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Long-term pension costs in Washington
The New York Times had an article this week about pension costs faced by states and large cities across America. Their argument is that the rate of return assumed by the plans is too high because returns for most funds over the last decade have been lower than the estimate. They say that 8% is…
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New (Preliminary) Economic Forecast for Washington
The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council has updated its forecast, as we do every quarter. This is the preliminary forecast. The final will be done in a couple of weeks when we get updated numbers from Global Insight, our vendor for national data. We modify that with specific data from Washington, and change a couple…
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Update on Floating Signs in Lake Washington
Seattle is saying no, he cannot float the sign. WSDOT has many more words to the same effect that I’ve included below. We are working with all the mayors surrounding the lake to make sure that this visual blight does not actually occur. I will continue to post on this issue, and propose legislation in…
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Eastside Schools Rock
5 of the top 5 high schools in Washington State and 5 of the top 200 high schools in the nation are in either the Bellevue or Lake Washington School District, acording to the annual US News and World Report 2012 ranking. While not an uncontroversial ranking (it doesn’t include Bellevue’s football prowess, for example)…
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More on Toxic Flame Retardants
In 2005, 2006, and 2007 I championed a bill in the Legislature that prohibited the use of poly-brominated diethyl (PBDE) flame retardants in products sold in Washington State. I argued that PBDEs were toxic for children and unnecessary. It was an ugly fight with the chemical industry. I was surprised at the level of duplicity…