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Using the Gavel
I’ve had a couple of questions about the hearing we held this weekend on the Senate bill to temporarily suspend Initiative 960. I’ll write about the bill elsewhere but I wanted to talk briefly about how difficult it is to manage a large hearing on a contentious issue. This particular hearing was held at 9:00…
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Eastside residents invited to February 20 town hall with local legislators
CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT Eastside residents invited to February 20 town hall with local legislators February 11, 2010 State Sen. Rodney Tom (D-Bellevue) and Reps. Ross Hunter (D-Medina) and Deb Eddy (D-Kirkland) invite Eastside residents to a Town Hall on Saturday, February 20 for a discussion of the current legislative session. The legislators will provide updates on…
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Town Hall Meeting Thursday Jan 7th
On Thursday Jan 7th Sen. Tom, Rep. Eddy and I will host yet another of our regular town hall meetings. This one will be held in the Peter Kirk room at Kirkland City Hall, starting at 6:30 in the evening. We have the room for 90 minutes. Rodney, Deb and I will offer opening remarks…
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Telephone Town Hall
I’m trying a new thing this year – a “telephone” town hall. I sit with a headset and we have an autodialer call as many of you as we can. We give you the opportunity to stay on the call if you want to participate. Others who have done this have had thousands of people…
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Tolling I-90?
One of the issues we will need to decide this year is if we should add a toll to I-90 to help pay for the 520 bridge. There are a number of reasons why this might be a good idea – the diversion from 520 to I-90 might turn it into a parking lot, there…
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Ending Homelessness?
Last week I attended the annual breakfast for the Committee to End Homelessness in King County. We’re 3 or 4 yours into a ten-year plan to take this on. I’m concerned that the financial crisis we’re in will delay accomplishment of some of the goals, but these folks are serious, practical people who are working…
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Forum on 520
My seatmate Rep. Deb Eddy (D-48) is hosting a forum on the design process for 520 tomorrow night (Tuesday Oct. 6) at 7:00 PM at Bellevue City Hall. She’ll have DOT people there with fabulous maps, timelines, etc. It’s her event, but I expect we’ll have a lively conversation. Here’s what Deb said about the…
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Electronic Tax Filing
Last year we passed legislation requiring businesses to file their tax payments and returns electronically. The intent is to save significant time and effort in the Department of Revenue (DOR) processing paper forms. This will also cut down on errors on both ends of the process. I believe we get to eliminate 14 positions as…
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Fun things you get to do as a legislator
In August I attended a picnic put on by Alpha Supported Living for their residents. They held the picnic at Crossroads Community Park (a fabulous place behind Crossroads mall.) The main activity at this annual event is provided by a group called Outdoors for All. Their mission is to enrich the quality of life for…
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Economic and Revenue Forecast
(Originally posted 9/17/09) I serve on the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council for Washington, and today we had our quarterly “Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors” meeting. The state economist makes some projects and the economists in the room argue about it for a couple of hours. This is more fascinating than you might think, or…