Results tagged “christinegregoire”

Mayor Nickels, speaking of the tunnel for which no cost overruns can be foreseen, noted that, "The design work and engineering on the 'mile in the middle,' which has been the controversial part, will go forward in about two years." Does that mean what it sounds like? Is the most controversial part really undesigned? (The Weekly's Damon Agnos has some terrific quotes from someone who looked like the Mayor speaking out strongly against a tunnel a little while ago.)

So we've been reading in the Seattle Times that Governor Gregoire thinks a 28 percent tuition hike over two years is firm but fair, the editorial board seconds the motion (Ryan Blethen is a Cougar, we note in passing), and the UW's Mark Emmert praises this kind of "flexibility" on tuition because the UW is currently "one of the best bargains in the country." The actual tuition price would shoot up between $1,300-$2,000 over two years, though there's the usual promise of financial aid to defray, etc. We want to point out two things: 1) student loans don't make things less expensive, they make them more expensive, and 2) it's awesome that the primary stakeholders here, the students, are being circumvented in this discussion.

The news today that the state budget crisis is than originally projected is like one of those expensive studies you read about that finds a wholly predictable result, such as that pretty people get helped more when they fall down or that women in bikinis lead straight men to make stupid choices. It's a giant collective "duh" moment, where our fearless politicos in Olympia finally come out and admit the reality that existed a few months ago but is finally "official," even though everyone with half a brain and a moderate attention span knew it then, much as they know things are going to continue getting worse.

For those of you interested in why the hell everyone thinks a tunnel is such a hot idea, Gov. Christine Gregoire will be on on KUOW 94.9 FM this afternoon at 1 p.m. She'll (hopefully) have to explain her controversial decision to spend billions on a tunnel that doesn't increase traffic capacity (and decreases for the entire period it's under construction, between 4 and 10 years) while cutting budgets across the state government even as the public need for government services increases.

Phew, what a week. We've had the two Port resignations, all the school closure hullaballoo, Noemi Lopez' killer landing in custody, and--late yesterday--a breakthrough in the viaduct arguments. To be honest, we'd like nothing more than to laugh about all of this. Enter, stage South End: Sable Verity's eminently LOL-worthy guest column on the Rainier Valley Post, in which she imagines the weekend wrap-up conversation between the governor, the mayor, the school district superintendent, and the county executive. It is hilariously spot on, and exactly the dose of intelligent humor we needed to get us through a rainy Friday.

From President-elect Obama's weekly address this morning:

Rossi is on TV right now conceding the governor's race to Christine Gregoire, saying "The voters have a right to hold her to [her] promise." He's bloviating about his vote margin and his level of contributions. He'll be back in the business world, will "see what business opportunities there may be." He's "very comfortable in the business world." He "doesn't need a political career." He'll "be home for dinner tonight...tomorrow night, too." And he's thanking everyone who's helped out, asking the Dinocrats to not be disillusioned.

Jesus, we feel so much better already. Landslide. We like the sound of that. Now we just need Governor Gregoire to hang in there.

Thank you all for participating in our Seattlest Vote 2008 Polls over the last week! Though the polls were informal, they still give us a fairly good reading on how the Seattlest community will be voting today.

The Seattle Times Blethens have endorsed Dino Rossi (R) for Washington State Governor, saying "he can best be trusted to erase the state's huge projected deficit without raising taxes." The Seattle P-I endorses Christine Gregoire (D), pointing out, "Especially for uncertain times, she's a much more proven leader than her Republican rival, former state Sen. Dino Rossi." The Seattle Times, under Blethen leadership, has laid off about 20 percent of its staff this year, so we're a little dubious about their powers of prognostication when it comes to dealing with huge projected deficits.

ANNOUNCER VO: First, Governor Gregoire tried to visit a bar...WITHOUT a valid ID. Now she's been ticketed for parking ILLEGALLY. A lawyer should know better. Christine Gregoire. She can't get served. She can't talk her way out of a parking ticket. Is she right for Washington? A Republican governor wouldn't put up with this shit. (Thanks to Tessa over at waking jonas for the picture of Governor Gregoire's parking ticket, and accompanying story.)

There are two weeks until Election Day, and two issues in our state's gubernatorial race (three if you count Eastern Washington's concerns). Each week we'll be taking an award-winning look at where the candidates stand.

We just ran across the Seattle Times comparison of Gregoire's and Rossi's positions on the environment, largely cribbed from our exhaustive Seattlest coverage of the same topic. Republican Dino Rossi says maybe human activity is to blame for climate change, so operating on the theory than an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, "He...wants to spend $15 billion to expand highways and reduce traffic congestion, which he argues would reduce emissions." Seriously. He also thinks you should fix your leaky water hose by buying a much larger one and leaving it running all the time.

There are three weeks until Election Day, and three issues in our state's gubernatorial race (four if you count Eastern Washington's concerns). Each week we'll be taking an award-winning look at where the candidates stand.

• West Seattle Blog has what could at least be construed as good news for your wallet--the cost of gas is down $1 from its peak prices this summer.
• You've savored her crepes at local farmer's markets, and now you can support Anita and her delicious crepes at her brand-new Ballard restaurant.
• The Big Blog wonders why the Seattle P-I's website is blocked in Thailand.

