Wake-Up Call: Wednesday, October 22, 2008

With the PolitickerWA.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Washington's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

Where Gregoire, Rossi stand on environmental issues

OLYMPIA — Republican Dino Rossi and Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire both call climate change their top environmental priority, but they have vastly different views on how to combat the problem. (Andrew Garber, Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/governorsrace/2008295527_govenviro22m.html

Gregoire: RGA ad release 'worst day of my political career'

SHELTON - Gov. Chris Gregoire railed against a recent mailer sent out by the Republican Governors Association at a campaign rally in Shelton today. The mailer, which hit mailboxes on October 10, displayed a number of frightening looking mug shots of sexual predators and said that Gregoire had overseen the early release of 1300 people convicted of sex crimes, including some against children, who are now registered as homeless. (PolitickerWA)

http://www.politickerwa.com/bryanbissell/2443/gregoire-rga-ad-release-worst-day-my-political-career

Gregoire, Rossi campaigns spread wealth around in final days

OLYMPIA -- More than $41 million will be spent on this year's gubernatorial race and anyone with a television knows where a lot of that money is going. (Chris McGann, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/384392_ads2.html

State unemployment rate drops to 5.8 percent

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 percent in September, the first decrease in five months. (Associated Press)

http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081021/NEWS04/710219887/1001

Tacoma takes step toward greener city

The Tacoma City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to create an Office of Sustainability, an attempt to improve the city’s environmental friendliness. (Niki Sullivan, The News Tribune)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/front/topstories/story/515040.html

GOP plays hardball for Mielke

Clark County Republicans are doubling down on county commissioner hopeful Tom Mielke, paying $28,800 for mailers praising Mielke for standing up to casino interests and another $13,000 for television commercials trashing his Democratic opponent. (Jeffrey Mize, The Columbian)

http://www.columbian.com/article/20081022/NEWS02/710229960

Economic crisis pinches hospital

The economic crisis is squeezing hospital expansion projects and equipment purchases at a time when medical centers are full of patients and bound to get busier as Americans age. (John Stucke, The Spokesman Review)

http://spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=17320

Voter registrations climb in Tri-Cities

The Washington Secretary of State’s Office reported Tuesday that nearly 100,000 more people have registered to vote in the Nov. 4 general election than registered in 2004. (Michelle Dupler, Tri-City Herald)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/357354.html

With the PolitickerWA.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Washington's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.