Tagged: Budget crisis

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is calling lawmakers back for what she expects will be a "brutal" special session focused on cutting the budget.

Gregoire said Thursday that she wants the Legislature back in Olympia to start work beginning Nov. 28.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The words “special session” and even “taxes” are on the lips of some Washington state lawmakers after the latest revenue forecast.

The latest polling of Washington voters shows that optimism has taken “nose dive” to an all-time low.

Voters surveyed in The Elway Poll – an independent, nonpartisan analysis of public opinion – were less likely to think things were “getting better” than at any time since the survey began in 1991.

The architect of the survey, Stuart Elway, said people may be openly entertaining the idea that America has entered a “malaise” or “a new normal” of long-term high unemployment, weak spending and, simply, a plain old bummer of an economy like the one Japan suffered for more than a decade.

We are working on a story about the REAL impact of the ongoing economic woes. We want to know, what one thing has been affected most in your life by the turbulent economy?

Come to our Facebook page to join the conversation and tell us your story. Here’s a few of the responses so far: