A bill sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Paull Shin aimed at increasing accessibility for developmentally disabled students entering higher education became law when Gov. Jay Inslee signed it last week.Shin's bill "would assemble a taskforce of stakeholders from K-12 and postsecondary institutions with the objective of making the transition more seamless and successful for students with disabilities."

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Lynnwood City Councilwoman Kerri Lonergan-Dreke says that her decision against seeking re-election was hard but made easier by Douglas Lovitt's entry into the race for her seat.Lonergan-Dreke said Monday that she had decided not to run because she needs to spend more time on her restaurant business, and wants to spend time with her husband, family and friends.

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Democratic state Rep. Mary Helen Roberts says that she expects the special session of the Legislature to focus on drunk driving as well as the state budget.As the vice chairwoman of the House Public Safety Committee, she has been involved in some of the discussions of what the Legislature needs to put into a tougher, and more effective, approach to deterring drunk driving.The special session could last up to 30 days.

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Lynnwood Mayor Don Gough ended a mystery about his re-election plans when he filed on Friday, the final day of the filing period.He will face three challengers in the August primary, Councilman Loren Simmonds, Councilman Mark Smith and political newcomer Nicola Smith, dean for student life and development at Edmonds Community College.The top two vote-getters in the primary advance to the November general election. Gough is seeking a third four-year term.

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Two Lynnwood councilmen had filed for mayor by the fourth day of filing week and two former council members had filed to return to the council.

Councilman Loren Simmonds filed for mayor Thursday morning, joining Councilman Mark Smith and political newcomer Nicola Smith, both of whom had announced their candidacies in March. Two-term incumbent Mayor Don Gough had yet to announce whether he would run a day before the Friday filing deadline.

Simmonds challenged...

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A bill sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe that became law as the regular session of the Legislature ended is designed to increase the number of degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields.Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill April 23 that McAuliffe says will increase access to four-year college degrees in the STEM fields.

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The three Edmonds City Council members whose terms expire this year all had filed to run in the coming election, as online and in-person filing opened Monday.Council members Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Kristiana Johnson and Strom Peterson all had filed, either online or in person at the Snohomish County auditor's office in Everett, or by mail since April 29. All three will face familiar opponents.

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Democratic 32nd District State Rep. Cindy Ryu says that she's been using the time since the end of the regular legislative session to prepare for the special session rather than raise money for a possible fall campaign for King County Council.Ryu represents Lynnwood, part of Mountlake Terrace, south Edmonds, Woodway and the rest of the Snohomish County part of the 32nd Legislative District, in addition to Shoreline and the rest of the King County part of the district.

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MOUNTLAKE TERRACE -- Opponents of a measure to build a new civic center that fell short of the required 60 percent majority in the April 23 election say voters turned it down because they believed that city officials weren't honest in presenting comparisons of the costs of construction with costs of continuing to rent space for a city hall.City officials say that the information was based on reasonable assumptions.

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Potential candidates for local offices can attend a forum Thursday sponsored by the Snohomish County auditor's office on the county courthouse campus in Everett.The event is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. at the County Campus. County officials say that the workshop will give prospective candidates information relating to what it takes to run for office.

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Candidate filing for the August primary and November general election started Monday.The official filing dates are May 13-17, but candidates may file by mail if their declarations of candidacy arrive at the Snohomish County auditor's office in Everett between April 29 and May 17.

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Democratic 1st District state Rep. Luis Moscoso was honored last week for his efforts to help Washington state immigrants.The Northwest Immigrants' Rights Project gave Moscoso its "Golden Door" award Friday, citing two of his efforts in the regular session of the 2013 Legislature.One was his proposed Washington Voting Rights Act, passed by the House but killed in the Senate, which would have allowed challenges to voting systems that disenfranchise voters.

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Supporters of the Mountlake Terrace bond measure that fell short of the required 60 percent majority in the Tuesday election issued a call Wednesday for increased citizen involvement.The percentage of "yes" votes rose to 53.41 percent Wednesday from the 53.18 percent posted Tuesday, but it was still lower than the 57 percent that a similar measure got in August's election.

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Mountlake Terrace officials will have to discuss their next steps now that a ballot measure for bonds for a civic campus appeared to be falling short of the required 60 percent super-majority in the Tuesday election.The measure would have authorized $25 million in bonds to pay for a new civic campus.As of Tuesday night, the measure had a 53.18 percent "yes" vote.Snohomish County elections officials were to release new returns late Wednesday afternoon.

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Nearly enough Mountlake Terrace voters had returned their ballots by Monday for the Tuesday special election to validate the election for a bond issue for a civic campus.The measure needs votes from 40 percent of the number of ballots cast in the last general election and a 60 percent "yes" vote.The Mountlake Terrace measure needs 3,644 total votes with 60 percent voting "yes."

