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11/28/11--11:25: Spec Sess Day 1: Protesters want more taxes, but don't agree on where (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- Protesters filling the north steps of the Capitol seem united in their call for at least some new taxes to help close the gap in the state budget. But the source of those taxes may lead to disputes among the protesters as well as among legislators who start their special session today. While some speakers led the protesters in a chant of "half-a-cent is what it takes" to help save Medicaid -- a reference to Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal to raise the state sales tax for three years by a half cent on every dollar spent -- others were clearly opposed. Tax the 1 percent, not the 99%/ No Sales Tax" said a large sign in the back of the crowd. While many held the standard protest signs, other demonstrators showed some originality. Members of Hero House, a facility for adults with developmental disabilities in Bellevue, had salvaged more than a dozen dress forms from a nearby recycling center, attached them to long poles and dressed the forms in T-shirts that carried messages against further cuts in state services. Kari Moore, an employment specialist for Hero House, said 25 staff members and clients made the trip from Bellevue in a caravan of min-vans.


11/28/11--12:19: Spec Sess Day 1: Legislature convenes (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- With protesters outside on the Capitol steps and more expected later today, the Legislature started its special session shortly after noon with limited pomp and circumstance. The Legislature is generally without its army of teen-aged pages for this emergency budget session. The pages often form a color guard to bring the U.S. and state flags into the chamber. The Senate improvised today by having Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, and Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, as the flag bearers. (above) Once flags were firmly in place, Gov. Chris Gregoire's official call was read for the emergency session to address the projected budget shortfall, and other matters as legislators see fit. The Senate also had a few housekeeping details to attend, including the swearing-in of two recently appointed members. There will be another such ceremony on Tuesday for Mike Padden, who won the Nov. 8 election in Spokane's 4th District, but doesn't take office until the election results are certified Tuesday afternoon.


11/28/11--13:37: Spec Sess Day 1: Occupying the Senate gallery (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- After marching around a Capitol rotunda decorated with a Christmas tree and chanting "We are the 99 percent",  some 200 protesters decided to "occupy" the Senate gallery this afternoon. They filled the benches on both sides of the chamber and demanding the Legislature raise taxes rather than cut programs.

Using their human microphones -- a system in which one person says a phrase and dozens more repeat it -- demonstrators said they were the 99 percent, and the state should tax the affluent 1 percent.

"Washington state is one of the richest states in the richest country in the world," said one protester.

"It's one of only five states that doesn't have a corporate sales tax," said another. (That's actually not true; Washington is the only state that has what might be considered a type of corporate sales tax -- the business and occupation tax which is a tax on gross receipts. The protester likely meant corporate income tax, which is what other demonstraters used later in their shout-a-thon.)

"Let's not go home. Let's keep this going. We can stay here all week. Maybe next week," said another.

They may have to come back at least on Tuesday to get their message across, considering they "occupied" the galleries after the Senate had adjourned for the day.




11/28/11--13:38: Spec Sess Day 1: Occupying an empty Senate (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there, does it make a noise?

If the Occupy movement occupies the Senate gallery, and no senators are there, does it make its point?

When some 200 "occupiers" crowded into the Senate gallery Monday, they chanted for about a half-hour to a mostly empty chamber.

Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, was present for some of it, and Sens. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, and Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline,  sat through bits and pieces.  But for much of the demonstration, the Senate floor was empty except for some security officials and a few journalists.




11/28/11--13:40: Spec Sess Day 1: Shouting down a hearing (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- Members of the "occupy" movement are interrupting the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on a plan to help the struggling Wenatchee Public Facilities District by demanding a "citizens arrest" of the Legislature.

Chairman Ross Hunter has tried several times to get a staff briefing on a proposal for bonds, only to have protesters shout over the top of staff.

Among their chants, which they punctuate with rounds of self-applause: "We need to work together. We need to tax the rich. Fund our schools."

They don't seem to understand that as long as they keep shouting, no one will work together on anything.

The meeting adjourned for about a half hour, then resumed with an explanation of HB 2126, a bill to keept Wenatchee PFD from defaulting on bonds.




