Results tagged “busybees”

The metal detectors at the Capitol must have been off this weekend, when lawmakers smuggled in scissors big enough to make $4 billion in cuts during Saturday's 2009-11 state budget session. The Senate approved the state's shaky $35 billion operating budget by relying on federal money, one-time transfers, and cuts, lots and lots of cuts, to make up Washington's $9 billion deficit. The grim budget reaper visited higher education, K-12 education, health care, public safety and social services. Which pretty much means: more pink slips for state workers, state universities are the new Ivy League, the worth of school teachers is questioned, 40,000 people lose state-subsidized health coverage, the jails will release more crazies and no one better "opt out," or we lose our parks.

• Obsessively wash your hands as two cases of swine flu discovered in British Columbia. Never can be too careful.
• Lawmakers spent the weekend doing the budget thing, passing a $7.5B transportation budget in their sleep.
• Thank you for being a friend, Bea Arthur. 1922-2009.

The warm spring weather must be going to the heads of the folks in the State House, those busy little worker bees passing House bills left and right, and last night their attention was focused on state parks, as they passed a bill that will add a $5 opt-out fee on driver's license renewals. We're not upset about the $5 itself, but how those tricksters are trying to get it, placing the fee there in the "hopes" that we don't notice and select to opt-out. (You know it would be written in size 8 font.) The bill is now off to the Senate, where we hope it becomes opt-in.