By Jordan Schrader and Brad Shannon:

A budget plan Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled today would add $1.2 billion to Washington’s two-year spending on basic education to meet a court order demanding more funding for schools. (Details here.)

School districts would finally receive full funding for busing costs. Half of kindergartners would be in school for full days. Poorer districts would get more money to hire more kindergarten and first-grade teachers. Newer teachers would receive stipends.

A big chunk of new money – $466 million – would cover school materials, supplies and costs such as utilities. But Initiative 732 would be suspended again, …

Read more »

The Democratic governor will announce a plan at 11 a.m. Thursday to bridge the state’s budget shortfall and put new money toward public schools to start complying with a court mandate.

Rather than a full budget plan, Inslee’s proposal will build on the one released last year by his predecessor, Gov. Chris Gregoire.

His plan is expected to raise revenue by closing tax breaks. We will find out Thursday whether it also includes other kinds of revenue, such as extending tax increases on beer and businesses that are due to expire.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee sought out on-the-fence House members of both parties today to persuade them to vote for expanded background checks on gun buyers.

The full House could take up the proposal sometime after 3 p.m. today if Democrats believe they have the votes. They need 50 of them, and Rep. Jamie Pedersen says he is confident of just 47. Several of the other 54 Democrats are balking, and Rep. Mike Hope is about the only sure supporter on the Republican side.

“I think this is a case where legislators are struggling,” Inslee said. “We know that some people have …

Read more »

That is, if the head of REI is confirmed by the Senate (her first hearing was today).

But Sally Jewell, one of 10 appointed regents who govern the state’s largest university, has let Gov. Jay Inslee know that she will resign from the board once she take over the Department of Interior.

“We expect her to resign once she is confirmed,” said Inslee press secretary David Postman. “It is her plan and desire to do so.”

That will give the governor his first chance to make an appointment to what is one of the plum posts for those who …

Read more »

Or so it seems.

Leading up to Washington’s presidential primary in 2008, Hillary Clinton was making a hard push for endorsements from the state’s leading politicians. That was considered the safe move as Barack Obama, though leading, was still the underdog for the Democratic nomination.

Winning these big-name endorsements had more than nominal effect. Most were also super delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

At the time it was considered pretty brave to stand up with Obama instead of Clinton. But that’s what Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire did at a Feb. 8 rally in a packed Key Arena. Also on …

Read more »

Gov. Jay Inslee is signing the first bill of his career and first of the 2013 session today, the 45th day of the 105-day session, at 1 p.m.   Senate Bill 5147 deals with runaway youths and requires that unlicensed youth shelters and runaway programs provide information about the whereabouts of runaways to parents, police or the Department of Social and Health Services.

Also today, Seattle Seahawks football coach Pete Carroll will speak at the Legislature and later  meet with Inslee. Carroll’s A Better Seattle group is teaming up with the Northwest Leadership Foundation to promote youth programs. Carroll is …

Read more »

He’s gone from the Tribal Council to General Counsel

Gov. Jay Inslee’s new lawyer, Nicholas Brown, is a former contestant on the show “Survivor.”

The 1995 Steilacoom High graduate joined the reality show in its second season in 2001, lasting through 10 episodes in Australia before the other castaways voted him off the island.

Afterward, Brown did some modeling and enjoyed some brief hey-aren’t-you-that-guy fame. (He also received a call from Playgirl magazine, according to a TNT story, but he turned them down. And he was a contestant on “Hollywood Squares,” according to this “Survivor Wiki” page on him.) For most Survivor contestants, that might …

Read more »