Search Results for: town hall
State must step in to preserve local pharmacies
Note: The following op-ed appeared in the Cheney Free Press and other Eastern Washington weeklies during the week beginning March 20, 2023. By Sen. Shelly Short In small communities across Eastern Washington, the local pharmacy is a business you rely on. Often it is the only outlet for miles around where you can get your prescriptions filled and find a well-stocked selection of over-the-counter medications. Imagine what you would do if it closed. This is the troubling prospect facing many independent pharmacy owners ...
A shocking ruling from the state Supreme Court
People lose, government wins in income tax decision Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Wilson’s subscribers March 29, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Wilson’s e-newsletters, click here. The Temple of Justice in Olympia is home to the state's highest court. Dear friends and neighbors, In this e-newsletter, I’m going to tell you about the most shocking development in Washington politics since I-don’t-know-when. It’s not that anyone was surprised when the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the income tax last ...
Sen. Perry Dozier -- Legislative Video Update -- Register for March 28 Town Hall, and budget updates
Residents of the 16th Legislative District may sign up for our "virtual" town hall March 28 (7-8 p.m.) by going online to: https://leg-wa-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0G1NLa0NSimL7oQQhF_9cw Also, the Senate has released its operating- and capital-budget proposals for this budget cycle -- here's what they mean for our district and state. https://youtu.be/5lAo--KDuoA ...
E-News: Court issues surprise ruling on state income tax
March 25, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, The Senate Ways and Means Committee held a public hearing on the proposed Senate operating budget yesterday, and it lasted a whopping eight hours, until 10 p.m. That had me waiting until today to get this report together for you. Keep reading for more about the budget proposal. On Monday morning I would have told you this week would be all about budgets – but there was even more to the week than I could have ...
Schoesler says Senate capital budget good for state, 9th District projects
The version of the 2023-25 state capital budget unanimously passed today by the Senate would address both statewide needs and local projects, says 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler. “The Senate’s capital budget would respond to needs all throughout Washington, and provide funding for important projects in a wide variety of categories, from education and public safety to housing and water and more,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville and the Republican lead on the Senate capital budget. “I’m pleased this budget would support many ...
Thanks to everyone who took part in telephone town hall!
Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 23, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. I held a telephone town hall that this past Monday night, when it was certain I would not be interrupting those who are once again following our local Gonzaga University Bulldogs in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (myself included!). Thanks to the 80 or so people who took an hour out of their evening to take part in the town ...
Democrats ‘gaslight’ those calling for police pursuit reform
Members of Legislature’s majority blame police, alleged ‘misinformation’ from Republicans for interest in rolling policy back to ‘reasonable suspicion’ standard OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, shared the following comments in response to accusations by a House Democrat that the public’s interest in reforming the current police pursuit law is a result of lies by law enforcement and Republicans. The claim was made this week during a virtual town hall held by the legislators of the 36th Legislative District. A similar ...
Senate’s proposed capital budget funds several 4th District projects, says Padden
Sen. Mike Padden appreciates that the Senate’s proposed two-year state capital budget, released Monday, includes several projects in the 4th Legislative District and allows district residents to see their tax dollars help their local communities. “Just about everything I requested is included in the Senate’s capital budget proposal, so I’m pleased with it,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “The budget helps fund several local athletic and recreational projects in our district, as well as performing arts projects and other local projects. It’s ...
Sixteenth District state lawmakers to host virtual town hall Tuesday evening
OLYMPIA... Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Waitsburg, and Reps. Skyler Rude and Mark Klicker, both R-Walla Walla, will hold a “virtual” town hall meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28. The three lawmakers serve Washington’s 16th Legislative District, which comprises Walla Walla County and adjacent parts of Benton and Franklin counties. Tuesday’s meeting, held using the Zoom platform, will give constituents an opportunity to learn more about the 2023 legislative session. In addition to reviewing some of the bills that have ...
E-News: See you at a town hall tomorrow!
March 17, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, There aren’t many things the Legislature must do, but in odd-numbered years like this, approving new budgets is one of them. There are three state budgets: operating, capital and transportation. They cover a two-year period that begins July 1 in odd-numbered years. The current budgets took effect July 1, 2021 and expire June 30 of this year, so we need to have new plans in place to kick in the following day, when the 2023-25 biennium ...
