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As part of her budget reduction package, Gov. Chris Gregoire asked state employee union leaders to reopen their collective bargaining contracts so the state could reduce the amount it spends on monthly health care premiums.

The state currently allocates $850 monthly per employee. Reducing…

COLLEGE students already burdened by skyrocketing tuition deserve relief from overpriced textbooks.

All the more reason to cheer and support a pioneering effort pushed by the state Board of Community and Technical Colleges to develop new, dramatically less…

Cash-strapped lawmakers who are looking for ways to streamline state government operations, must take a hard look at State Auditor Brian Sonntag’s latest performance audit on state mailing costs.

The state auditor has some excellent suggestions which will save millions of dollars.

Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna kicked off his 2012 campaign for governor Tuesday morning with a big fundraiser and speech vowing to reform state government, cut regulations and some taxes, while boosting spending on education.

Speaking to more than 1,500…

Nothing is apparently too small to cut when faced with a $2 billion state budget shortfall.

Gov. Chris Gregoire sent out a directive Friday telling agencies, among other things, to look for ways to reduce the number of cellphones and land lines and shrink the size…

Washington state is finishing its latest budget cycle with a deficit for the first time in modern record keeping.

State accountants are in the process of checking the numbers, and they now expect that the two-year budget that ended in July will officially close…

The yellow school bus could become another victim of the Great Recession in some parts of Washington.

Gov. Chris Gregoire doesn't want to see her state stop spending money to get kids to school. But any squeamishness over student transportation cuts isn't…

The best ways parents can support their child's education and their school is to pass the tax levies and volunteer as much as possible, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday, Nov. 3, while at Shuksan Middle School.
School districts around Washington are bracing for another round of budget…

For the last couple of years, lawmakers have sympathized with college students who want them to spare higher education when cutting the state budget. But the choice often boils down to this: Cut social services or cut education funding.

Now, students at the…