Washington House Republicans: Capitol Buzz

Capitol Buzz is a daily roundup of online media clips produced by House Republican Communications. For more information, contact: Lisa Fenton, Communications Director, at (360) 786-7728.

FOR MORE NEWS AND INFORMATION, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT: http://www.houserepublicans.wa.gov

Oct. 20, 2009

	BUDGET & TAXES Washington state has nation’s third-highest combined tax rate (Puget Sound Business Journal) Property tax payments due Nov. 2 (Longview Daily News) BLOG: Gregoire’s new budget math: Don't like a cut? Name something else to lop (Brad Shannon/Olympian) BUSINESS, INDUSTRY & ECONOMY Rural jobless claims improve only because workers are giving up (Oregonian) Jobs lost in recession may never be replaced (AP/Tri-City Herald) COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT Yakima gathering illuminates problem of domestic violence (Yakima Herald-Republic) Witness testifies that Judge Hecht paid him for sex (The News Tribune) Federal changes won’t affect local cases (Spokesman-Review) Best in state: Clallam Marine Patrol wins 2009 Law Enforcement Program (Peninsula Daily News) EDUCATION (K-12) & SCHOOL SAFETY OPINION: Education: The best evidence shows that class size matters (Oregonian) EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES Funds flow to Nile Valley (Yakima Herald-Republic) $2 million in fed, state aid for landslide fix (AP/Everett Herald) Kittitas County is planning for next big flood (The Daily Record) ENERGY & UTILITIES BPA's reservoir of cash pays off (The Columbian) ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES Algae blooms on increase in state; officials cite changing conditions, better monitoring (Oregonian) The great wolf debate comes to Yakima (Yakima Herald-Republic) Idaho's first wolf tag fetches $8,000 at auction (AP/Spokesman-Review) BLOG: NOAA's proposed vessel regulations delayed - what will happen next year? (Candace Calloway/Seattle P-I) EDITORIAL: Puget Sound recovery going well on the Nisqually (Olympian) GAMBLING Port Angeles card casino deals final hand (Peninsula Daily News) HEALTH CARE H1N1 worries rank low among parents (Wenatchee World) Swine flu shots start to arrive in Washington (AP/Spokesman-Review) BLOG: Health bill: YesWeCare! vs. State Arm Insurance (John Henrikson/The News Tribune) OPINION: Health care reform behind the headlines (Rep. Brendan Williams/Seattle P-I) EDITORIAL: Swine flu is serious, but no cause for alarm (Longview Daily News) HIGHER EDUCATION LCC nursing program claims state award (Longview Daily News) LOCAL GOVERNMENT County budget cuts mean less help for battered, abused (KOMO-TV/Seattle P-I) Interim King County assessor Rich Medved dies (Seattle Times) Farrell to leave job as Port of Tacoma boss (The News Tribune) Strong oversight backed (Spokesman-Review) Pasco council removes Larsen from post (Tri-City Herald) MEDIA BLOG: Pierce County debuts revamped cable TV channel (David Wickert/The News Tribune) MILITARY USS Ford returns to Everett today (Everett Herald)
	POLITICS
		BALLOT MEASURES I-1033: Healthy restraint or a chokehold on government services? (Everett Herald) Confused about how to vote on Ref. 71? You're not alone (Seattle Times) Justice blocks release of Ref. 71 names (Seattle Times) Group takes R-71 support to the streets (Longview Daily News) Referendum 71 foe contends opponents are stealing signs (Yakima Herald-Republic) 'Its about equal rights' (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) BLOG: Justice Kennedy blocks release of names of R-71 signers (Jerry Cornfield/Everett Herald) OPINION: I-1033 Con: Initiative poses serious threat to education, other programs (Bill Lyne, professor at Western Washington University and president of the United Faculty of Washington State/Bellingham Herald) ENDORSEMENT: Yes on Initiative 1033, No on Ref. 71 (The Chronicle) ELECTIONS BLOG: Anderson: Shabro could have done more to pay Pierce County ballot postage (David Wickert/The News Tribune) LEGISLATURE Debate forges new bonds (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) LOCAL McGinn softens stance on viaduct tunnel replacement (Seattle P-I) Seattle mayoral candidate McGinn backs off tunnel position (Seattle Times) Many side with Mallahan over tunnel issue (Seattle Times) Candidates’ home addresses become issue in judicial race (Spokesman-Review) Crash puts campaign on hold; City Council candidate, family ask for privacy to grieve (Peninsula Daily News) BLOG: Floods, ferries and the exec's race: Who threatened who? (Chris Grygiel/Seattle P-I) COLUMN: Spokane’s Proposition 4 would be bad omen for state (Don Brunnell/The Columbian) STATE OPINION: Time for real reform of health care and taxes (Rep. Brian Baird/Seattle Times) NATIONAL OPINION: Obama, the graceless (Rich Lowry, National Review/Oregonian)
	STATE GOVERNMENT BLOG: Town meeting this week in Buckley; response to consultant proposal to close Rainier School (Joe Turner/The News Tribune) EDITORIAL: Proposal to cut penitentiary appears political (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) TRANSPORTATION Committee selects design team for Fort Vancouver connecter (Oregonian) Seattle Council votes to go ahead with tunnel (AP/Everett Herald) Keller Ferry runs again (AP/Wenatchee World) Feds help start electric car era around Puget Sound (The News Tribune) Vintage steam train continues journey through Spokane (Spokesman-Review) OPINION: State ferry system challenged by aging fleet, funding source (Paula Hammond, David Mosely - WSDOT/The News Tribune) COLUMN: Is the tunnel a boondoggle? (Knute Berger/Crosscut.com) TRIBES Bank sues Nooksack Tribe for defaulting on casino loan (Bellingham Herald) Tribes take salmon battle into state's road culverts (Seattle Times) Sharp will go to White House for tribal gathering (The Daily World) WATER Partnership launches project to redraw water-use rules (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

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