COMMENTS
Let's seize 'the opportunity of this crisis'
Posted Mon, Jul 6, 6 a.m.
A freshman legislator lays out suggestions for how the state can embrace fundamental new approaches in four key areas
READ MORE 18 COMMENTS
Oregon Democrats bite the bullet on tax increases
Posted Mon, Jun 15, 6 a.m.
While Washington legislators punted on tax increases, Oregon's Democratic majority passed some big increases. One reason for the contrast: Gov. Ted Kulongoski can't seek a third term, while Gov. Gregoire might still hope for one.
READ MORE 7 COMMENTS
Seniority-based layoffs at Seattle Schools may be crumbling
Posted Wed, Jun 10, 6 a.m.
The School District is dodging the issue, while the unions are digging in. What's changing is pressure from parents and signs of impatience from the Legislature
READ MORE 18 COMMENTS
Flexible tolling: the key to solving our congestion
Posted Fri, May 22, 6 a.m.
Transit can't solve the problem, and we can't afford to build enough highways. So modern tolling, with prices varied by demand, will be necessary. Here's a look at how the Legislature is quietly laying the political and conceptual groundwork.
READ MORE 19 COMMENTSOther media
Blog posts
Election wasn't about 'change'
Posted Sat, Nov 7, 3 p.m.
In Washington, voters showed less anger than a renewed sense of realism.
MOREHealthcare reform without risk
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 2:27 p.m.
Economists have an answer for why Americans are skittish about change, and it could help Obama's sales pitch.
MOREFrank Chopp's advice for Obama
Posted Tue, Aug 18, 11:46 p.m.
Some lessons in branding health care reform from Washington's Speaker of the House. Apples, anyone?
MORESound Transit ridership is up, and down
Posted Mon, May 18, 3 p.m.
Transit demand should continue to fall through the year, owing to fuel prices and high unemployment. But the demand for new transit taxes, based on last year's rise in usage, will not go away.
MOREGregoire on the spot over performance audits
Posted Mon, May 11, 6:58 a.m.
The Legislature voted to slash by 73% Auditor Brian Sonntag's budget for performance audits, with Lisa Brown and Ross Hunter among those wielding the knives. Over to you, Governor.
MOREU.W.'s declaration of independence
Posted Wed, Apr 29, 6 a.m.
The University feels a deep grievance, and President Emmert's letter to faculty and staff suggests the era of legislative detente is ending.
MOREPhyllis Lamphere is pushing for state income tax
Posted Thu, Apr 23, 11:55 a.m.
She's part of a task force that is crafting a package, linked to education reform and funding the state's new basic education act. Lamphere is not fazed that voters have nixed an income tax 8 times in this state.
MORENo sales tax boost? Not so fast.
Posted Sun, Apr 19, 6:58 a.m.
Reports of the death of a proposal to have a ballot measure to raise the sales tax prove premature, though the tax bill is still unlikely
MOREPoll results apparently nix a sales tax proposal
Posted Sat, Apr 18, 9:57 a.m.
Senate Democrats, finding public support too soft for any tax increases this year, decide not to push for the sales tax increase for health care, nor for an income tax
MOREU.W. cuts: What's not to love?
Posted Tue, Apr 14, 6 a.m.
Slashing the budget at U.W. has all kinds of hidden benefits, especially for a professor who wants to have more free time.
MORE
