-
Progress Update on the 520 Project
The construction effort on 520 is about to move to the West side, after a long, long slog of a project. The last pontoons will be on the lake by November (if the creek don’t rise) and the details of the Eastside project will get finalized. The communication below is from Julie Meredith, the Program…
-
Every year we get the same scam
Somebody has a problem with the Ellensburg Rodeo and Kittitas County Fair. Every year he (she?) sends a similar “notice of cancellation” of the Ellensburg Rodeo and Fair with some goofy excuse. Every year it’s not true. It’s not true this year either. Sometimes you can’t make this stuff up. (The photo is a random…
-
Visiting Bertha (Many Photos)
One of the perks of the State Rep gig is that I get some cool tours. I’ve been inside pontoons on the 520 bridge, an aircraft carrier, Sound Transit tunnel construction, and last week the orifice the Bertha is creating. I took some photos that illustrate some aspects of the visit, though it’s hard to…
-
No More Boarding the Mentally Ill in Emergency Rooms
The WA State Supreme Court released a decision this morning on psychiatric boarding in hospitals that basically prohibits the state from doing this. Judge Gonzales’ summary is quite pithy. GONZALEZ, I.-Washington State’s involuntary treatment act (ITA), chapter 71.05 RCW, authorizes counties to briefly detain those who, “as the result of a mental disorder,” present an imminent…
-
Ross and Cyrus Raising funds for Fred Hutch
Rep. Cyrus Habib and I are riding in Obliteride August 9th and 10th to raise money for the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center and the work they do to solve the problem of cancer. We’d love your support of the cause. You may not know this, but both Cyrus and I are cancer survivors. He has…
-
520 Progress – New Status Report from Chief Engineer
The SR 520 program is making lots of progress this summer – with 46 pontoons now on Lake Washington and a new Eastside transit stop open for transit riders! Today we also celebrated a new construction milestone on the floating bridge—installation of the first transition span. More details below. Transition span installation on June 27…
-
Major 520 Work in June
The Eastside portion of the 520 project will reach a major milestone this summer – it’ll be mostly done by August/September. There will be punchlist work for some of the fall, but major disruptions should end. I know it’s been a bear of a project. Over the next few weeks you’ll see some major changes…
-
Fail: Congress Working on Toxics Policy
With the exception of education policy, there’s probably no other issue where states’ rights are paramount than when it comes to the health of its residents. Congress is currently considering a bill that would have devastating consequences to public health in Washington state if they don’t make major changes to the proposal. The federal Chemicals…
-
Other Opinions on Common Core Standards
It’s not just me disagreeing with the people who want to get rid of the Common Core State Standards, it’s a host of thoughtful people. My favorite so far is from David Brooks, the conservative columnist from the New York Times. (I know this is an oxymoron, but he’s more conservative than everyone else there.)…
-
Common Core Education Standards
This week I got a campaign questionnaire from a group I hadn’t heard of before about the common core standards and a few other educational issues, wanting my answers to a set of questions they posed. The group is Washington State Against Common Core so you can probably predict the direction they would like the answers to…