Though we know you're just finishing up reading the transcripts from yesterday's Reichert vs. Burner debate, it's already time for another Washington State debate. Tonight, Governor Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi will meet in Spokane for the fourth debate in the hotly contested gubernatorial race. It's the second to last meeting for the candidates before the general election on November 4th. The final debate will be held between Gregoire and Rossi next Wednesday in Seattle. With the way things are going, maybe this go-around can be won by a margin of at least 200 votes.

Governor Christine Gregoire has admitted Washington is facing a budget deficit for 2009-11 (currently the state has a surplus), after third-party "GOP" candidate (He's what now? A Republican?) Dino Rossi staked out the issue. Now that she's announced cutbacks and a raid on the state's rainy day fund to cut the projected $3.2 billion deficit by half, Rossi can't find anything good to say about that, either. It is thrilling to hear a Republican deride reckless deficit spending; Ronald Reagan was all for it. But besides his time machine which transports tomorrow's deficits to today, Rossi seems to have a magic calculator, too--his 8-lane 520 bridge practically pays for itself.

There are five weeks until Election Day, and five issues in our state's gubernatorial race (six if you count Eastern Washington's concerns). Each week we'll be taking an award-winning look at where the candidates stand.

The Seattle Times--almost coming right out and saying something without regard for nuance and subtlety--has decided to set the facts straight about that Washington state deficit the Dino-Rossi-for-Gov ads are whacking Gov Gregoire over the head with. "The ads assert the state has a deficit. [...] The ad is inaccurate for this reason: The state is facing a projected $3.2 billion budget hole next year, but it does not have a deficit today." In fact, for this fiscal year we've got a surplus. We have to hand it to Rossi though: A major ad campaign tarring someone for how they've handled the future is an example of bold leadership.

Though the political news of the day is most certainly McCain's ploy to "suspend" his campaign and delay the first presidential debate as well as the VP debate in order to concentrate on the economic crisis, there's other news out today about the plight of Republican candidates this year. According to the New York Times, Washington State Democrats are suing to force Republican candidate for governor Dino Rossi to list his party affiliation on the ballot as "Republican" and not "GOP" which apparently polls higher.

For those of you still bummed you missed out on a political announcement via text message, you have a second chance. GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi and his campaign have launched a text message network to update Rossi supporters. If you text the word DINO (in charming all-caps) to 99222, you too can get updates on the Rossi campaign and the candidate's whereabouts. Be the first on your block to know when Dino Rossi is stumping in your neighborhood or when he finally figures out how to "not let Seattle steal another election." We wonder if his text network will have different messages for Western and Eastern voters. We imagine Rossi's Eastern Washington billboard slogan doesn't work quite as well with the remaining Seattle Republicans.

Howard Dean's visit to Renton this weekend was really only the beginning of what is sure to be a lively seven weeks until the election. The first celebrity deathmatch pitting Obama versus McCain on national TV is still 11 days away. But if you want to wet your chops with a little political debate action this week, you're in luck. Our own homestate smackdown will be broadcast on KOMO-4 this Saturday, Sept. 20, at 9 p.m. It's the first of five scheduled debates, so we suggest you get to work on the rules for your Gregoire v. Rossi drinking game. We'll start you off: anyone mentions the viaduct, you drink.

According to a King5-commissioned poll, Barack Obama's lead in Washington is diminishing. Obama's lead has dropped from double digits in June to only four percentage points in the most recent poll. If the election was held today, 49% of Washingtonians would vote for Barack Obama and 45% would cast their vote for John McCain.

According to an email we got from the Washington State Democrats today, the state's Attorney General, Rob McKenna, laid out a plan for Dino Rossi to beat Christine Gregoire in November for state delegates at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota. In short, according to McKenna, McCain-Palin needs to carry Washington by 10-12 points. "If he fails to carry it by ten or twelve points, Dino doesn't win." Maybe it's scary thoughts like that which convinced the state's Republican party to put out only a "vaguely worded press release" when their booth got trashed at Bumbershoot this weekend.

There are 10 weeks until Election Day, and 10 issues in our state's gubernatorial race (11 if you count Eastern Washington's concerns). Each week we'll be taking an award-winning look at where the candidates stand.

There are 11 weeks until Election Day, and 11 issues in our state's gubernatorial race (12 if you count Eastern Washington's concerns). Each week we'll be taking an award-winning look at where the candidates stand.

Well, that was fun! Absentee ballots are still pouring in, but yesterday's (rather predictable) primary results have been announced. Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire are neck and neck and by far the top two gubernatorial candidates, so settle in for a truly American-style bloody campaign this fall as they race to the finish line. Check out Slog's exhaustive coverage, starting here with the percentage results. And KIRO 7 has post-election interviews with both Gregoire (with words on "the hopes and the dreams of every Washingtonian") and Rossi (he talks a lot about money, and calls his campaign a "citizen's movement").

There are 12 weeks until Election Day, and 12 issues in our state's gubernatorial race (13 if you count Eastern Washington's concerns). Each week we'll be taking an award-winning look at where the candidates stand.

DRINK WITH CHRIS GREGOIRE: Drinking Liberally gathers each Tuesday to talk politics and drink alcohol. Tonight, they'll be joined by unafraid-to-call-herself-a-Democrat Chris Gregoire, who will no doubt be drinking for the votes of all those in attendance.

There are 13 weeks until Election Day, and 13 issues in our state's gubernatorial race (14 if you count Eastern Washington's concerns). Each week we'll be taking an award-winning look at where the candidates stand.