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Proponents of the April 23 ballot measure for a Mountlake Terrace civic campus say that the proposal is a bargain for city voters, while opponents say it costs too much.

The proponents say that the proposed bond issue is a bargain because the city can build the civic campus while costs are low during recessionary times.

The "yes for MLT" group said in a recent press release that citizens would get their own city hall on land that the city already owns to...

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State Rep. Cindy Ryu's first bill to pass the House of Representatives when she joined the Legislature in 2011 was the "Safe streets" bill, which was designed to allow cities to reduce speed limits on residential streets without expensive engineering studies.It passed the House but not the Senate. So she tried again this year.It finally passed the Senate Wednesday in the last hours for bills from the House that aren't related to the state budget to clear the Senate.

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Monday is the deadline to register to vote and still cast a ballot in the April 23 special election. But people must register in person at the Snohomish County auditor's office in Everett.The auditor's office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.The only south Snohomish County item on the April 23 ballot is the bond measure for a Mountlake Terrace civic center.

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Democratic state Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe wants a referendum on the November ballot on a state income tax to pay for education.The referendum also would propose reducing the state portion of the sales tax by 1 cent per dollar from 6.5 percent to 5.5 percent.The income tax would apply only to the highest earners in the state.Still, she said that what she calls "an excise tax on high incomes" would raise more revenue than the state would lose by the reduction in the sales tax.

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People may vote in person for the April 23 Mountlake Terrace special election at an accessible voting unit at the county auditor's office in Everett from now through Election Day. Voters may use the unit from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. business days and 7 a.m. through 5 p.m. Election Day.

A similar unit will be open at the Lynnwood Library on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The units are designed to allow disabled people to vote independently, but anyone can use...

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Edmonds City officials expect tonight's City Council meeting to be the first shown completely live on the city's cable television channel.The city tried to broadcast the March 26 meeting but had to discontinue the live broadcast after an hour and a half because of technical difficulties.Tonight's meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.Meetings are rebroadcast daily at noon and 7 p.m. and also streamed live on the city web page.

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State Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe has applauded the education proposals in Gov. Jay Inslee's budget plan.McAuliffe, the ranking Democratic member of the State Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education, represents most of Mountlake Terrace, all of Brier and Bothell, and the rest of the 1st Legislative District.McAuliffe said that Inslee's plan properly made support for education the top priority in the budget proposal released Thursday.

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Ballots for the April 23 Mountlake Terrace special election will be mailed to registered voters Thursday.Ballot drop boxes are open 24 hours a day through 8 p.m. Election Day at the Lynnwood Library, at McCollum Park, at the county courthouse campus in Everett and at locations in Lake Stevens, Monroe and Snohomish.

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Below is a statement from the group "Citizens Against Prop. 1" opposing Mountlake Terrace's $25 million bond proposal to build a new Civic Center on the April 23 ballot. A statement from groups supporting the measure will be posted after it is received.

Proposition 1 has lost twice because it asked too much. It still does. People prefer buying, but ask why the mortgage is so large.

Still proud residents know Mountlake Terrace is not a wealthy community. The...

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After the Legislature passed its deadline for bills to pass the House or Senate, House Judiciary Committee member Mary Helen Roberts decried the death of a bill that would have eliminated the sentence of life without parole for juveniles.

"Some change in state law is needed to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Miller v Alabama that ruled a mandatory sentence of life without parole to be unconstitutional."

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Monday, March 25, is the last day for voters to register by mail or online for the April 23 Mountlake Terrace special election, or for previously registered Washington voters to change their voting addresses.

That means that voters who have moved to Mountlake Terrace after being registered to vote anywhere else in the state must register by Monday to be eligible to vote in the special election.

Voters can...

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Voters in south Snohomish County will elect three mayors, 19 city council members and a County Council member on their 2013 ballots.

Brier, Lynnwood and Woodway all will elect mayors; Brier and Lynnwood each will elect four council members; Edmonds and Woodway each will elect three council members; and Mountlake Terrace will elect five council members.

In addition, voters in Mountlake Terrace and the rest of...

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A bill sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Ruth Kagi to help improve safety on roads and highways by requiring vehicles hauling sand, rock, gravel or dirt to cover those loads passed the state House over the weekend.

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MOUNTLAKE TERRACE -- Appointed City Councilman Bryan Wahl has registered his intent to run for the last two years of the four-year term that former Councilwoman Michelle Robles won in 2011.Wahl has registered as a candidate with the state Public Disclosure Commission, a step that allows him to raise and spend money for the August primary and November general election.

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Edmonds City Councilwoman Adrienne Fraley-Monillas has indicated her intent to seek re-election.

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