From Our Corner

Party on, marmots!

Two days after the Olympic marmot officially became the state endemic mammal, Secretary of State Sam Reed and others celebrated Washington’s newest state symbol with a “Marmot Day” event in our office Tuesday morning. (TVW plans to air the ceremony Wednesday at 9 p.m., with rebroadcasts Thursday at 9 a.m. and Friday at 6 p.m.) Image Sam recognized and thanked a group of students from Seattle’s Wedgwood Elementary School and their teacher, Kelly… Read more

R-71 update: signature requests pending

As Archives workers wrap up their microfilming of over 9,000 Referendum 71 petitions, public records requests are pending –and it could well lead to online posting of everyone who signed the petitions. Image Archives will wrap-up their "imaging" of the petitions Wednesday and the Elections Division crew will count the raw number of signatures submitted by Protect Marriage Washington, and then begin checking the signatures against voter… Read more

Ride the Wave: Tips to Weather the Heat

[caption id="attachment_1590" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Hot Summer Sun (via Flickr)"] Image [/caption] Forecasters claim that the temperature should drop by Friday, but right now Friday seems a long ways off. With the temperatures hovering in the high 90s, here are some resources with tips to help you survive the heat for the next few days until those cool (since when is… Read more

Re: R-71 backers bring in signature petitions

Image Election officials have begun processing Referendum 71 petitions submitted by foes of a new "everything but marriage" domestic partnership law. It seems likely that a full signature check will be required, rather than a speedier random-sample check. The sponsors, Protect Marriage Washington, hope to force a public vote in November on Senate Bill 5688, which extends all of the rights and responsibilities now afforded to marriage couples to same… Read more

Celebrate our newest state symbol: Name our office marmot!

Image To many folks, marmots are those furry mountain-dwelling animals that whistle loudly when you approach. (That's why they're nicknamed "Whistling Jack.") In our office, they’ll be the focal point of a fun celebration on Tuesday involving students from a Seattle elementary school. The reason for this event is that there's a new law (SB 5071) that went into effect Sunday declaring the Olympic marmot as the state’s endemic mammal. This also makes… Read more

New voter registration deadlines kicking in ...

Image Among the many new laws that went into effect Sunday, July 26, was SSB 5270. This law sets new deadlines for voter registration. So now, if you are a registering to vote for the first time in Washington, you have eight days before an election to register to vote… Read more

Digital Products Tax Exemption Certificate Available

As per a previous posting, a new Washington law regarding the taxation of digital products and services went into effect yesterday, July 26, 2009.

Libraries are eligible for an exemption to this tax, if they are purchasing the digital product or service… Read more

5 Questions with the Assistant Director of Elections

Image Shane Hamlin, assistant director for the agency’s Elections Division, fills you in on what’s next for Referendum 71 – and what needs to happen for it to get on the Nov. ballot. Q.) Today sponsors of R-71 turned in enough petition sheets for Elections to begin the process of counting signatures. What happens now? The petition sheets will be secured in a vault at the State Archives, and at the start of the weekday, Archives staff will begin… Read more

R-71 backers bring in signature petitions

Sponsors of Referendum 71, hoping to force a public vote this fall on the state's new "everything but marriage" domestic partnership bill, have brought in what they estimate are least 138,000 voter signatures. Image The bare minimum to qualify for the Nov. 3 statewide ballot is 120,577, but traditionally an average of about 18 percent turn out to be invalid. The state Elections Division has recommended that referendum sponsors bring in a 25… Read more

How will YOU celebrate Marmot Day?

Let’s just say we’re ready. Image Marmot Day is Tuesday, July 28. The Office of Secretary of State’s state symbol celebration starts at 11 a.m. in its office in the Legislative Building. You’re invited.

Gregoire: Future budget woes could be even worse

Image Governor Gregoire, looking south to budget woes in California and Oregon, takes some solace that she and the Legislature balanced a new two-year state budget without general new taxes and without major warfare in Oly or at the ballot-box. But Stateline.org, the… Read more

WSL Updates for July 23, 2009

Volume 5, July 23, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) SEPTEMBER MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP

2) ALA’S BOOKS FOR BABIES GRANTS

3) BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES GRANT PROGRAM

4) PNC/MLA ANNUAL MEETING

5) IMLS RELEASES LSTA REPORT

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1) SEPTEMBER MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP

How to Manage Others… Read more

Not a bestseller but a good read for Washington libraries …

Image . thinking of applying for federal broadband stimulus funding. That's right, just published last Friday, Enhancing Broadband in Washington: Effective Means to Improve Connectivity and Awareness / Report of the Governor's Broadband Advisory Council, July 17, 2009. The report includes… Read more

Not a bestseller but a good read for Washington libraries …

Image … thinking of applying for federal broadband stimulus funding. That’s right, just published last Friday, Enhancing Broadband in Washington: Effective Means to Improve Connectivity and Awareness / Report of the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Council, July 17, 2009.

The report… Read more

What is an apostille and why do I care?

For those of you who are sitting there scratching your head and thinking “I have no idea what an apostille is” … I offer a bit of solace: Spell check doesn’t recognize “apostille” either. (Instead it offers me “pastille” and “apostle” – both of which are quite unrelated.)… Read more

iPhone bar code app subs for library card

In the "keeping up with the times" department, did you know that there is an iPhone application that can create and store collections of scannable bar codes on the phone? The app was designed to store the bar codes from all of those keychain tags, and bonus member reward or "shopper's club" cards that we carry around for our favorite stores.… Read more

UPDATE: Taxes, the road not taken ...

Image Remember the Oregon Legislature's bold decision last month… Read more

August 18 primary is underway

Image Over 60,000 ballots were mailed out yesterday to military and overseas voters for the county-level August 18 primary election to make sure those voters receive their ballots on time. Counties could choose to fax a blank ballot, e-mail a blank ballot, sending a ballot by mail and send a ballot by priority mail or other delivery service. Military and overseas voters still have to print out the ballot and mail the hard copy back to the county in… Read more

R-71 sponsors plan Saturday signature turn-in

Image Sponsors of Referendum 71, seeking a public vote this fall on the state's new "everything but marriage" domestic partnership bill, plan to submit their petitions to the State Elections Division on Saturday afternoon. The organizers, Protect Marriage Washington, have made… Read more

Clippings, July 20, 2009

Clippings – July 20, 2009 Library News In preparation for the upcoming renovation at the Whitman County Library, the library will no longer accept donations of books, video and other materials because of anticipated space limits. (Whitman County Gazette [Colfax], 7.2.09) Encouraged by the popular success of Bluelight to Pucker Huddle, Friends of the Goldendale Community Library, a part of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, are completing work on a second book – a new, revised… Read more