Luojie, China Daily

Featured Stories

AP

Wash. House Dems drop beer tax and other proposals  (Carlyle)

Seattle Times

Obama salutes national teacher of the year

Spokesman Review

Expanding full-day kindergarten possible in Spokane (Ormsby)

PRINT

AP-State

Wash. Senate OKs K-12 funding bill

Gov. Inslee signs tow truck anti-gouging bill (Pollet)

Wash. House approves registry of gun offenders

Gov. Inslee signs underage alcohol tasting bill

Inslee approves new compensation for electors

Governments may push workers to health exchange (Hargrove)

Fines to protect electric vehicle parking spots

Inslee approves new compensation for electors

AP-Federal

U.S. hospitals send hundreds of immigrants back home

Ore. Senate passes immigrant driver's license bill

Poll: Aging US in denial about long-term care need

Napolitano: Immigration bill would help boost security

S.C. Gov. Haley signs bill giving $120 million to Boeing

France Legalizes Gay Marriage After Harsh Debate

Aberdeen Daily World

Day-long mediation yields no agreement between judges and county

Bellingham Herald

Blog:  Lummi Nation objects to State Senate plan to cut Ecology’s Bellingham field office

Columbian

The Big Divide: The road ahead (CRC)

Op-ed: Camden: LaHood fails to bridge gap between CRC backers, foes

Covington/Maple Valley Reporter

Annexation bill going to Governor’s desk (Mullet)

The Economist

Dirty war (Carlyle)

Everett Herald

Gregoire sided with Boeing on water quality rules

Snohomish County jobless rate falls below 6%

WSU president outlines its plans at EvCC

Snohomish, Everett school districts get state energy grants

Burbank: Boeing going, so woo new plane makers

Editorial: Boost mainstreet retailers (Marketplace equity act)

Kitsap Sun

Blog: Walgren recalls time when lawmakers had perk with cops (Rolfes)

News Tribune

House committee OKs letting beer tax die (Carlyle)

Company negotiating to handle “e-government” (Clibborn)

Editorial: In FWay, four more victims of American gun violence

Olympian (subscription required)

Olympia council votes to buy isthmus properties for $3.3 million (capital budget)

Private company negotiating for management of state “e-government” (Clibborn)

House finance committee approves removal of beer tax (Carlyle)

Under the Dome: Today is Wednesday, April 24, the 101st day of the 105-day legislative session

Letter: B&O tax extension is a small price to pay

Blog: UPDATE – Senate passes bill putting part time state, K-12 workers into health benefit exchanges; Inslee says bill premature but idea may have merit (Hargrove, Hobbs, Hatfield, Fraser, Conway)

Blog: UPDATE – State ceremony honors 66 workers who died from workplace injuries and illness in 2012

Peninsula Daily News

March jobless rate dips in Clallam, Jefferson

Puget Sound Business Journal

Bellevue's International School is state's top high school

Renton Reporter

State proposes fining Waste Management

Seattle Times (subscription required)

House Democrats drop proposal to make beer tax permanent (Carlyle)

Without light rail, new span across Columbia is history, Oregon governor says

Lawmakers expand use of EpiPens by school nurses in emergency (Stonier, Mullet)

Editorial: Editorial: Tighten DUI laws but don’t rush

Editorial: Editorial: Go carefully on gas tax increase

Editorial: Editorial: Teacher of the year Jeff Charbonneau excels, inspires

Opinion: Guest: Math students cannot afford to fall behind with new Common Core standards

Spokesman Review

Tax extension for breweries off the table (Carlyle)

Bill allowing discussion of autopsies goes to Inslee (Kline)

In brief: Asbestos home products to be labeled (Billig)

Blog:Beer tax hike among those dropped by House (Carlyle)

House panel revises, passes tax hikes (Carlyle)

WA Lege Day 100: Autopsy bill passes (Kline)

Yakima Herald Republic

A Rose Garden salute for Zillah teacher

Editorial:  A welcome primary vote reform from Legislature

BROADCAST

KING 5 TV (NBC)

Some big name retailers caught selling liquor to minors

New law fines drivers who park in electric vehicle spaces

KIRO 7 TV (CBS)

New Eyman initiative could make transportation projects grind to a halt (Clibborn)

KPLU FM

After son's death, father criticizes lack of fishing industry oversight

MyNorthwest.com (KIRO FM)

Are gender-neutral laws really necessary? (Kohl-Welles)

Penalized for pulling over, but the law is the law

NW Public Radio

New Anti-Coal Coalition Launches

Q13 TV (Fox)

Interview: Thousands in jeopardy of not graduating?

WEB

The Capitol Record

House committee approves revised tax package (Carlyle)

Teacher pay raises, healthcare for part-time state workers on ‘Legislative Review’

Crosscut

House Democrats trim their education improvements (Carlyle)

HDC Advance

Which House Democrats are on Twitter? (Carlyle, Fitzgibbon, Hunter, Jinkins, Liias, Moeller, Morris, Orwall, Reykdal, Riccelli, Seaquist, Springer, Stanford, Stonier, Upthegrove, Van De Wege)

Applications available for Legislative Youth Council

HorsesAss.org

Sub Area Equity (Murray)

Publicola

Jolt: Bellevue and beer (Carlyle)

On other blogs today: Sharing bikes, shortchanging transportation, and more (Green)

Fizz: A good sign (Ranker)

Opinion: Isn’t it weird that… (Carlyle, Pollet, Farrell, Pedersen, Tarleton, Hudgins, Fitzgibbon, Dunshee, Liias, Chopp, Pettigrew, Santos)

SDC Hopper

Eye on the Majority: One-word amendment to help fund education fails in Senate (Rolfes)

Seattle PI

Washington by the numbers: Foreign-born residents

Blog: White House policy: Legalization won’t solve drug problem, drug czar says

Blog: Eyman: A full court press against court ruling

Blog: Republicans on state Dream Act: It’s to make us look racist (Murray, Kohl-Welles)

Slog

A Pay Raise That Olympia Can Get Behind

Tim Eyman's Latest Stupid Initiative Is Stupid

Washington Ledge

Eyman Proposes Yearly Votes On Super Majority Tax Rule

West Seattle Blog

Followup: Campaigning for transportation $ in the Legislature (Fitzgibbon)

Quote of the Day

"We are on the march to become a low-tax, low-services, low quality-of-life type of state.... Closing a few exemptions is hard work, but investment in education is essential."

Rep. Reuven Carlyle, Crosscut.com

Story of the Day

Governor Inslee with Rep. Gael Tarleton (center) and Dana Widrig (right). Dana’s story was the inspiration behind HB 1647.

Governor Inslee signs Tarleton’s ‘Safe Keys’ bill

Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1647 into law on Tuesday, which will require landlords to safely secure spare and master keys to rental units.

State Representative Gael Tarleton (D-Ballard) introduced the measure after hearing Dana Widrig’s story.

Widrig was brutally beaten and raped in her apartment complex three years ago. Her attacker was a maintenance employee who worked at Widrig’s apartment complex.

He gained access to a spare set of keys to her rental unit because they weren’t properly secured by the landlord.

Under current law, there is no legal requirement for a landlord to safely secure spare or master keys to rental units. HB 1647 looks to fix that oversight in the Landlord-Tenant Act by requiring landlords to safely secure spare keys to their rental units.

This is Tarleton’s first year representing the 36th Legislative District. HB 1647 is her first bill to be signed into law.