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GPS or Telematic Tracking Device
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1. Moderate Democratic state Sen. Steve Hobbs (D-44, Lake Stevens) won the endorsement of his liberal colleague state Sen. Ed Murray (D-43, Seattle) in the crowded race to take US Rep. Jay Inslee's seat in Congress in the (newly redrawn) 1st Congressional District. (Inslee is running for governor, and meanwhile, the reconfigured district is more conservative than it used to be, now stretching from the Microsoft suburbs all the way to the Canadian border in Whatcom County.)
A crowd of Democrats, including netroots star Darcy Burner, former state Dept. of Revenue Director Suzan DelBene, state Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45, Kirkland), and former state legislator Laura Ruderman are all in the race.
Hobbs has been a longtime ally of Murray on gay rights issues, and, as a leader in the pivotal Roadkill Caucus—a bloc of moderate Democrats who often align with Republicans on key economic votes—Hobbs frequently works with Murray to line up conservative votes. Murray is the senate ways and means chair.
In a statement, Murray said:
2. Environmental groups have been pushing legislators for years to pass a bill that would allow car insurance companies to sell mileage-based insurance---insurance that charges drivers based on how much they drive, tracking their mileage with a GPS-based or telematic tracking device.
Instead, in response to objections from insurance companies (who say mileage-based insurance plans would require them to reveal proprietary information) and civil libertarians (who say the tracking devices would violate drivers' privacy), legislators now seem poised to approve "usage-based insurance"---a product that would track things like how well a driver is braking and how slow he or she goes around corners, but would not directly track the number of miles a driver travels.
Environmentalists are neutral on the bill because, they say, it wouldn't provide a real incentive for people to drive less (by charging less for people who drive fewer miles). "There really is not that direct incentive there," says Carrie Dolwick, the state lobbyist for the Transportation Choices Coalition. "It doesn't have the benefits that we're hoping to get from mileage-based insurance."
3. In other driving and environmental news from Olympia: Seattle-area Rep. Zack Hudgins' (D-11, S. Seattle) legislation that would allow peer-to-peer car sharing---allowing private vehicle owners to rent out cars that would otherwise be sitting idle to other drivers who don't have cars---looks likely to pass this year. [pullquote]Yesterday at the Sheraton, Cantwell repeated her determination to restore Glass-Steagall. [/pullquote]
It was sent to the rules committee yesterday after passing out of the senate housing and insurance committee with full bipartisan support. (It passed the house 73-23 last week.)
And yesterday, Zipcar, the carsharing behemoth, announced it was investing $13.7 million in Wheelz, a college campus-based carsharing company that hooks up students who own cars with students who need them.
4. The Occupy protesters picked up on the idea last year, but it was US Sen. Maria Cantwell's issue at least three years ago when she was fighting what she believed was a weak Wall Street oversight bill from the Obama administration. Cantwell wanted to reinstate Glass-Steagall, the law that puts a firewall between commercial and investment banking.
Wall Street reform passed (eventually with Cantwell's vote ... after she initially voted no) without Glass-Steagall.
At her packed "Women of Valor" awards luncheon fundraiser yesterday at the Sheraton in downtown Seattle—$150 general seating, $1000 VIP—starring four female US Sens., Barbara Boxer (CA), Mary Landrieu (LA), Patty Murray (WA), and Jeanne Shaheen (NH) (plus award honorees such as architect Liz Dunn, Boeing VP Jean Chamberlin, and Washington Works founder Ginny Gilder), the speeches were mostly about the fight to preserve women's access to birth control.
But during her own remarks, Cantwell circled back to her defining issue, repeating her determination to restore Glass-Steagall.
