ohmigodohmigod OLYMPIA IN A CAN…

…IS TOTALLY TOMORROW. Are you excited? We are.

Why should you be excited? Cause we’re going to grab a beer and a piece of the democratic process at the Grey Gallery in Seattle* at 6 pm. YOU! can talk to your legislator without even going to Olympia. Wow. That is pretty incredible. We’re also going to watch Barack Obama’s second(?)** State of the Union address.

For the more numerical types, here’s 10 reasons why you should come:

1. Liquid refreshment (in cans)

2. YOU! and your video testimony

3. Legislators answering YOU!r questions

4. Public higher education needs your help

5. It’s a reason to get out on Wednesday

6. Awesome art

7. You can make new friends

7. We have a Bus

8. It’s the water

9. We all really want to see you

10. BARACK OBAMA WILL BE THERE… via satellite… speaking to Congress… about the State of the Union

So be there…

…or be s-q-u-a-r-e.

*The address: 1512 11th Avenue on Capitol Hill (between Pike and Pine)

**Cause the first one technically wasn’t required by the Constitution… it was more of an address to a joint session of Congress… or something.

BUDGETPOCALYPSE is coming…

its coming...

RUN! RUN FOR THE HILLS! HELP! AAAAUGH! WE’RE NOT GOING TO ESCAPE! WE NEED WHEELS!

Relax, folks! The Bus is here to bring you sweet, sweet deliverance from BUDGETPOCALYPSE 2010. Turns out the Mayans were right a bout the end… of Washington’s fiscal solvency… coming this year. I give ’em credit- who woulda thunk they’d know Washington is such a big deal? I mean, you’d think they’d predict the end of the world before the falling revenues of a political entity they couldn’t possibly have conceived with universal premodern perceptions of the nature and purpose of government- especially as the provider of social services like education or healthcare, which wasn’t even a figment of the wildest-thinking astronomer/political theorist’s imaginat…

…um, anyway, the state needs some money and the catepillars can’t give it all, know what I’m sayin? BUDGETPOCALYPSE is going to be the big theme of this year’s legislative session and the Bus is here to bring you updates and a chance to make an impact.

Here’s the skinny: the state is out $1.6 BILLION in revenues against its total expenditures  for this budget alone. That comes on top of the incredibly painful $3.5 BILLION we had to cut last time around, and that tab we ditched on Barack. Governor Gregoire has proposed her own plan that will boost revenues and trim fat but there are likely more proposals coming.

We’ll let you know when that proposal comes around. In the meantime, keep reading Hella Bus… we’ll show you where the bunker is.

Hella News

Doesn't this guy ever get tired?

This news is fresh like rainwater, rainwater, rainwater.

Punched in the gut: Those freaking budget cuts and their impact on higher education… I’m telling you, it’s no bueno. Ed Lazowska, a prof over at the UW, crunched the numbers and it is, shall we say, not so hot. The big picture? The cuts being handed down by the state legislature are the fourth deepest in the nation, meaning our public universities are getting creamed, and the only funding solution that’s being offered is tuition increases. Ouch. Not that it’s that simple, but it’s definitely the effect.

Bigger is better: Who likes a new congressperson? You? Okay then, today’s your lucky day, because it looks like our fair state is in line to receive the 435th, and final, congressional seat. Is that tight? Yes, that is tight. Thanks to continuing population growth, Washington appears to be on track to increase our toehold inside the beltway. Pretty cool, eh? Any guesses where the new district might end up?

Neutral does not equal passive-aggressive: Governor Gregoire was in Copenhagen last week (something or other about a climate conference…) and announced that Washington will work towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2020. Not a small goal, that’s for sure, and it will be interesting to see how (and if) it plays out in influencing legislative decisions. Good on ya, Gov!