Browsed by
Tag: Gov. Jay Inslee

Honoring state workers who go the Extra Mile

Honoring state workers who go the Extra Mile

Gov. Inslee (left) and Secretary of State Wyman (right) with members of the Department of Transportation’s GeoMetrix team. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Horn) Secretary of State Wyman has joined Gov. Inslee in recognizing more than 30 Washington state employees at the Extra Mile Awards ceremony at the Capitol. “So many of our state employees give 100 percent each and every day, but these workers we’ve honored have truly given that extra effort and commitment,” Wyman said after the Friday event….

Read More Read More

RIP Billy Frank Jr.: `A singular force’

RIP Billy Frank Jr.: `A singular force’

(Photo courtesy of Laura Mott) Billy Frank Jr., a central figure in the decades-long struggle for tribal fishing rights, has died at age 83. Frank, longtime chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Evergreen trustee and civic activist, was subject of a well-received Legacy Project book, “Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr.”  It is available free online, and for sale in print.It was written by Trova Heffernan and published by the University of Washington…

Read More Read More

Flags lowered as we remember Oso

Flags lowered as we remember Oso

As a lone bagpiper played a mournful “Amazing Grace” at the top of the Capitol steps, state troopers slowly lowered flags to half-staff in honor of those who lost their lives in the Oso landslide tragedy — and the communities and responders who continue to offer care and comfort. Gov. Jay Inslee, joined by Secretary of State Kim Wyman,  Lt. Gov. Brad Owen and First Lady Trudi Inslee, told a noon gathering of school children and state workers on Tuesday…

Read More Read More

Declaring support for libraries

Declaring support for libraries

Librarians staff a table inside the Legislative Building where people signed the Declaration for the Right to Libraries. (Photo courtesy of Gracelin Moore) Unlike the Founding Fathers in 1776, the people signing this declaration aren’t wearing wigs. They’re supporters of libraries. As part of Library Legislative Day, librarians gathered signatures from legislators and others for a Declaration for the Right to Libraries. Go here to see what the declaration says. The library declaration is a joint project of the Washington…

Read More Read More

Statewide officials show support for libraries

Statewide officials show support for libraries

Secretary of State Wyman signs the Declaration for the Right to Libraries in the Governor’s Conference Room. Secretary of State Kim Wyman joined Gov. Jay Inslee and Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn in showing their support for Washington’s libraries by jointly signing a Declaration for the Right to Libraries in the Governor’s Conference Room Wednesday morning. State Librarian Rand Simmons and 25 children, teacher-librarians and library officials were on hand for the signing event. The declaration is a project…

Read More Read More

2013 General Election is officially in the books

2013 General Election is officially in the books

(Photos courtesy of Heather Lucas) To voters, this year’s General Election may have ended on Nov. 5. But the election didn’t officially go into the books until Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of State Kim Wyman certified the results in Inslee’s conference room Wednesday. It was the first time for both statewide officials to certify a General Election. This year’s off-year election saw 1,772,290 votes cast, which equaled a 45.27 percent voter turnout.

Checking out the Governor’s library collection

Checking out the Governor’s library collection

Secretary of State Wyman and State Librarian Rand Simmons (left) visited the Governor’s Mansion Wednesday morning for a photo shoot with Gov. Inslee in the mansion library to help celebrate the upcoming 160th anniversary of the creation of the Washington Territorial Library, now the Washington State Library. During the visit, the guv showed Wyman and Simmons a rare literary item, Territorial Gov. Isaac Stevens’ poetry collection. A celebration of the big anniversary is taking place Oct. 15 from 2 to…

Read More Read More

Budget breakthrough means no shutdown

Budget breakthrough means no shutdown

Gov. Jay Inslee and legislative leaders from both parties and both houses on Thursday announced the good news that had eluded them for weeks — a budget deal that will avert a partial government shutdown. The state is closer to the budget deadline than ever before — and the phrase “government shutdown” had moved into the state lexicon as anxious state employees, their managers and the public wondered if it could happen here. With just three days before the June…

Read More Read More

WA lawmakers head into third session

WA lawmakers head into third session

Washington legislators are headed into an unusual second special session, still hoping to bridge stark partisan differences and avoid a June 30 deadline for averting a partial government shutdown. Dejected and weary lawmakers were closing out their 30-day special session Tuesday with little to show for their labors.  Gov. Jay Inslee, a freshman Democrat who once served in the state House himself, called a special session to convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. At a Capitol news conference, Inslee sought…

Read More Read More

Gun-control advocates file initiative to Legislature

Gun-control advocates file initiative to Legislature

Paul Benz and Cheryl Stumbo talk to the media after filing their initiative to the Legislature. Continuing the debate that began in the Legislature after the Newtown shootings, gun-control advocates have filed an initiative to the Legislature to require universal background checks on gun purchases. The measure was filed with the Secretary of State on Tuesday by Faith Action Network, including Cheryl Stumbo, who was gravely wounded by a gunman at the Seattle Jewish Center, and Paul Benz, a longtime…

Read More Read More