The SunBreak » senate

The Divorce: Washington State Republicans vs. Big Business & Boeing

Michael van Baker — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 18:51:55 +0000

But Boeing's support -- and that of heavyweights the Association of Washington Business and Washington Roundtable -- for a $9.5-billion transportation package was not enough for Washington's Senate Republicans, who were against a 10-cent gas tax increase (phased in over five years, upped two cents annually).

An Indomitable Maria Cantwell is Back with a Glass-Steagall Posse

Michael van Baker — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 17:48:07 +0000

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has joined senatorial forces with Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), and Angus King (I-ME) to introduce a bill they're calling a "21st Century Glass-Steagall Act," an updating of the Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall), which was gradually rendered toothless during the go-go 1980s and 1990s, and repealed in 1999.

Why That Fish You Ordered is Holding Up the State Budget

Michael van Baker — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 18:16:53 +0000

Yesterday afternoon, the Everett Herald's Jerry Cornfield reported that the delay in approving a Washington State budget was truly fishy: "Boeing's opposition to fish study a sticking point in budget," went the headline. With a government shutdown to come in fewer than five days, it might seem strange that negotiations are getting hung up on a mundane study of how often people eat fish.

Sen. Patty Murray Presents 2013 Golden Tennis Shoe Awards

Michael van Baker — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:52:36 +0000

At this year's Golden Tennis Shoe Awards luncheon, held Monday, April 29, at the downtown Seattle Westin, Senator Patty Murray put the spotlight on the Special Olympics, ovarian cancer, and violence against women, through awards to Tyler May, Swedish Cancer Institute medical oncologist Saul E. Rivkin, and the Tulalip Tribes' Deborah Parker, respectively.

Washington Senate: Hey, Tourists, Leave Our State Alone!

Michael van Baker — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:16:49 +0000

While the Senate budget proposal does include a "sales tax exemption on the purchase of clay targets by non-profit gun clubs," there's no money in it for the Washington Tourism Alliance or any tourism programs. Tourism, according to the New York Times, is the fourth-largest industry in our state.

In State Senate, a Few are Already Sick of Seattle’s Leave

Michael van Baker — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:52:37 +0000

Seattle's Paid Sick & Safe Time ordinance has been in effect since September 1, 2012, but in the State Senate, Rodney Tom (D*-48th District) and a few Republican senators have already decided to gut the municipal legislation. With flu rampant and pertussis epidemic in Washington, now might seem a particularly bad time to work against public health.