“Washington will eventually take action to lower our state’s carbon footprint. The question before us is whether that decision should be about sound environmental policy or merely a backdoor to increasing taxes and growing government,”
Washington Should Steer Lightly As Driverless Cars Inch Toward Mainstream
New state law reduces barrier to addiction recovery
A first-in-the-nation new law providing for privileged communication between a person undergoing drug or alcohol addiction treatment and their recovery sponsor goes into effect today in Washington state.
The change sponsored by state Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, recognizes the important role sponsors play in substance abuse treatment by providing support, advice and accountability for recovering addicts.
Constitutional amendment a must for balancing state budget
Budgeting requires difficult decisions and a commitment to governing. In 2012, a bipartisan coalition of senators instituted an important fiscal reform: the four-year balanced-budget law. Washington is the first state with this check on budget gimmicks, our greatest defense against self-inflicted financial chaos.
Amid national push, state lawmakers consider student free-press protections
Senate Bill 6233, sponsored by Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, follows a wave of efforts nationwide to clarify students’ rights to free speech in publications and broadcasts, regardless of whether students are participating in a class or if schools financially support the media.
State lawmakers want to make it easier for women to get birth control
“We have to lower the barriers to women having access to reproductive health care,” said state Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, the majority floor leader in the Senate who is a co-sponsor of both bills.
“One of the easiest ways to do that is to take a medicine and a technology that has been around for decades, that has proven to be safe, that is used by millions of women each year, and make it easier for them to access it,” Fain said.
Tax-break bill aimed at keeping rents low
Fain hosts special guests in foundation fundraiser
South King County community and business leaders visit state Capitol
Members of the Leadership Institute of South Puget Sound visited the Washington State Capitol in Olympia as guests of Sen. Joe Fain Wednesday. The group toured the campus, listened to leaders from the Legislature and state agencies, while getting a behind the scenes look at how legislation goes from an idea to law.
Senate Page program offers students real-life legislative experience
Auburn's job support for people with disabilities recognized statewide
Hundreds hear homeless stories during annual Reach Out fundraiser in Federal Way
“My trunk became my closet and my glove compartment became my lingerie drawer,” Khalid said in a video, as hundreds of people in the audience — including Khalid herself — watched her story unfold on a big screen during Reach Out's annual breakfast fundraiser on Tuesday morning at the Christian Faith Center.
Improving the odds for young people leaving foster care
State food aid program restored for many in need
Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, and Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, among others, made a push in the Legislature.
"From sitting in the Kent Library and listening to families and parents and kids talking about how important this program is, it truly called me to action and to help get this done," Fain told the crowd.
Sen. Fain: State Supreme Court 'missed the mark' with charter school decision
State begins second year roll out eligibility of full-day kindergarten
Thousands more children to receive full-day kindergarten
"It's our responsibility to ensure all students receive a quality education," Fain said. "All-day kindergarten expansion is prioritized for schools with the most at-risk students from low-income and minority families, who are disproportionately left behind by our current education system. This will help students begin their academic career on the right track and ensure a child's academic achievement is not determined by their zip code."
City launches construction of community and youth center
The community center is a from-ground-up project. Its heart will be a 3,500-square-foot multi-purpose room, offering enough space for 200-275 people and dividable into three rooms. Shared spaces between the buildings are to include a lobby, some outdoor gathering areas and a teaching and warming kitchen, which the project realizes by renovating and expanding the kitchen.
Kent's first charter school begins serving students
State Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, recounted to attendees his first meeting with Sefrioui several years ago when Sefrioui told Fain about his vision for a charter school. "He talked about the technology," Fain said. "He talked about the hurdles and he talked about the people he wanted to get involved. He talked about the steps he was going to take. As much as I am a believer in this model and what we are doing here, I looked at him and I thought to myself, 'My goodness, you're crazy.' And he very quickly made me, and a lot of people, a believer of what is about to start here today."
Fain also addressed the students who will make up the first class at Excel and the challenges they may encounter.
"This is going to be tough because it is new and it is different ...," he said. "You are going to be the ones, you students are going to be the ones to determine whether your friend learns their material and gets their homework done. That is what community is all about. That's what this school is all about."