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WSU formalizes 2012 legislative agenda

Washington State University’s 2012 legislative agenda promotes four key priorities to maintain the land grant research university’s commitment to advance the state. You can find it here and also on our website. Priorities include protecting public higher education in the budget, helping WSU meet the needs of the aerospace industry, complete the Biomedical and Health […]

Tax collections dip, forecast due Thursday

State tax collections for the past month fell $22 million shy of expectations, according to this report issued this morning by the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The Olympian’s Brad Shannon filed this report on it here. This comes just days before the council releases its quarterly forecast of tax revenues which is set […]

Forecast: Economic outlook unchanged

The state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast this afternoon approved a new economic forecast that is largely unchanged from the September forecast. It is noteworthy because the economic forecast generally informs the next state revenue forecast, due out Nov. 17. It’s that forecast that will tell state budget writers how much money they have, or in […]

Closing branch campuses does not fix the problem

Earlier this week, King 5 News aired a story regarding closing branch campuses at WSU and UW, one of the options being discussed by the legislature as means to save money for the state.  See the full story and video here.

Proposal suggests 15 percent cut to higher education

Gov. Chris Gregoire this morning outlined a series of budget cut proposals that, if enacted, would reduce WSU’s state appropriation by another 15 percent. That’s on top of a 52 percent reduction over the past several years. In a statement issued shortly after the release, WSU President Elson S. Floyd warned of deep impacts. “The […]

Q3 Lobbying Reports DUE TODAY

Just one last reminder to please file your lobbying reports for both state and federal today. Happy Friday and Go Cougs this Homecoming weekend!

Quality matters, higher education panel told

MOUNT VERNON — The House Higher Education Committee got an earful today from employers and others who stressed the need for a strong state commitment to produce the educated workforce Washington needs. That included Bill McSherry from The Boeing Company, who urged lawmakers to promote quality, not just quantity, in the degrees Washington institutions produce. […]

Education cuts could reach $1 billion

As much as $1 billion in education funding could be wiped out in the coming months as the Legislature strains to rebalance the state budget to correct what is commonly referred to as a $2 billion problem. That’s the message Rep. Larry Seaquist, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, delivered to kick off today’s […]

Revenue update: No reprieve yet

The state’s Economic and Forecast Council published a new report today indicating that tax collections over the past month have exceeded expectations by $10.6 million. The main take away: It didn’t get worse. You can find the report here. It indicates the state economy is likely to outperform the national economy in the near term. […]

Ground broken for Biomedical and Health Sciences Building

Several hundred turned out Wednesday for the official groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the beginning of construction of the Biomedical and Health Sciences Building at WSU’s Riverpoint campus in Spokane. Spirited onlookers packed the atrium of the Student Academic Center and students lined the stairways to catch a glimpse of the proceedings. You can check out […]