Getting the attention of legislators and media around the Capitol is a perennial challenge during the fast-paced session. Yet we did a double-take this afternoon, walking outside of the John L. O'Brien building.
These mimes proved that you don’t necessarily need to scream the loudest in order to grab eyeballs around here. This group called itself the “Poor People’s Block Party” and was attempting to draw attention to how proposed budget cuts might harm society’s most vulnerable citizens.
We’ll keep our eyes out for other creative displays around campus as the session continues.
UPDATE: Watch the official Sounders FC video of their visit here.
The House and Senate took a few moments out of their Friday sessions to honor the incredible accomplishments of the Sounders FC, and their amazing inaugural season.
There are plenty of Sounders fans and ticket holders amongst the legislators and staff here in Olympia, and they welcomed General Manager Adrian Hanauer and hometown hero, Kasey Keller to both chambers as they passed resolutions celebrating the victories and champions of our favorite MLS team.
WHEREAS, The inaugural season of the Seattle Sounders FC will be remembered as an historic triumph, not only on the pitch, but for bringing Major League Soccer to the Pacific Northwest and along with it, the loudest and most devoted and loyal fans in the country; and
WHEREAS, The Sounders FC became the first expansion team since 1998 to qualify for the playoffs, achieving the best record and most goals of any expansion team; and
WHEREAS, Our Seattle Sounders FC are the U.S. Open Cup champions of 2009; and
WHEREAS, Sounders FC fans have become a force in the MLS, with 22,000 season ticket holders and an annual game attendance averaging 30,943, setting the MLS record and ranking them amongst the top 50 clubs in the world; and
WHEREAS, The crowds grew even larger in the 2009 postseason, setting another MLS record for playoff attendance; and
WHEREAS, The Seattle Sounders FC's success on the pitch is rivaled only by their success in the community, with players, coaches, and staff volunteering nearly 1,000 hours of service and 80 community appearances during the season; and
WHEREAS, Their efforts set another Major League Soccer record by raising more than 23,000 dollars for the "Nothing But Nets" program, which provides antimosquito, malaria prevention nets to developing countries around the world; and
WHEREAS, No other professional sports team provides their supporters with a better and more democratic administration, allowing their fans a greater voice in the direction of their team;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urges all citizens of the State of Washington to join us in congratulating and recognizing the players, the owners, the staff, and the fans of the Seattle Sounders Football Club.
Long and heated evening hearings have begun in Olympia. On Wednesday night, in a three-hour long Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee hearing, Rep. Tina Orwall and many others discussed how hard it is for some businesses in the Green River Valley to get the flood insurance coverage they need. But Orwall has a solution.
“My bill would stabilize the market and ensure that our businesses in the Kent Valley have access to supplemental insurance that provides needed flood coverage, which in most cases exceeds what the National Flood Insurance Program provides,” explained Orwall. “We must move quickly on this bill to protect our area from an economic crisis caused by the potential threat of flooding.”
The feds do offer subsidized homeowners and businesses flood insurance, but the coverage limits for businesses are capped at $500,000 for a building, and $500,000 for its contents. So if your business is worth more than that, you have to get additional insurance. This is normally not an issue, but if your business happens to be located in an area prone to significant flooding, good luck finding someone that will sell you that surplus coverage.
HB 2560 would authorize the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to enact a Joint Underwriting Authority (JUA) for excess flood insurance. The JUA would act as a non-profit last-resort insurance to provide the surplus coverage that businesses in the flood plain can’t get anywhere else.
Orwall’s is one of three bills this session that address the issue of floods in our state. The other two (HB 2786 and HB 2787) are sponsored by Rep. Chris Hurst. They would strengthen emergency response and get funding for flood control and relocation of displaced citizens.
It rains a lot in Washington and many areas are at risk of flooding every year. In fact, right now it’s pouring and we’re expecting more rain over the next week that is and will continue to cause flooding. These bills could really make a difference for many folks in our state.
8:00 HHR A Education Work Session: Dropout prevention and re-engagement (3 proposals – Kagi, Probst, OSPI agency request)
Public Hearing: SHB 1418 - Establishing a statewide dropout reengagement system
1:30 HHR D State Government & Tribal Affairs Public Hearing:HB 2418 - Making the names and addresses of persons signing initiative or referendum petitions public records 1:30 HHR A Health Care & Wellness Public Hearing: HB 2551 - Related to retaining our system of universal purchase for childhood vaccine. 1:30 HHR B Agriculture & Natural Resources Public Hearing: HB 2591 - Recovering the actual cost of processing applications for water right permits (shifts cost of processing applications from the general fund to user fees)
Using the internets for our internetting of news is cool and all. But it's right about then when we're feeling cool, that we see someone doing something actually cool with the news. And that person today is Niki Reading over at TVW's blog, The Capitol Record. Niki took the breakdown of dollars allocated to each county and floated little blue balloons across the state, totally visible in this satellite shot at Google maps. See for yourself here.
...and they want to lead the state out of the country."
At a time when legislators should be focused on creating jobs, some are choosing to focus on, well, other things (like making gold and silver the only acceptable forms of payment in our state).
House Democrats are working on issues that matter: creating good jobs and a competitive business climate, building strong schools, protecting the environment and making government more accountable and efficient.
Democracy works best when citizens are accurately informed and fully engaged. We hope this blog helps you learn more about what House Democrats are doing to build a better future for all of us who live, work, and do business in this state.