Newsmaker Interview: Shelly Short
The following Q&A appeared on the ShiftWA site, March 17, 2023. Senator Short: “The buck stops with the governor” for his failure to follow the law to provide an exemption to farmers on rising fuel prices. March 17, 2023 / Newsmaker Interview This week’s Newsmaker Interview is with Senator Shelly Short (R – Addy) who serves the 7th Legislative District (Northeast Washington from the Cascade Mountains to the Idaho border). After serving in the state House of Representatives for four terms, she joined the Washington ...
Sen. Padden to hold 4th District telephone town hall Monday, March 20
Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers March 17, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here. I invite you and other 4th Legislative District residents to take part in a district telephone town hall on Monday, March 20, from 6 to 7 p.m. Invitations to participate will go out just ahead of time via automated phone calls throughout the 4th District, which includes Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and other communities in northeast Spokane County. Constituents who don’t ...
Padden to hold 4th District telephone town hall Monday, March 20
State Sen. Mike Padden is inviting 4th Legislative District residents to take part in a telephone town hall on Monday, March 20, from 6 to 7 p.m. Invitations to participate will go out just ahead of time via automated phone calls throughout the district, which includes Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and other communities in northeast Spokane County. Constituents who don’t receive a phone call during the event may call (509) 224-9140 to join in. The telephone town hall will be similar to ...
Will Olympia let police do their jobs?
Police pursuits and drug decriminalization are top issues in Olympia this season The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Shelly Short’s subscribers March 13, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Short’s e-newsletters, click here. On the job as Senate Republican floor leader. Dear friends and neighbors, We’ve just finished an avalanche of business in Olympia. We’ve passed 280 bills in the Senate, most of them in the last two weeks. I’ve been in the thick of it, as Republican floor leader in the ...
Join Me for Town Halls
Friends and Neighbors, We're past the half-way mark of the 2023 legislative session, so there's a lot to discuss. I look forward to giving you an update on where things stand related to my work on your behalf for our district and larger issues facing our state like housing, transportation, public safety and more. Please join me at any of my upcoming in-person town halls around the 31st District. Feel free to share this message with your neighbors. If you have any ...
E-News: Pursuit-reform bill passes in Senate... but we can do better
March 11, 2023 Hello Friends and Neighbors, All session long, I and other Senate Republicans have made the police-pursuit issue one of our public-safety priorities. I co-sponsored not one but two bills that would reform Washington’s law on pursuits, to make it less criminal-friendly. Why, then, did I vote against one of those bills when it came to the floor of the Senate this week? The rest of that story is below. Wednesday was the final day of this session for the Senate ...
Catalytic converter theft in WA state is organized crime, so let’s treat it that way
Note: The following op-ed appeared in the Tri-City Herald March 5, 2023. As the Washington Legislature debated the catalytic converter bill last session, someone parked this car across the street from my house in Longview. Within days, thieves had it up on blocks, the wheels were stripped and the catalytic converter was lopped off the tailpipe. It was as if someone was trying to send me a message – don’t give up on the bill. Courtesy photo by Sen. Jeff Wilson, ...
18th District lawmakers to hold town halls Saturday in Battle Ground, Vancouver
OLYMPIA… Sen. Ann Rivers, Rep. Stephanie McClintock and Rep. Greg Cheney will hold a pair of town halls this Saturday to update 18th Legislative District residents about the 2023 legislative session. Locations and times are: Battle Ground: 9-10:30 a.m., City Hall, 109 SW 1st Street Vancouver: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 110 - Lecture Hall, Dengerink Administration Building, WSU Vancouver, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave. “We’re just past the halfway point of the session, with the biggest decisions still ahead. This is an ideal ...
As Legislature narrows down the issues, tragedy makes case for pursuit bill
Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Chris Gildon’s subscribers March 3, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. Gildon’s e-newsletters, click here. Measure restoring police pursuits leads list of Olympia’s ‘good, interesting and controversial’ bills Dear friends and neighbors, We just completed the first half of the 2023 legislative session and have passed one of the major deadlines of the year. So, I’ll fill you in on just a few of the Good, Interesting, and Controversial bills from this session in a moment. ...
Public safety, affordability and more
Greetings from Olympia, Things are really starting to pick up here in Olympia as this past Friday we reached a milestone called the fiscal committee cutoff. This is first of a few deadlines that narrows down what legislation may ultimately become law. The work in the Ways and Means Committee, of which I’m a member, will help shape what the state’s next two-year budget will look like. Now, we are spending the day and into the evenings voting on legislation on ...