Posts Tagged ‘washington state legislature’2 DUIs may soon equal 1 felony, according to new lawSunday, April 17th, 2011Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT For drunk drivers, it’s now two strikes and you’re out, according to a new law that was approved by the Washington State Legislature this week. With the passage of House Bill 1789, drivers convicted twice of driving under the influence will be charged with a felony. What the Seattle Times has to say about tuition increasesFriday, April 15th, 2011Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT As our front page story pointed out today, cuts in state funding have left students with a larger chunk of the bill to keep public universities running (and at less than full steam). The Seattle Times posted their own story on the subject this evening, putting the tuition increases in broader context, and mapping out the possible long-term effects of increases. P-I: College education increasingly out of reachWednesday, April 13th, 2011Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT The front-page story on SeattlePI.com right now is a five-page (!) article on dwindling public support for higher education in Washington, and, by extension, the west coast. It’s a comprehensive piece that gives a fuller context to the catch-22 this generation is caught in: It takes a college education to get a job that pays good wages, but to afford a college education, you’d need a job that pays good wages. It also takes a good look at why the University of Washington and other colleges are recruiting more out-of-state students. Washington Senate seeks to fund volunteer response for oil spillsTuesday, April 5th, 2011Brianna Gibbs // THE WESTERN FRONT The Washington Senate passed a bill April 5 that will better prepare the state for oil spills. The bill, passed 47-2, establishes a volunteer oil response training program along with funding for other oil spill prevention and response plans. Western braces for what will likely be a sobering budget proposal from House DemocratsSaturday, April 2nd, 2011Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT As if the current budget wasn’t sobering enough. House Democrats will release their “long-awaited” budget proposal on Monday in an effort to meet yet another budget shortfall, this time of $5.1 billion, the Seattle Times is reporting. “A new budget” has become synonymous with “new cuts to education” for the past few years, as we’ve seen state support for public universities dip to record lows. Word is that a caravan of about 20 Western students are heading to Olympia to comment during the public forum. Western students to protest in Olympia during spring breakThursday, March 10th, 2011Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT Students from Western (and maybe from universities around the state) will be protesting against budget cuts on March 21 at the State Capitol Building, according to a Facebook event page. The event has about 400 people listed as attending at the time of this post, with another 620 saying they might show up. From what I can tell, most of those 1,020 people have immediate connections to the Western network. But judging by the event description, students from other universities may be joining in. A quick Google search didn’t turn up anything, but I’ll see what I can find out tomorrow. House approves bill to make mug shots available to the publicWednesday, March 9th, 2011
Brianna Gibbs // THE WESTERN FRONT Washington’s House of Representatives approved a bill this week that would make mug shots of accused criminals available to the public. The bill now moves on to the Senate. As it stands, photographs would only be made available after the person accused is officially charged with a crime. Can snakes be service animals? Senate scrutinizes specific instanceTuesday, March 8th, 2011Brianna Gibbs // THE WESTERN FRONT Remember that bizarre piece of legislation: dogs and horses allowed, no snakes? Apparently, “no snakes” isn’t OK with everyone. A man from Shelton is lobbying against the proposed bill that would narrow the definition of a service animal to dogs and miniature horses, the Associated Press is reporting. Daniel Green, an opponent of the bill, uses a snake as service animal. Green said the snake is trained to hug him when it senses Green is about to have an epileptic seizure. New DUI law moving through Legislature was inspired by accident in Whatcom CountyTuesday, March 8th, 2011Brianna Gibbs // THE WESTERN FRONT Correction: The original headline to this post implied that Hailey French was involved in a fatal accident. As the article says, however, French was injured but not killed. A bill making its way through the Washington State Legislature would mandate a 12-hour impound on all motor vehicles used by people arrested for driving under the influence. The Senate approved a bill on March 3 known as “Hailey’s Law,” named after Whatcom County resident Hailey French, who was injured in a head-on collision with a drunk driver who had been released from prior DUI charge less than two hours before the crash. Effects of climate change may be a culprit in rising coffee pricesMonday, March 7th, 2011Brianna Gibbs // THE WESTERN FRONT What may soon become the official drink of Washington is starting to feel the effects of climate change, according to The Seattle Times. Coffee yields in Costa Rica have plummeted over the last 10 years, and many scientists say changes in temperature are the main culprit. |
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