11/28/11--14:47: Brown: Senate Dems don't favor "all-cuts" budget (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- Most Senate Democrats oppose a plan that closes the state's $1.4  billion budget gap solely with cuts, but there's no agreement at this point on where to find more tax revenue, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown said Monday.

"It's going to take a little while to figure this out,"  Brown, D-Spokane, said meeting with her caucus. "Some level of reduction is inevitable."

They haven't yet discussed Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal to raise the state sales tax by one-half cent per $1 for three years.

Democratic leaders of different committees are meeting with Republican counterparts to try to find cuts to which both sides can agree, she said. Gregoire submitted one such spending plan, which calls for nearly $2 billion in cuts, with a separate bill to ask voters to approve a half-cent sales tax increase that would raise nearly $500 million that would be directed to restore some cuts to public schools, state colleges, long-term care and public safety programs.

Brown said she couldn't speculate on whether there would be agreement with the governor that her proposal would contain the proper amount, time or programs to be restored.




11/28/11--18:29: Spec Sess Day 1: Capitol likely to be cleared (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- Several hundred protesters, many of them chanting slogans from the "Occupy" movement, are in and around the Capitol rotunda. But perhaps only for the time being.

The director of Enterprise Services said just minutes ago that the protesters will not be allowed to stay in the building overnight. Black-clad state troopers carrying large duffel bags have arrived in the Capitol's basement, and other troopers are in evidence at all entrances.

The lights on the rotunda "holiday tree", which had been lit  a few minutes earlier, were turned off. There's been no request to clear the building, yet, but one is expected shortly.

While most protesters are chanting "We won't pull back" and "We shall not be movoed" to the beat of drums,  a handful are donning green T-shirts that identify them as "legal observers."

Entrance to the building was closed about 5:30 p.m., and when a group tried to push their way through doors on the north side, three people were arrested.

Shortly afterwards, black-clad troopers stood at the top of the steps leading into the House and Senate chambers, apparently awaiting orders to move down the steps and push the protesters to exits.

Protesters, meanwhile, continued their chants, land did a "mike check" in which the group repeats what one demonstrater says, that told troopers: "Officers. We support your pensions."




11/28/11--18:50: State orders protesters out of Capitol (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- The Washington State Patrol has ordered protesters out of the Capitol, warning them that anyone who doesn't leave will be subject to arrest and a 30-day ban from state property.

"We respect your right to free speech and protest," Lt. Mark Arras, acting captain of the patrol's Capital Campus units. "We ask that you do so within the building hours."

"This is not a protest. This is an occupation," one of the demonstrators shouted back.

Protesters are now discussing the merits of civil disobedience.




11/28/11--20:07: Spec Sess Day: Protesters arrested, several Tased (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA – Fasten your seatbelts, to paraphrase Bette Davis. It’s going to be a bumpy month.
Amid chants in the hallways and rallies on the Capitol steps, the Legislature began its 30-day emergency session to close a $1.4 billion gap in its operating budget.
Social service agencies and teachers journeyed to Olympia to ask legislators to close some of the gap with new taxes rather than cuts. State aid recipients offered touching and sometimes tearful testimony about how program cuts would affect them.
  Four protesters were arrested and booked into jail for refusing to leave the Capitol Monday evening, and 30 were cited for trespass and released. They face arrest and jail if they return to the Capitol Campus anytime over the next 30 days, authorities said. Four were shocked with Tasers when they tried to force their way into the building after it was closed to the public around 5:30 pm.
After repeated warnings from the Washington State Patrol, demonstrators who linked arms around or near the Christmas tree in the Rotunda were carried one at a time down marble steps by four or five troopers and cited for trespass.
“We respect your right to free speech and protest. We ask you to do it within the building’s hours,” Lt. Mark Arras, the acting captain of the Capitol Campus unit, told them before troopers moved in.
“This is not a protest, this is an occupation,” one demonstrator shouted back.
Asked if he was prepared to have troopers clear the building every evening during the session, Patrol Chief John Batiste replied: “If we have to, yes.”
 




11/28/11--20:33: Scenes from Day 1: Troopers await orders (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- Washington State Troopers stood on the steps above protesters Monday evening, awaiting orders to clear the building.




11/29/11--16:07: Rush-Allen recount will be done by hand (chan 1849800)

The final outcome of the City Council race for a seat representing south Spokane won’t be decided until next week.

