East Washingtonian - Your Hometown News Source

OLYMPIA–By the time you read this, the Washington Legislature's 2021 session will be in its final week. Our 105-day session is scheduled to adjourn, or finish, on Sunday, April 25. While many bills a...

OLYMPIA–This past week was an important one in the Senate, as the majority Democrats released their operating budget, capital budget and transportation budget proposals for 2021-23. As its name i...

OLYMPIA–The state Senate’s approval of a bill today is the first step toward the possibility of a state income tax on all Washingtonians, argues 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler. Schoesler voted aga...

OLYMPIA–Agriculture isn't only a way of life and a key job provider in Garfield County, the 9th District and other rural parts of our state, it also is a huge part of Washington's economy. A...

Times sure have changed in my nearly 30 years as a Washington state legislator. When I was a freshman member of the House of Representatives in 1993, one of the top issues facing the Legislature was...

OLYMPIA–Pandemic restrictions are preventing Washington's citizens from setting foot inside the state Capitol during this year's legislative session, but they aren't stopping people from voicing t...

WASHINGTON STATE–The government roll-out of vaccine distribution which began before Christmas, has met management issues fostering inoculation delays or holds. The federal government's "Operation W...

OLYMPIA–Like many of you, I’m encouraged by the news in recent weeks that COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna have been approved by the federal government and that doses of these vac...

OLYMPIA–When about two-thirds of legislators and I voted in 2015 for the “Connecting Washington” transportation package, we did so despite also passing a large gas-tax increase. We voted for this...

OLYMPIA–State law requires the governor to put a budget proposal on the table for legislators to consider, and that typically happens at this time of year. After seeing what Governor Inslee wants i...

OLYMPIA–Employers across our state have been looking to government for a plan to begin reopening Washington’s economy–and Republicans have delivered. Our Safe Economic Restart Plan lays out three...

OLYMPIA–The Small Business Administration (SBA) has updated its website to include some new resources for small businesses affected by COVID-19 including: •Paycheck Protection Program •Economic Injur...

OLYMIA–The COVID-19 situation leads to budget vetoes. The last day, under our state constitution, for the governor to act on legislation passed during the 2020 session was Friday April, 10. Because h...

OLYMPIA–I've seen Democrats raise taxes several times during my many years in the Legislature. They'd increase spending to unsustainable levels, then, when the economy slowed and tax revenues fell, c...

Each legislative session, many bills are introduced by my fellow lawmakers. This year is no exception. As of February 6, more than 1,300 bills had been offered, not counting bills held over from 2019....

OLYMPIA–Until nearly a decade ago, people could visit Washington’s state parks for free. Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler R-9th, Ritzville, hopes to make access to state parks free again for...

OLYMPIA–Much of the talk about our state's business climate has to do with the tax burden–and rightfully so. For example, early in this year's legislative session the governor's budget director tol...