Posted By Peter Callaghan on February 9, 2010 at 9:47 am Share this

Patrick Reed will challenge 31st District incumbent Christopher Hurst in this fall's election for the state House of Representatives.

Reed lives in Sumner and is currently a program manager for the Secretary of State's office in Olympia. He will run as a Republican.

"I’m running for the Legislature because unemployment is impacting so many families in my district," Reed said in a press release. "I know the state can do better because I’ve seen first-hand how agencies can improve their practices and help new and existing businesses succeed."

Hurst, a Democrat, served two terms from 1999 to 2003 and then returned to the House in 2007.

Here's the press release... (more...)

Categories: Campaign News, Voting & Elections, Washington Legislature
Tags: Christopher Hurst, Patrick Reed
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Posted By Jordan Schrader on February 8, 2010 at 6:13 pm Share this

The House Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously this evening that photographs in the personnel files of police, court and corrections employees should not be public records.

Nor would birth dates from the files be publicly available if HB 1317 passes.

It's something police asked for in the wake of the death of four Lakewood officers. House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler said it reflects “a concern for the safety of not just the criminal justice employees but their families as well.”

(more...)

Categories: Washington Legislature
Tags: Lakewood shootings, Lynn Kessler
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Posted By Brad Shannon on February 8, 2010 at 5:46 pm Share this

Gov. Chris Gregoire said today she doesn’t believe industry warnings that a tax increase on toxic substances such as oil must lead to a boost in gas prices.

Categories: Washington Legislature
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Posted By Brad Shannon on February 8, 2010 at 4:16 pm Share this

More than 30 House lawmakers have signed a letter circulated by Rep. Ross Hunter, asking that Gov. Chris Gregoire and Attorney General Rob McKenna not appeal last week’s King County court ruling on school funding.

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Posted By John Henrikson on February 8, 2010 at 2:56 pm Share this

Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair

As ranking member of the majority party, Dicks would be the "one most likely to succeed," Dicks' spokesman George Behan told Bloomberg News Service. The House Appropriations committee headed by Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wisc., would make the final decision, Behan said.

Already, Dicks' senior position on the budget panel has been credited with helping Washington keep and expand its military facilities and win defense contracts. He and Patty Murray have advocated forcefully on behalf of Boeing Co. as it competes to build a new Air Force tanker.

Here is a Washington Post item on the succession.

Here is Dicks' statement on Murtha's death:

We are all deeply saddened by the death of Chairman Jack Murtha, whose entire career has been dedicated to strengthening our national security and improving conditions for U.S. military personnel.

(more...)

Categories: Congress
Tags: Norm Dicks
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Posted By Brad Shannon on February 8, 2010 at 1:16 pm Share this

Gov. Chris Gregoire said today she has corresponded with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and asked for federal help in making it easier for local or community banks to obtain money for loans. But she did not seek help for any specific failing state banks.

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Posted By Jordan Schrader on February 8, 2010 at 1:01 pm Share this

Hospitals want lawmakers to charge them a tax, or as they call it, an assessment, that they expect to get back in the form of higher state rates of payment for medical care.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a public hearing today on a bill to do that.

The idea is to bring more federal matching funds to Washington hospitals.

Washington Hospital Association lobbyist Len McComb told the committee the matching funds would help the hospitals weather the health-care budget cuts the legislature has made, which he said amounts to a $315 million hit to hospitals.

Rep. Eric Pettigrew called it "a very creative way to help the hospitals" and the hospitals told legislators the charge shouldn't be called a tax. Taxes, McComb said, are passed on by businesses to their customers, and the bill bans that from happening with this charge. "This is an assessment. It is not a tax," he said.

The bill is opposed by the doctors of the Tacoma-based Northwest Physicians Network. Stohn Nishino, representing the network and a similar network in south King County, said it would lead to doctors paying higher rates for their patients' hospital care.

Doctors are already threatening to stop serving Medicaid patients because the legislature increased the amount they have to pay for that care, and Nishino said the bill "leaves a hole in the funding that will drive us to close our doors to Medicaid" managed-care patients.

Categories: Washington Legislature
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Posted By Jordan Schrader on February 8, 2010 at 11:57 am Share this

The head of the state's largest agency says her department has lots of problems - and that's why lawmakers should leave it alone.

The effort to split up the Department of Social and Health Services into four departments got another hearing today. Critics say it's too big and unwieldy and its mistakes have cost the state in the form of lawsuits.

DSHS Secretary Susan Dreyfus, who took over last year, was glad to acknowledge problems.

“I’ve inherited an organization that functions with far too much inconsistency and a lack of clear accountability," she said.

(more...)

Categories: Washington Legislature
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Posted By Peter Callaghan on February 8, 2010 at 11:28 am Share this

At her press conference this morning, Gov. Chris Gregoire gave a little preview of this Friday's revenue forecast: Not bad, not bad at all.

That's based on December tax collections which are up more than forecast. While state economists were predicting 2 percent growth, the actual collections are showing a 3.6 percent increase over the previous year.

These aren't boomtime numbers. But given how many recent revenue forecasts have predicted reductions - and even those predictions have proven to be not pessimistic enough - any upticks are good news.

That doesn't mean the Friday forecast will predict a bunch more money to help solve the current $2.6 billion state budget hole. It just means the hole isn't getting deeper.

Last week, state economist Arun Raha produced a report show that state tax collections since the November revenue forecast are up between $40-$50 million.

"Most of this variance, however, is due to a $49 million positive variance in December property tax collections," the report stated. "Collections outside of property tax are coming in very close to the forecast."

But since flat is the new up in Olympia, it passes as good news.

Categories: Governor, State government, Taxes, Washington Legislature
Tags: Arun Raha, Chris Gregoire
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Posted By David Wickert on February 8, 2010 at 10:47 am Share this

Larry Wingard of Lakebay has announced he will seek election to the Pierce County Council District 7 seat currently held by Councilman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor.

Wingard, 72, and his wife Sharon own Shiloh Farm in Lakebay, where they sell fruits and vegetables and have a pumpkin patch, according to this article in the Peninsula Gateway.

Wingard, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully for the County Council seat in 1994, the Gateway reported. He is the third candidate to announce he will seek the District 7 seat. Earlier Stan Flemming, a Republican, and Todd Iverson, a Democrat, announced they will seek the seat.

Lee will finish his second term on the council this year and cannot seek re-election because of term limits.

Categories: Campaign News, Pierce County
Tags: County Council
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