Political Buzz » Jordan Schrader

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer to host town halls next week

Jordan Schrader — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:00:02 +0000

Derek Kilmer, the freshman congressman and Democrat from Gig Harbor, plans six town halls next week, finishing up with one in Tacoma June 1.

Doors open a half hour before the 1 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. at Tacoma Community College’s Building 2 auditorium, 6501 S. 19th St.

Here’s the rest of the schedule put out by Kilmer’s office:

Port Angeles Town Hall

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

12:00pm – 1:30pm

Peninsula College, The Little Theater (In Building J, the Pirate Union Building)

1502 E Lauridsen Blvd

Port Angeles, WA 98362

Port Townsend Town Hall**

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

5:00pm –

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Morning update: special session Day 11

Jordan Schrader — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:02:25 +0000

There’s not much happening publicly in the Legislature today, but elsewhere in Olympia:

The Student Achievement Council is having its first meeting after getting four new members, appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee in a shakeup of the young board. Briefings and discussions today will contribute to a 10-year plan the board is developing that is due to the Legislature and Inslee in December. Inslee and his chief of staff will speak to the board.
The Department of Ecology convenes the latest in a series of forums ahead of setting standards for levels of toxic chemicals allowed in water. A key

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Marijuana rules yield Web clicks and some objections; here’s what’s next

Jordan Schrader — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:33:37 +0000

Since the first draft of marijuana rules went online last week, they have drawn 15,000 views and more than 5,900 downloads.

That’s according to the staff of the state Liquor Control Board, which wrote the proposal. Randy Simmons, who is leading the board’s implementation of legalization Initiative 502, updated the board today.

Incoming agency director Rick Garza said reaction to the rules has been positive.

Of those who do have objections, one topic has stood out: the status of hashish, the concentrated form of marijuana. The board’s draft rules interpret voter-passed I-502 as not allowing the sale of hash …

Morning update: special session day 10

Jordan Schrader — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:50:40 +0000

A third of the way through the special session, lawmakers have not passed any bills out of the House or Senate. The only action in committee has been on a proposed crackdown on drunken driving, and the House Public Safety committee is scheduled to vote at its 10:30 a.m. meeting today on a bill on that subject.

Also meeting is the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, which will get noon briefings on two performance audits by State Auditor Troy Kelley’s office, one on background checks for employees who work with children, and one on how the state’s …

Changes to mental health laws moved up

Jordan Schrader — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:14:00 +0000

Changes to the state’s laws on detaining potentially dangerous patients with mental illness should finally take effect in mid-2014 after two and a half years of delay.

Gov. Jay Inslee today signed a bill into law that moves the changes forward from mid-2015. They would make it easier to detain someone by allowing more consideration of past behavior in addition to the immediate threat the patient poses.

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent and the sponsor of Senate Bill 5480, said in a statement that “friends and family who see that person from day to day often see behavior and telltale signs …

Washington roads, transit earn D+ from engineers

Jordan Schrader — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:03:03 +0000

Engineers give Washington state a grade of D-plus for the condition of its roads and another D-plus for its mass transit.

Those are the lowest grades in a report card released today that give Washington infrastructure an overall mediocre grade of C. It’s the first attempt by the Seattle section of the American Society of Civil Engineers to grade the state, and engineers told reporters today the grades try to capture the direction the state is moving as well as the current state of infrastructure.

Washington measures up better than the nation as a whole, which received a D-plus in a …

Morning update: special session Day 9

Jordan Schrader — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:18:17 +0000

Today’s the deadline for Gov. Jay Inslee to sign or veto all the bills passed by the Legislature before it adjourned its regular session last month.

Inslee has been steadily signing bills and made his first major veto on Monday, of $81 million in the transportation budget for the controversial bridge over the Columbia River – planning money he says isn’t needed unless the Legislature actually approves enough money to build the new bridge.

He also signed one of the most significant mental health bills of the session, making it easier to keep former criminal suspects detained.

Today he will consider …

Morning update: special session Day 8

Jordan Schrader — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:33:09 +0000

A rally today on the Capitol steps will promote a proposal to raise gas taxes and other revenue to fund improvements to roads, ferries, mass transit, storm water filtration and other infrastructure.

U.S. Rep. Denny Heck and Gov. Jay Inslee plan to address the crowd, which supporters said would include supporters of business, labor, farm, environment and transit interests. Some of the most vocal advocates for a transportation package are the backers of connecting state Route 167 from its endpoint in Puyallup to the Port of Tacoma.

Gov. Jay Inslee also signs a slew of bills today, including one that seeks to root out …

Two-person race for Senate in 26th District; Angel, Schlicher both fundraising in six figures

Jordan Schrader — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:00:15 +0000

Filing week is over and no dark horse candidates jumped in to represent parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties in the state Senate, so Rep. Jan Angel and Sen. Nathan Schlicher have the field to themselves.

It’s a pivotal race for the balance of power in the Senate, and it could get very expensive.

Sen. Derek Kilmer stepped down to go to Congress, leaving a vacancy to be filled for a year by a fellow Democrat and then up for grabs for the final year of his term. Schlicher, an emergency room doctor from Gig Harbor, was …

Morning update: special session Day 5

Jordan Schrader — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:38:03 +0000

Lawmakers continue to discuss the budget and taxes behind closed doors, but today there’s also talk of tax breaks in public.

The Citizens Commission for Performance Measurement of Tax Preferences meets from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to give preliminary approval to tax breaks to be reviewed in 2014. Commissioners are scheduled to decide whether legislative auditors should spend the year examining exemptions for the aerospace industry, and could also select some other breaks from a miscellaneous list to be reviewed.

The panel will also look over legislative auditors’ brief summaries of some tax breaks reviewed this year — with …