Protests Over State Budget Heat Up in Olympia

A day after seventeen people were arrested in a protest over state budget cuts, Olympia is still volatile ground. As of around noon today, two to three thousand people were already gathered by the Capitol just today to protest cuts to state education and health services without closing certain tax loopholes. Demonstrations have been going on since Tuesday.

Today's rally, organized by the Washington State Labor Council and Washington Federation of State Employees, is gaining national attention, and even features a special guest from recent headlines: one of the 14 Wisconsin lawmakers that left the state to block a vote over eliminating collective bargaining rights. So it's no surprise that our state's protests are making national news, from CNN right on over to Fox News's "Radical Leftists Arrested Outside Washington Gov's Office." (The comments! They are gold!)

Today's rally is expected to end around 3 p.m., but it seems unrealistic to expect people to disperse afterwards.