That’s when the Spokane County Election’s Office will recount ballots in a contest so close that state law required a second examination.

Former Councilman Mike Allen leads incumbent Richard Rush by a mere 88 votes.

Although it’s a lead of less than half a percentage point, it is a wide enough margin that is unlikely to shrink enough to change, considering past recounts. Recounts in Spokane County have generally changed tallies by a few votes or less.

The Spokane County Canvassing Board on Tuesday unanimously agreed to Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton’s recommendation to count ballots by hand. State law only would have required the recount to be done manually if the difference had been within a quarter of a percentage point.

Dalton argued that the council race is the county’s first chance to test official ballots on a large scale since new scanners were installed this summer in the county’s six vote-counting machines, which were manufactured by Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software.

“A recount is a very rare opportunity to let us test the accuracy of the machines using the real ballots marked by actual voters,” Dalton said.

She added: “It’s an attempt to give closure to the candidates in the most definitive way possible.”




11/29/11--16:46: Spec Sess Day 2: Padden sworn in (chan 1849800)

Mike Padden, with wife Laura, waves to family and friends in the Senate chamber after being sworn in by Supreme Courth Justice Jim Johnson

OLYMPIA -- Mike Padden took the oath of office Tuesday afternoon in the Senate chambers shortly after Spokane County certified the results on the Nov. 8 elections.




11/29/11--17:17: Spec Sess Day 2: Spokane protesters in the Capitol (chan 1849800)

Chris Clark of Deer Park ties a list of concerns about budget cuts to the string of a helium balloon outside the Capitol.

OLYMPIA -- About 20 people from the Spokane area joined protesters in the state Capitol urging legislators to close a budget gap with a combination of taxes and cuts.

The group drove across the state on Monday, but arrived in Olympia after the building was closed to the public by state officials. Unlike some demonstrators, they didn't try to rush the building to force their way in.

Tuesday they lobbied Spokane area legislators to consider closing tax exemptions, particularly for large national banks. They're not wild about the half-cent increase in the state sales tax that Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed, but would support it to save programs.

The sales tax is regressive, Shar Lichty said. "But cuts are more regressive than a sales tax increase."

Members of the group had hoped to tie a list of their requests to the string of helium balloons that they would let loose in the Capitol. The balloons would rise to the dome, then slowly descend as the helium ran out, and bring the messages down.

But building officials wouldn't let the balloons into the building. The balloons were tied into the shape of a Christmas tree and tied to a weight on the north steps of the Capitol.




11/30/11--11:00: Spec Sess Day 3: Budget hearings and medical marijuana (chan 1849800)

Maintenance worker checks the Capitol dome for leaks Wednesday morning.

OLYMPIA -- Senate budget hearings resume this afternoon, with the Ways and Means Committee scheduled to concentrate on proposed cuts to public schools and state universities.

Both the House and Senate are scheduled to come into session at 10 a.m., but then break fairly quickly for caucuses. The House put off any debate Tuesday on a plan to help save the Wenatchee Public Facilities District from default, and would have to do something today to have any hope of meeting a deadline on Thursday. But that proposal is in trouble, with little movement in the Senate after a fairly skeptical reception in committee Tuesday, and things don't look good for what some legislators see as a precedent-setting bailout.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has a lunchtime telephonic press conference on medical marijuana. It's a joint event -- sorry, couldn't resist -- with Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.

Meanwhile, the state is checking the Capitol dome for any leaks or other maintenance problems that need attending. It contracted with a Seattle architectural firm for someone to rappel down the dome and check out the condition of the roof.

(Editor's note: An earlier version of the post said a Seattle television station sent a news helicopter to check out the person on the dome because of recent protests. But a spokesman for the state Department of Enterprise Services, which is in charge of state buildings, said tne news chopper came down for an aerial view for a story on the planned maintenance to the dome.)




11/30/11--12:35: Gregoire asks DEA to allow medical marijuana (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA — Governors from Washington and Rhode Island asked the federal government Wednesday to reclassify marijuana so it can be used for medical use.

Gov. Chris Gregoire and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration to take off Schedule I, which is reserved for drugs like heroin and peyote that have no medicinal use and thus are illegal under all circumstances.

