Newsletters

March 15, 2024

Newsletter: Is an arrest at Green Hill School a sign things are improving?

Arrests at Green Hill School may be sign things are improving Friends and Neighbors, I toured Green Hill School this week to see for myself the conditions and protocols at the detention facility. Green Hill once housed only juveniles, but now houses adults up to age 25 if they were...
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March 07, 2024

Newsletter: The good, the bad and the ugly — notable bills that passed this session

Friends and Neighbors, The 2024 legislative session wraps up today. The 2025 session doesn’t begin until next January. In the meantime, we move into the period called “interim,” when legislators return to their districts and their regular lives… while continuing to respond to questions and concerns from their constituents. This...
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February 16, 2024

Newsletter: Fighting for public safety. And, how much will a ban on natural gas cost you?

Fighting for public safety while others fight for the rights of offenders   Watch my legislative video update   Dear Friends and Neighbors, We have reached the point during the legislative session when the Senate is back to meeting as committees, having hearings on bills that passed the House of...
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January 26, 2024

NEWSLETTER: Taxes that will increase the cost of housing during a housing crisis are a bad idea

Watch: My weekly video update – session, taxes and natural gas   FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, We are about to hit some milestones in this 60-day legislative session, which makes it a good time to explain what happens to legislation from here. Next Wednesday, Jan. 31, is policy-committee cutoff. This is...
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January 08, 2024

NEWSLETTER: Session begins TODAY — you can testify in support of my bills — learn how

Friends and Neighbors, Today marks the beginning of the 2024 Legislative Session. We operate on a biennial schedule, so this is the “short” year. This means we meet for 60 days, during which time we are tasked with making minor adjustments to the biennial state budget adopted in 2023 rather...
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December 06, 2023

NEWSLETTER: Chronic absenteeism — Kids can’t learn if they keep skipping class

Friends and Neighbors, This will be my final e-newsletter for 2023. You will receive my next one during the first week of January, so I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The 2024 Legislative Session begins Monday, Jan. 8. It will end Thursday,...
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December 01, 2023

NEWSLETTER: Did Inslee’s OFM and WSDOT pressure staffer to lie about expected gas price increases?

Several of my e-newsletters have highlighted news about the governor’s cap-and-trade program that would be more appropriately titled “cap-and-tax.” This is the policy that has resulted in a 50-cent increase to a gallon of gas — an increase that could climb much higher. As I shared before, the governor was...
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October 24, 2023

Broken Inslee promise stalls behavioral-health treatment facility

CENTRALIA… Efforts to build a behavioral-health treatment facility in Lewis County are being pushed back another six months by what Lewis County lawmakers say is another broken promise from Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration. Sen. John Braun and Rep. Peter Abbarno, both R-Centralia, are particularly frustrated because the governor’s office assured...
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September 15, 2023

Newsletter: Our kids are still behind academically due to pandemic shutdowns

Dear Friends and Neighbors, The state of Washington’s K-12 education system remains one of my top priorities as we approach the 2024 legislative session. And, according to the Seattle Times, significant learning loss remains a critical problem.   The equity issue of our time Last year, I worked to get...
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