For The Olympia Report Seventy city and county projects across the state will receive a portion of $130 million in federal funds to repair or replace aging bridges. The Washington State Department of Transportation selected projects that will replace, remove and/or repair aging, obsolete and structurally deficient bridges. The funding comes from the Federal...
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  By ANNA DUFF For The Olympia Report  Although many states appear reluctant to put the Affordable Care Act into place, Washington state has forged ahead. Even so, pitfalls from the long-term budget implications to the lack of guidance from the very federal government that created the law have become apparent. “Washington state is...
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By ANNA DUFF For The Olympia Report The state of Washington actually pays more to build affordable housing than the private sector does to build market-rate housing, one comparison of two projects in Seattle found. Members of the House Capital Budget Committee were shown on Wednesday that the affordable housing project studied cost $14,804...
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For The Olympia Report The Senate Republican Caucus on Wednesday elected Sen. Mark Schoesler as Senate Republican leader and filled their other leadership posts for the upcoming two-year legislative term. As leader, Schoesler, R-Ritzville, serves as caucus spokesperson on legislative policy matters, represents the caucus in working with other elected officials and the governor,...
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State Sen. Bob Morton, R-Kettle Falls, abruptly announced his retirement on Wednesday, just six weeks before the beginning of the 2013 legislative session. He will step down on Jan. 1. “It has been an honor to serve in the Washington State Senate for the past 22 years,” he said. “I thank the people of...
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Washington residents curious as to the sort of administration Gov. –elect Jay Inslee plans to install when he takes office next month got a sneak peak on Tuesday when he announced his transition team. Not surprisingly, it was a lineup dominated by labor leaders, environmental activists, minority advocates and left-leaning special interest groups. “Inslee said...
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By Anna Duff For The Olympia Report Washington state lawmakers considered ways to use social welfare programs to improve educational outcomes at a hearing of the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday. The committee’s hearing comes amid a growing trend to look to so-called wraparound services, such as healthcare and counseling, to...
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With just a few weeks remaining in her tenure as governor, Christine Gregoire on Wednesday appointed her 33-year-old to a post on the Seattle Community Colleges board of trustees. The announcement came the day before Thanksgiving, with the attention of most news outlets – and the public — diverted for the holiday. Courtney Gregoire,...
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For The Olympia Report The state of Washington, which has a $1.1 billion budget gap to bridge when the Legislature convenes in January, announced on Wednesday its Department of Commerce has awarded more than $65 million from the Housing Trust Fund for 49 affordable housing projects in 23 counties across the state. The projects...
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  The state’s Select Committee on Pension Policy heard testimony Tuesday on how to prevent state employees from “spiking” their compensation in their last few years of service – a technique that can raise pension payouts even when employers have not made corresponding contributions in earlier years to cover the extra cost. One measure...
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