Excerpt: | Yesterday, while doing some weekend reading with the help of Pacific NW Portal, I came across an editorial by the Spokesman-Review which reminded me of at least a dozen different platitude-laden Seattle Times editorials I’ve read over the years that attempted to pass for insightful commentary on the state’s fiscal situation. This editorial, “State’s fiscal […] |
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Published at: | 1:48 PM on Monday, August 25th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Economic Security, Legislative Advocacy, Policy Topics |
Tags: | Fiscal Responsibility, Strong Commonwealth |
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Monthly Archives: August 2014
School districts across Washington State lead a revolt against failed federal policies
Excerpt: | At least 28 school districts in Washington State have chosen to fight back against U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s demand that they label successful schools as “failures” due to a law backed by George W. Bush. When the state legislature refused to tie teacher evaluations to test scores, Duncan revoked the state’s waiver from Bush’s […] |
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Published at: | 8:30 AM on Tuesday, August 19th, 2014 |
Written by: | Robert Cruickshank |
Categories: | Unscheduled Programming |
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Washington State Supreme Court agrees to hear constitutional challenge to I‑1240
Excerpt: | It looks like within a year or two, we should finally have an answer to the question, Does the Constitution of Washington State allow for charter schools? That’s because the Washington State Supreme Court says it has agreed to take up a legal challenge to Initiative 1240, the charter schools measure narrowly approved by Washington […] |
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Published at: | 7:35 PM on Friday, August 15th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Breaking News, Education, Policy Topics |
Tags: | School Funding |
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Lauren Bacall: 1924–2014
Excerpt: | This week certainly is off to a pretty bad start. First, we lost the great Robin Williams, who tragically took his own life after succumbing to depression. Now we’ve lost Lauren Bacall, one of the finest talents of the last century and a stalwart progressive. “With deep sorrow for the magnitude of our loss, yet […] |
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Published at: | 8:02 PM on Tuesday, August 12th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Media & Culture |
Tags: | Obituaries |
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Robin Williams, a legend: 1951–2014
Excerpt: | It was with great sadness this afternoon that I learned that today we lost Robin Williams, one of the greatest comedians and actors of his generation, who was one of my favorites growing up and remains so today. Williams, sixty-three, was found dead in his San Francisco area home after having apparently taken his own life. […] |
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Published at: | 10:13 PM on Monday, August 11th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Media & Culture |
Tags: | Obituaries |
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Matt Isenhower, other Senate Democratic candidates enjoy boost in Thursday count
Excerpt: | Freshly tabulated ballots in Washington’s most populous counties have put Democratic challengers within slightly closer striking distance of their Republican opponents, new numbers provided by elections officials show. In the 45th District, Democrat Matt Isenhower improved to 46.27%, rebounding after losing a little ground to Andy Hill yesterday. On Election Night he had 46.07% of the […] |
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Published at: | 6:17 PM on Thursday, August 7th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Breaking News, Elections |
Tags: | WA-Leg |
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Pedro Celis overtakes Robert Sutherland for second place in 1st Congressional District
Excerpt: | Most of Washington’s thirty-nine counties have just finished tabulating a fresh batch of ballots, and there is significant news to report in the 1st Congressional District: Republican Pedro Celis, who national and state Republican officials recruited to challenge incumbent Suzan DelBene, has now moved into second place after having trailed another Republican, Robert Sutherland, for […] |
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Published at: | 5:48 PM on Thursday, August 7th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Breaking News, Elections |
Tags: | WA-01 |
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Vermont’s heroic response shows the way on No Child Left Behind letters
Excerpt: | Earlier this year, Washington legislators rejected a demand from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to require teacher evaluations to be based, in part, on student test scores. One of the primary threats Duncan used in demanding Washington State force schools to teach to the test was that if this change was not made, the state […] |
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Published at: | 1:17 PM on Thursday, August 7th, 2014 |
Written by: | Robert Cruickshank |
Categories: | Education |
Tags: | Testing & Evaluation, WA-Schools |
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Democrats appear well-poised to once again win a majority in Washington’s state Senate
Excerpt: | This morning, when I clicked over to Crosscut from NPI’s Pacific NW Portal (where I usually begin my daily rounds), I noticed, with some amusement, that former Washington State Republican Party chairman Chris Vance had posted yet another one of his Republicans are doing great and well-positioned for the next election columns, which he has […] |
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Published at: | 10:04 PM on Wednesday, August 6th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Elections |
Tags: | WA-Leg |
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Ready, set, match! Fall congressional contests taking shape thanks to today’s election
Excerpt: | Back in May, more than fifty individuals filed paperwork (either in person, by mail, or electronically) to formally declare their candidacies for United States House of Representatives in one of Washington’s ten congressional districts. By the time the August winnowing election is certified later this month, only twenty will be left, with nearly half of […] |
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Published at: | 10:55 PM on Tuesday, August 5th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Elections |
Tags: | WA-01, WA-02, WA-03, WA-04, WA-05, WA-06, WA-07, WA-08, WA-09, WA-10 |
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Suzan DelBene cruising in early returns; redrawn 1st District looks safely Democratic
Excerpt: | Ever since Washington’s 1st Congressional District was redrawn back in 2011, it has been widely characterized as the state’s most evenly divided political subdivision… a true “tossup” district if there ever was one. But looking at tonight’s winnowing election results, a newcomer to Washington politics might be forgiven for thinking that the 1st is a district […] |
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Published at: | 9:24 PM on Tuesday, August 5th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Elections |
Tags: | WA-01 |
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Senate challengers Matt Isenhower, Irene Bowling looking strong in 45th and 35th LDs
Excerpt: | Democrats’ hopes of retaking the Washington State Senate this autumn may rest on the fate of the campaigns of first time candidates Matt Isenhower and Irene Bowling, if tonight’s election results are any indication. Isenhower, thirty-four, is trailing incumbent Republican Andy Hill in the 45th by just a few percentage points. He’s outperforming every other […] |
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Published at: | 8:24 PM on Tuesday, August 5th, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Breaking News, Elections |
Tags: | WA-Leg |
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NPI’s Eleventh Anniversary Picnic is in three weeks: Don’t forget to RSVP!
Excerpt: | Three weeks from today, we’re going to be celebrating NPI’s eleventh anniversary (along with the defeat of Tim Eyman’s I‑1325!) in style at Redmond’s Perrigo Park with a festive summer picnic, continuing a tradition we began last year. We will have several special guests with us, including state Senate candidate Matt Isenhower (running in the 45th […] |
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Published at: | 4:43 PM on Friday, August 1st, 2014 |
Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
Categories: | Announcements, Events |
Tags: | Summer Anniversary Picnic |
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Tim Eyman wants $2.2 million for statewide initiative to repeal $15/hour minimum wage