From Our Corner

Holiday Giving Tip No. 8

Today’s Holiday Giving Tip: Spot the big red flags!! There are some big, fat red flags you can watch for that will tell you if a charitable solicitor is not in compliance with the law. These are things like:
  • Saying things that are deceptive and misleading (red flag!)
  • Telling you the contribution is tax deductable when it is not
  • Using the names “police,” “sheriff”, or “firefighter” without authorization from those groups
  • Calling you before 8 a.m. or… Read more

From Your Corner: Grand Coulee Dam

Image Located on the Columbia River about 90 miles west of Spokane, it’s the largest concrete structure and largest electric-producing facility in the U .S. Photos alone don’t do the Grand Coulee Dam justice. You have to see it in person to appreciate its enormous size and marvel at the challenge of building such a structure that has meant so much to the Columbia Basin. This photo, courtesy of the State Archives, shows the dam during its… Read more

The road to women's suffrage: 1884

Women’s Suffrage – Rosencrantz vs. Washington Territory, 1884 In 1884, Mollie Rosencrantz was convicted of “running a house of ill fame” in Spokane. She appealed to the Territorial Supreme Court on the grounds that she was convicted by a jury with women on it, and that women did not have the right to sit on juries – and of course, they might be biased in a case such as hers. In light of the law passed in 1883 granting women the right to vote, the Supreme Court ruled that women… Read more

Lawmakers gird for more cuts, face court's K-12 ruling

Washington legislative leaders and Gov. Chris Gregoire, girding for a bruising election-year legislative session that convenes at high noon Monday, got renewed spending pressure from the state Supreme Court on Thursday. Just minutes before the four top caucus leaders and the governor unveiled their priorities and predictions to the annual AP pre-session forum, the high court handed down a long-awaited decision… Read more

The Road to Women's Suffrage: 1883

The Washington Territorial Legislature passed a law enacting women’s suffrage. Governor William Newell signed the bill into law on November 23, 1883. Only Wyoming and Utah Territories had enacted women’s suffrage prior to Washington. Image Read more

Archives Month is here!

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Image courtesy of Washington State Archives

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Holiday Tip No. 9

Today’s Holiday Giving Tip: Request Material! Yeah, that’s right. When someone asks you to give them money for a cause, ask them to provide you with a brochure, a Web site address, or other material that gives you more information about the group. Legitimate groups want you to learn more about them and are glad to provide you with this kind of stuff. Be very, very wary of any group that doesn’t have anything to give you. There are plenty of great groups out there that need your help – so… Read more

The Road to Women’s Suffrage:1881

Image On November 11, 1881, the Washington Territorial House of Representatives passed House Bill 103, a women’s suffrage bill by a vote of 13-11. The measure was sent on to the Territorial Council, where it lost by a vote of five to seven.

New look for Digital Archives website

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The Road to Women's Suffrage: 1878

Image In 1878 a Constitutional Convention was held in Walla Walla to draft a state constitution and to hopefully qualify Washington for Statehood. The constitution that they drafted excluded women’s suffrage, but a measure granting women the vote was put on the… Read more

Holiday Giving Tip No. 7

Today’s Holiday Giving Tip: Know where to file your complaints. While we here at the Secretary of State’s Office help provide consumers with lots of information about charities, we aren’t the place to go if you want to report a charity scam or bad practices. But we can tell you where to go! If you feel a charity or commercial fundraiser is operating in a deceptive or illegal manner, contact the Consumer and Business Fair Practice Division of the State Attorney General's Office at 1-800-551-… Read more

Quilts of Valor exhibit on display in July

The Secretary of State’s next office exhibit will salute American combat troops through quilting. Thirteen beautiful handmade quilts created by volunteer quilters from around Washington will be on display in the Secretary of State’s front lobby during the month of July. The office is on the second floor of the Legislative Building in Olympia. The quilts are part of the national Quilts of Valor program. Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who comes from a family of quilters and is the… Read more

May Archives treasure #2: Japanese internment docs

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Over 100 years of Senate group photos

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(Images courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives)

With the Legislature a month into its scheduled 105-day session, it’s worth taking a look back – or waaay back – at past legislative bodies. Thanks to Washington’s… Read more

Space Needle anniversary week, Photo #1

Image For the past 50 years, it's been the world-famous jewel of Seattle's impressive skyline. Ever since it opened in 1962 as the most visible attraction of that year's Seattle World's Fair, the Space Needle has

From Digital Archives: Washington passes

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Just east of Snoqualmie Pass (Photos courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives)

Anyone who has driven across the Cascades did so by going over one of the several mountain passes that offer incredible views and recreational… Read more

State Library's Sherbo receives national honor

Laura Sherbo of the Washington State Library is the 2012 recipient of a prestigious national award for her leadership of library services in Washington prisons and state mental hospitals. Sherbo, manager of branch library services, was announced this week as winner the annual achievement award of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, a division of the American Library Association. According to her colleagues at the Washington State Library and leaders of… Read more

From the Digital Archives: Deception Pass

Image Anyone crossing the Deception Pass Bridge is treated to one the most scenic and stunning views in all of Washington. The area around the bridge also is pretty spectacular, as this 1950s photo shows. The shot looks to the… Read more

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The Washington Office of the Secretary of State’s blog provides from-the-source information about important state news and public services.

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