The three amigas
State Rep. Helen Sommers, 36th District Democrat and Magnolia resident, holds a stuffed tiger on the last day of the session, when she retired after 36 years in the legislature. Standing with her are fellow 36th District politicians, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (at left) and Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles.
Rep. Eileen Cody (Democrat - 34th District) gave her the tiger the day before to commemorate a remark Sommers made in response to criticism of her work. "What's one more stripe to a tiger?" Sommers remembers saying.
Seattle to create task force on public campaign financing
The Seattle City Council and Mayor Greg Nickels announced a plan to appoint a joint task force to begin work as soon as possible on developing proposals for public financing of campaigns. Gov. Christine Gregoire signed Senate Bill 5278 today, which gives cities the option to establish public financing of political campaigns.
"Matching funds can be a powerful tool to cap campaign expenditures," said Mayor Nickels. "And it helps spur more involvement in the process by increasing the number of people who contribute."
The senate bill removes the prohibition against the use of public funds to finance political campaigns for local office. Before a local government may adopt public funding, it must be submitted to the voters for approval. If a county, city, town, or district establishes a program to publicly finance local political campaigns, only funds derived from local sources may be used to fund the program.
Cirque du Soleil returns to Marymoor
King County welcomes Cirque du Soleil back to Marymoor Park for their run of Corteo, beginning April 24.
Cirque du Soleil brought "Varekai" to KWing Countys Marymoor Park in May 2006. With it came $550,000 in gross revenue to help support the maintenance and operations of King County Parks, and millions of dollars in economic gains for the greater Redmond community. This unprecedented partnership was also the inaugural event for the Recreation and Event Pad within the park. In 2006, 53 performances brought in more than 130,000 visitors to Marymoor Park, making the Redmond performances Cirque's most successful show on their West Coast tour.
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