1. Moderate Democratic state Sen. Steve Hobbs (D-44, Lake Stevens) won the endorsement of his liberal colleague state Sen. Ed Murray (D-43, Seattle) in the crowded race to take US Rep. Jay Inslee's seat in Congress in the (newly redrawn) 1st Congressional District. (Inslee is running for governor, and meanwhile, the reconfigured district is more conservative than it used to be, now stretching from the Microsoft suburbs all the way to the Canadian border in Whatcom County.)
A crowd of Democrats, including netroots star Darcy Burner, former state Dept. of Revenue Director Suzan DelBene, state Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45, Kirkland), and former state legislator Laura Ruderman are all in the race.
Hobbs has been a longtime ally of Murray on gay rights issues, and, as a leader in the pivotal Roadkill Caucus—a bloc of moderate Democrats who often align with Republicans on key economic votes—Hobbs frequently works with Murray to line up conservative votes. Murray is the senate ways and means chair.
In a statement, Murray said:
Steve Hobbs is a tireless, outspoken advocate for his constituents. More importantly, he knows when to lead and how to lead effectively. Like the late Senator "Scoop" Jackson, he can bring diverse groups together to accomplish great things.
Steve was pivotal in convincing moderates to vote in favor of marriage equality even though many in his district opposed it. He took a huge political risk to do the right thing. Steve is a perfect fit for the 1st Congressional District and will serve his constituents well in the U.S. Congress. I look forward to visiting Congressman Hobbs in Washington, D.C.
2. Environmental groups have been pushing legislators for years to pass a bill that would allow car insurance companies to sell mileage-based insurance---insurance that charges drivers based on how much they drive, tracking their mileage with a GPS-based or telematic tracking device.
Instead, in response to objections from insurance companies (who say mileage-based insurance plans would require them to reveal proprietary information) and civil libertarians (who say the tracking devices would violate drivers' privacy), legislators now seem poised to approve "usage-based insurance"---a product that would track things like how well a driver is braking and how slow he or she goes around corners, but would not directly track the number of miles a driver travels.
Environmentalists are neutral on the bill because, they say, it wouldn't provide a real incentive for people to drive less (by charging less for people who drive fewer miles). "There really is not that direct incentive there," says Carrie Dolwick, the state lobbyist for the Transportation Choices Coalition. "It doesn't have the benefits that we're hoping to get from mileage-based insurance."
3. In other driving and environmental news from Olympia: Seattle-area Rep. Zack Hudgins' (D-11, S. Seattle) legislation that would allow peer-to-peer car sharing---allowing private vehicle owners to rent out cars that would otherwise be sitting idle to other drivers who don't have cars---looks likely to pass this year. [pullquote]Yesterday at the Sheraton, Cantwell repeated her determination to restore Glass-Steagall. [/pullquote]
It was sent to the rules committee yesterday after passing out of the senate housing and insurance committee with full bipartisan support. (It passed the house 73-23 last week.)
And yesterday, Zipcar, the carsharing behemoth, announced it was investing $13.7 million in Wheelz, a college campus-based carsharing company that hooks up students who own cars with students who need them.
4. The Occupy protesters picked up on the idea last year, but it was US Sen. Maria Cantwell's issue at least three years ago when she was fighting what she believed was a weak Wall Street oversight bill from the Obama administration. Cantwell wanted to reinstate Glass-Steagall, the law that puts a firewall between commercial and investment banking.
Wall Street reform passed (eventually with Cantwell's vote ... after she initially voted no) without Glass-Steagall.
At her packed "Women of Valor" awards luncheon fundraiser yesterday at the Sheraton in downtown Seattle—$150 general seating, $1000 VIP—starring four female US Sens., Barbara Boxer (CA), Mary Landrieu (LA), Patty Murray (WA), and Jeanne Shaheen (NH) (plus award honorees such as architect Liz Dunn, Boeing VP Jean Chamberlin, and Washington Works founder Ginny Gilder), the speeches were mostly about the fight to preserve women's access to birth control.
But during her own remarks, Cantwell circled back to her defining issue, repeating her determination to restore Glass-Steagall.
