This past week was a busy one for 27^th District Washington State Reps Laurie Jinkins and Jeannie Darneille, as both fought for progressive and community causes.

A bill Jinkins sponsored calling for legal recognition in Washington of same-sex marriages from other states has been passed in both legislative houses and appears well on its way to becoming state law. On Wednesday Jinkins wrote on her Facebook page, "really proud that the first bill I've sponsored that will be signed into law by Gov. Gregoire will be HB 1649 . . . requiring that valid same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions be recognized as domestic partnerships here in Washington."

It appears that downtown's Washington State History Museum will not be closing. According to the News Tribune, Rep. Darneille said she expects the spending plan being developed by House Democrats to include her proposal to preserve the museum and others like it. Darneille's proposal seeks to merge the museum with other culture programs and pay for the merger using money from a planned construction project in Olympia. Although it isn't clear if Darneille's plan will ultimately be used, both Democrats and Republicans in Olympia have expressed an expectation the Washington State History Museum will be saved.

In judicial news, Governor Gregoire announced Tuesday she will appoint Tacoman Gary Johnson to the Pierce County Superior Court. Johnson currently gigs as president and senior partner at the law offices of Kram, Johnson, Wooster & McLaughlin in Tacoma. Johnson will replace Judge Gary Steiner, who retired in February. Johnson has some experience on the high chair (just made that term up, hoping it catches on), previously serving as pro tem judge for Kitsap County District Court, the Port Orchard Municipal Court, and briefly as a pro tem judge for the Pierce County Superior Court.

Of more interest to Volcano folk (or at least to me), The Tacoma Arts Commission selected Josie Emmons Turner as the 2011-2013 Poet Laureate for the City of Tacoma. For the next two years Turner will provide free poetry related workshops, readings at public events, participate in various city/community events, and will be an over-all Tacoma arts community bad-ass.

Our current poet laureate, Tammy Robacker, will be on hand at the Urban Forest Project Tacoma's kickoff, being held today from 1 to 4 p.m. at Tollefson Plaza downtown. Event planners invite the public to learn how to "Speak for the Trees" (insert stoner joke here). In celebration of Arbor Day, local arborists will be present to answer questions about trees, guests will be reading poems about their "love of lush vegetation" (that's straight from the City's webpage), and elected officials including Mayor Strickland and Ryan Mello will be speaking about what is being done to grow Tacoma's urban forest.

Finally, speaking of Mello, he officially announced his candidacy to retain his seat on the Tacoma City Council. I sat down with him last week to talk about his goals, vision for Tacoma, and upcoming campaign. Check for the feature in our Mudroom section early next week.