
Ed cetera
Join the informed, opinionated journalists of The Times' editorial staff in lively discussions at our blog Ed Cetera.
December 18, 2008 3:43 PM
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire explains her austere budget in podcast: Click below to listen
Posted by Kate Riley

The Associated Press
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire
Gov. Chris Gregoire had to cancel her meeting with the Seattle Times editorial board to discuss an austere state budget she unveiled this morning because of the snowstorm. So we not able to provide a live-streaming video of the meeting as planned.
Instead, Gregoire and her budget director Victor Moore talked with the editorial board by phone. Joining editorial page editor Jim Vesely, writers Lynne Varner, Lance Dickie and me was reporter Jim Brunner. Remember, dear readers, never give reporters any credit or blame for anything the editorial board does. We often let reporters sit in on editorial board meetings but do not consult them about editorial positions. Brunner will write his story and we will write our editorial about the budget but we're not comparing notes.
Watch for our editorial on the Seattle Times Web site Friday afternoon and in Sunday's print edition.
Click below to find podcasts of our meeting. I split the meeting into four parts and summarized highlights for each section. Would love to hear your comments.
Part 1: This first clip is an overview by the governor of her approach to the budget with some questions specifically about higher education and K-12 education.
Part 2: In this next section, Gregoire says she would take a dim view of any tax increase that might be proposed by the Legislature and does not want to sign a budget that uses any deficit spending. She also talks about expected help from the federal government and her decision to suspend state employee pay raises and part of the Initiative 728, the so-called class size initiative.
Part 3: Gregoire discusses transportation funding and her commitment to Puget Sound cleanup. She also responds to a questions about whether the budget crisis is a revenue problem or a spending problem. (She lays it on the national recession.) Gregoire explains her decision to suspend part of Initiative 1029, which promised to provide more training for longterm health care workers. Voters handily approved the measure only in November. Other topics include funding for Child Protective Services and keeping money for Performance Audits, approved as Initiative 900 by voters a few years ago, and potential state budget effects on struggling county governments.
Part 4: This section discusses public safety budget decisions, a proposed change in how the state makes its pension payment. Gov. Gregoire says she'll engage with the Legislature to push for the policy decisions she's made, including "maintaining no taxes."

nwautos
(Daihatsu) Daihatsu FC Sho Case This futuristic four-seater debuted at the Tokyo auto show in December. Its seats can fold flat into the floor and th...
Post a comment

- SPU surprises neighbors with sale of Queen Anne rec property
- Beer-drinking bridge builders will get training from a counselor
- Boy's pat on president's head captured for history
- Matt Flynn has good day in Seahawks' 3-way QB competition
- Police arrest New Jersey man who confessed to killing Etan Patz
- Why dealing for Kellen Winslow makes sense for Seahawks | Steve Kelley
- Amazon addresses criticism at meeting
- Madrona dad killed by stray bullet as he drove through Central Area
- Driver fatally shot in Central Area
- Man arrested in disappearance of NYC boy Etan Patz
- Opponents of gay-marriage law say they have enough signatures
389 - Mariners try to extend some other team's misery for a change
337 - Quit drinking beer on job, Highway 520 builders told
325 - SPU surprises neighbors with sale of Queen Anne rec property
255 - Protesters rally outside Amazon annual meeting
176 - Komen controversy hurting Race for the Cure
168 - Mariners avoid making Chone Figgins call, but can't keep doing nothing with him
126 - Sources: DOJ sends letters to city blasting police reform efforts
125 - Driver caught in crossfire, fatally shot in Central Area
82 - Madrona dad killed by stray bullet as he drove through Central Area
75
- Dig into colorful history at Oregon's John Day Fossil Beds
- Get a sitter — please — for these 10 great date-night restaurants | All You Can Eat
- SPU surprises neighbors with sale of Queen Anne rec property
- Beer-drinking bridge builders will get training from a counselor
- Zumiez rebounds from recession better than most
- Boy's pat on president's head captured for history
- Driver fatally shot in Central Area
- Gates Foundation grants give local groups a boost
- Madrona dad killed by stray bullet as he drove through Central Area
- Recipe: Brown Butter Asparagus Risotto

May
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
Achenblog by Joel Achenbach
Andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com
Antagonistic Ink
blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail
Blatherwatch.blogs.com
Daily Democracy
Meganmcardle.theatlantic.com
Postman On Politics
thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com
Volokh.com
www.antiwar.com
www.crosscut.com
www.economist.com
www.forbes.com
www.freepress.net
www.horsesass.org
www.journalism.org
www.mediaaccess.org
www.nationalreview.com
www.reason.com
www.seattle.indymedia.org
www.soundpolitics.com
www.techcentralstation.com
www.telegraph.co.uk
www.theamericancause.com
www.washblog.com

















