David Ammons at the Secretary of State’s office triggers that speculation with his look at new population estimates from the U.S. Census.

Washington has gained 770,000 people this decade which could be enough to give the state a 10th seat in the U.S. House. A fairly complex formula decides which states gain seats and which states lose them after east census.

Today’s New York Times lists Washington as a state now likely to gain a seat.

“Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington would gain one seat each, according to an analysis of the figures by

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It’s a Christmas theme for cartoonist/artist/council candidate RR Anderson. In his Tacomic, he envisions LeMay Museum boss David Madeira’s appearance on Santa’s lap (with a delightful cameo appearance by Madeline).

And yes, this does qualify as shameless self-promotion because Anderson references a column I wrote last week on the same topic.

I offer the new Pew Research Center for the People and the Press with two qualifiers:

1. The decade isn’t over until next December. Really. The zero’s are the last year in a decade (1980, 1990, 2000, 2010) and the 1′s are the first (1981, 1991, 2001, 2011). I know that everyone gets it wrong but that doesn’t make it right.

2. Nostalgia is a powerful cause of amnesia. The more time removed from events, the more positive they seem.

OK, that said, here is the latest Pew poll in which respondents rate the decade just past/almost past as …

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Gov. Chris Gregoire was going to have a press conference this morning to talk about her trip to climate talks in Copenhagen. She canceled after getting word of the shooting of two sheriff’s deputies in Eatonville and issued this statement:

“My thoughts and prayers are with the two wounded Pierce County deputies, their families, friends, and the entire law enforcement community.

“I am deeply troubled by the recent series of attacks on our law enforcement officers. I ask that all Washington citizens join me in sending a clear message that these assaults on law enforcement officers will not

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At least I’m pretty sure it’s the first look.

Josh Goodman at Governing Magazine took the 2008 presidential vote, broke it down by ethnic group and then applied the percentages to what the Census Bureau thinks the nation will look like in 2052.

Most obvious is the fact that white voters were 74 percent of the total last year and will be about 50 percent in 2052. Hispanics make up most of the difference. The numbers suggest that Democrats will benefit from such a major demographic change.

Don’t get too riled up about these numbers. It is just an …

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A Multnomah County judge this morning said he would approve a $3.2 million settlement for Oregon students of the Business Computer Training Institute, the Oregonian’s Brent Hunsberger reports today.

The settlement will end six lawsuits filed by Oregon students of the defunct Gig Harbor-based vocational school. Two years ago the school agreed to a $13.25 million settlement with Washington students who filed a similar lawsuit.

Students say the school promised a high-tech education and good-paying jobs. But many found the classes lacking and say they wound up thousands of dollars in debt with nothing to show for it. …

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FROM D.C. CORRESPONDENT LES BLUMENTHAL

The Office of Congressional Ethics has ended its investigation into the relationship between Rep. Norm Dicks and an influential defense lobbying firm and recommended no further action, the Washington state Democrat said Friday.

The House Ethics Committee could still investigate, but Dicks said he considered the matter over.

“I have received notice from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) that it found no basis for further action and thus I consider the OCE matter closed,” Dicks said in a statement.

Both the committee and the OCE do not comment on any cases that may or not be before them. But a confidential committee memo inadvertently released to the public in late October showed Dicks was one of seven congressmen being investigated for their dealings with PMA Group.

The investigation focused on whether the congressmen had accepted campaign contributions from PMA’s political action committee, clients and employees in exchange for earmarks in congressional spending bills or other official actions. The lobbying firm, which has closed, is reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department for possible criminal violations.

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The Secretary of State’s office posts some tighter breakdowns on the two big ballot measures from last election – the everything-but-marriage Ref. 71 and Tim Eyman’s I-1033.

It is on the From Our Corner blog and shows a more-narrow breakdown than the initial county-by-county results. For instance, the north end of Tacoma approved the gay rights measure while South Tacoma rejected. The 6th Congressional District gave it majority support.

As the blog notes, the now-open 3rd Congressional District supported Eyman’s initiative, which failed statewide, and rejected Ref. 71, which carried statewide.