Washington in Focus

(The Center Square) – The King County Sheriff's Office is reducing staff to minimal levels at two of its precincts due to budget constraints. Staffing at the Sheriff’s Office’s north and southeast precincts are being reduced, made effective on Monday, when the department announced the change in staffing. Impacted communities include parts of unincorporated King County, such as Redmond Ridge, Fairw...

(The Center Square) - Providing what he called a “reality check” on Monday, Jeff McMorris, senior director of Spokane County’s Finance and Administration Division, warned of a $20 million deficit heading into 2026. McMorris, the brother of former U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, told the Board of County Commissioners that this is a multiyear issue. He took over from Randy Bischoff,...

(The Center Square) – After a vigorous hours-long debate that began the night before, Washington State Democrats in the House of Representatives on Saturday morning voted to pass legislation that would require would-be gun owners to obtain a permit before purchase. Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1163 passed along a 58-38 party-line vote – that is, with no Republican support. The bill would...

(The Center Square) – The Lynnwood City Council has lost an appointed member within the same week of her appointment after her sexually explicit social media account was revealed. Jessica Ann Roberts – a transgender woman – was appointed to fill the Lynnwood City Council District 5 seat on Monday. The next day, the Lynwood Times reported on Roberts having an OnlyFans account, where she shared expl...

(The Center Square) – Washington drivers may be funding transit when they fill up their vehicles at the gas pump due not only to how carbon auctions under the Climate Commitment Act could be indirectly raising gas prices, but how CCA money has been appropriated by the state Legislature. As of the most recent report by the Department of Ecology, in the fiscal year 2024 almost half of all CCA revenu...

(The Center Square) – House Democrats advanced a bill Saturday attempting to create a pathway to rehabilitation by allowing judges to dismiss charges upon “substantial compliance” with court-ordered conditions. Intended for low-level offenses, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1113 expands judicial authority over diversion opportunities. Typically, those fall under prosecutorial discretion, but if a...

(The Center Square) – After a vigorous hours-long debate that began the night before, Washington State Democrats in the House of Representatives on Saturday morning voted to pass legislation that would require would-be gun owners to obtain a permit before purchase. Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1163 passed along a 58-38 party-line vote – that is, with no Republican support.  Support this...

(The Center Square) – Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal and Gov. Bob Ferguson are named in a Title IX complaint resolution filed Friday by Washington Parents Network. WPN is a volunteer association of more than 2,600 parents whose goal is to protect the rights of parents and children. The complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Ri...

(The Center Square) – Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal and Gov. Bob Ferguson are named in a Title IX complaint resolution filed Friday by Washington Parents Network. WPN is a volunteer association of more than 2,600 parents whose goal is to protect the rights of parents and children.  Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce0525...

(The Center Square) – Six months ago, Spokane advertised a series of roundtables to gather input on overhauling its approach to homelessness; 186 days later, residents are starting to get a picture of what that could look like. While announced in August, the series lasted into December before the city council wrapped up talks that would inform its overhaul. Two months went by without much mention,...

(The Center Square) – The 2021 Climate Commitment Act enacted by the state Legislature places a cap on the amount of allowable carbon emissions and generates revenue through carbon auctions that are used to fund environmental projects throughout the state. However, almost 90% of project spending does not impact carbon emissions.  Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-founda...

(The Center Square) – The city of Burien has filed a lawsuit intended to halt the adoption of a voter-passed minimum wage increase in the city, but leaders of the measure say the lawsuit has no merit. Initiative 1 in Burien was approved by 57.2% of voters in the Feb. 11 election. It would raise the minimum wage in the city to $21.10 for workers of large employers who have more than 500 employees. ...

(The Center Square) – Republicans in the Washington State Legislature say Democrats are exaggerating the size of the projected four-year operating budget shortfall to justify proposed tax increases. The amount of the shortfall itself is a matter of some debate. In November, the Office of Financial Management indicated the state would be $10 to $12 billion in the hole over the next four years. A mo...

(The Center Square) – Microsoft and Amazon are among the wealthiest companies in the world, each with a market capitalization of well over $2 trillion, but a bill out of Washington could trim off some cash to save the state’s finances. The Legislature levies various taxes on businesses operating within its borders. One of the most common is a business and occupation, or B&O, tax. The state require...

Washington State: (The Center Square) – Republicans in the Washington State Legislature say Democrats are exaggerating the size of the projected four-year operating budget shortfall to justify proposed tax increases. The amount of the shortfall itself is a matter of some debate. In November, the Office of Financial Management indicated the state would be $10 to $12 billion in the hole over the nex...

(The Center Square) – The Washington State Legislature's House Community Safety Committee has voted out a revised version of a bill that places more safeguards around the pretrial release of criminal suspects by court judges. Though the bill cosponsor, Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, expressed a preference for the original bill, he urged the substitute’s adoption prior to a Thursday Community Safety Co...

(The Center Square) – King County Metro is resuming bus services at a Seattle location that became an increasing public safety concern at the end of 2024. King County Metro closed bus stops along 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street in Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood on Dec. 16. The department previously told The Center Square that the area was flagged as a safety concern for riders, tr...

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(The Center Square) - Washington Democrats on Tuesday passed a bill out of the Senate Government, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee, dubbed by critics to be the “initiative killer.” SB 5382, sponsored by Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, who chairs the Government, Tribal Relations and Elections Committee, would require signature gatherers circulating initiative and referendum petitions to sign d...

(The Center Square) - As California’s high-speed rail project lays its first tracks after spending billions of dollars since 2006, Washington officials are already looking at lessons to be learned on how to avoid a similar outcome as they work on their own multi-state, multi-national bullet train. Since 2016, the state Legislature has explored the creation of a ultra high-speed rail line that woul...

(The Center Square) - While some celebrated by sleeping in, more than a dozen Spokanites woke up on Presidents Day to march for change in the face of homelessness. In their “call for urgency,” the advocates set out on a 5 a.m. “crisis walk” Monday to demand immediate, coordinated action against the regional crisis. Despite freezing temperatures, business owners, service providers and residents tre...

(The Center Square) – The Seattle area’s public transit agency is keeping candidate details confidential amid its search for its next permanent CEO, but transit advocates are calling for a transparent and public-involved process. Sound Transit narrowed down its list of candidates for the CEO position to five. However, details about most of the candidates have remained undisclosed from the public....

(The Center Square) – Washington State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, is standing by comments he made last week to a Fox News reporter about 13-year-old children making their own health care decisions without parents’ knowledge or consent. Pedersen’s comments went viral, drawing millions of views and reposts on social media. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Effici...

(The Center Square) – Washington State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, is standing by comments he made last week to a Fox News reporter about 13-year-old children making their own health care decisions without parents’ knowledge or consent. Pedersen’s comments went viral, drawing millions of views and reposts on social media. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Effici...

(The Center Square) – The fate of two levies from Seattle Public Schools will be determined on Tuesday by Seattle voters, amid recent survey results showing that parents of former students were dissatisfied with the quality of the education their children received. Currently, Seattle Public Schools’ current tax rate is $1.85 per $1,000 of assessed property value. This includes the three-year Educa...