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Tom Robbins
New exhibit profiles counterculture chronicler Tom Robbins

New exhibit profiles counterculture chronicler Tom Robbins

In what TIME magazine deemed “the year that changed the world,” Tom Robbins embodied the Altered States of America. Now his profile is part of a new exhibition by Legacy Washington about that pivotal year, 1968. Robbins, 36, was an Air Force veteran, grad school dropout and journalist who quit The Seattle Times by calling in “well.” By 1968 he was mustache-deep in counterculture. He hosted a radio show called Notes from The Underground on non-commercial KRAB. He reviewed Jimi…

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Didyaknow…?

Didyaknow…?

Did you know that some of the decor in the Secretary of State’s office is the same as it was decades ago?  Can you guess which original items in the picture below are still decorating Secretary Reed’s office today?  There are a total of  four items in this old photograph that we can see in Reed’s office right now, and the answers will be revealed on Monday.  (A bonus point goes to you if you can guess the name of the Secretary of…

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Didyaknow…?

Didyaknow…?

  … that Sunday marked the ninth anniversary of the Nisqually earthquake? The  quake literally rocked Capitol Building dome off its base on February 28, 2001.  The massive 32 million-pound dome, built in 1928, had not been attached to the base.  That’s right: no bolts, no fasteners, no iron steel rods connected the dome to the base.  Mere gravity held the dome down, but when the 6.8 quake hit, it lifted the dome a bit.   The entire building was shut down for years to repair the…

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Didyaknow…?

Didyaknow…?

…the “Ginger Legislative Building” is up for silent auction in the Lt. Governor’s office?  That’s right; this amazing gingerbread replica of the State Capitol goes to the highest bidder.  Just imagine this festive piece in your home over the holidays and how it would be the talk of your family gatherings.  And, all proceeds benefit the South Sound Habitat for Humanity which is a part of the Combined Fund Drive.  As a matter of fact, our office contributes to the…

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O Holiday Tree, O Holiday Tree

O Holiday Tree, O Holiday Tree

Remember the holiday First Amendment mess at the state Capitol last year? The quirky, I’ll-do-you-one-better battle of the displays that made THIS Washington the laughingstock for once? The story starts pretty simply: for 20 years, the Association of Washington Business puts up a gorgeous gi-normous lighted tree in the Rotunda and raised money for needy families.  In 2006, the governor lights a menorah.  Then comes a Nativity scene (no live animals, at least). Then the atheists put up a bah-on-Christmas,…

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Ugandan singers dazzle at Capitol

Ugandan singers dazzle at Capitol

Legislative Building staffers and visitors alike received a musical treat Tuesday when The Ugandan Orphans Choir performed during the noon hour in the Capitol Rotunda. The choir’s five girls and five boys are touring the Western U.S. to bring awareness of poverty stricken children across the world to America. Prior to the concert, the choir met Secretary of State Sam Reed and our executive office staff and sang a song for us. Their smiles and voices brightened everyone’s day here….

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Didyaknow…?

Didyaknow…?

Didyaknow that four statues in the Capitol rotunda are replicas of ancient Roman-style firepots designed by the Tiffany Company?  More than 2,000 years ago, the firepots were placed on the hilltops of Rome and filled with oil, then lit them to signal Senators that session was to begin.  Since they didn’t have the luxury of cell phones or computers to communicate long distances, this system worked quite well. Today though, the firepots standing outside each legislative chamber are never lit with oil,…

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Didyaknow…?

Didyaknow…?

… that if you count the steps leading up to the entrance of the capitol building, you’ll find out in what order Washington joined the union? That’s right – but the secret is counting the steps correctly.  Start at ground zero and count each step. Just make sure you don’t count the landings and remember that the last step into the building is at the front door.  If you count properly, you should get to 42 steps.  In 1889, Washington State became the…

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Didyaknow…

Didyaknow…

… Our capitol dome nearly had a bell on top rather than a lantern?  That’s right, in 1926 the State Capitol Committee, chaired by Governor Roland Hartley, decided against a bell in the dome and told architects Wilder and White to “hurry your work.”  A lantern took its place and today, the lantern is lit from energy from the sun.  Solar panels on the 5th floor roof collect enough energy even on cloudy days to keep the lantern illuminated.