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WSDOT requests proposals for SR 520 floating bridge
Three teams compete for $600 million to $750 million contract SEATTLE – The clock starts today for three prequalified teams who want to design and build the new SR 520 floating bridge, estimated to cost $600 million to $750 million. The new bridge will replace the existing vulnerable floating bridge with a six-lane facility that…
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Unemployment trends re-emphasize need for education
This graphic from an article on the Brookings website is a clear exposition of why a larger and larger fraction of our workforce should engage in higher education. Not everyone is going to get a BA or a BS, but a larger fraction of our students need more education past high school, and we must…
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I’m Back!
I’m pleased to report that I won this year, and will be back serving the residents of the 48th district for another 2 years. I expect these to be difficult years as we work through the tail (we hope) of the worst economic downturn since WW II. Our budget work this year will be difficult.…
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520 Groundbreaking
On Monday we dug a ceremonial set of shovels into the ground for the eastside portion of the 520 project. A contractor has been selected, the bid has been accepted (saved $116 million, about 25% under estimates) and the project will get under way. The reality here is that they’ll start real construction in the…
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Jobs Strategy
Our nation is in its worst economic crisis since World War II, 75 years ago. Washington is not immune to the national economy. Like almost every state we face crippling unemployment and many people have lost significant portions of their asset base – their home, their retirement portfolio, and the money they were saving to…
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520 Construction Bid Awarded!
The contract for the Eastside portion of the 520 project has been approved! We are expecting to start moving dirt “real soon now,” with significant construciton starting in the Spring. Eastside Corridor Constructors tops list for SR 520 Eastside project $306.3 million to design and rebuild SR 520 corridor from Medina to Bellevue SEATTLE –…
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Revenue collections, same store sales – good news!
Washington’s revenue collections report out this week was good news. The actual revenue was $2.5 million above the forecast. Being off by $2.5 million (0.3%) means Dr. Raha hit the bullseye – this is within the margin of error. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so excited about a flat collections report, but flat is the new…
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State Budget Options
I’ve posted a document to the site that has a number of proposals on how we should address the budget situation we face this year. Like most other states our revenue has tumbled as a result of the change in spending habits coming from the economic downturn. I believe we face a structural change in…
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Tech Jobs in Washington
Last week I met with the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) to talk about their agenda for 2011. No surprise, it’s about jobs here in Washington. What surprised me was how they chose to spend their time in the meeting. We had an hour set aside (but took 2). They started with over 45 minutes…
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Impact of Early Learning
The New York Times had an article this weekend on the impact of Kindergarten teachers on student success later in life. It’s worth reading for lots of reasons, but perhaps the title is good enough: “The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten teachers.” The conclusions of the article are pretty useful: Successful early learning matters: “Students who…
