Happy meal

Happy meal

One dessert, two spoons, waiter: A legislative ethics panel has defined “infrequent occasion” for legislators and will limit lawmakers to accepting 12 free meals a year from lobbyists. An earlier investigation found that the state’s 50 most active lobbyists spent $65,000 buying meals for lawmakers in the first four months of 2013.

As part of the new rule, lawmakers will hand each lobbyist a punchcard and for every 12th meal purchased the lobbyist gets to push the legislator’s “yea” or “nay” button on the floor of the House or Senate on a vote of their choosing.

Going viral: A man who trades in website domain names is looking for a buyer for Ebola.com. He paid $13,500 in 2008 for it, but is now seeking $150,000 for the rights to the url address.

CNN and Fox News denied they’re in a bidding war for the domain; they both want EbolaNewsNetwork.com, instead.

De do do do, de da da da: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its nominees for the hall’s 2015 Class. Among the nominees are Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Marvelettes, Bill Withers and Sting.

Sting? The Hall of Fame? We still haven’t forgiven him for lifting the title of his 1985 hit, “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,” from the base of a Precious Moments figurine.

—Jon Bauer, Herald staff

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More in Opinion

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Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

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Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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Comment: Why shootings have decreased but gun deaths haven’t

High-capacity magazines and ‘Glock switches’ that allow automatic fire have increased lethality.

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
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Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

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An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
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FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
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Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

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