Spokane abolishes minimum parking requirements
Spokane is the first major Washington city to drop parking requirements for new construction.
The city council voted 4-to-1 this week to end minimum parking requirements. Council member Michael Cathcart was the sole ‘no’ vote. (Council President Betsy Wilkerson and council member Jonathan Bingle were absent from Monday’s meeting.) The measure builds on a limited version approved last year, which eliminated parking minimums for housing developments near transit routes.
While Cathcart said he agreed with the sentiment and principle of the code change, he said his concern is with the city’s Logan neighborhood, where he said inadequate parking for Gonzaga students causes problems for homeowners.
Councilman Zack Zappone said dropping minimum parking requirements could offer better access to homes and businesses without needing a car.
“When I talk to people in Spokane...there’s a lot of desire for living in areas where you can walk to a café, walk to a restaurant, walk to the grocery store and come back to your house,” Zack Zappone said. “Parking minimum requirements have been government mandates that have made it difficult for those types of businesses [and] housing opportunities to be built.”
The rule changes do not mean parking connected to a new apartment complex, office or retail building is forbidden. It only ends the requirement that a mandated amount of parking spaces be provided.
State and local governments began imposing parking requirements in the 1950s, when suburbs spread from city centers and Americans increasingly relied on personal transportation to get around. Since 2017, 76 U.S. cities have reduced or abolished minimum parking requirements, according to advocacy group Parking Reform.
Idaho AG ‘reviewing options’ after Supreme Court dismisses ballot initiative lawsuit
Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador is mulling his options after the state Supreme Court turned away a lawsuit he filed to stop a voter initiative set to appear on ballots this fall.
The initiative would institute a top-four primary election system, similar to the one currently used in Washington, and a ranked-choice system for general elections. Labrador alleges the organizers who collected petition signatures misled voters about the initiative’s goals and claims the measure itself violates a state law requiring voter initiatives to address a single subject.
In a unanimous ruling, the state’s highest court said Labrador skipped a step in trying to secure a ruling on his allegations. The court’s ruling said Labrador “fundamentally misapprehend[ed]” the role of the court, and said he could still challenge the initiative in a lower court.
The court did not rule on the validity of Labrador’s claims, though it did note his single-subject objection is not eligible for judicial review unless voters approve the measure.
Luke Mayville, spokesman for the group Idahoans for Open Primaries, called Tuesday’s ruling “a victory for every voter in Idaho.”
In a statement, the Attorney General’s office said it is considering its options, reiterated its assertion that petition organizers misled voters, and predicted Idaho voters would reject the initiative.
Sessler’s lead sets up November match with incumbent Congressman Newhouse
Two years ago, former NASCAR driver and Navy veteran Jerrod Sessler challenged Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse and was eliminated in the primary. This year, he looks to be the man Newhouse has to beat to keep his seat in the U.S. House.
Newhouse, who represents Okanogan County, the Grand Coulee area and the rest of the central third of the state, has been targeted for removal in part for voting to impeach Donald Trump in 2021. Newhouse was able to fend off a field of conservative challengers in his 2022 re-election bid, but results from the August 6 primary show Sessler leading Newhouse by more than 13,000 votes.
Sessler leads in all eight Fourth Congressional District counties, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s office. Trump backed Sessler and another Republican, Tiffany Smiley, in the primary.
Sessler and Newhouse will proceed to the November general election, but Sessler’s performance hints at a tough climb for Newhouse to retain his Congressional seat.
UW researchers find new dementia precursors
Scientists at the University of Washington helped uncover two new health factors that, if addressed, could significantly lower the risk of developing dementia.
The Lancet Commission on Dementia found vision loss and high cholesterol are significant risk factors for the neurological condition. The group’s report focuses on middle-and-lower income populations around the world.
With the addition of vision loss and high LDL— often called bad cholesterol —the total number of “potentially modifiable” risk factors for dementia has risen to 14.
The study’s co-author, Dr. Eric Larson of the UW School of Medicine, said it’s important to address these health concerns as soon as possible.
“If those 14 modifiable risk factors were able to be modified, you would see up to a 45 percent reduction in the burden of dementia,” Larson told public radio station KUOW.
Other identified risk factors include lack of education, air pollution, social isolation, and hearing loss.
Yakima Co. school district agrees to change how its board is elected
The Sunnyside School District has reached a settlement agreement with Empowering Latina Leaders & Action (ELLA) to change from a district-wide voting system and pick board members by districts. The goal is to raise Latino representation.
In support of ELLA, the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue in April. Its Washington staff attorney, David Montes, said Latina candidate Sandra Zesati’s race last year against Stephen Berg was a perfect example of how at-large voting has been an issue.
Zesati ran in District 5, and had voting been limited to the district’s majority-Latino population, Montes said, she would have won the race with about 52 percent of the vote.
“But because it wasn't just District 5 voting for her – it was District 1 and District 2 and District 3 and District 4 all voting – she lost that election,” Montes told SPR News. “The people of District 5 did not get to pick the person who was representing them.”
The agreement will redraw voting maps to include three active majority Latino voting districts. The Sunnyside school system will also reimburse the ACLU for legal fees.
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Reporting was contributed by Brandon Hollingsworth, Diana Opong and Monica Carillo-Casas.