If you follow the lead singer of the Decemberists, Colin Meloy, at all in his personal blog or twitter feed (@colinmeloy) then you know he has strong opinions about a few things. Mostly to do with music, Oregon and occasionally politics. Well, all three came together recently in the form of two political decisions made in a short amount of time that could very well affect him, his band mates, and much of the musical community nationwide. more ›

Our state House of Representatives has passed HB 1906, known by its sexier title, the Economic Security Act of 2009. The bill will temporarily increase unemployment benefits by $45 a week, and jacks the minimum benefit from $129 per week to $155. Out of curiosity, who thinks they can get by on $620 per month? Fun fact courtesy of Chuck Taylor: a back of the envelope calculation puts Seattle's unemployment rate at 15 percent, double the state rate. We also agree that taxing UI benefits is cruel and unusual punishment. more ›

It's opening day of the 2009 duck-hunting season state legislative session, and all signs point towards an interestingly contentious set of months in Olympia as the legislators deal with a deepening budget crisis. The Times notes that since Gregoire isn't campaigning anymore, state Democrats are now free to complain as loudly as their hearts desire without fear of giving an advantage to Dino Rossi's camp. For more information about the agendas of each committee meeting today, check Access Washington's calendar page. more ›

With a vote of 228 to 205, the U.S. House of Representatives has rejected the bail-out that lawmakers hammered out over the weekend that would have thrown an up-to-$700 billion lifeline to Wall Street. Washington State Rep. Jay Inslee (D) joined Republicans Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Dave Reichert in voting No. The markets sunk as news of the vote made its way around the world, and the Dow is down nearly 600 points [UPDATE:] dropped 777 points today--its all-time largest point loss. more ›