Nearly all of the Executive Division staffers in our office are dressed up for Halloween, including Secretary of Rock, er, State Wyman, who is channeling her inner rocker chick today by dressing up apparently as an ’80s-era combination of Joan Jett and Lita Ford. (Fans of The Runaways, rejoice.) She’s even playing some chords at her desk, although she refuses to take requests. Happy Halloween, everyone!
The dry weather the past week or two in Olympia has resulted in foggy mornings and sunny afternoons around the Capitol Campus. Not even the dome of the Legislative Building is immune to the fog, but it sure stands out once the sun arrives.
Our office interns this fall, Mari Houck (left) and Sam Sunderland, during a volunteer appreciation event the Governor’s Mansion. (Photo courtesy of Benjamin Helle) Ahh, the hectic life of a new intern at the Secretary of State office – quite a title for me and Samantha Sunderland. The two of us have spent the past few weeks settling into our new positions and sharing a cubicle while meeting state leaders and employees, embarking on tours of the office’s various divisions…
(Photo courtesy of City of Zillah) If you’ve driven from Yakima to the Tri-Cities or if you’ve done a wine-tasting tour in the Yakima Valley, chances are you’ve been through Zillah, a town of roughly 3,000 inhabitants in south-central Washington. Zillah is in beautiful Yakima County, known for more than two dozen local wineries and vineyards. Zillah (pronounced ZIL-uh) was named by Yakima Valley irrigation pioneer Walter N. Granger, president of the Yakima Land and Canal Company. One of the…
While most of us were griping about the rain and hail and wind lately, these three ducks apparently were quite content with the weather. In fact, they enjoyed a leisurely stroll past the World War II Memorial on the Capitol Campus.
(Photo courtesy of Benjamin Helle) Maybe it was seeing the cattlemen in their cowboy hats. Maybe it was getting a savory whiff of meat on the barbeque. Or maybe it was just knowing that a tasty lunch was available – for free. Next to sine die, Beef Day is one of the most anticipated days of the legislative session, and this year’s lunch was a smoking success, attracting hundreds of legislators, staffers, lobbyists and visitors to the Hill Thursday. The…
They came. They danced. They left. Opponents of the “dance tax” converged on the Capitol steps Monday to stage a “Dance-In” that lasted more than two hours. The dancers did their colorful, whirling thing as an eclectic array of music, including lots of swing, blared on the sound system. For tourists and those working on the north side of the Legislative Building, the dancing provided an entertaining respite. No word yet if the event will spawn a new TVW show…
(Photo courtesy of Patrick McDonald) This isn’t a typical sight around the Legislative Building. Outside our windows, we see tourists, school kids, senior groups and other folks walking around the campus. But horses? Neigh.
Looking out our windows at the beautiful blue summer skies, we have often been surprised to see droplets of water falling before us. One of us would remark, “So, the sky is blue, but it appears to be raining. How weird!” But we then realized that it isn’t raining! It’s Capitol dome cleaning time! (Photo courtesy of Patrick McDonald) This summer, cleaning crews have devoted their time and efforts to a thorough power washing of the Legislative Building. Co-worker Patrick McDonald took…
Washington State’s Primary Election is nearly upon us, occuring next Tuesday, August 7. In honor of the upcoming Primary, we are featuring two rare political business cards as our third “Library Jewel” for July, located within the Rare Publicans section of the Washington State Library. These political business cards, featured below in the picture, belonged to candidates who were running for separate elections in 1908. The card on the left belonged to Republican Party candidate Theodore Mentzer, a lumberjack from Tenino,…