Joe Turner from The News Tribune asked Dick Thompson, Gov. Chris Gregoire’s federal stimulus liaison, for an update on how much the state might get.

Thompson spend last week telling various committees that his idea of how the federal stimulus would work had changed dramatically in recent weeks. First, he said, he thought we’d get one big check. As time went on, he said, he came to think the state will get lots of little checks.

From the sound of his latest estimate on federal funding, the checks won’t be that small: The state could get $4 billion, he told Turner.

Meanwhile, the projected budget deficit grows, or at least lawmakers’ estimates do: Before session, most people were using the projected $6.5 billion figure. Right after the dismal holiday shopping season, many started bracing for $7 billion. Last week, I heard a lawmaker say in committee that it could be $8 billion.

Tags: Budget, federal stimulus