It should be moved to Schedule 2, which is for drugs like morphine and codeine, which are illegal under many circumstances but can be prescribed by a doctor and filled by a pharmacist for certain conditions.

“It’s time to show compassion and it’s time to show common sense,” Gregoire said. “There’s no evidence to suggest any medical marijuana patient has died from an overdose.”
 




11/30/11--13:14: Baxter pays for recount (chan 1849800)

Former state Sen. Jeff Baxter is paying for a partial recount of ballots in his unsuccessful bid to retain his Spokane Valley seat despite losing the race by more than 3,400 votes.

Baxter’s opponent in the contest, Mike Padden, was sworn in as senator representing the 4th Legislative District on Tuesday soon after the Spokane County Canvassing Board certified the results.

Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton said Baxter submitted a check for $1,174 to recount 10 precincts. She said he was required to make a down payment of 25 cents per ballot. He will get a refund if the cost of the recount is less.

Baxter, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year, lost it in the November election by 3,437 votes after garnering only 45 percent of the vote.

Reached Wednesday afternoon, Baxter declined to comment when asked if he thought the race was fair. He noted that state law doesn’t require candidates to say why they are asking for a recount and said he would answer questions after a recount is completed.

Mike Padden, who was in the middle of his second day as the 4^th District’s new state senator Tuesday afternoon, said he had just been informed that Baxter had asked for a recount but didn’t know “what his rationale is.”

“The vote was pretty overwhelming. It doesn’t make sense to me,” Padden said.

“There is a high undervote,” he said, referring to the term used for a ballot that had no candidate marked for that race. “But you’d expect a high undervote when there’s no Democrat in the race.”




11/30/11--18:02: Spec Sess Day 3: Education cuts blasted (chan 1849800)

 

OLYMPIA -- School administrators, teachers, middle school pupils and college students pleaded with a Senate panel to spare many of the programs on the chopping block in a budget fix proposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Some broke down in tears when they described state programs that kept them in school or returned them so they could graduate. One group of technical college students played a YouTube video in an effort to convince legislators that budget cuts now would darken the future for years to come.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn criticized Gregoire's plan to save $99 million in the General Fund by cutting four days from the school year in 2012-13 and another $152 million by rearranging the levy equalization system so that poor school districts get less and more affluent districts could get none at all.

"Cutting four school days is simply not going to help students," Dorn said. "Kids deserve an opportunity to reach their maximum potential."

Students from Renton Technical College played a video they produced called "Don't Cut the Solution" (above) which features those in welding, computer aided design, medical assistants, auto technology and culinary arts holding up signs that said they had been unemployed but can expect to be working, and paying taxes, when they graduate.

The committee's opening hearing on the budget was interrupted for about a half-hour Tuesday by protesters who demanded the committee abandon its rules and abide by their rules for a "general assembly." Several of those protesters were escorted or carried out of the committee room before that hearing could continue.

There were no such interruptions Wednesday. The committee, which has primary budget-writing authority in the Senate, will hold a hearing Thursday afternoon on proposed cuts to state Social Service programs, Health and Long-term Care programs on Monday afternoon, natural resources and general government programs Tuesday afternoon.




12/01/11--10:01: Spec Sess Day 4: Workers comp, unemployment rates, budgets (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- The new rates for unemployment insurance and workers compensation taxes will be announced this morning in a press conference by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

The gov has been touting reforms earlier this year to both systems as proof that her administration and the Legislature are serious about government reform. The proof in this case may be in how much, or whether, the rates change.

In the Legislature, both the House and Senate Ways and Means committees have budget hearings this afternoon. So do both chambers' Transportation committees.

Floor action? Likely none in the Senate, which is scheduled only for a pro forma session at noon. Possibility of something in the House, which convened at 10 a.m. and went into caucus. Prospects for a proposed bailout of the Wenatchee Public Facilities District, however, have to be rated as dismal to non-existant at the start of the day. Today is the deadline, and neither chamber has moved a bill.




12/01/11--11:26: Unemployment tax rates to drop, workers comp rates steady (chan 1849800)

Gregoire at press conference: Show me some real reforms.

