Washington in Focus

(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...

(The Center Square) – The Washington State Bar Association formally concluded an investigation into state Attorney General Nick Brown and dismissed a separate complaint against Solicitor General Noah Purcell hours after The Center Square reached out to the senior disciplinary counsel tasked with overseeing both. The investigation against Brown was launched after a bar complaint was filed in respon...

(The Center Square) – The Washington State Bar Association formally concluded an investigation into state Attorney General Nick Brown and dismissed a separate complaint against Solicitor General Noah Purcell hours after The Center Square reached out to the senior disciplinary counsel tasked with overseeing both. The investigation against Brown was launched after a bar complaint was filed in respon...

(The Center Square) – After more community pushback, Kevin Coe, the notorious "South Hill Rapist" who terrorized Spokane, Wash., in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is being relocated back to Federal Way, the city where he was originally scheduled to live upon his release earlier this month. “We are disappointed to hear the news that Kevin Coe is moving to Federal Way and want to acknowledge commun...

(The Center Square) – Katie Wilson, the frontrunner in the 2025 Seattle mayoral race, is not shying away from comparisons to New York City’s leading mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist whose platform includes implementing progressive taxes, government-run grocery stores and alternatives to police enforcement.  Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/fr...

(The Center Square) – A Washington state Democratic lawmaker is expressing “regret and guilt” over legislation she supported that she believes has contributed to an explosion in juvenile crime and lives lost. Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline, penned an op-ed in The Seattle Times last weekend detailing eight different policies that have “contributed to the juvenile crime wave.” Hosted by Simplecast,...

(The Center Square) – Last month, the Snohomish Police Department issued a statement telling people not to call 911 in response to initiative signature gatherers operating outside stores such as Fred Meyer and Safeway. Many of the 9-11 callers reported to the nonemergency line such activities as trespassing, but others expressed concerned about nature of the initiatives themselves.  Support this p...