March 16, 2010, 1:16 PM

As Islanders approach the April 15 deadline for filing their federal income taxes, the Washington state Legislature has begun a special session to accomplish a similar unpleasant task: balance the state’s budget. Lawmakers must find more money to address the state’s looming deficit and its citizens’ growing needs. Elected officials must agree on a mix of cost-cutting and revenue-making ideas. At the same time, they must judge what the effect of their actions will have on state needs such as health care and education. They must consider how to encourage and nurture an economic recovery. They must also remember the needy, the unemployed and keep the state and its services functioning.

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