OLYMPIA -- Most Washington businesses will see lower unemployment taxes and many will have no increase in their workers compensation rates in 2012.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, announcing the new rates for next year, said they represent "real reform" through work with the Legislature earlier this year, rather than the calls for reform some legislators now say are needed before the state considers a tax increase.

"I've been doing reform long before anybody used it as a political football like they are today," Gregoire said. "No one has come to me with any new ideas that will solve a $2 billion problem."

The state's General Fund budget has a gap of about $1.4 billion between spending that  has been planned for state programs and salaries, and revenue the state is projected to collect through June 30, 2013. Gregoire has proposed nearly $2 billion in cuts to close that gap and provide reserves to start the next biennium.

Under the unemployment insurance and workers comp rates announced this morning:

  --88 percent of businesses will pay lower unemployment tax rates, and those reductions will be available even for some companies that have laid off workers in the last four years. About 11 percent will pay higher rates because of the level of  benefits paid to former employees.

  --Unemployment taxes will drop in all 40 rate classes. The rate 1 class, which covers some of the state's smallest businesses, will drop by 71 percent. The total amount of unemployment taxes that will be collected by the state in 2012 will drop an estimated $200 million.

  --There will be no general rate increase for workers compensation, for the first time since 2007. Some individual employers will see their rates go up, depending on their claims history or their industry. Of the state's 317 risk classes for jobs and industries, 171 risk classes will go up and 146 will go down or stay the same.

Those rates are a result of comprehensive reform of the workers' comp system the Legislature passed earlier this year. State officials said it would save about $1.1 billion over four years.




12/01/11--13:40: Spec Sess Day 4: Can they get anything done in Dec.? (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- Legislators have until Dec. 28 to find ways to close the projected $1.4 billion budget gap, and maybe ask voters to raise the state sales tax to save some programs.

Some legislators of both parties have expressed doubt that they can do it in the time allotted, and the fact the regular 2012 session follows the special session by about two weeks has them suggesting some things may just have to wait.

This kind of talk does not sit well with Gov. Chris Gregoire, who called them back for this emergency session with the idea of getting the messy budget stuff out of the way as soon as possible, so savings can start accruing. If the Legislature doesn't agree by the end of the month to put a half-cent sales tax before voters, it can't go on the March ballot.

"I've heard a lot of skepticism from legislators on whether they can get the job done. I'm not willing to accept that," she said Thursday. "Is there job tough? Absolutely. It's the reality we face today."

She also took shots at some proposals to increase state revenue without raising the sales tax, as she has suggested, or other taxes. One of them is to expand casino gambling off the reservations. "Voters said,  not all that long ago, 'No,'" she said.

Another one, particularly popular with protesters who continue to march in and around the Capitol, is an end to a tax exemption banks have on first mortgages. That might raise $18 million, which doesn't close much of the budget gap, she said. Closing any tax loophole will take a two-thirds majority in the Legislature and "that just isn't going to  happen," she said.




12/01/11--14:36: Spec Sess Day4: Shin says raise sales tax 1 percent (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- State Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, is doubling down on Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal to raise the state sales tax by a half-cent for three years to help rescue state programs from the chopping block.

Shin introduced a bill to raise the sales tax by 1 percent, or one penny on each dollar spent, from June 1, 2012 to June 30, 2015. That would raise an estimated $1 billion to be applied to the gap between scheduled state spending and projected state revenues currently estimated at $1.4 billion. He has two other Democrats in the Senate as co-sponsors.

Also on the tax front, a group of Republican senators have a joint resolution that would make all new tax increases expire after five years.




12/02/11--10:42: Spec Sess Day5: Slow day in the Capitol (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- Legislative action will be at a minimum today.

The Senate has only a pro forma session at noon. Pro forma is Latin for "we aren't really doing anything." None of its committees are meeeting, either. Senators who want to go home can beat the evening traffic on I-5 and make it over Snoqualmie Pass when temperatures are above freezing.

Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, had planned a press conference over the lunch hour to blast Attorney General Rob McKenna for proposing new state programs without explaining how he'd pay for them. But that event was cancelled earlier this morning "due to a last-minute scheduling conflict". Not sure what the scheduling conflict is. Murray is the chairman of Senate Ways and Means, but it's not a public hearing for Senate W&M.

