Gov. Gregoire made her end-of-session visit today to the editorial board, bringing House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler with her. (Speaker Frank Chopp must have been packing for his trip to Spain or busy building an even bigger majority.)

We asked Gregoire about the Puget Sound Partnership. A key victory for the governor was getting a Puget Sound cleanup package through the Legislature on the first try. Lawmakers earmarked $7.6 million in general fund state dollars, $28.5 million from other funds and $202 million in the capital budget to clean up pollution, restore shorelines, reduce stormwater runoff and

Read more »

Saturday:

Attorney General Rob McKenna may find no industry collusion behind the terribly high gas prices in Western Washington, but those prices are sure worth investigating.

Sunday:

1. Unanimous SCOW ruling that KVI anti-tax commentary was not a campaign donation was an important victory for free political speech and a free press, regardless of what we think of Carlson and company. We emphasize the heart of the First Amendment protection.

2. We endorse Federal Way’s school bond proposal.

Monday:

Contrary to first appearances, the law should have prevented Seung Cho from buying the guns

Read more »

I’ve finished up my two-night "Lakewood University" course, which comes with a certificate of participation, a T-shirt and scads of facts about the city in which I live.

This week’s speakers included officials from Clover Park School District giving updates on the progress of bond-funded construction projects at Lakeview Elementary and Lakes High School. Anyone interested can go to the district’s Web site by clicking here. Then click on the hard hat.

Superintendent Doris McEwen Harris showed a cute video that had Lakeview students playing news anchor, TV reporter and even weather forecaster (a bad one). The kids talked about the construction of their school – they’re attending the former Lake City Elementary in the meantime – and the adjacent Gary and Carol Milgard Family HOPE Center (pictured).

The center, a partnership between the school district and the Boys & Girl Clubs, is scheduled to open in September. Lakeview is scheduled to be completed in spring 2008. Having the HOPE Center right next door will be a great resource for the kids. The school and the center will share a cafeteria, game rooms and a gym. The Milgard family gave $5 million toward the center in memory of the late Gary Milgard.

Joe Hannan from the city’s economic development department, filled us in on some of what’s coming down the pike in Lakewood. He could hardly control his enthusiasm. Some highlights:

* Have some extra money to invest? You might want to look into Tillicum and American Lake Gardens. Values in these two low-income areas along I-5 are poised to take off after sewers go in next year. Lakewood architect Jeff Brown and his company, Architects BCRA, have drawn up a suggested plan for what they see as a bright future for Tillicum.

Read more »

Here’s what we’re working on for tomorrow.

The cost of projects to be funded by the May 15 Sumner school bond measure jumped from $88 million to $114 million between last year and this. The projects are essential; let’s not wait until the price goes up again.

Security cameras at Gig Harbor High were misused in case involving two female students. We’re not jumping to conclusions about sexuality, etc., and we think administrators ought to be monitoring egregious behavior, but this very minor infraction should have been handled between the administrator and the girls, not parents.

If

Read more »