The Washington State Auditor’s Office has identified 51 “significant control issues” adding up to $3.5 million worth of questions about how state agencies handled federal dollars in 2011. The agency attributed the problems to downsized government staffs and a significant increase in the amount of federal dollars funneled into the state. That explanation, however,...
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In the wake of this morning’s surprising U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Obamacare individual mandate — which Washington state had challenged in a lawsuit last year — reactions are coming in from political leaders around the state. Democratic candidate for governor former U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, will issue a statement...
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutionality of the signature accomplishment of the Obama administration, the so-called Affordable Care Act, in response to a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of 26 states, including Washington. A 5-4 margin, with swing vote Chief Justice John Roberts siding with the liberal wing of the...
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The Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) will hold its final meeting on Thursday, concluding more than 26 years during which the board has served as a liaison between state government and post-secondary education. As of July 1, the board will be replaced by the newly authorized Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC), which will...
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Anyone who thought charter schools supporters wouldn’t have enough time to qualify their measure for the November ballot either hadn’t counted on how hard those supporters planned to work or how much pent-up demand there is for a measure that’s been defeated three times before in Washington state. According to Shannon Campion, executive director...
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If and when the well-publicized Trayvon Martin second-degree murder case comes to trial in Florida, the outcome will hinge largely on Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law, which empowers a crime victim to respond with lethal force if he or she believes their life is in imminent danger. What Washingtonians may not realize, however,...
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Not content to wait until next week to see whether President Obama’s Affordable Care Act will survive its current Supreme Court challenge, Washington State’s Office of Financial Management on Thursday announced its intention to award a sole-source contract worth $400,000 to begin implementing it. Moreover, the company being awarded the contract – which isn’t...
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Brenda Charlston was more than a little surprised when she opened her mail earlier this week to discover a voter registration form addressed to Rosie Charlston. After all, Rosie has been dead since 1998. And even before she died, she was a Labrador retriever. “I don’t think Rosie will be voting this year,” said...
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Washington’s revenue picture will remain essentially static through the end of next year, according to the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, and what growth there is will come from fund transfers and accounting techniques rather than real hard dollars. Unveiled on Wednesday morning in Olympia, the regularly scheduled report projects a $156 million increase...
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In Washington, it’s a felony to list any address other than one’s actual place of residence when registering to vote. Which means that, unless they’re living in the lobby of their local Fed Ex store, hundreds – if not thousands – of state residents are currently committing fraud. “It doesn’t matter what your motive...
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