Island Republican

Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna's Must Read - July 2008

Published on 2008-07-23 14:30:00

I’m pleased to announce another major accomplishment in our ongoing efforts to fight high-tech crimes and protect children from online dangers. Building on the work of my Youth Internet Safety Task Force, the AGO’s High-Tech Unit and our Consumer Protection Division, we’ve added valuable new information to the Internet Safety section of our website. In partnership with national Internet safety expert Linda Criddle, author of the Internet safety manual Look Both Ways, we’

The Truth About Leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf

Published on 2008-06-18 17:22:00

Capitol Hill’s opponents of domestic energy production took to the stage yesterday to decry “Big Oil” again, not for its profits, but for “stockpiling” energy leases instead of producing them. In reality, it’s the government that is stockpiling leases.This group of politicians stated that oil companies hold the rights to millions of acres of federal leases that are not currently producing energy. This is certainly true, but not because of the sinister reasons

Transportation Taxes Are Up, but Traffic Congestion is Worse

Published on 2008-06-06 15:33:00

by Michael Ennis, Director, Center for Transportation Policy and Justin Bryant, Research InternIn Washington, we pay about 50 different state taxes and fees into the State Transportation Budget each year.In the 1999-2001 budget, Washington residents paid $2.65 billion in state taxes and fees to fund transportation. In the current biennium, residents are paying about $4.18 billion in transportation tax revenue, a 51.2% increase over the last nine years. That means the buying power of Washington S

Democratic National Convention Stumbles into Parody of Food Sustainability

Published on 2008-06-05 20:31:00

The National Restaurant Association has taken note of the green guidelines put out for food service for the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer. They are so restrictive that it is not clear food companies can even bid, for example, asking that wait staff not drive to the events; nothing fried, and 70% of each meal locally sourced. I don't think these guidelines will actually impact the amount of shrimp eaten in Denver this year -- but someone has clearly lost their way and stumb

Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna's June "Must Read"

Published on 2008-06-03 18:00:00

Greetings, Hopefully, you had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends over the Memorial Day weekend. In case you hadn’t heard, the extreme heat wave that hit the West Coast just before the holiday wasn’t the only big recorder-breaker for our state. Here at the AGO, we reached a record-breaking settlement with a drug maker that brings $1.6 million to our state as part of the largest multistate consumer protection settlement involving the drug industry in U.S. history

University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and NRDC Set Aside Science in Favor of Misleading Statistic

Published on 2008-06-01 17:22:00

Claim “Pacific Northwest temperatures are rising faster than the global average.” Snover, A. K., P. W. Mote, L. Whitely Binder, A.F. Hamlet, and N. J. Mantua. 2005. Uncertain Future: Climate Change and its Effects on Puget Sound, http://www.cses.washington.edu/db/pdf/snoveretalpsat461.pdf (Ac¬cessed May 24, 2008) p. 6 “The American West has heated up even more than the world as a whole. For the last five years (2003 through 2007), the global climate has averaged 1.0 degree

Washington State Lawmakers Impose $768 Million in Fee and Tax Increases in 2008

Published on 2008-05-28 13:40:00

More than $200 billion in fee and tax increases proposedby Jason Mercier, Director, Center for Government Reform, Washington Policy CenteIntroductionThe cost of government is going up this year. During the 2008 Legislative Session, lawmakers imposed $768 million in fee and tax increases over a ten-year period. Home inspections, background checks, fingerprinting, floral services and state tuition are among those activities that will cost more as a result. Last November voters enacted Initiative 9

The General Election Debate over Health Care Reform Begins

Published on 2008-05-23 16:34:00

by Grace-Marie TurnerPresident, The Galen InstituteSens. Barack Obama and John McCain are gearing up for a general election battle--barring a surprise surge by Sen. Hillary Clinton--in which they will offer very different visions for health care reform.Obama--like Clinton--sees a much larger role for government in the one-sixth of our economy represented by the health sector. Obama would mandate that all children have health insurance, would require employers to pay for insurance for their worke

Washington State: It's Time to Get Off the Budget Rollercoaster

Published on 2008-05-09 19:44:00

by John BarnesCommunications Director, Washington Policy CenterSome people like the thrill of rollercoasters. Our lawmakers must love it becaue the biggest rollercoaster in Washington is owned and operated by the state. It's called the budget.Lawmakers and the governor have grown state spending by 33% in the last two budgets. Now the Senate Ways & Means Committee is projecting a $2.5 billion deficit next year and a $5.3 billion shortfall for the 2011-13 biennium. Taxpayers are getting nauseas.As

Celebrate Earth Day by Giving Up Eco-fads

Published on 2008-04-23 13:33:00

by Todd Myers, Washington Policy Center, Director, Center for the EnvironmentThis Earth Day we are likely to be greeted by images of Hollywood stars doing their part to save the planet. We will be encouraged to follow their lead. After all, if Leonardo di Caprio and Brad Pitt are doing it, it can’t be just a fad, right?The problem these days is that ecofads aren't just being embraced by celebrities, but by politicians and policymakers too. Of course we take the proclamations made by movie