The Olympia Newswire was a non-profit news site that covered the regular session of the 2010 Washington state legislature. I founded it as an emergency response to the decline in number of paid reporters covering state government in Washington during a time of fiscal crisis and political upheaval. The Olympia Newswire is the only non-profit, public
Comments Off • Read this story »
Just as health care reform will dominate the 2010 national mid-term elections, the income tax will dominate Washington state’s election this year. All
Comments Off • Read this story »
[NOTE: The income tax initiative has since been refiled and is numbered I-1098. The article title has been changed to reflect that, but the content of
With reporting assistance from Rosette Royale Bitttersweet may be the best description of the legislative session, say advocates who spent the winter’s
Comments Off • Read this story »
The United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), a liberal consumer protection organization founded by
Some states like the sweet taste of soda and candy taxes By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer [Originally published on Tuesday, April 13,
Comments Off • Read this story »
The office of Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire has denied the Olympia
Facing opposition from both the state House and the Governor, the Washington state Senate reaffirmed its support for a general sales tax increase this
“Tobacco is hard,” says Vic Colman, staff for Washington state’s Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, an umbrella group for 40 organizations under
Comments Off • Read this story »
By Karen Kraut In the most shocking cut yet seen in the nationwide state budget cutting frenzy, 38,000 poor children in Arizona no longer have health insurance.
Are Washington Democrats facing a voter backlash this November? If all you consider is the conventional wisdom emerging from Olympia in recent weeks, the
Comments Off • Read this story »
Does the Democratic Party in Washington state have a death-wish? Would it rather self-destruct now than stand up to a Republican challenge later? Otherwise,
The passage of national health care reform by the U.S. House of Representatives was the best news that state Senator Karen Keiser (D-Kent), chair of the
UPDATE: The House and Senate have passed a compromise bill to keep the state’s General Assistance-Unemployable program going — minus what is
After weeks of negotiations on proposals that were far apart, the House and Senate have crafted a compromise bill to save the $339-a-month cash grant and
As the special session of the Washington State Legislature drags on into its second week with no end in sight, you can blame the sales tax. While there
Comments Off • Read this story »
One day into a special session of the Washington State Legislature, Democratic negotiators for the state House and state Senate have agreed on a tax package
Here’s something you wouldn’t know from reading the Seattle Times
Washington state taxpayers are paying hundreds of millions more in taxes than they need to, according to a new study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
Comments Off • Read this post »
The Olympia Newswire has some accumulated reporting and opinion to publish as the Washington state legislature moves toward completing its 4-week special session. Stay tuned this week for a “special
Comments Off • Read this post »
The Olympia Newswire launched as a pilot project to cover the 60 day state legislative session in 2010. It was never perfect, but it accomplished a great deal given its humble origins, and the lessons
Comments Off • Read this post »
Trevor Griffey was on KBCS 91.3 FM this morning talking about the 3rd week of the Legislature’s special session, and the “groundhog day” experience of waking up every day to have the
Comments Off • Read this post »
The Olympia Newswire is sponsoring a party tonight with much-needed drinks and rock n’ roll at Seattle’s premier punk club, the Fun House (206 5th Ave North). Party starts at 8:30pm, rock show
Comments Off • Read this post »
Almost one month ago, 75 people burst into song in unison in the gallery that overlooks the floor of the Washington state Senate. And perhaps if they had been singing an anti-tax song, the news media would
Because most other states are wrestling with similar issues to Washington state’s, here is a news roundup from national press of note the last few days. (And for those interested in a story aggregator
Comments Off • Read this post »
The biggest news about Washington state’s budget isn’t happening in Olympia this session. It’s happening in Washington, D.C.. The passage of the U.S. Senate’s health care reform bill in the U.S.
Comments Off • Read this post »
Click here to listen to Trevor Griffey’s interview with KBCS 91.3 FM about how health care reform will have
Comments Off • Read this post »
The structure of the Olympia Newswire’s pilot project to cover the 2010 legislative session was premised upon the idea that no reporters would work for free, and no opinion would be paid for. Through
[Editor's Note: Since this news analysis piece was written, the Washington state legislature adopted a 2 cent per 12oz tax on sugar sweetened beverages that will last from 2010-12 unless repealed. The
Comments Off • Read this post »
Olympia Newswire Economy Editor George Howland Jr. will be on KUOW 94.9 FM’s Weekday with Steve Scher this morning from 10-11am to discuss the state of the legislative session along with NPR
Comments Off • Read this post »
TVW’s show, the Impact, interviewed Sen. Ed Murray (D-Seattle), Chair of the Democratic Party caucus in the state Senate, this afternoon. The interview, which you can watch online here,
Comments Off • Read this post »
Perhaps the death of the education reform-teacher union coalition has been greatly exaggerated? The powerful, informal coalition of parents, teachers, administrators, and policy advocates that helped pass
Comments Off • Read this post »
One of the more significant points of difference between the state House and state Senate’s budget proposals relates to how to continue to fund welfare benefits, or funds for recipients of Temporary
Click here to listen to George Howland, Jr. on KBCS 91.3FM, originally broadcast this morning at 7:40am. AKPC_IDS += "1077,";
Comments Off • Read this post »
What Was the Olympia Newswire?: The Olympia Newswire was a non-profit news site that covered the regular session o... http://bit.ly/b8SlC3 - posted on 27/07/2010 17:36:47
Olympia Newswire has received a $25,000 grant to re-launch as a more permanent org later this year. http://bit.ly/azZR8P #waleg - posted on 18/05/2010 11:16:36
