Washington in Focus

(The Center Square) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, under fire for failing to prevent a massive welfare fraud scheme in his state, was in Seattle on Tuesday as the special guest at Gov. Bob Ferguson’s fundraising luncheon, telling those in attendance Somalis were being "demonized" and vowing to bring more into his state. “These folks better not ever mistake our kindness for our weakness because we are...

(The Center Square) – The Washington State Attorney General’s Office billed more than 11,000 hours of attorney and staff work on lawsuits against the federal government in an eight-month period following the November 2024 election, according to records obtained by The Center Square. More than a third of those hours were spent working on a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s executive order re...

(The Center Square) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, under fire for failing to prevent a massive welfare fraud scheme in his state, was in Seattle on Tuesday as the special guest at Gov. Bob Ferguson’s fundraising luncheon, telling those in attendance Somalis were being "demonized" and vowing to bring more into his state. “These folks better not ever mistake our kindness for our weakness because we are...

(The Center Square) – The Tacoma City Council will hold its first reading this week on a proposed 0.1% public safety sales tax – months later than several neighboring cities that have already adopted similar increases. The sales tax increase – authorized by the state Legislature via House Bill 2015, with generated revenue only allowed to go toward public safety needs – would raise Tacoma’s sales t...

(The Center Square) – Rep. Shaun Scott, D-Seattle, on Tuesday held a press conference to announce legislation for a new payroll excise tax on high-income earners, aimed at “protecting Washington’s budget and public services from the severe impacts of H.R. 1, the federal tax package recently passed by Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump,” according to Scott’s press release. Hosted by Simplec...

(The Center Square) – Funding for electrifying the Washington State Ferries system continues to dominate total Climate Commitment Act project spending, according to a new Department of Ecology report for fiscal year 2025. While Ecology is touting the investments as reducing 9 million metric tons of carbon over the past two fiscal years, some critics are questioning the true cost per ton for some o...

(The Center Square) – Rep. Shaun Scott, D-Seattle, on Tuesday held a press conference to announce legislation for a new payroll excise tax on high-income earners, aimed at “protecting Washington’s budget and public services from the severe impacts of H.R. 1, the federal tax package recently passed by Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump,” according to Scott’s press release. Support this podc...

(The Center Square) – Seattle is pushing for a state-level backstop to help fund immigrant services and other top priorities as the Trump administration escalates federal immigration enforcement nationwide. The Seattle Office of Intergovernmental Relations briefed the city council on a proposed state legislative agenda for next year’s session during a council briefing on Monday. Support this podca...

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump took another step toward fulfilling his promise to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Federal officials announced that “six new interagency agreements (IAAs) with four agencies to break up the federal education bureaucracy, ensure efficient delivery of funded programs, activities, and move closer to fulfilling the President’s promise to return...

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump took another step toward fulfilling his promise to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Federal officials announced that “six new interagency agreements (IAAs) with four agencies to break up the federal education bureaucracy, ensure efficient delivery of funded programs, activities, and move closer to fulfilling the President’s promise to return...

(The Center Square) – Washington State Bar Association investigated Gov. Bob Ferguson when he was attorney general in 2023 for his office's handling of a lawsuit that cost taxpayers $3 million, new documents obtained by The Center Square show. The confidential investigation found insufficient evidence to prove wrongdoing, but the WSBA probe has never been reported, according to the records obtaine...

(The Center Square) – Washington State Bar Association investigated Gov. Bob Ferguson when he was attorney general in 2023 for his office's handling of a lawsuit that cost taxpayers $3 million, new documents obtained by The Center Square show. The confidential investigation found insufficient evidence to prove wrongdoing, but the WSBA probe has never been reported, according to the records obtaine...

Auburn is the latest Washington state city to take advantage of a new state law allowing cities and counties to implement a 0.1% sales and use tax for criminal justice purposes without a voter-approved referendum. During a Monday night meeting, members of the Auburn City Council unanimously approved the tax hike as an additional source of funding to address public safety needs Support this podcast...

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s funding notice of last week is expected to create a $40 million shortfall for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, leaving Seattle and King County scrambling to cover the gap as they continue budget deliberations. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-...

(The Center Square) – Newly obtained records reveal further details of the Washington State Bar Association investigation into Attorney General Nick Brown that ended hours after The Center Square reached out for comment. WSBA rules dictate that bar complaint investigations into private attorneys are to be kept confidential, but The Center Square obtained records of the investigation through a publ...

(The Center Square) – Newly obtained records reveal further details of the Washington State Bar Association investigation into Attorney General Nick Brown that ended hours after The Center Square reached out for comment. WSBA rules dictate that bar complaint investigations into private attorneys are to be kept confidential, but The Center Square obtained records of the investigation through a publ...

(The Center Square) – Concerns about the use of Washington state's Community Reinvestment Program (CRP) funds have now moved on to the Tacoma Urban League, including the organization's director being put on leave, interviews show. CRP was created to support homeownership for minorities by providing grants and funding to programs that assist low-income households, and to support minority owned busi...

(The Center Square) – On an overcast mid-October day, just inside the Third Avenue offices of We Heart Seattle, Executive Director Andrea Suarez and two of her staff members sat next to a table covered with gallon-sized Ziploc bags filled with used drug foil collected in recent weeks from parks and streets in Seattle. On an adjacent table, a “harm reduction” kit provided to drug addicts by Public...

(The Center Square) – Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown proposed and directly oversaw the production of a video made by his office featuring him mocking the social media posts of his critics during an active State Bar Association investigation into him. It was an investigation where Brown twice failed to respond to bar investigators by the deadlines but was dismissed last week after The...

(The Center Square) – On an overcast mid-October day, just inside the Third Avenue offices of We Heart Seattle, Executive Director Andrea Suarez and two of her staff members sat next to a table covered with gallon-sized Ziploc bags filled with used drug foil collected in recent weeks from parks and streets in Seattle.  Support this podcast:   https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce05...

(The Center Square) – King County council members are grappling with housing challenges that put larger households at risk of overcrowding. On Monday, the King County Council discussed a recent housing report highlighting a $3.96 billion annual funding gap needed to meet the county’s affordable housing goals. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41...

(The Center Square) – A whistleblower has raised serious allegations against Washington state’s Community Reinvestment Program, which, among other things, aims to support homeownership for minorities by providing grants and funding to programs that assist low-income households. Independent journalist and “unDivided” podcast host Brandi Kruse on Monday published an article based on a months-long in...

(The Center Square) – A Washington lawmaker is calling for the state Legislature to give several spending transparency bills he’s sponsored a second look in the wake of allegations made against the state’s Community Reinvestment Program.  Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx  Read more: https://www.thecente...

(The Center Square) – A whistleblower has raised serious allegations against Washington state’s Community Reinvestment Program, which, among other things, aims to support homeownership for minorities by providing grants and funding to programs that assist low-income households. Independent journalist and “unDivided” podcast host Brandi Kruse on Monday published an article based on a months-long in...

(The Center Square) – With unanimous support, the Spokane City Council set aside ideological divides on Monday, just a week before the election, to replace Mayor Lisa Brown’s unenforceable camping ban. The historic vote follows community backlash after the council majority passed the mayor’s proposal in June. Much of the business community had argued it didn’t have enough teeth and would let habit...