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Tag: Gov. Chris Gregoire

Drumming, dancing highlight Native exhibit opening

Drumming, dancing highlight Native exhibit opening

  (Photo courtesy of Benjamin Helle, Washington State Archives) They marched up the marble steps in the Capitol Rotunda, rhythmically pounding their drums and chanting a tribal song. As the last of the drumming echoed inside the cavernous Capitol dome, the Chehalis Canoe Family provided a rivetingly perfect welcome to guests and visitors during Tuesday’s launch of a powerful exhibit about Washington’s Native American tribes. The free and privately funded exhibit is called “We’re Still Here. The Survival of Washington…

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Secretary Reed salutes retiring Congressman Dicks

Secretary Reed salutes retiring Congressman Dicks

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks speaks in Secretary Reed’s office during the 2009 launch of the oral history and biography of Kitsap County civil rights activist Lillian Walker. Secretary of State Sam Reed paid tribute Friday to Norm Dicks, dean of the Washington House delegation, who announced that he will not seek re-election to a 19th term this fall. He is the longest serving congressman in state history, eclipsing even the former House Speaker, Tom Foley, who served 30 years. Dicks,…

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House D budget: Cuts, delays, but no sales tax hike

House D budget: Cuts, delays, but no sales tax hike

Majority House Democrats launched the endgame of the election-year 2012 legislative session Tuesday, unveiling their plan to close a billion-dollar budget gap. They propose doing this by shifting $405 million in K-12 payments into the next biennium; creating a few new taxes; shedding some revenue-sharing with local government; and cutting higher education, social and health services, inmate supervision, parks, State Archives and other programs. The proposal includes some new revenue, including $18 million from a new tax on mortgage bankers…

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Suddenly, some rosy economic news for WA

Suddenly, some rosy economic news for WA

Light at the end of the tunnel: Washington economists are projecting a $96 million increase in the state’s revenue. Coupled with news that state government will save $330 million in lower caseload costs and that House Republicans will support closing a banking tax loophole, it could mean lawmakers can avoid calling a special election to ask voters to boost the state sales tax a half-cent for the next three years. It also makes it more likely that the Legislature will…

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Gregoire OKs gay marriage; ballot challenge launched

Gregoire OKs gay marriage; ballot challenge launched

Joseph Backholm pays the $5 filing fee as he files R-73 Monday afternoon. Feb. 14 UPDATE: The referendum number has been changed to R-74. Challengers of Washington’s newly signed gay-marriage bill have filed a referendum challenge.  Less than four hours after Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law the bill authorizing civil marriage for same-sex couples, SB6239, Joseph Backholm of Preserve Marriage Washington filed Referendum 74 seeking to overturn the law. Backholm, who has the backing of a number of in-state…

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FAQ on pending gay-marriage referendum

FAQ on pending gay-marriage referendum

UPDATE:  Washington’s gay-marriage legislation, Senate Bill 6239, easily cleared the House 55 to 43 Wednesday after 2 1/2 hours of emotional debate. It now heads to  Gov. Chris Gregoire for her signature, probably in a big ceremony next week. And challengers already are making plans for a ballot challenge. How would that work? What’s the timeline?  What does the filing of a referendum mean to people who were thinking about a summertime wedding? Here is a look at how a…

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Lawmakers kick off election-year session

Lawmakers kick off election-year session

Washington lawmakers are back at work, confronting a $1.5 billion budget gap, the possibility of a tax referendum, and a number of touchy social issues, including gay marriage, marijuana, and abortion — all within the context of 2012 being the first election since redistricting. The session got off to a very quiet start at noon Monday, with few speeches and few protesters outside.  That was in marked contrast to the noisy reception lawmakers got when Occupy Olympia and thousands of…

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Special session adjourns after trimming budget $480m

Special session adjourns after trimming budget $480m

Washington lawmakers have adjourned their unprecedented 17-day November-December emergency session designed to start trimming the state budget to size. But they won’t be gone for long.  The regular 2012 session, supposedly limited to 60 days, is just around the corner — Jan. 9. The Democratic-controlled Legislature didn’t do the complete $2 billion budget-and-tax deal that Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire had strongly recommended when she called the session.  They gave strong bipartisan agreement to a plan, House Bill 2058, that begins…

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Gregoire, Reed certify 2011 election returns

Gregoire, Reed certify 2011 election returns

Gov.  Chris Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed have officially certified the 2011 General Election returns, including statewide ballot propositions, including an initiative that ends state government’s retail liquor monopoly. Meeting in the governor’s office, they signed documents certifying the vote tallies. The state enjoyed a better-than-expected “turnout” of 52.95 percent, nearly 1.94 million ballots.  The turnout was 6 percentage points higher than forecast for the off-year election with no statewide contests such as governor, U.S. senator or president…

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New Elway Poll shows majority support for tax hike

New Elway Poll shows majority support for tax hike

A new statewide Elway Poll by independent pollster Stuart Elway shows nearly two-thirds of Washington voters are “certainly” or “probably” willing to support Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposal for a three-year boost of the state sales tax by a half-cent on the dollar. Elway said polling done last week with 408 randomly selected Washington voters across the state showed that voters want lawmakers to cut spending, but that new revenue will also need to be part of the solution. In his…

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