Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Blogworthy, April 16th, 2007 (including reaction to the 2006 David Neiwert Awards)

We're starting a new occasional feature on the Official Blog called "Blogworthy" which is similar to our existing "In Brief" series, but somewhat different. "Blogworthy" will touch on news and developments that we couldn't get around to writing about previously, as well as items we have accidentally overlooked (it's easy to do, there's a lot happening each and every day).

The inspiration for the name, incidentally, comes from our very own Media & Communications Director, Jon DeVore (you may know him as stilwell).

So without further ado, here is the first edition of Blogworthy.

Washington State doesn't have a U.S. Senate race in 2008, but each of its neighbors does. In Oregon, there's a movement underway to draft Representative Peter DeFazio to run against Republican Gordon Smith, spearheaded by the dynamic duo behind Loaded Orygun. If you want to see a a change of leadership in Oregon's congressional delegation, join the effort to draft DeFazio and stop Gordon Smith. Please sign the petition by leaving a comment and pledge a few bucks to the cause on ActBlue.

Meanwhile, in Idaho, former U.S. Representative Larry LaRocco has stepped forward to challenge Republican Senator Larry Craig. Just weeks ago he told the Idaho Statesman, "It's no longer rumor...I'm gonna get into this race." LaRocco is embracing the netroots community and involving bloggers in his campaign, which is excellent. We'd love to see Larry Grant run for office as well. It's time to bring Idaho some progressive, Democratic representation.

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was in Seattle last Friday to talk about renewable energy with federal, state, and municipal officials from the Evergreen State at a press briefing held in Seattle Biodiesel's waterfront building along 1st Avenue South. I attended the event and was pleased to hear the Speaker credit Washington leaders for their hard work (especially Representative Jay Inslee). However, we still have a long way to go on the path to the goal of renewable energy independence. This is just the beginning.

The Washington State Department of Transportation recently posted to YouTube two simulations of what could happen to the State Route 520 bridge in the event of an earthquake or powerful windstorm. The videos certainly emphasize that the bridge has outgrown its useful life and needs to be replaced.

We fought Initiative 912 in 2005 on a campaign of "Safety First" - and safety is still of paramount concern. While there isn't enough money in place to pay for the replacement project, Governor Gregoire has hinted the state may tap the pool set aside for the Alaskan Way Viaduct and implement the surface/transit option along the central waterfront.

Finally, here's a recap of reaction from the regional blogosphere to the 2006 David Neiwert Awards, presented here and on Orcinus:
If you know of any posts about the Neiwert Awards that we somehow missed, please leave a comment and let us know.

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