A second special session began June 12 - House and Senate leaders are meeting to find agreement on the 2013-15 operating budget.
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BUDGET & TAXES
- Local lawmakers assess latest state budget (AP/The Daily News)
- 6 marinas benefit from rent leveling (The News Tribune)
- Retailers back bill requiring online stores to pay tax (The News Tribune)
- BLOG: Tax day: Online sales taxes could earn state millions (Brad Shannon/The Olympian)
- BLOG: Decade low? New budget lops 1,266 more state jobs (Brad Shannon/The Olympian)
- EDITORIAL: Lawmakers negotiated through some tough budget challenges (The Olympian)
- EDITORIAL: Forced bipartisanship paid dividends in state budget (The News Tribune)
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY & ECONOMY
- Job prospects improving for Class of 2012 (Seattle Times)
- State frequents contentious federal Export-Import Bank (The Olympian)
- EDITORIAL: Another economic magnet (Everett Herald)
- EDITORIAL: The Young & the Jobless (The Columbian)
COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT
- SPD trying to release videos it fought to hide (KOMO 4 News/Seattle P-I)
- State Patrol seeks 60 candidates for 101st cadet class (Seattle Times)
- BLOG: State Patrol launching new ad campaign for recruits (Brad Shannon/The Olympian)
EDUCATION (K-12) & SCHOOL SAFETY
- Most high school students will see civics requirement (Kitsap Sun)
- BLOG: Plaintiffs in landmark education funding case McCleary v. State want more active role for them and for Supreme Court (Peter Callaghan/The News Tribune)
ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES
- $450,000 more likely coming to clean up Lower Valley wells (Yakima Herald-Republic)
- OPINION: Choose biomass to create jobs, reduce forest waste (The Columbian)
- EDITORIAL: Education is key to help conserve our marine life (The Olympian)
GAY RIGHTS
- Spokane gay marriage debate overflows room (AP/Yakima Herald-Republic)
- EDITORIAL: Some Catholic parishes are skittish about Referendum 74 (Seattle Times)
HANFORD
HEALTH CARE
- Medicaid patients focus of lawmakers (The Columbian)
- EDITORIAL: Feds must take bigger role in breaking painkiller addiction (The Olympian)
- EDITORIAL: Patients should come first in debate over which companies should participate in Oregon Health Plan (Oregonian)
HIGHER EDUCATION
LABOR
LEGISLATURE
- Legislature session ends smoothly (The Olympian)
- COLUMN: Legislative leftovers: Guns, movies and Reds (Peter Callaghan/The News Tribune)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- MLIRD suspends governance policy (Columbia Basin Herald)
- Clallam budget hit hard by lower investment, tax revenues (Peninsula Daily News)
- County Council hearing examines sports-arena plan (Seattle Times)
- BLOG: City-owned railroad at risk of not repaying $6 million debt (Kim Bradford/The News Tribune)
MARIJUANA
MEDIA
- Seattle Times methadone investigation wins Pulitzer Prize (Seattle Times)
- OPINION: C.R. Douglas and KCTS reach for the intelligent viewer (Feliks Banel, communications consultant/Crosscut)
MILITARY
- VA must do more about soldiers’ suicide problem (Nicholas D. Kristof/The News Tribune)
- OPINION: We can do more to help members of National Guard and Reserve (Robert DeWald/Seattle Times)
POLITICS
BALLOT MEASURES
ELECTIONS
- Weather, lack of opponent dwindle caucus turnout (The Olympian)
- Wash. Democrats support Obama in caucuses (AP/The News Tribune)
- Thurston GOP picks convention delegates; most back Romney (The Olympian)
- Candidates face short fundraising window (The Olympian)
LEGISLATURE
- Republicans vying for Ahern’s seat (Spokesman-Review)
- BLOG: UPDATE: Malcolm Russell announces campaign for 28th District House (but not necessarily the suddenly open seat) (Peter Callaghan/The News Tribune)
STATE
- Gubernatorial candidate McKenna talks education during Vancouver visit (The Columbian)
- Kucinich to voters: Should I run in Wash. state? (AP/The Daily News)
- DelBene leads in latest 1st District money report (AP/The Daily News)
- Candidate for state auditor stumps for votes in Sunnyside (Daily Sun News)
- BLOG: WA GOP Slogan: 12 in 2012 (Austin Jenkins/The Washington Ledge)
- BLOG: State Dems to Kucinich: Get lost (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)
- BLOG: Gregoire: DelBene in the 1st District (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)
- BLOG: Cantwell the consistent: $1.2 million first qtr (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)
- BLOG: Here are the recordings of 1964 phone calls between President Johnson and Washington senators Warren Magnuson and Henry Jackson (Peter Callaghan/The News Tribune)
- COLUMN: LBJ’s calls to senators reveal new bits of state history (Peter Callaghan/The News Tribune)
- COLUMN: The strange new world of the 1st Congressional District (Floyd McKay/Crosscut)
NATIONAL
- GOP derails Senate ‘Buffett rule’ taxes on wealthy (AP/Seattle Times)
- BLOG: Sims to Romney: HUD is healthy for America (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)
- COLUMN: Which Mitt Romney will we get now? (Eugene Robinson/Seattle Times)
STATE GOVERNMENT
- State liquor workers leaving for other jobs (The Olympian)
- Ecology employee accused of embezzlement (The Olympian)
TRANSPORTATION