Our Northwest Economy

Wash. Corrections Secretary Demands Changes To Parolee Compact

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington's Secretary of Corrections will make the case [tomorrow] Wednesday for permanent changes to the interstate compact on parolees. This stems from the murders of four Lakewood [Washington] police officers last November by Arkansas parolee Maurice Clemmons.

Listen Here

Otter Allows 'Freedom of Conscience' Bill to Become Law

The "freedom of conscience" bill approved by the Idaho State legislature will become state law without the Governor's signature. [Glenn Mosley reports. 1:02 SOQ]

Idaho Governor Butch Otter did not sign the bill, but nor did he veto it. That means the "freedom of conscience" bill approved by Idaho state lawmakers in the just concluded legislative session will become law.

Otter said in a letter to State Senate President Brad Little on Monday that forcing health care professionals to provide services they find morally objectionable is unacceptable. The Governor had his concerns about the bill, however. He also said that negatively impacting patients' rights, especially when it comes to end-of-life decisions, is equally problematic.

Otter wrote that greater care must be taken to ensure that decisions within living wills and powers of attorney concerning end-of-life testament are honored.

Concern over living wills and other end-of-life instructions prompted the American Association of Retired Persons Idaho to say on Tuesday that now you can learn about someone else's conscience on your death bed. The organization listed the new law as one of its "losers" from Idaho's 2010 legislative session.

[I'm Glenn Mosley reporting.]

Copyright 2010 Northwest Public Radio

Kulongoski Nears End Of Bill Signing Career

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski said [today]Monday that he might veto a trio of bills. That includes a controversial measure that would allow psychologists to prescribe certain medications. Kulongoski is in the home stretch of his role of putting the final signature on new state laws. And he's kept pretty quiet about it.

Listen Here

Idaho Lawmakers Adjourn; Fail To Ban Texting While Driving

The Idaho legislature adjourned for the year last night [Monday]. Lawmakers spent much of the final day on a last-minute attempt to ban texting while driving. But in a surprise, the bill failed. [Inland Northwest Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.]

Listen Here

WA: New Cell Phone Ban Takes Effect June 10th

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Starting June 10th, police officers in Washington will be able to pull over drivers who've got a cell phone pressed to their ear. Same goes for people who text while behind the wheel. Governor Chris Gregoire [today] Friday signed legislation making it a primary offense.

032610AJ_HangUpAndDrive

WA Special Session Enters Week Three

OLYMPIA, Wash. – It was only supposed to last seven days. But [Today] Monday marks the start of week three of the Washington legislature's overtime session. Majority Democrats remain deadlocked over whether to raise the state sales tax. However there are signs of softening. [Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins has this update. 1:02]

The longer the special session drags on, the more Governor Chris Gregoire ratchets up her rhetoric. Here she is Friday.

Chris Gregoire: “I'm just disgusted. Nothing is going on that I can tell. No matter how many offers I've given for compromise, they haven't resulted in a compromise. Time's up.”

Gregoire is talking about her fellow Democrats in the legislature. For the most part, the House and Senate have agreed on a rewrite to the state's two-year budget. They've also settled on the bulk of an $800 million tax package to help close a nearly $3 billion hole. But there's still one major sticking point. That's whether to raise Washington's sales tax. The Governor and House say no. The state Senate, yes. But Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown says she's starting to look for an alternative to the sales tax.

Lisa Brown: “We're going to look and see if we can come up with something that comes up with the needs of both the House and Senate.

Brown offers no specifics. But a coalition of labor and social service advocates has an idea. They're calling for a tax hike on soda pop to break the budget bottleneck. [I'm Austin Jenkins in Olympia.]

Copyright 2010 Northwest News Network

Buy Your Own Town For A Cool Half-Million

For the price of a modest house in Seattle or Portland, you can buy a whole town in north central Washington. But don't delay. The woman who owns Wauconda [wuh-CON-duh], Washington is ready to sell…now. [Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.]

Listen Here

Recession Suppresses Population Movement Within The Northwest

New Census Bureau estimates show the Northwest added people between 2008 and 2009. These numbers precede the actual 2010 headcount. The headline is that the struggling economy put a damper on movement within the region. [Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.]

According to the Census Bureau, a few Northwest cities showed strong population growth in 2009. In Washington, the Tri-Cities, Moses Lake and Olympia all added more than two percent to their populations. Idaho Falls and Hood River, Oregon are among the region's other strong performers.
But many cities showed little or no growth.
In Idaho, Labor Department spokesman Bob Fick says people continue their movement from rural to urban areas. But he says the bad economy and a bad housing market are putting a damper on the long-term trend.

Bob Fick: “I think what you saw is the continuing migration, albeit much slower because are just having trouble moving. They can't sell their homes. So that keeps them tied down.”

Fick says about half of the Gem State's counties saw more people move out than move in. He says many rural folks left for better opportunities in larger cities like Boise or Coeur d'Alene.

Several outlying southern Oregon cities, such as Klamath Falls and Coos Bay, also showed a net loss of people from 2008 to 2009.

[I'm Doug Nadvornick reporting.]


Copyright 2010 Northwest News Network

Idaho, the Health Care Lawsuit, and the Constitution

Idaho was one of several states filing a lawsuit this week challenging the new federal health care law. As Glenn Mosley reports, these current events are a reminder of the role the U.S. Constitution plays in our lives.

WA Governor Approves New Tax Break To Lure Server Farms

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington State is re-arming to do battle with competing states...chiefly Oregon...for high-tech server farms. The weapons here are tax breaks and cheap electricity. The prizes are computer data storage centers operated by companies like Microsoft or Facebook. [Correspondent Tom Banse reports.]

Listen Here