http://soundpolitics.com/ Sound Commentary on Current Events in Seattle, Puget Sound and Washington State en-us wepwep@aol.com 2013-06-11T22:33:30-08:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015828.html Last January, the Seattle City Council asked for a proposal to provide public funds to help candidates pay the cost of mounting a campaign for public office. Next Monday the council will "take its first look" at the proposal. In... 15828@http://soundpolitics.com/ Seattle 2013-06-11T22:33:30-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015827.html As the two legislative chambers in Olympia battle for the mantle of do-good cooperators - and brand the other as stubborn stick-in-the-muds - the Senate majority has laid down its latest gauntlet: we'll support new taxes, if House Democrats will... 15827@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington Legislature 2013-06-10T14:03:52-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015826.html Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer is leading the effort to give us universal background checks for gun sales in Washington. Hanauer says, ""We want to keep guns out of the hands of people that are dangerous criminals or insane." That's fine.... 15826@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2013-06-09T11:07:08-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015823.html The House Democrats yesterday announced a "go-home" budget proposal they describe as a "significant compromise" toward the Senate Majority Coalition's budget. Speaker Frank Chopp's caucus trimmed spending levels from their original proposal and gave up on their plan for a... 15823@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington Legislature 2013-06-06T12:01:02-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015820.html Not very, according to Carl Bialik, and several experts he talked to. One lesson from the collapse of an interstate bridge in Washington state more than a week ago: When it comes to measuring a bridge's safety, so-called sufficiency ratings... 15820@http://soundpolitics.com/ Transportation 2013-06-03T09:44:52-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015818.html When state legislators roll out a tax increase, they're careful to reassure you that surely YOU'RE not the type of person who will have to pay it. House Democrats introduced their latest tax package in April, which included their since-passed... 15818@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington Legislature 2013-05-31T16:18:19-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015816.html 15816@http://soundpolitics.com/ Transportation 2013-05-29T15:46:49-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015815.html As we approach Obamacare's full implementation, young people in this state are going to find out in real terms what the law means for them. And for many of them, it's going to mean they'll be spending a lot more... 15815@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2013-05-29T14:42:59-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015814.html Everyone assumes the state has to have a monopoly on educating our kids. But when parents are given the option to decide where their kids go they are more involved. How about a system that gives them choices and saves... 15814@http://soundpolitics.com/ Education 2013-05-28T14:45:31-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015811.html Would you classify as "insurance" a low-cost health plan that covered routine preventative care and generic drugs but not hospital stays or surgeries? That's what some low-wage workers who work for large companies are likely to face, thanks to differing... 15811@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2013-05-24T16:14:49-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015809.html Ever-increasing revenues that are just never "enough." Special sessions that happen with such regularity, there is nothing special about them. A state government that is behind the times and spends boatloads of taxpayer dollars for the privilege (symbolized by a... 15809@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2013-05-22T17:52:15-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015808.html Gov. Jay Inslee used a veto yesterday to send a clear message to legislators about the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project: this bridge, this design, this year, and no other options will be considered. While signing the state transportation budget,... 15808@http://soundpolitics.com/ Transportation 2013-05-21T14:14:40-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015807.html The Snohomish County Council is moving forward with appointing a successor to scandal-scarred County Executive Reardon, despite the fact that Reardon has yet to formally resign. KIRO Radio's Tim Haeck has the story.: The council voted unanimously Monday to consider... 15807@http://soundpolitics.com/ Snohomish County 2013-05-20T15:13:59-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015804.html Maybe the voice from the corn was wrong. What if you build it, and hardly anybody is interested? That's a question the state's Health Benefit Exchange (HBE) board is pondering about the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), the small... 15804@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2013-05-17T11:13:00-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/015802.html What happens when a much-analyzed minor legal dispute - one fraught with political implications and covered extensively by the state's political reporters - concludes long after anyone cares about the politics of the story? Well, almost no one writes about... 15802@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2013-05-15T15:10:10-08:00