This afternoon, the Northwest Progressive Institute team sent the following letter to Governor Chris Gregoire, urging that repeal of unneeded tax exemptions be a key part of the budget proposal for 2009-2010.Dear Governor Gregoire:The projected budget deficit that our state must grapple with in the upcoming legislative session represents one of the toughest challenges that Washington has ever faced. State revenue is declining, leaving fewer dollars available to fund basic public services, and strengthening calls ...

tags: governor chris gregoire, governor gregoire, tax loopholes, budget proposal, budget deficit, biennium, deep cuts, financial trouble, tax exemptions, state revenue, economic times, community safety, precious metal, bullion, government programs, state of washington, legislative session, recession, environmental protection, billions of dollars

"Sound Transit HQ," by Seattlest Flickr contributor romulusnr We love the bus. We ride it whenever we can. We try to convince our friends, family, and neighbors to ride the bus. We even offered sexual favors to our girlfriend if she would start riding the 41 from her Northgate crib to her downtown office. (She declined; we broke up. Draw your own conclusions.) Last night, the P-I ran a story about Sound Transit having problems accurately determining ...

tags: absentee ballots, nauto, googles, transit issues, sound transit, excise tax, hovel, car buyer, sammamish, entire city, complainant, car buyers, northgate, issaquah, previous years, friends family, patrons, contributor, hq, conclusions