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Tag: Governor Chris Gregoire

`Statewides’ gather for Gregoire’s State of the State

`Statewides’ gather for Gregoire’s State of the State

It’s a rare occasion when most, if not all, of Washington’s statewide elected officials are in the same room. The Governor’s State of the State speech Tuesday morning offered such an opportunity. Moments before they entered the House Chambers to attend Governor Gregoire’s annual address to the Legislature, all of the “Statewides” except the guv and Lt. Gov. Owen (who was presiding over the joint legislative session) gathered in the State Reception Room for a photo. From left to right:…

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WA revenue projections plunge $1.2 billion

WA revenue projections plunge $1.2 billion

More dire news for the state Legislature and Governor Gregoire:  The multibillion-dollar budget hole has gotten about $1.2 billion worse.  Washington’s projected deficit is now calculated at well over $5 billion. The state’s anemic economy and the huge budget gap will dominate the upcoming legislative session, and Sen. Joe Zarelli and other lawmakers are urging that an emergency session be held next month to get a head start on more cuts.  The governor already has ordered across-the-board cuts of over…

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Budget crisis update: Congress OKs aid bill

Budget crisis update: Congress OKs aid bill

The U.S. House, recalled to the Capitol from the campaign trail for a special sitting Tuesday, approved and sent to President Obama a $26 billion budget bailout for the states.  For Washington, it will mean the difference between having a small reserve and dipping into the red, requiring a special session or gubernatorial edict to cut state spending. The vote was party line in the Washington delegation: 6 Democrats aye and 3 Republicans nay.  A relieved Governor Gregoire was delighted…

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A book? A paper-type book?

A book? A paper-type book?

Yes, it’s true. We’re all bloggy, electronic-book-reading, texters these days, but some of us still dig books.   Real dead-tree paper books with purty pictures. For months now, our re-booted oral history program, called the Legacy Project, has exclusively published oral history-biographies electronically – as in posted free  on our website.  Tons of people have clicked on and some, like the one that got written up in Rolling Stone (the material on rocker-civic activist Krist Novoselic), were very popular indeed….

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