The Department of Ecology has posted a new policy, effectively making it legal to harvest rainwater from your own rooftop. Read about it here.

Because rainwater is part of the water cycle — and flows into rivers and streams — there was some legal confusion over who had the water rights to it. Despite that, of course, many Washingtonians took matters into their own hands with a backyard rain barrel. Now, they can sleep more soundly: The “Interpretive Policy Statement” posted by the department clears the legal matter right up.

So: The rainwater on your roof can be legally collected, stored and used in dry months. And the department has a great list of resources for those who are interested in rainwater collection.

Tags: rain water harvest, Water rights

Today is the deadline for voter registration — if you aren’t already registered. But: You must register in-person in order to be eligible to vote next week.

Where should you go? Your county elections office. Find a map here.

Then watch TVW’s video voter guide to get up-to-speed on the issues:

Tags: deadline, elections, voting

Gov. Chris Gregoire and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels signed an agreement this morning to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel.

Gregoire, Nickels and former King County Executive Ron Sims agreed on the tunnel option — after 8 years of discussions among various groups — in January. The deal requires the city and state to pay for different aspects of the project, with the city responsible for cost overruns. The Legislature approved the plan last session, and the Seattle City Council agreed last week to allow the mayor to sign on.

What’s it mean: The environmental impact review is still underway, and a second supplemental draft of that will be released in early 2010, according to a press release sent out by Gov. Gregoire.

Tags: Alaskan Way Viaduct

This week’s Q&A is with Anne Levinson, chair of the Approve Referendum 71 campaign. I talked to her about why she’s in favor of the referendum and some things she wants to clear up about it. Next Thursday, I’ll talk to a representative from the opposite camp on why they want the referendum to be defeated. Don’t miss it.

Q: In your own words, why should someone vote to approve Referendum 71, which would extend the state-granted rights and responsibilities of marriage to state-registered domestic partners?
Levinson: We have a law in this state called domestic partnership law and in our state in particular it’s broken into three parts. So we actually have laws passed in 2007, 2008 and 2009 that, together, collectively provide basic legal protections to committed couples who are in domestic partnerships. The purpose of the domestic partnership laws is to ensure that all Washington families are treated the same with the same legal protections, the same rights and the same obligations as their neighbors.

So under the domestic partnership laws, same sex couples and opposite sex couples with at least one partner age 62 or older can register for a domestic partnership in order that their families have these legal protections.

In June of this year, a group of people who are opposed to domestic partnerships filed a referendum to appeal the domestic partnership law. Voters are asked whether they want to approve the domestic partnership law. In order to keep the domestic partnership law, voters have to vote to approve it.

It won’t go back to the laws passed in 2008 and 2007, but it will roll back a significant number of legal protections. It won’t wipe away all the laws. But that would be akin to saying to a married couple, We are going to take away some of the rights you have as a married couple but you can still be married.
Rejecting this law would irreparably harm a number of families across the state.

There are now more than 12,000 people in Washington who are registered in domestic partnerships. That is the number of people whose lives will be impacted.

These people live in every county, in every part of the state. So if the laws are rejected, their legal protections will be stripped away and they’ll be left without an essential safety net in essence and particularly in times of crisis. We’ve all seen the unfortunate tragedies that happen in life and what happens when a family does not have the protections. (more…)

Tags: R71, referendum 71, Thursday Q&A

On The Impact tonight: A battle over releasing initiative and referendum petitions catches the attention of the nation’s highest court. Petitions of Referendum 71, which puts Washington’s domestic partnership law to a vote, were requested by several groups earlier this year. But R71 signers want their names kept private. Tonight, The Impact talks to Secretary of State Sam Reed, who says the documents should be released.

Also on the show: The weakened Howard Hanson Dam is putting residents in the Green River Valley at an increased flood risk. Jennifer Huntley goes to the dam to talk to the Army Corps of Engineers about how they’ll address the problem.

And: The state has issued a warning about lethal toxin levels in some shellfish. Find out which harvesting areas are off limits here.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has blocked the release of signatures on the Referendum 71 petitions, the latest move in a saga over whether petition signatures are a public record.

We’ll have more information as it’s available.

Tags: public record, R71

First, here’s a cliffhanger of a story on Washington’s wine industry: The summer weather was great, grapes were getting some valuable “hang time” on the vine, then: Freezing weather. In three days, one company had to harvest a crop that would normally be harvested over four weeks. Read the whole story here.

And if you haven’t yet seen last week’s House Commerce and Labor Committee work session on agricultural worker unionization, you should. Watch the whole thing here:

Tags: Agriculture, unionization, wine

Tomorrow, there may be more clarity on whether Referendum 71 petitions will be released: Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks has set a hearing for 1:30 p.m.

Last week, he blocked the release of any petitions, saying he wanted to hear the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision. They released a brief ruling — to release the petitions — last week, but they haven’t yet released the full opinion. Here’s more on tomorrow’s hearing.

And in case you missed Inside Olympia this week, here it is. Host Austin Jenkins interviewed a supporter and opponent of Referendum 71.

Tags: public records, R71

Watch TVW right now for a live showing of the House Commerce and Labor Committee work session, where supporters and opponents of agricultural unionization are talking to committee members.

And tonight, don’t miss Inside Olympia, where host Austin Jenkins will talk to lawmakers about urban and rural politics and priorities in this state. Inside Olympia airs at 7 and 10 p.m.

Tags: agricultural unionization, Inside Olympia, TVW

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Tacoma federal court’s decision today. What does that mean: R71 petition signatures are a public record, according to the court.

Here‘s the (brief) ruling. A full opinion will be issued soon.

This court case stems from the public records request for copies of Referendum 71 petitions. One of the groups that requested the documents said they would publish the names of all the signers on a web site. That prompted the organizers behind the referendum to file a lawsuit blocking the release of names.

Over at the Secretary of State’s blog, they have this to say: “There is one more legal step the state must take before releasing the petitions to the six groups or individuals who requested the records: Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks, in a case brought by initiative activist Tim Eyman, on Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order against the Secretary releasing any petitions, until he hears from the 9th Circuit.” Read the rest of the post here.

Tags: public records, R71