Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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By Cooper Inveen WNPA Olympia News Bureau OLYMPIA—It’s been almost eight months since the largest wildfire in Washington’s history scorched the Methow Valley, and criticism over the official firefighting response by the state’s Department of Natural Resources continues to rage. What began with four individual fires quickly expanded into the 268,764-acre Carlton Complex fire. Over the course of a month, the fire engulfed more than 300 homes and caused more than $65 million in damages, according to the DNR. Many victims have filed lawsuit...
OLYMPIA - Just 18 days after its initial unveiling, Senate lawmakers have passed a $15 billion transportation package that includes an 11.7-cent increase to the state gas tax over the next three years. That package now moves to the Democrat-controlled House where Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, said that the package won’t be considered until lawmakers address education funding, which they are under order from the state Supreme Court to substantially increase. “In the end, our goal is to pass a transportation budget,” Sullivan said....
By Cooper Inveen, Reporter WNPA Olympia News Bureau OLYMPIA - As Washington’s gray wolf population continues to grow, so do concerns of those living in the areas of the state most affected by their return. “There’s two sides to this issue, and it kind of boils down to either you like them or you don’t,” said Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, who co-sponsored several wolf-related bills this session. Seven bills relating to Washington’s gray wolves have been introduced to the 2015 Legislature, with four surviving for continuing considerati...
OLYMPIA—The Senate’s new transportation package is being hailed for its bipartisan support, while some critics find aspects of it troubling. The proposals were revealed on Feb. 12 after 22 months of negotiations and would mostly fund various highway projects in the state’s more congested areas. The package would raise $15 billion over a 16-year period mostly through an 11.7 cents-per-gallon gas tax implemented over the next three years. Washington’s current 35.7 cents-per-gallon gas tax would increase by five cents in July, 4.2 cents in July...
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposal for regulating greenhouse gas emissions has cleared its first of several hurdles in a 6-to-5 party-line vote Feb. 10 in the Democrat-controlled House Environment Committee. House Bill 1314, the Carbon Pollution Accountability Act, would establish a statewide cap on carbon emissions, requiring Washington’s 130 largest polluters to buy credits in order to continue releasing carbon and other gasses into the atmosphere. With credits starting at $12 per-ton of emissions, the program is estimated to bring in $1...
OLYMPIA - After two days of hearings that drew hundreds to the state capitol, Gov. Jay Inslee’s carbon reduction proposal has the full attention of Washington lawmakers. In an effort to curb climate change while raising money for transportation and education, Inslee is proposing a statewide cap on carbon emissions that would require polluters to buy credits to continue polluting at today’s levels. Carbon prices would start at $12 a ton and would bring in an estimated $1 billion in the program’s first year. The main idea behind cap-a...
OLYMPIA — Lawmakers are considering legislation to allow university students between ages 18 and 21 to taste alcohol in the classroom. But don’t plan a celebratory high-five unless you’re an aspiring winemaker. “It’s imperative that someone learning to make wine has the requisite palate to recognize the nuances that are inherent in the product that they are making,” said Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, wine merchant and co-sponsor of House Bill 1004. “This is a product that you don’t just talk about: you smell it and you taste it. It would be...
OLYMPIA - Would your legislator ever consider decriminalizing heroin possession? Or maybe turning the Supreme Court justices’ elections partisan? What about allowing teenagers to taste alcohol? The 2015 legislative session is just getting started, but already some proposed bills are likely to turn a few heads. Sixteen Republicans and three Democrats have sponsored House Bill 1051, which would require Supreme Court justices — but no other judicial officer in the state — to declare a partisan affiliation when running for election. One spons...
OLYMPIA--Two years after Washington voters ended pot prohibition lawmakers are wading through a thicket of proposed reforms that aim to stabilize an industry struggling to get off the ground. “Right now I call it the wild, wild west,” Senate Democratic Leader Sharon Nelson, D-Maury Island, said during Thursday’s annual Associated Press Legislative Preview. “We’ve got incongruities in this law that we need to solve.” With seven new cannabis-related bills pre-filed so far come seven new opportunities to shape Washington’s unprecedented...
