The 5/30 King County Journal has a generally positive article on dave reichart’s (R-Wa, 8th District) first five months in office and notes:
He has raised more than $250,000 in contributions from special interest groups, according to the online PoliticalMoneyLine — the most of anyone in the state’s congressional delegation.
But he has lost at least one [...]

Something is quite broken if we can’t get along with each other without a spate of new laws being rolled out by legislatures each year. This is a refreshing idea from Idaho:
As they plan for a future state capitol renovation, state officials have always factored in a need to hold one or two years’ [...]

The new blog started by the Oregon house democrats is an interesting idea. On the main page you get a normal blog format with the usual sequential entry listing. Alternately, each member is a category and you can click a link on the left sidebar to get all the entries from a specific politician. [...]

As some of you may remember Oregon is planning to evaluate a proposal to replace their gasoline sales tax with a per mile assessment. For residents they contemplate equipping each vehicle with a GPS system and have special readers at gas stations that will add your mileage assesment to your refill bill. Out [...]

Washington’s current governor is pretty excited:
I just finished signing 516 bills passed by the Legislature, a new record.
516 bills?? A record?? This is something to be proud of?
Did she veto anything besides the tobacco reallocation? Did any of these bills remove old, obsolete or inappropriate laws from the books?
Sorry, I’m [...]

The Binary Circumstance suggests that there may be more than “protecting the community” to Seattle’s strip club moratorium:
Locally it has been suggested that the real purpose of the moratorium has been to insure that existing strip clubs don’t lose their monopoly on the market
Well, sure, monopolies are the natural result of any government imposed [...]

Over at Columbia Watch Stilwell notes:
I suppose the local GOP will rise up in outrage at this socialized-business approach. Shouldn’t the free market provide all the port development we need? Oh, right. Republicans only oppose taxes when they can make political hay out of it, not when their buddies are proposing them.
He’s right. It [...]

For now:
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Raj Manhas apparently has changed his mind about closing 10 schools under a school-restructuring plan to save money.
Sure there was a lot of backlash against his proposals. However, given shifts in demographics and a clear need to move beyond the long failed factory school system it is hard to [...]

The Agitator has a nice photo essay about the Pike Place Market .

Portland or Eugene when….

Sounds like Medved went a bit overboard today in demonstrating his knowledge and debating skills. Blatherwatch and the rest of you Norwesters should enjoy this. Well, ….maybe not if you are a Medved fan.
Via Avedon at Eschaton and Talking Points Memo.
Update (5/13): Yes, indeed, Blatherwatch did pick up on this.