City of Spokane sued over homelessness laws
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the city of Spokane and all seven city council members over three city ordinances it considers unconstitutional. The laws regulate the actions of people who are homeless.
The ACLU’s lawsuit in Spokane County Superior Court targets ordinances that make it illegal to camp and sleep on public property and which forbid sitting or lying on some sidewalks. The suit also seeks to overturn the law that gives the city the authority to haul away, destroy or store the property of people who are asked to move. The agency claims the laws criminalize homelessness and impose cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the state constitution.
The suit was filed on behalf of Donnell Currie and Clifford Moore, two people who are currently or formerly homeless, and Jewels Helping Hands, the non-profit that serves the homeless community.
A city spokesperson says city leaders hadn’t yet seen the lawsuit as of 2 p.m. yesterday and couldn’t comment.
Last November, Spokane voters approved a ballot measure that bans homeless encampments within a thousand feet of parks, schools and day care centers.
Some council members are calling for that to be enforced now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld local anti-camping ordinances. The mayor and some council members say it’s already being enforced.
Buy an EV, get a rebate
The state of Washington is giving money back to people who buy or lease electric vehicles.
State officials yesterday announced an instant rebate program for people who meet certain income guidelines, up to $93,000 for a family of four.
Commerce Secretary Mike Fong says the biggest rebates go to people who lease EVs, up to $9,000 for a three-year lease. People who buy electric vehicles can collect up to $5,000.
“With this first-in-the-nation, leading-in model, focusing on leasing, low-income, affordable leasing of electric vehicles is our way of really leveling the playing field and really enabling EV adoption, to really go across the whole state," he said.
“We know the cost of TVs and their range, the cost is going to come down because of scales of economy and technology and the range is going to go up. It’s going up rapidly," Governor Jay Inslee said.
"We have two battery companies in our state that could increase the range of these in the next several years by 30%. We don’t want to wait for that. We want to do something right now so people can get behind an electric vehicle right now," he said.
Fong says his agency has $45 million that it hopes to pay out to as many as 8,000 drivers during the next 10 months. He says more than 120 car dealers statewide are participating. He says people can collect the rebates at the time they go in to buy or lease a new or used electric vehicle.
Washington's lands commissioner primary could bring a surprise
Something unusual is happening in the statewide race for public lands commissioner in Washington. A new poll says Republicans might capture the most votes in the primary next week, though the state leans Democrat and the current office holder is a Democrat.
The Washington’s lands commissioner manages the state’s forests, public waters, and wildfire response.
Democrats worry that in the upcoming primary on August 6, two Republicans will rise to the top of a crowded field. They're reacting to a new poll by a left-wing think tank.
"It's gravely concerning, because we have good candidates running for this office. But the problem is, none of them have run particularly strong campaigns thus far, at least not as measured by our polling," said Andrew Villeneuve, the founder of the Northwest Progressive Institute, which commissioned the poll.
Two Republicans splitting the conservative vote. Five Democratic candidates are splitting liberals. 48% are undecided.
The top two vote getters, regardless of party, advance to November.
Spokane judicial primary sees crowded field
One down ballot race in Spokane County has gotten more attention than usual this election cycle.
Eleven of the contests for Spokane Superior Court judge have just one candidate. One has two candidates, both of whom will advance to the November general election.
But incumbent — and current presiding judge — Timothy Fennessy is facing three challengers for position 11 on the court.
Fennessy has had his seat since 2016, and in April, he’d announced he wouldn’t be running for another third term.
However, in the last week to file, he entered the race, joining Jerry Scharosch, F. Dayle Andersen and Andrew Van Winkle.
Scharsch is currently a Superior Court Commissioner. He’s received endorsements from eight of the sitting Superior Court judges and a rating of “Exceptionally Well Qualified” from the Spokane County Bar Association.
Fennessy has endorsements from six of the sitting judges — one has endorsed both Fennessy and Scharosch. And he was rated “Well Qualified” by the county bar, below Scharosch.
Attorney Van Winkle also serves as the Spokane County Superior Court judge pro-tempore. The county bar rated him “Qualified.”
Finally, Andersen is a former Spokane County deputy prosecutor. He did not receive a rating from the association.
Tuesday’s vote will winnow the field from four to two.
Time for Washington residents to fill out and return ballots
Washington election offices are reminding voters to check their registration and send in their ballots.
They can return completed ballots to an official drop box, bring them to a voter service center or cast their ballot in person.
If utilizing any of these options, the deadline to vote is 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, August 6.
Mailed ballots must be postmarked by August 6.
If there’s an issue with the signature on a returned ballot, the elections office is now required to contact the voter by phone and mail.
The deadline has passed to register to vote online, but eligible residents can register all the way up to 8:00 p.m. at voter service centers and polling places on Election Day.
You can find polling locations and more information on the Washington Secretary of State’s website and county election websites.
Reporting contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Owen Henderson and Scott Greenstone.