Proving once again that their Fund education first rhetoric is nothing but a false front, Republicans today pushed a bill through the Washington State Senate that transfers sales tax revenue collected on transportation projects out of the state’s general fund and into its highway fund. Since the general fund principally pays for our schools and […]
Monthly Archives: February 2015
VICTORY!!! FCC votes to adopt strong Net Neutrality rules to protect the Internet
Organized money may be an increasingly powerful force in America and American politics, but today, organized people beat organized money to secure a historic, vital victory for Internet freedom in the United States of America. Just minutes ago, the Federal Communications Commission’s Democratic majority voted to adopt strong net neutrality rules that will keep the […]
U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer to speak at NPI’s 2015 Spring Fundraising Gala
Tonight, we are very pleased and excited to announce that U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer will be the opening speaker at our seventh Spring Fundraising Gala, which will take place April 10th at the Mercer Island Community & Event Center. First elected to the U.S. House in 2012, Congressman Kilmer represents Washington’s 6th Congressional District, which […]
Port dispute at an end? ILWU says tentative agreement reached on new contract with PMA
A dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), a group of West Coast terminal operators, is at an end following successful negotiations on a new contract, the parties say. “After more than nine months of negotiations, we are pleased to have reached an agreement that is good for […]
Tables at NPI’s 2015 Spring Fundraising Gala to be named after great progressive leaders
Late February is the time of year when many Northern Hemisphere dwellers like to say that spring is right around the corner. For those of us living west of the Cascades here in the Pacific Northwest, it feels like spring has already arrived, with the unusually warm temperatures we’ve been experiencing. The other day, my […]
Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci announces campaign for King County Council, District 6
King County suburban politics got a lot less boring today with Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci’s announcement that she is giving up her seat on the Bellevue City Council to challenge Republican Jane Hague for King County Council’s 6th District. The 6th District encompasses Kirkland, most of Bellevue, Mercer Island, part of Redmond, the Points communities, […]
The new, extreme Republican Party has arrived in Washington State
Last week’s announcement from a group of State Senators of a new transportation package has dominated the political news in Washington State. NPI founder Andrew Villeneuve explained the numerous flaws of this proposal here on the Cascadia Advocate. But it’s also worth taking a step back and examining what this proposal means for the future […]
Senate Republicans unveil pavement-heavy transportation plan laden with bad provisions
Washington State’s Senate Republican caucus held a news conference in Olympia this afternoon to take the wraps off of a transportation plan that’s somewhat better than what they belatedly offered last year, but still pavement-heavy and laden with a number of provisions that are completely unacceptable. The Republican-backed proposal, pushed by Senator Curtis King (who […]
Philadelphia selected as host city for 2016 Democratic National Convention
It’s official: the Democratic Party has a host city for its next quadrennial meeting. Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, will serve as the gathering place for the 2016 Democratic National Convention, which will be held the week of July 25th, 2016, following the Republican National Convention Cleveland. (Typically, the party that […]
NBC’s Brian Williams suspended for six months; Jon Stewart to leave The Daily Show
Today, something remarkable happened: The host of a fake news show made real news by announcing his departure from the program he has helmed since 1999, while the host of a real news show was suspended by his network for faking details about his experience as a war zone reporter over ten years ago. Who would […]
Hearing on SB 5375 turns into The Pam Roach Show — with special guest Tim Eyman
Yesterday morning, as some readers may have heard on Twitter, I made a special trip down to Olympia with the intention of testifying in favor of Senate Bill 5375, one of the Northwest Progressive Institute’s priority bills for this session. I was hoping to be able to explain to the Senate Government Operations and Security […]
SB 5375 would bring needed accountability to Washington’s signature gathering industry
Editor’s Note: The following are the remarks I prepared as the basis for my spoken testimony in favor of SB 5375. This bill was supposed to be heard by the Senate Government Operations and Security Committee today. I never got a chance to testify in favor of SB 5375 because committee chair Pam Roach refused […]
House Transportation Committee narrowly advances HB 1180 — after watering it down
This afternoon, the House Transportation Committee reported out House Bill 1180, one of NPI’s priority bills for this legislative session, with a “do pass” recommendation… but not before adopting a Republican-backed amendment that substantially watered down the bill for no good reason. In its now-amended form, HB 1180 would grant new revenue authority to Sound […]
Raspberry Pi Foundation unveils new Pi that’s six times faster, will support Windows 10
Three years to the month after launching the first Raspberry Pi microcomputer, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has unveiled a new Pi that uses a more modern processor and has twice as much memory onboard. The Raspberry Pi 2, as it’s being called, will sell for $35, just like its predecessors (the first generation Model A […]