Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1 - 6 of 6
After enormous public outcry, stirred by newspaper editorials across the state, Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed Senate Bill 6617, the Legislative Public Records Act. There's a great deal of misinformation disseminated about the bill, what it would and wouldn't do, and the newspapers have drawn into question the lawmakers who supported it. I'd like to explain why I voted for this bill. Since the Public Records Act (PRA) passed in 1972, the Legislature has maintained it is an independent branch of governme...
We have all been horrified by gun violence at theaters, malls, schools and town hall meetings. As a former prosecuting attorney/ county coroner, I have also witnessed the tragic aftermath of violence. We all want it to end. But how? Last year, numerous gun- control bills, including a universal background check measure, were introduced in the Legislature. These bills attracted the testimony of both gun-control and gun-rights advocates. The background checks measure was so divisive that, although it passed a committee, it failed to come to a...
In the upcoming special legislative session in Olym- pia in May, lawmakers will be seeking agreement on a two-year state operating budget. Frequently, as bud- get debates heat up, you'll hear proponents of bigger government use their favorite phrase, "close tax loopholes," as if there is an oversight in state law that allows some to escape paying taxes. But don't be fooled. These "tax loopholes" are actually tax incentives, or officially known as "tax preferences," that were intentionally enacted by the Legislature to provide specific tax...
The Washington State Su- preme Court recently struck down a requirement for a two-thirds vote in the Legis- lature to increase taxes. The two-thirds majority rule had been approved five separate times by voters in a series of initiatives. The requirement was challenged by a coalition of House Democrats and education groups, who had grown increasingly frus- trated by the inability to "raise revenue" (buzzword in Olympia for raising taxes) to address budget shortfalls. This year, the Legislature must close a budget short- fall of just under $1 bi...
It is an honor to serve a legislative district that is within the energy hub of the Pacific Northwest. To the north of the 16th District, the Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant at Hanford generates 1,150 megawatts of electricity. The Snake and Columbia rivers with their hydro power dams are directly in the district. One of the earliest and larg- est wind farms in Washing- ton was built on Hopkins Ridge near my hometown of Dayton. We've long enjoyed low power rates in our state be- cause of the abundance of energy. But I'm...
A n Associated Press story recently reported how the federal government would respond if Washington expands medical marijuana dispensaries: "The U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington has warned landlords they could face forfeiture of their properties if they rent to medical marijuana shops." The story noted that federal law prohibits marijuana use, quoting U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby as saying, "We intend to use the full extent of our legal remedies to enforce the law." Following voter approval...
