The legislative session ended nearly two months ago but my work as state senator doesn't end when the gavel goes down.

Democracy works best when folks are informed and when elected officials listen to and are accountable to their constituents.  With that in mind, after each session I visit with a variety of community groups throughout the 26th Legislative District to hear what's on the minds of the folks in our neck of the woods.  So far I've met with Chambers of Commerce, Kiwanis Clubs, Rotary Clubs, education associations, city councils, VFWs and other community groups in Bremerton, Port Orchard, Manchester, Burley, Gig Harbor and on the Key Peninsula.

I try to give folks a runthrough of the various highs and lows of the legislative session -- details on the budget, on our efforts to get this economy moving again, on my push for a fair education deal and working to help our military and veteran families.  I get a lot of terrific questions and suggestions for next session.  If you are involved in a group that might be interested in getting a legislative recap, let me know and we'll put a visit on the calendar.

In addition to that community outreach, I speak with folks one on one to discuss issues important to them.  For example, last week I met with some of the folks involved in the Preserve Our Parks Group to identify next steps in our efforts to keep our state parks open.  I spoke with a local man who had ideas regarding how to improve the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

And on top of that, I'm involved in a few task forces over the legislative interim.  I'm active in a tolling study being done by the Joint Transportation Committee to look at how our state can collect tolls in a more efficient manner.  I'm also participating, as chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, in a task force looking at how we grow additional higher education opportunities in our state and in an effort to strengthen our state's workforce development efforts.

It's been an active time and it's about to get more active for me.  My wife is over 37 weeks pregnant. . . the stork is circling the runway and should be coming in for a landing soon.  I'm going to take a little bit of time off once our baby arrives but will be back in the saddle soon thereafter.