Category Archives: Blog

Washington state legislators are making progress on two proposals to help sustain local news coverage. Leaders apparently appreciate the severity of the journalism crisis and how it’s negatively affecting Washingtonians, civic knowledge and engagement.

First the good news, the state Department of Ecology recently awarded $227 million in grants to local governments for high-priority water quality improvement projects. One of my district’s small towns, Normandy Park, received about $1.4 million for two important projects ...

Building Capital – Travels with Chipper John Steinbeck is one of my favorite writers, and while Grapes of Wrath may be his most influential book, he also shared his humor and humanity with his American travelogue, Travels with Charley. Charley ...

Today the Senate passed its operating budget, and on the surface the budget does some important things. It reduces the cost of college tuition, which is critical to students across our state, and it begins to pay some of the ...

It’s no secret that a lot of people with political agendas have been working overtime to obscure the value and effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act, known to many as Obamacare. In an effort to help simplify things, I thought ...

I had the very special privilege of speaking at the American Association of University Women’ regional convention Friday on a panel discussion of pay equity issues. That’s an important topic, but what made the evening even more memorable was the ...

I had a very interesting time last night hosting a telephone town hall with my 33rd District seatmates in the House of Representatives, Rep. Tina Orwall and Rep. Mia Gregerson. We fielded questions on a wide range of issues from ...

Joining me for the call from President Obama were, from left, Sen. Annette Cleveland; Misha Werschkul of SEIU Healthcare 775 Northwest; Kathryn Kolan of the Washington State Medical Association; Katherine White Tudor representing community health providers; and Teresa Mosqueda representing the ...

I was proud to attend a “Thank You for Expanding Medicaid” rally on the Capitol steps this morning and receive a giant “Thank You” card signed by dozens of members of the Healthy Washington Coalition. The rally showcased individuals who ...

Ever since the revenue shortfalls of the Great Recession began placing increased pressure on our state budgets, arguments have raged over whether the state is spending more or less on public services. Democrats cite year after year of cuts in ...