Morning News Digest: Friday, October 31, 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.

Gregoire leads Rossi by 2 in latest poll

Gov. Chris Gregoire continues to lead Dino Rossi by a small margin, 50-48, in the latest SurveyUSA poll released Tuesday afternoon. (PolitickerWA.com)

http://www.politickerwa.com/bryanbissell/2506/gregoire-leads-rossi-2-latest-poll-larger-margins-among-those-who-have-already-vot

Tuesday a huge test for King County after 2004 mistakes

If there's one thing King County election officials don't want, it's a repeat of 2004. (Sharon Pian Chan, Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/governorsrace/2008333581_kingelexoffice31m.html

Dems talk issues, politics at LD46 forum

SEATTLE -- The 46th Legislative District state Representative, position 1 candidates, Seattle Democrats Gerry Pollet and Scott White, met in a candidate forum in Seattle’s Maple Leaf neighborhood Wednesday night. (PolitickerWA.com)

http://www.politickerwa.com/bryanbissell/2510/dems-talk-issues-politics-ld46-forum

New ads, barbs over I-1000

In the last days before the election, both sides in the battle over Initiative 1000 have unleashed new ads and are calling foul on one another's claims. (Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008333249_i100031m.html

Public defense lawyers protest cuts

As the King County Council considers deep budget reductions, public defenders are protesting a proposed funding cut that they say would gut legal representation for poor defendants, particularly first-time drug offenders. (Levi Pulkkinen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/385775_defenders31.html

Internal poll shows 4th CD unexpectedly in headline

An internal poll paid for by the George Fearing (D-Richland) campaign shows an unexpectedly close race in Central Washington's 4th Congressional District. (PolitickerWA.com)

http://www.politickerwa.com/bryanbissell/2509/internal-poll-shows-4th-cd-unexpectedly-close

GOP: Carrier got 'illegal contributions'

Senate Republicans Thursday accused Democrat David Carrier of violating state campaign finance laws by receiving $40,000 more from the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee over the past two weeks than the law allows his campaign to accept. (Kathie Durbin, The Columbian)

http://www.columbian.com/article/20081031/NEWS02/710319964

Sixth District House races are among costliest

If money is any sign, the battles for legislative seats in Spokane are among the most competitive in the state. (Jonathan Brunt, Spokesman Review)

http://spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=17493

Verdict is in for nearly half county voters

More than 44,200 Yakima County voters -- about 45 percent -- had cast their ballots by Thursday. (Pat Muir Yakima Herald-Republic)

http://yakimaherald.com/stories/2008/10/30/verdict-is-in-for-nearly-half-county-voters

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi will be in Aberdeen Saturday making one last push to get out the vote. (steven Friderich, The Daily World)

http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/10/30/local_news/03news.txt

ATTENTION REPORTERS!

Politicker.com is a sponsor of the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors’ upcoming Capitolbeat conference in Raleigh, N.C., and encourages journalists who cover state government to attend. For the first time, Capitolbeat is open to non-members. Citizen journalists, policy wonks, lawmakers, students and any other interested parties who want to know more about how state government works are encouraged to register. Attend all or part of the conference, set for Nov. 13-15 at the downtown Raleigh Marriott.

Capitolbeat has a limited amount of funds to provide a scholarship for journalists who wish to attend but cannot afford the cost. Priority is given to those working for smaller news organizations. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please indicate on the registration form and write an accompanying letter saying why you need the help.

Registration information and complete details on the conference can be found here:

http://capitolbeat.wordpress.com/capitolbeat-2008-welcome-to-raleigh/

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.