From Our Corner

Releasing petitions: What's the deal?

Image Katie Blinn, assistant state elections director, wraps up in a new narrative… Read more

Federal judges OK release of R-71 petitions

Image The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has just lifted the ban on Washington releasing Referendum 71 petitions. A three-judge panel handed a clear victory to the Secretary of State Sam Reed and Attorney General Rob McKenna, who had vigorously argued that the state'… Read more

WSL Updates for October 15, 2009

Volume 5, October 15, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) FREE TRAINING FROM WSL

2) ALASKA-YUKON-PACIFIC EXPOSITION 1909 – 2009

3) TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT COURSE FROM PLA

4) DISASTER READINESS FROM WEBJUNCTION

5) GRANTS FOR YOUTH-LED LITERACY PROJECTS

6) SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING IN A TOUGH ECONOMY

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------… Read more

5 Questions about the new Voters' Pamphlet

Notice something different about your Voter's Pamphlet that just arrived in the mail? Our Voters’ Pamphlet team, assisted by a visiting Design for Democracy fellow, talk about how the guide's facelift makes it easier for you to use it...

… Read more

Thurston judge halts release of petitions

Image Judge Richard Hicks of Thurston County Superior Court has just granted a temporary restraining order blocking the state from releasing initiative petitions under the state’s Public Records Act. His decision came Wednesday in response to a lawsuit brought by… Read more

WSL Event, Oct. 15 @ 6:30pm – The Last Great Race: Iditarod

Image The Iditarod Sled Dog Race began in 1973 to encourage the designation of the Iditarod Trail as a National Historic Trail and bring the tradition of dogsled racing back to Alaska. The race covers 1,150 miles of the most challenging and difficult landscape Alaska has to offer. Mushers and their… Read more

Time

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="237" caption="Time"][/caption] What is time? It can be a short time, a long time, an easy time, or a hard time, but for an inmate it can also be a slow time. Time seems to pass slower in prison, for many a day can seem like a week or a month. Years don’t fly by in prison, they crawl and it can truly feel like an eternity. Books help the time pass and let you forget where… Read more

R-71: Stay tuned for federal court decision on petitions

Should Washington officials be allowed to release Referendum 71 petition sheets? That touchy issue is in the hands of a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif., following a hearing this morning. Image

Deputy Solicitor General Bill Collins, who represented the state, reported a very well-prepared panel and a "very lively" discussion of the issues. He said the court has taken the case under advisement without… Read more

R-71 signature battle heads to federal appeals judges

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Washington's Attorney General and Secretary of State will ask a federal appeals court on Wednesday to overturn a lower court ruling and allow release of Referendum 71 petitions.

There's some question, though, whether voters will be able to actually see the public records before the election is over and done, even if the state proves its case that the voter-approved Public Records Act requires disclosure of the documents. R-71… Read more

'Fragile' recovery underway, but big deficit looms

Image Washington's economy, pummeled by the nation's worst recession in decades, is on the mend, slowly. But employers will continue to shed jobs throughout the year before they are able to start hiring again next year, and… Read more

Washington At Play: Slo-mo-shun

Washington loves its hydroplanes. Why, the hydroplane races on Lake Washington are among the state's greatest summer hits. Below former Secretary of State Coe enjoys a little time aboard Slo-mo-shun II... and I bet he was wishing he was starring in this YouTube footage of a Slo-mo-shun in action. We'll pretend it was him.

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Free stuff: Meet an Iditarod musher

Image Ever wonder what it’s like to compete in the legendary Iditarod Sled Dog Race? Come to the Washington State Library on October 15 and find out! Laura Daugereau, our state’s first female competitor in this famous race, will speak about her… Read more

Clippings, October 12, 2009

Library News Renovations to the Kent Regional Library, promised on a $172 million library bond in 2004 have begun, closing the building for the next four to six months. Library patrons will still be able to access a few of the library’s features at a temporary branch, but the majority of the 1,000 or more people who visit the library each day will just have to wait until the improvements are complete. (Photo) (Kent Reporter, 9.23.09)… Read more

WTBBL to showcase library patrons’ art

Image The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library in downtown Seattle will double as an art gallery later this month as it features tactile art created by the library’s patrons. The library’s “An Expression of Touch” exhibition will take place in its meeting room October 19-23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The opening reception is Friday, October 16, from 5 to 8 p.m. Submitted pieces (including one to the left) so far include pottery, baskets,… Read more

Washington At Play: Baseball!

Hey batter, batter! These strapping Chimacum High youngsters from the 1930s show baseball's always been in choice diversion in Washington. Why not take the ol' bat and mitt out to a nearby field to get your baseball fix? Many local parks have baseball diamonds and you can play for free. Go to your county Web site and search for spots you can play catch.… Read more

Simply Washington: Something more to add?

Image After we published our online resource book “… Read more

South of the border: Oregonians to vote on taxes

Image The Washington elections will long be over by then, but come January, Oregonians will be voting on taxes. Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown certified two referenda to the Oregon ballot, giving voters the last word on $733 million worth of personal and… Read more

Taking license with license plates

The state Department of Licensing is making some big changes in auto license plates in Washington. Currently, license plates have six characters (three numbers followed by three letters). But DOL is changing to a system (similar to one used in California) that features seven characters -- a number, a letter, two more numbers and ending with three letters. (Something like this: 1A11AAA).… Read more

R-71: Down to the wire?

Fresh polling continues to show a tight finish in the ballot battle over whether to approve or reject Washington's new expansion of domestic partner benefits and protections.

SurveyUSA, polling 548 likely voters for KING 5, showed the battle to be within the margin of error, with little more than a week until voters can start marking mail-in ballots. As reported by Seattlepi.com, the… Read more

Ask-WA(tch): Stats, Kudos and Comments for Sept 2009

Ask-WA Statistics – September, 2009

Image Ask-WA maintained a busy service during the month of September, and chat picked up slightly over August as schools came back into session. In numbers:

• Email… Read more