Inslee To Meet With Holder In DC On Marijuana Law
Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson will meet with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder next week to discuss Washington state's voter-approved law legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.
Inslee spokesman David Postman said Friday that the governor and Ferguson were meeting with Holder in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. Postman said that Inslee will leave the state on Sunday to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Postman said Inslee wants to discuss with Holder the implementation and enforcement of Initiative 502, which passed with 56 percent of the vote in November's election. It legalizes the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and sets up a regulatory scheme of state-licensed marijuana growers, processers and retail stores. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law.
Postman said that the meeting "is the beginning of a longer conversation."
 
 
Wyman Says Heritage Center A Priority For Her
Kim Wyman, the state's new secretary of state, says she wants to revive the idea of a Heritage Center for the state's Capitol campus.
Wyman said Friday that resuming planning for the construction of the building that would house the state archives and state library is at the top of her legislative goals this session.
She called it an important project and said "we need to get it back on track."
Wyman also says she wants to ensure a statewide printed voters' pamphlet for all federal and state offices in even-year primary elections. And she wants to eliminate the requirement to hold a primary in judicial races where two or less candidates file, which would save the state about $1 million every two years.
 
Tests Find Many WA Kids Not Ready For Kindergarten
Washington education officials who are struggling to help high school students pass a statewide math exam may want to take a close look at the first results from a new kindergarten readiness test.
The new assessment is designed to help kindergarten teachers better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their incoming students. It is one part of a new approach to welcoming new students that also includes individual parent-teacher meetings before school starts.
When the fall 2012 kindergarten test results are seen as a group, however, the data shows many 5- and 6-year-olds do not have the skills expected for kids entering school.
The biggest deficit is math. Only 52 percent of the 21,811 kids tested have the math abilities they are expected to have when they start school.

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