The 2013 regular session adjourned April 28. A special session began May 13 - budget writers and caucus leadership are negotiating an agreement before other members are called back to Olympia to vote on a final budget.
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AGRICULTURE
- Gregoire: California vintners nothing but ‘jug wine’ (AP/Spokesman-Review)
- US asparagus industry sees slight recovery (AP/Kitsap Sun)
BUDGET & TAXES
- Gregoire signs $1B stimulus plan for Washington (AP/The Daily News)
- Top pen launches $1 billion in work (The Olympian)
- Governor Signs Billion-Dollar Construction Bill (Washington State Wire)
- BLOG: Last-minute reprieve for Rainier School money (Jordan Schrader/The News Tribune)
- BLOG: Roach asks attorney general for informal opinion on roll-your-own cigarettes bill (Alexis Krell/The Olympian)
- BLOG: Gregoire signs $1 billion capital budget, includes vetos (Christina Salerno/TVW)
- BLOG: Capital budget signed; Baumgartner questions project list (Jim Camden/Spokesman-Review)
- EDITORIAL: State spending reform is as simple as paper and pens (The Olympian)
- OPINION: Education replaces housing as the bubble machine (Froma Harrop/Everett Herald)
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY & ECONOMY
- Boeing reportedly planning composite wing plant (AP/Kitsap Sun)
- Half of Pierce home sales are distressed properties (The News Tribune)
COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT
- $1M bail for WA mental patient held in slaying (AP/The Daily News)
- Western State patient says he killed man in self-defense (The News Tribune)
- Seattle police preparing to deploy drones (AP/Kitsap Sun)
EDUCATION (K-12) & SCHOOL SAFETY
- COLUMN: How big a role for critics in school funding case? (Peter Callaghan/The News Tribune)
- EDITORIAL: Defeat of Mercer Island school bonds resonates in region (Seattle Times)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
- Mount Baker considered for geothermal power (AP/The Daily News)
- OPINION: Coal, natural gas still viable options (Don Brunell/The Columbian)
ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES
GAY RIGHTS
GUN RIGHTS
- Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club allowed to reopen, for now (Kitsap Sun)
- Concerns emerged before land sale (Kitsap Sun)
HEALTH CARE
- Grim forecasts spelled out in reports on Social Security, Medicare (Seattle Times)
- VA failing to provide timely mental care, report says (AP/Everett Herald)
- OPINION: The right way to preserve Medicare doesn’t limit access to care (Roger Stark/Seattle Times)
HIGHER EDUCATION
IMMIGRATION
LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- MLIRD approves $1.7 million budget (Columbia Basin Herald)
- EDITORIAL:
County needs immediate solution to jail problem (Spokesman-Review)
MILITARY
OPEN GOVERNMENT
POLITICS
ELECTIONS
- COLUMN: How to beat Citizens United (E.J. Dionne/The Daily News)
- EDITORIAL: Once again, parties try to thwart voters’ will (Yakima Herald-Republic)
LEGISLATURE
- Educator to make second bid for state House seat (The Columbian)
- Washington Legislature: Balance of power in state senate could tip toward Republicans in next election (Oregonian)
- BLOG: Wagemann makes it official: He’ll run for 28th District open seat (Kim Bradford/The News Tribune)
- BLOG: Another Republican enters race for Pearson’s seat (Everett Herald)
STATE
- Inslee talks clean energy in visit to Tri-Cities (Tri-City Herald)
- Inslee talks up primary care doctors, jobs during Yakima stop (Yakima Herald-Republic)
- BLOG: Inslee: Give me $$$ and I’ll spare you e-mails (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)
SALMON
SECURITY
- Sea-Tac tries expedited security PreCheck program (AP/The Daily News)
- OPINION: Racial profiling on Washington’s northern border? (Judy Liightfoot/Crosscut)
SEX OFFENDERS
STATE GOVERNMENT
- New child welfare audit says Oregon can do more to reunite parents and kids in foster care (Oregonian)
- Liquor-store auction: nearly $31M in winning bids (Seattle Times)
TRANSPORTATION