With the Occupy movement in the streets warning about the power of the 1%, Washington's Senator Patty Murray seems to be doing the protesters a favor by flaunting her relationship with a local lobbying firm. more ›

Sometimes we fantasize that the Capitol dome is a Reset button that just needs a really big thumb. Here's the exciting part about the viaduct bill that just passed the House: "Any costs in excess of ($2.8 billion) shall be borne by property owners in the Seattle area...." Are you at all reassured by Gov. Gregoire's spokesperson that "we don't envision any cost overruns to occur on this project"? more ›

Today lot of people who don't spend much time wondering what other people think about them would be feeling pretty proud if they did because the Washington state House and Senate have both adopted resolutions "honoring individuals with autism" (HB 4627, SB 8629). more ›

• Schmudget analyzes the 2009-2011 House budget and compares it to the Senate's, released yesterday.
• MyBallard is concerned about tents on Shilshole and stolen trees.
• The Troll got tagged! Fremont Universe reports, and they have photos.

The Seattle Times discusses how the planned Senate budget cuts "roll back much of the party's agenda." Publicola has four "angry press releases" on behalf of service workers, NARAL, low income housing, and childen's health. And Schmudget lays out the cuts in the areas of education and health, pointing out that some cuts are so deep, they effectively cut twice, by losing access to federal recovery funds. more ›

• The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce asks what livability is and receives several thoughtful responses. We'd settle for a coffee and donut place on every corner. (h/t to Hugeasscity.)
• Rainier Valley Post has a hot tip about "close-your-eyes-and-sigh" good Eritrean cuisine on Rainier Avenue.
• The Capitol Record posted blow-by-blow reports on the Senate and House budget meetings today. Grim reading, but very informative.

This morning, the state Senate will reveal their plan for a 2009-2011 operating budget; the House will release their version tomorrow. Given an unavoidable $9 billion shortfall, major cuts are only to be expected. Schmudget reported that if the Senate uses the entire Rainy Day Fund and frees up all available federal funds, legislators will still have to reckon with a deficit of $3.1 billion; that's where the program slicing and dicing comes into play. Stream the budget unveiling proceedings live at Washington State Public Affairs' website, tvw.org, or check online sometime after 10:30 a.m. today to find out what the Senate's budget looks like. more ›

Under a measure passed yesterday by the Senate, same-sex domestic partners in Washington would finally have the same rights offered to married couples--rights which many people have been denied since the stale, dated Defense of Marriage Act of 1998, which restricted marriage to unions between a penis and a vagina. more ›

Eww...Somehow we haven't ever before considered the potentially toxic chemicals in such seemingly innocuous every-day items as baby bottles, but now we're eying all the plastic around us with new suspicion. The chemical in question today is bisphenol A, or BPA, which the state House just voted to ban from baby bottles, sippy cups and water bottles sold here. How timely--today, six of the largest manufacturers of baby bottles announced they're not even going to make BPA-contaminated products anymore, according to the Washington Post. 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 ›

The first update today on Alaska's ballot count: Now it's Begich by 2,374 votes. That's a 0.77% difference between Begich and Stevens, which would not trigger an automatic recount. Keep checking for updates here. more ›

Approximately 24,000 Alaska ballots from the 2008 election will be counted today, and then we should know if Uncle Tubes/convicted felon Ted Stevens has officially lost his Senate seat. (The only ballots remaining after today will be those votes received from overseas, which, if postmarked by midnight on November 4th, will be accepted until Wednesday.) As it currently stands, Dem challenger Mark Begich is up by 1,022 votes, a difference of 0.35%. If the votes are split by less than 0.5%, there will be a state-funded recount, but if Begich picks up a few more votes, this thing--and Sen. Stevens' and Sarah Palin's career--could be done for good. Keep checking Alaska's election results here. more ›

As we mentioned yesterday, for the first time in the Alaska Senate race, Democratic challenger Mark Begich took the lead over tubesy felon Ted Stevens by just three em-effing votes. Well, as of late last night, Begich's lead had grown to 814 votes, which is comparatively huge. And things just might get better; Sean Quinn of everybody's favorite number-crunching website notes, "As we've pointed out and has been pointed out elsewhere, the remaining votes come from Begich-friendly districts. Mark Begich is now an overwhelming favorite to win the Alaska Senate seat." We know Stevens ain't gonna go down without a fight, but Washington's "third Senator" might want to start looking at his retirement options. more ›

A week after the election, Alaska's still hard at work counting their absentee ballots. Prior to today, incumbent US Senator/old coot/convicted felon Ted Stevens' lead over Dem challenger Mark Begich had been 3,257 votes. This morning, the state started to tally its approximately 90,000 votes that remain to be counted, and the gap whittled down to 971 votes--until just now, when, after elections officials had sorted through 43,000 of those ballots, it was announced that for the first time Begich was up. By three votes. As the Anchorage Daily News reports: "The elections division still has over 10,000 ballots left to count today and thousands more through next week, but the latest numbers show Mark Begich leading Sen. Ted Stevens 125,019 to 125,016." more ›

Our compatriots at DCist have been scouting for information on inauguration tickets. Turns out you can't get them from TicketMaster. For one thing, they're free. And for another, it's a government hand-out.

Tickets to the 56th Inaugural Ceremonies will be provided free of charge and distributed through Members of the 111th Congress. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies does not provide tickets to the public. Members of the public interested in attending the Inaugural Ceremonies should contact their Member of Congress or U.S. Senators to request tickets.