The House also has a pro forma session in the morning. But its members have a full day of committee hearings, closing with a  House Ways and Means hearing at 3:30 p.m. Ways & Means is the committee in charge of the budget -- you know, the thing that's about $1.4 billion short of what it needs to pay for all the stuff the Legislature approved earlier this year? the thing that brought the honorables back to Olympia more than a month early to get fixed as fast as possible, to maximize savings?

The hearing isn't about the budget per se, but about several bills that would cut or delay certan programs. They might also talk about a possible solution for the Wenatchee Public Facilities District's financial problems, although the drop dead date for the PFD was originally supposed to be Thursday.

There is activity in and around the Capitol, however. Protests continue, and today's theme is kids. The Childrens Alliance will hold a noon rally on the Capitol steps, with adult and youth speakers asking legislators not to cut programs for children, and spend the rest of the day looking for members of their local delegations to deliver a proclamation and lobby. As one pundit said recently, at least the protesters are using the Capitol, since the legislators don't seem to be interested in doing so.

On a more seasonal note, there will be a holiday wreath laying at the Law Enforcement Memorial north of the Temple of Justice, and the holiday tree will be formally lit this evening.




12/02/11--15:46: Spokane Democrats write check for Rush-Allen recount (chan 1849800)

Spokane City Councilman Richard Rush will get a hand recount afterall.

The incumbent councilman who trails former Councilman Mike Allen by 88 votes submitted a check this afternoon to the Spokane County Election's Office for $6,240 to pay for a full manual count of ballots in his race for the south district. He said the amount was provided by the Spokane County Democratic Party.

A recount is required because Allen's margin of victory is less than a half percentage point. The margin is larger than a quarter a percentage point -- the level that requires recounting done by hand.

The Spokane County Canvassing Board earlier this week voted to do a hand recount in the race on the advice of Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton, who said it would be better to recount by hand to allow the county to run a thorough test of new vote-counting equipment with real ballots. Soon after, however, Jeff Baxter, who lost his state Senate seat representing Spokane Valley, decided to pay $1,774 for a partial hand recount of ballots in his race, despite losing by more than 3,000 votes.

Dalton, a Democrat, said it no longer made sense for the county to pay extra for a hand recount in the Rush-Allen race since one already would be done for 10 precincts in the 4th Legislative District. Dalton and the two other members of the Canvassing Board voted Thursday to change the Allen-Rush recount to a machine count.

Rush has questioned if Baxter, a Republican, was motivated to pay for a hand recount in order to prevent his race from being recounted by hand. Baxter has declined to provide a motivation.

"He's 10 points behind," Rush said. "How can he make that up?"

The computer recount of the Rush-Allen race will move forward, along with the recount of the Baxter race against Mike Padden, next week. Dalton said the Rush-Allen race will be recounted by hand starting Dec. 12.

Dalton said the request marks the first time the county has recounted the same set of ballots twice since the 2004 governor's race.




12/02/11--18:00: Spec Sess Day 5: No budget by end of session? (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA -- A Republican member of the House Ways and Means Committee expressed serious doubts Friday the Legislature would pass a new budget before time ran out on the special session. And the chairman of the committee did nothing to contradict him.

At the start of a hearing on various programs that would be eliminated under Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed cuts of some $2 billion, Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum, wondered if anyone in the room thought the Legislature "would vote the governor's budget out by the end of special session."

"I don't think it's going to happen," Hinkle said. "Are we really going to do that?"

Committee Chairman Ross Hunter, D-Medina, replied that was a question "the chair is unable to answer."

Hinkle asked for a show of hands for those who thought it would happen, but Hunter didn't allow that vote to proceed, and began taking testimony on a bill to reduce the state's payments to rural hospitals.




12/03/11--18:00: Sunday Spin: Unrequested advice to 'occupiers' (chan 1849800)

OLYMPIA – It may be pointless to offer advice that hasn’t been requested, but should some leader of the “Occupy” movement ask I’d be happy to give it.
This assumes, of course, that this is a movement and has a leader, the first of which is debatable and the second often denied. Still, minor problems like that never keep a reporter from sticking his nose into something...