AWB Policy Summit at Semiahmoo – The Big Day is Almost Here!
AWB’s Policy Summit will happen Sept. 20–22 at Semiahmoo. This will be the biggest AWB event of the year. Weekly Standard editor William Kristol will be the keynote speaker. We will also have a session with political bloggers Michelle Malkin, Phil Noble and David Postman. In addition, Gov. Christine Gregoire will speak. Finally, AWB will hold a Board meeting where our legislative objectives and candidate endorsements will be finalized. One last note: If you are “roomless” at Semiahmoo, keep checking with the hotel. There are generally last minute cancellations. Contact AWB’s Jennifer Davis at (360) 943-1600 or JenniferD@awb.org.

Election Alert: Only One Ballot - Only One! 
Remember, the rules have changed in the primary election. You must choose only one party’s ballot – Democrat, Republican or nonpartisan. On all ballots there will be a place to vote for nonpartisan offices like the Supreme Court. This is especially important to remember this if you are voting by mail. Choose one ballot, vote, put it in the sealed security envelope, sign the back, and mail it with a stamp by September 19. Unsigned envelopes and envelopes without postage will not count.  

2006 Northwest Environmental Summit – Register Now!
AWB, the Northwest Environmental Business Council (NEBC) and the Washington Dept. of Ecology will bring our state’s most comprehensive environmental conference to the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center on Oct. 18-19. Famed mountain climber Jim Whitaker will be the keynote speaker. Register at www.envsummit.com. Contact AWB’s Jennifer Costello at (360) 943-1600 or JenniferC@awb.org.

Proponents of I-937 Trying to Discredit AWB
Some folks in the pro-I-937 campaign, which would mandate renewable energy portfolios while forgetting that hydro is a renewable, are attempting to discredit AWB President Don Brunell’s column about problems with wind power. The column was no attempt to discredit wind power, because as we said, it needs to be part of our national energy strategy. We’d like to call your attention to the concluding paragraphs which suggests the questions we all ought to be asking about I-937 and our energy future: “Wind power should be one part of our energy strategy, along with hydropower, solar, tidal, natural gas, and clean coal. Making wind turbines safer for wildlife is necessary as well. But impossible production mandates, such as those written into I-937, are wrong.  There are too many unanswered questions about the costs wind power mandates in I-937 for voters to approve it in November. These questions need answers before we are flattened by high electric bills or left in the dark because we don’t have enough electricity.”

Our Energy Bills are High Enough – Help Defeat Initiative 937
Learn more about how I-937 will raise our energy costs at www.nooni-937.com, and learn how you can help defeat it in November.

Time to Settle Differences on Energy Development Bill 
The U.S. Senate approved legislation that would end more than 20 years of federal prohibitions on energy development in the Outer Continental Shelf.  S. 3711, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, cleared the Senate by a 71-25 vote. Now it is time for the U.S. House and Senate to settle their differences. This is an important vote. Please ask Washington’s congressional delegation to support the reconciled legislation. For background, see AWB President Don Brunell’s column:  “Offshore Drilling Ban Allows China to Steal U.S. Oil Reserves.”  Go to http://www.awb.org/cgi-bin/absolutenm/templates/?a=1308&z=10.

Regional Board Meetings - Great Turnout and Input  
We have wound up our Regional Board meetings. These meetings have been very successful, and we had a good discussion of the issues. A set of meeting minutes aggregating the input from all six will be distributed later this week. The input from the Regional Board meetings has been sent to AWB’s Governmental Affairs Council. Their recommendations will be forwarded to our Board for final action on Sept. 22 at Semiahmoo. 

L&I Director Announces Resignation – Will Join Washington Health care Association  
Gary Weeks has announced he is resigning as director of L&I. He has accepted a job as executive director of the Washington Health Care Association and will be leaving the agency Oct. 13. Gov. Gregoire has announced that she will be conducting a search to replace Weeks.

State Auditor Seeks Business Community’s Input on Transportation
The State Auditor’s Office (SAO) has contracted with Elway Research, Inc. and FLT Consulting, Inc. to conduct research and outreach to citizens and stakeholders regarding performance audits. As a stakeholder in the in area of transportation, SAO is interested in hearing the business perspective about what is working well, and what could work better in the area of transportation. The office is conducting executive interviews and focus groups over the next few months to get the business community’s input. A meeting has been scheduled for Oct. 2, 3-4 p.m. at AWB. Contact AWB’s Amber Carter at (360) 943-1600 or AmberC@awb.org.

2007 Redbook at Printers  
The 2007 WashACE Redbook measuring how our state stacks up against our other 49 competitor states is at the printers. This is a collaborative effort between AWB, the Washington Research Council and Washington Roundtable. We also sell the national edition through the National Association of Manufacturers. Contact AWB’s Alexis Nepomuceno at (360) 943-1600 or AlexisN@awb.org.

Infrastructure in Washington – Growth and Change
The Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy has issued a new Competitiveness Brief titled: "Infrastructure in Washington: Growth and Change." According to the brief, we urgently need investments in infrastructure in the state right now, and investments we make today have a lifespan measured in decades. In building facilities today we cannot ignore all the possible changes to the way we use water, energy and transportation infrastructure in the state, yet we cannot wait around to figure out which of those possible. Read more at http://researchcouncil.blogs.com/weblog/files/washace_infrastructure_cb_0605.pdf.

AWB Election Assistance
AWB is launching the “Vote for Business” program with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It is an excellent Web-based grassroots political involvement program. Since AWB is Washington’s state chamber of commerce, this program links the national, state and local chambers together on issues and elections. Interested in the program or advertising in Washington Business? Contact Lex Nepomuceno at (360) 943-1600 or AlexisN@awb.org.  

Puget Sound Partnership Meeting – Recommendations on Puget Sound by Nov. 15
AWB is coordinating the business community’s work on the governor’s plan to have a series of recommendations on the Puget Sound ready by Nov. 15. Track this one at www.pugetsoundpartnership.org. Contact AWB’s Chris McCabe at (360) 943-1600 or ChrisM@awb.org, or AWB’s Grant Nelson at (360) 943-1600 or GrantN@awb.org.