Is is a long story that is recited in this earlier Poli Buzz post.

Let’s just say that when Tim Eyman received his second Schrammie from KOMO commentator Ken Schram he was hoping to sell it for as much as he sold his first Schrammie. But Schram, not wanting to give Eyman something of value that could be used to fund his initiative campaigns, didn’t send one of the bobblehead dolls symbolic of the anti-award.

So Eyman decided to auction off the non-existent doll. Thus was born the Invisible Schrammie. And the winner is…West Seattle’s Jim Coombes who bid …

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About 80 protesters marched up and down the steps of the Legislative Building today demanding that Gov. Chris Gregoire save Maple Lane School from shutting down.

Gregoire plans to sign the state’s operating budget next week. One of Washington’s largest state-employee unions wants her to veto the section of the bill that would start the three-year phased closure of Maple Lane, where about 200 juvenile offenders are confined in Grand Mound.

Workers, their families and Evergreen State College students chanted, “Veto” and “Save Maple Lane” today. Union officials said none of the workers were on the clock during the protest.

Supporters said no other facility has the means to handle Maple Lane’s unique population of youth with mental illnesses and addictions.

“The state has spent tens of thousands of dollars to train us at Maple Lane,” said counselor Michele Davis, of Olympia.

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A former Washington State Patrol officer has been named director of the Washington State Lottery.

Gov. Chris Gregoire just announced that she’s appointed Bill Hanson to the post. In addition to serving as a patrolman and a trooper’s union and law enforcement association official, Hanson has served on the Lottery Commission for the last five years.

 “The state Lottery is undergoing a period of change with a new mission,” the governor said in a press release. “Bill is the right director at the right to time to usher in this new phase of the state’s lottery, especially as it helps fund critical programs like education.”

Read on for the full press announcement:

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It’s not enough to ask voters how they might vote in an upcoming election. Pollsters then have to try to assess whether that person will actually bother to vote when the time comes.

In another of the free preview articles being posted by National Journal, election forecaster guru Charlie Cook peels back a massive Gallup Poll and finds that Democrats do best among voters who aren’t all that enthusiastic about voting this year. At the same time, they get savaged by those who describe themselves as very enthusiastic about voting.

Take a look here.

As Councilman Jake Fey was convening a joint Tacoma City Council committee meeting Wednesday, he saw Tacoma Port Commissioner Clare Petrich signing in.

Membership has its privileges, apparently, as Fey invited “Commissioner Petrich” to join the committee members up at the front table.

“I’m not here as Commissioner Petrich,” she said. “I’m here as Clare Petrich of Petrich Marine Dock.”

Said Councilwoman Lauren Walker: “Then you can sit in the back, Clare.”

Rep. Skip Priest has decided to enter the race to become Federal Way’s first elected mayor.

Priest, R-Federal Way, said he made the decision Monday and won’t be running for a fifth consecutive term as a representative from the 30th Legislative District.

He joins three Federal Way City Council members who also have announced they’re running for mayor: Jim Ferrell, Linda Kochmar and Mike Park. They will face off in the Aug. 17 primary. The filing period is June 7-11.

Priest said Federal Way is a city in transition that needs clear direction. “There are times your community becomes a very important priority, and this is it,” Priest said.

“I believe it’s really important for all of us to work together and create a vision and implement it,” said Priest, 60.

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Lt. Gov. Brad Owen will meet with the king and queen of Spain during a trip to their country next week.

His office is emphasizing that Owen is traveling at no cost to taxpayers – or at least Washington taxpayers. The Spanish government is footing the bill.

Owen is making the trip as head of Washington’s delegation to a ceremony at the University of Washington’s study center in León.

He traveled there last year for a similar ceremony, to “formally open” the 9,000-square-foot center housed in a 14th-century palace, according to a news release. The May 4 event is to …

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From Les Blumenthal in our D.C. bureau:

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court justices from the left and the right seemed downright skeptical Wednesday as a lawyer for religious conservatives argued Washington state had no right to release the names of the 138,000 residents who signed ballot petitions to overturn a same-sex domestic partnership law.

Justice Antonin Scalia dismissed the arguments as “touchy feely” and said, “Democracy requires a certain amount of civic courage.”

James Bopp Jr., a lawyer for Protect Marriage Washington, argued that those who signed the petition for Referendum 71 faced harassment and intimidation from gay rights groups if …

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