A review of public disclosure exemptions rouses the constituencies behind them

• Spokane Spokesman-Review

Gregoire and Rossi, together again

For the first time in nearly four years, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and her Republican re-challenger, Dino Rossi, found themselves in the same room Friday night, May 9. The occasion was a retirement party at the Washington Supreme Court for veteran Associated Press reporter Dave Ammons, who has gone to work for Secretary of State Sam Reed.

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Annals of Northwest secession

A primer of regional separatist movements, real and imagined.

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Greg Nickels' rebel yell

Seattle's mayor waves the flag of secession. In so doing, he may have waved goodbye to a future in state politics.

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Trade missions by Washington officials have cost taxpayers $380,000 since 2000

• Olympian (Olympia)

Psst! Wanna see the Viaduct disappear?

The debate about Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct used to be a very public, contact sport, but as many local politicians were carted off the field, the controversy moved to a 30-person stakeholders group, who meet very quietly. Meanwhile, the politicians edge back onto the playing field and hint at solutions.

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One mile, 10 plans: The state lengthens the list of Alaskan Way Viaduct options

• Seattle Times

Aubrey Davis: Rossi's transportation plan harkens back to the 1950s

• Seattle Times

Political vet Denny Heck revisits life in politics in a revealing one-man show

• Columbian (Vancouver)

AP's David Ammons looks back on 37 years of covering Olympia

• Associated Press

The Washington gubernatorial race goes hybrid

The 2008 Washington gubernatorial race is shaping up as a rematch between Democrat Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi.

But while the candidates may be the same as in 2004, their campaign cars are not. This year both Rossi and Gregoire plan to crisscross the state in hybrid SUVs.

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Angry Art Thiel spares J.P. Patches

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Art Thiel has long been my favorite local columnist. What makes him a good columnist is also what makes us lucky he's not a gun-toting spree killer who's climbed a clock tower to teach us all a lesson. Thiel's latest column on the Sonics reminds me of the last scene in the movie Bataan where the movie fades out as doomed G-I Robert Taylor defiantly sprays machine gun fire as he's about to be over-run by the enemy. Thiel stands his ground like he's defending the Alamo, and he's generous in spreading blame and naming names when it comes to answering the question: Who lost our storied NBA franchise?

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An Earth Day accounting of planet-saving efforts

Washington has enacted greenhouse gas-reducing measures and has signed the Western Climate Initiative. But about the most you can say for those efforts so far is that they don't do any harm — they're symbolic first steps.

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Does Dino Rossi's road plan pass the math test?

• Seattle Times

Dino Rossi: Shift some rail funds to build car pool lanes on Eastside

• Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The money map: A new online tool to track the campaign for Washington governor

• Seattle Times

Remembering Ellen Craswell: She could have been a contender

Tracing her history is a path through the drift of the local Republican Party, from Reaganite cost-cutting to Robertson Christian conservatism — a formula for defeat. Here's the little-known story of Craswell's personal pilgrimmage.

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Is Dino Rossi a moderate?

I wouldn't call him that, but the Republican candidate for governor has no need to run to the right to beat Christine Gregoire. Just as he did in the election cliffhanger of 2004, he can present himself as a comparatively moderate candidate, one in touch with the state's mainstream aspirations. He's starting to do that.

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GOP gubernatorial hopeful Dino Rossi revives the idea of a waterfront tunnel

• Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Why governance reform for local transit would not work

A governor's commission suggests fixing our transportation problems by changing the governing board to a directly elected body, as in Portland. A skeptic says such a reform would be slow, reduce accountability, and probably make our transportation planning worse.

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