How many City of Seattle dollars will it take to screw in 40,000 light bulbs--LED, to be exact? Only about $6 million. The city will use some of its federal stimulus money to begin replacing the city's incandescent streetlights for the long-lasting, cost-saving, and eco-friendly LED streetlights. Folks in Capitol Hill have already begun seeing street life post-LED lights, and from the sounds of it, life is good. However, not every neighborhood will be as lucky as Capitol Hill. The City of Seattle estimates the full switch-a-roo will take four to six years. Guess that's one way to keep the stimulus money lasting longer. more ›

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. more ›

How convenient! The Washington State Department of Transportation now has a map where you can see exactly where our federal stimulus money will be improving the state's highways and byways. The projects are concentrated, as expected, along I-5 and I-90, with a spattering up by Spokane and a few down towards Yakima. Here's the Washington Jobs Now project list; so far, five of the stimulus projects are at "Gone To Ad" status, whatever that means. more ›