In this episode of KCLL’s SideBar Rita K. talks about a common question the Library is getting in these harsh economic times. How can you help yourself if you are sued to collect on an outstanding debt? Then listen in as Craig, in his “Reel Verdict” segment, talks about the movie “Repo Man.”
Laura Orr, over at the Oregon Legal Research blog, recently highlighted a glossary that is directed to Oregon residents. That made me realise that there are a number of glossaries here in Washington state that may be helpful when you are trying to understand how the law works.
First, we have a Glossary of Legal Terms and Resources on the KCLL web site itself. The state court web site has A Guide to Terms Used in Washington State Courts and the WashingtonLawHelp web site has a glossary of legal terms used on its web site. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also has a glossary posted on its web site.
Even the Washington state legislature has a Glossary of Legislative Terms to help you understand the law making process.
All of these legal glossaries help to explain what the various terms mean and are useful when you are trying to navigate the legal system. Check them out.
I monitor many blogs, listservs, microblogs such as Twitter, social sites such as Facebook and more. Today the story that was repeated many times was that Sony will put out a new wireless e-reader called the Daily Edition. It will be out for the holidays in December. Sony announced other new e-readers recently, but they were wired. This new one will work on a 3G wireless network. Here are links to some of the stories I read today – from a blog at the Los Angeles Times, from Wireless Week and from the Mobile Libraries blog.
So now I have to try to decide between one of the other Sony e-readers, the Kindle e-reader, or this new Sony e-reader.
A tenant has not received a security deposit after vacating an apartment and wants to know what state law says about the time a landlord has to return this deposit. This is in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Landlord/Tenant Act. Three sections of the act address security deposits, RCW 59.18.260, RCW 59.18.270 & RCW 59.18.280, which speaks to the number of days the landlord has to return the deposit or state why the deposit is being retained.
When you need to know more about Landlord/Tenant law check out KCLL’s research guide on the subject..
Here’s the latest course information for the free divorce classes offered by the King County Family Law Facilitators. The meeting times have changed since we first blogged about this earlier this year.
The King County Bar Association is sponsoring two free debates in September. The first is for the Seattle City Attorney’s position and the other is for the King County Executive. The first debate will be for the City Attorney’s position and will be held on september 17th at the Seattle Public Library in the Wright and Ketchum Room, Level 4 Room 2 from 12:00-1:30 pm. The second debate for the King County Executive position will be held at the Rainier Tower on September 22nd from noon-1:30 pm. Seats must be reserved so please send RSVP to executivedirector@kcba.org.
The Court of Appeals overturned a Seattle City Ordinance which in part made it a misdemeanor for failing to yield the right of way to a cyclist or pedestrian resulting in injury or death. This criminalizing of a traffic violation was found to be in conflict with state law. On September 27th, 2006, Susanne Scaringi was struck and killed by a motorist making a normal left-hand turn. You can read about the Opinion and read the main story in today’s Seattle Times.
August 18th is the Primary and Special Election in King County and there will be updated information and results on the King County Elections website. The Election site has site locations for drop boxes for ballots and detailed explanations of the Election process. You can now also track your mail-in ballot to whether it has been received and verified. A similar process will be available for the November 3rd General Election.
As debate about national health care rages across the country and statements for and against the proposed legislation become wilder, it’s useful to have a reliable resource for accurate information. On the Library of Congress’ research web site, THOMAS, you’ll find a handy link to the full text of the AAHCA, a well-written summary and information about current Congressional activity.
Last week, the State Department of Licensing amended the policy for changing the gender designation on your driver license, making it much easier for Washington drivers who have gone through a gender transformation to update their standard licenses to reflect the correct gender. The amended policy only applies to standard driver licenses; those wishing to update an extended driver license (EDL/EID) must still follow a more complicated procedure.