A Christian school in Renton is a step closer to becoming the first private school in Washington state to operate an online high school following a hearing on Thursday in the House Education Committee. Washington has been certifying public high schools for years. The problem at Renton Christian is that the state’s rules say...
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To no one’s surprise, testimony on Thursday regarding House Bill 1044, which would require insurance carriers in Washington state to include abortion services in their healthcare plans, was both emotional and contradictory. Specifically, there was fundamental disagreement over whether the law would allow religious employers and others who oppose abortion on grounds of conscience...
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By ANNA DUFF For The Olympia Report With the highest minimum wage in the country, at $9.19 an hour this year, Washington teens face a historically high 28.6 percent rate of unemployment, well above the national average, with fewer than one in three working at all. It was in that context that Senate lawmakers...
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For the second year in a row, Washington state lawmakers are considering a bill that would compel local voting jurisdictions to create gerrymandered minority voting districts within their communities if it can be shown the outcome of recent elections does not conform to preconceived notions of how a “protected class” of residents should vote....
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Republicans in Washington’s House of Representatives on Tuesday proposed a bill that would change the way the state votes for president. Democrats, however, are dismissive of the plan because, if it had been in effect nationwide last November, there would be a different occupant in the White House now. HB-1091, sponsored by Rep. Matt...
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By ANNA DUFF For the Olympia Report In a state where judges are elected to four-year terms, some lawmakers are questioning whether a mandatory retirement age makes sense. Two bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, would let judges who hit age 75 during their term finish that term. “It makes...
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By ANNA DUFF For The Olympia Report It’s not every day that lawmakers anywhere consider scrapping an entitlement program, but senators in Olympia are set to try. At issue is the repeal of a 2007 law that was supposed to set up a system of paid family leave in Washington state, but which has...
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In 2011, when the Washington State Legislature was debating whether it could save money by contracting out its $11 million annual printing operation, the Washington State Department of Printing put out a request for bids in hopes of hiring a lobbyist who could prevent it. The agency backed down, however, when the public expressed...
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By ANNA DUFF For the Olympia Report When Sound Transit decided in 2007 to build a light-rail stop on the property where Doris Cassan and her husband had operated an airport parking lot for 40 years, the city of Sea-Tac decided it was time to follow the trendy example of other cities by creating...
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By ANNA DUFF For the Olympia Report Washington state’s cash-strapped ferry system has spent millions more than necessary on new ferries because it is required to have the boats built in-state, and onerous rules drive potential bidders away from the work, a new report by the State Auditor’s Office says. Even accounting for differences...
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