This editorial will appear in Monday’s print edition.

With Gov. Chris Gregoire’s signature, Washington today becomes the seventh state to recognize gay marriage. It’s a historic day for same-sex couples seeking equal treatment under the law for their relationships.

But they shouldn’t rush out and order invitations and wedding cake; it’s unlikely they can start getting married anytime soon. Opponents have vowed to place at least one measure on the November ballot to overturn the legislation that passed the state Legislature last week largely along party lines.

Referendum backers only need to gather 120,557 signature to get on the ballot; an initiative requires 241,153. If signature-gathering falls short, same-sex marriages could start taking place in June. Otherwise, the outcome of the November election would be the deciding factor.
Read more »

This editorial will appear in Sunday’s print edition.

It was probably inevitable that a Washington Post report on congressional earmarks would turn up something on U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair.

As a veteran member of Congress who has risen to leadership roles, he’s as well-positioned as anyone to bring home the bacon – more politely known as earmarks – to his district and state. For most folks, that’s fine – a perk that goes along with having a congressman with lots of seniority. Read more »

This editorial will appear in Friday’s print edition.

It’s hard to believe, but there is a bright side to the tawdry tale of a Lakewood police officer accused of embezzling money meant for the families of four murdered fellow officers.

It was yet another Lakewood officer, Jeremy Vahle, who got suspicious that money might have been diverted from the Fallen Officers’ Fund, a trust established to help the families of the four Lakewood officers shot to death in November 2000: Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens and Greg Richards.

Instead of sweeping the embarrassment under the rug and handling it behind closed doors, the Lakewood Police Department faced it head-on. Under Chief Bret Farrar, evidence was gathered and presented to Pierce County prosecutors. They forwarded it to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney for further action.
Read more »

I wrote this – half-in-anger, half-in-parody – about a year ago. Seems timely to repost it now that this lovely clan is reportedly coming to Tacoma in hopes of befouling the funeral of the Powell boys.

“Thank God for 4 more dead troops. We are praying for 4,000 more.”
– The Westboro Baptist Church

The First Amendment doesn’t protect only the speech we hate; it also protects speech that bubbles up from the pipes of human septic tanks. We can’t fault the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding the right of Westboro Baptist Church members to spit their venom …

Read more »

This editorial will appear in tomorrow’s print edition.

Education reform – serious education reform – remains alive in the Legislature. No thanks to the Legislature’s education chairwomen.

State Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, and Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, have used their peremptory power to squish two measures that would have nudged Washington toward the national mainstream.

One bill would hold educators genuinely accountable for student performance; the other (now dead) would have authorized a limited number of charter public schools.
Both strategies are strongly encouraged by the Obama administration and have been embraced by states trying to shake public schools out of mediocrity. Both are opposed in this state by teacher unions and other stalwarts of the status quo.

As usual, the Legislature’s powers-that-be crouch like defensive NFL linemen, ready to tackle anything that might challenge the failing trade-union model of public education.

This year, though, McAuliffe had to deal with a bipartisan rebellion that effectively shut down her committee last week. A majority of the Senate Education Committee wanted to at least hold a vote on the charter school bill; when she refused, they refused to act on any other education legislation.

Credit is due the Republicans and Democrats who forced this crisis. And some credit is due the Senate leaders who revived the accountability bill – though not the charter bill – by shifting it to the Ways and Means Committee.
Read more »

This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.

We’re all guilty of it – squirreling leftover medicine away on the off chance we might need it someday. When we go to use it, we discover it’s years past its expiration date. So we dump it in the garbage can or, if we’re feeling more responsible, flush it down the toilet.

Neither option – keeping it or dumping it – is a good one. When unused medication isn’t disposed of, it can poison children. When it’s disposed of improperly, it can poison the environment.

What’s needed is a safe, easy, low-cost way of properly disposing of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medication. That’s where Substitute Senate Bill 5234 comes in.
Read more »

This editorial will appear in tomorrow’s print edition.

‘There but for the grace of God,” is a conventional and charitable attitude toward people who get in trouble with the law. The idea is that good guys and bad guys share a common humanity that the good guys do well to acknowledge.

It doesn’t work, though, in the case of Josh Powell. Some people really don’t have a human conscience.

Powell, who burned his children alive Sunday, appears to have been a sociopath – an exceptionally stealthy one.

For more than two years, he’s been the only “person of interest” in …

Read more »

This editorial will appear in Monday’s print edition.

As state lawmakers grapple with how to close a $1 billion-plus budget gap, one place they’ve been looking for savings is the Special Commitment Center for violent sex predators on McNeil Island.

Some legislators want to save money by moving the SCC to a mainland site, cutting out the extra expense involved with ferrying to and from the island. But no community is clamoring to host 284 dangerous sex predators, and even if an existing facility could be found it likely would require expensive renovation and security upgrades.

A recent Seattle Times series suggests another strategy: Target the wasteful, uncontrolled legal costs associated with sex offenders either trying to avoid civil commitment to the SCC or to be released if they’re already there.
Read more »