News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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OLYMPIA - Legislation to make daylight saving time the year-round standard passed the Senate Tuesday evening in a bipartisan 46-2 vote. The bill would put Washington state on Pacific Daylight Time year-round, pending approval of Congress. Senators Liz Lovelette, D-Anacortes, and Tim Sheldon, D- Potlatch, voted in opposition. House Bill 1196 was introduced by Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, and has gained traction over the course of the session, passing the House on March 9 in an 89-7 vote. The...
Rep. Alex Ybarra describes his time so far in the Washington State Legislature as a whirlwind. Ybarra was appointed to the Washington House of Representatives in January to fill the vacancy in District 13 left by the resignation of former Rep. Matt Manweller. Just a few hours after his appointment, Ybarra was on the house floor in Olympia experiencing his first day as a legislator. District 13 includes Lincoln County and most of Grant County, including Coulee City. Without much notice, Ybarra...
The Native American Voting Rights act was signed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee at a widely attended ceremony, Thursday. “We believe these three steps will allow tribal members to help us form a more perfect union and make good decisions about our destiny,” said Inslee of the changes the bill makes. The state House of Representatives passed an amended version of the bill with a 95-3 vote on March 5. House members voting against were Reps. Bob McCaslin, R- Spokane Valley, Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, and Matt Shea. R-Spokane Valley. The bill passed the...
Tiny houses are a trendy new housing option that are often considered affordable; however zoning requirements and other laws make them difficult to legally place. A tiny house is usually between 100 and 400 square feet but can range up to 1,000 square feet. District 25 Senator Hans Zeiger, R-Puyallup, is the prime sponsor of three bills to overcome obstacles to tiny house developments. The Senate Housing Stability and Affordability Committee heard public testimony on two of Zeiger’s bills, Wednesday. SB 5382 deals with tiny houses as d...
Legislation proposed on the last day of January would largely exempt state legislators from the Public Records Act, according to the attorney who led the fight against a similar bill last year. That bill was passed in a last-minute move after a Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled in January 2018 that the Legislature was subject to the Public Records Act and had not been in compliance for years. Both sides appealed the decision and litigation still continues in the Washington Supreme Court. A public outcry over last year’s bill led to the...
Legislation proposed Thursday morning would define how the Public Records Act would apply to members of the Legislature after a 2018 court ruling that the state’s governing body is not exempt from the law. The bill would not satisfy that ruling, according to the lawyer who represented 10 news organizations before a Thurston County Superior Court judge who ruled in January 2018 that the Legislature must comply with the state Public Records Act and had not been in compliance for years. Both sides appealed the decisions and litigation is still ong...
The creation of a Statewide Broadband Office and an initial investment of $25 million into getting broadband into “every nook and cranny” was announced by Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday. “We know the reality on the ground is that there are just too many places that do not have access,” said Inslee. “So, we know that fundamentally the digital divide should not and will not be able to divide those haves and have nots when it comes to digital and broadband access.” Inslee’s proposal targets extending the reach of broadband through a variety of progr...