Yesterday, during the middle day of its 2016 winter meeting, the Washington State Democratic Party went on record as opposed to CarbonWA’s I‑732, joining the Washington State Labor Council and IAM’s District Lodge 751 in the no camp. I‑732 is a complex tax swap proposal that would levy a carbon tax while also reducing sales […]
Monthly Archives: January 2016
Eyman cohort Don Benton announces his retirement from the Washington State Senate
Breaking news out of Clark County this afternoon: Entrenched Republican incumbent Don Benton, who has long been one of Tim Eyman’s biggest boosters in the Legislature, is retiring from the Washington State Senate. Via The Columbian: Benton said in a statement Saturday that he will finish his current term, which expires at the end of […]
Schedule set for Supreme Court appeal of Judge Downing’s decision in Lee v. State
The Washington State Supreme Court has settled on a schedule for hearing the appeal of King County Superior Court Judge William Downing’s decision in Lee v. State, the legal challenge to Tim Eyman’s I‑1366, according to an order signed by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen earlier today. Wrote Madsen: On January 25, 2016, Appellant, the State […]
Washington State Labor Council votes to oppose CarbonWA’s Initiative 732
The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, a federation of more than six hundred unions representing nearly half a million workers in Washington State, announced today that it has taken a position formally opposing CarbonWA’s I‑732, which backers have advertised as a “revenue neutral” tax swap that would levy a tax on emissions of gases like […]
Sound Transit to inaugurate University Link light rail service on Saturday, March 19th
Flanked by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and new Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced today at a media event on Capitol Hill that Sound Transit’s University Link light rail extension, which has been in the construction phase for the last few years, will have its public grand opening on Saturday, […]
WAmend’s Initiative 735 certified to the 2016 Legislature, ballot, Secretary of State says
WAmend’s Initiative 735 — which would put Washington State on record in support of a federal constitutional amendment to end the legal fiction that corporations are people and money is speech — has been certified as an initiative to the 2016 Legislature, Secretary of State Kim Wyman’s office announced this morning. Wyman’s Communications Director David […]
Republican Ed Orcutt tries to set up House vote on Tim Eyman’s desired amendment, fails
This morning, just prior to the House of Representatives’ adjournment for the day, Republican State Representative Ed Orcutt of Kalama attempted to fast-track a resolution that would amend the Washington State Constitution to require a two-thirds vote to raise or recover any revenue, as fervently desired and demanded by Mukilteo-based initiative profiteer Tim Eyman. Rising during […]
Browse with confidence: Permanent Defense and Pacific NW Portal have gone HTTPS-only
Last spring, we embarked on an ambitious project to strengthen the security of the Northwest Progressive Institute’s network of websites by making them available only over HTTPS, beginning with this domain, nwprogressive.org, and all the publications housed under it, like the Cascadia Advocate. Today, we are pleased to announce that we have done the same […]
Tim Eyman can expect state Supreme Court to uphold ruling striking down Initiative 1366
Yesterday, to the surprise of almost nobody except for Tim Eyman, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing struck down Initiative 1366, the unconstitutional atrocity that Eyman qualified for the ballot last year with the backing of hedge fund managers and real estate developers. I‑1366 was an attempt by Eyman to coerce Democratic legislators into […]
Tickets to NPI’s 2016 Spring Fundraising Gala (Friday, April 1st) are now on sale!
As of this Friday, January 22nd, we will be three weeks into 2016, and just ten weeks away from our eighth Spring Fundraising Gala, scheduled to take place on Friday, April 1st, 2016 (April Fools’ Day). With the big night rapidly drawing near, we’re pleased to announce that early-bird ticket sales for this year’s gala […]
CarbonWA’s I‑732 barely survives random sample check, Secretary of State reports
CarbonWA’s Initiative 732, a supposedly “revenue neutral” proposal to levy a statewide tax on carbon emissions while lowering Washington’s sales and B&O taxes, has narrowly qualified as an initiative to the 2016 Legislature following a random sample check, says the chief spokesman for Secretary of State Kim Wyman. In an early evening press release, Wyman’s Communications […]
Tim Eyman backtracks on brash predictions of victory in Initiative 1366 legal challenge
Sometime tomorrow, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing is expected to issue a ruling in the case of Tony Lee, et al. v. State of Washington, et al., the legal challenge to Tim Eyman’s incredibly destructive Initiative 1366. Downing heard oral arguments from lawyers representing the plaintiffs and defendants yesterday morning, and promised he’d […]
Martin Luther King, Jr.: We have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and like we do every year in honor of Dr. King’s memory, I’m posting an excerpt from his Letter From Birmingham Jail. In these passages, Dr. King is explaining that not all laws are created equal. Laws are made by humans, and humans unfortunately have a long history […]
Liveblogging the fourth 2016 Democratic presidential debate from the great Northwest
Good evening, and welcome to NPI’s live coverage of the fourth Democratic presidential debate of the 2016 cycle. NPI Treasurer Essie Hicks and I will be watching the debate and sharing impressions of the debate as it progresses. The debate is being broadcast by NBC and its affiliates. Courtesy of NBC, here’s where you can watch: […]