WA community college tuitions will rise in ‘25
The board that oversees Washington’s community and technical colleges approved a 3.3% tuition increase for the next school year.
The increase will apply to both resident and non-resident students. A full-time Washington resident taking an average course load in 100- and 200-level classes would pay about $54 more per quarter, or $160 in an academic year. Students taking upper division classes would pay about $100 more per year. The increase for non-resident students is more twice that for residents.
“This is a relatively modest increase," said Seattle board member Jay Reich. "It is an increase, however, and we have to face up to that, but I think our responsibility is to support it and it’s well understood that it’s required by the colleges and it’s anticipated by the legislature.”
The 3.3% increase is the maximum allowed by the legislature. Last year’s tuition hike for the two-year schools was 3%.
Reich said tuition at the two-year institutions is still a good deal compared to what students at the state’s four-year schools pay.
Report shows mixed report card for WA affordable housing
The median cost of multifamily affordable housing units in Washington dropped in 2023 — but so did the median number of units per project.
Those are two of the takeaways from a recent report on affordable housing from the state Commerce Department.
According to the report, the median number of units per multifamily project fell by nearly half from 2022 to 2023, going from 99 units per project to 56.
And in 2019, the median number of units per project was more than double that, at 114.
Median costs for the state fell per unit by $14,353 to $301,744 for a multifamily unit.
That’s still high compared to previous years, though. In 2019, the median cost per unit was $207,496.
Money for affordable housing often gets compiled from a variety of sources, including the two examined in the report: the state Housing Trust Fund and the Housing Finance Commission’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit
More than 80% of the projects listed in the report had received funding from both.
Of the 21 projects covered in the data, five were in King County, nine were in other urban counties like Spokane and Clark, and seven were in rural counties like Grant and Okanogan.
Idaho Supreme Court sends open meeting case back to lower court
The Idaho Supreme Court told a lower court to re-consider a case involving the University of Idaho’s attempt to purchase the online University of Phoenix.
The court’s 4-1 decision Thursday found fault with a lower ruling that said the state Board of Education’s early conversations about the purchase were protected under state law.
The ruling gave a boost to Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador. He has spent more than a year arguing that the board violated open meeting laws.
Labrador and the Idaho Board of Education expressed different interpretations of the ruling.
Labrador called it a “comprehensive win” for Idahoans and open government. The board pointed out that the supreme court’s ruling did not say board members violated Idaho open meeting law.
It is unclear what effect the ruling will have on the University of Idaho’s plans.
WA officials warn of scam letters sent to business owners
Small business owners who get letters demanding excessive fees for business filings that seem to be from the Washington Secretary of State’s office should be wary: Those messages could be scams.
In a statement Thursday, the Washington Attorney General’s office said it’s received dozens of complaints about the letters, which ask for payment and threaten business owners with fines or dissolution of their businesses if the demands aren’t met.
The Secretary of State’s office said it has received reports of similar telephone scams targeting Latino businesses, where business owners were also threatened with jail.
Though the messages are designed to look official, including the Washington state seal, the A.G.’s office said there are clues the letters are scams.
Those could be listing an address for the Secretary of State’s office in Olympia, California, or directing the recipients to a website that ends in .org instead of .gov.
If you receive such a letter, you can contact the Secretary of State’s office to confirm you’re up to date on your filings. If you think you’ve been the target of a scam, you can file a complaint with the A.G.’s office.
Valley firefighters get new training facilities
Spokane Valley fire officials are celebrating the opening of their new fire training center and burn tower.
The complex replaces a 36-year-old facility that Chief Frank Soto, Junior said had become inadequate.
"The bottom line is all this is here to meet the needs of our citizens, meet the needs of our firefighters and really meet the best practices for today’s firefighters and their health and safety," he said.
The new center will replace a smaller facility that opened in the 1980s.
"It did its purpose, you know. I have no complaints. It did its purpose. But the bottom line is we didn’t have the facilities, if you will, for female firefighters," Soto, Jr., said. "We didn’t have any showers to take off the cancer-causing PFAS and things of that nature. No workout facilities there. I mean it was just bare bones.”
He said the burn tower has ample room to practice fires that ignite from different materials.
The complex will allow the Spokane Valley Fire Department to expand the number of recruits it invites to its semi-annual training academy.
Former Spokane County sheriff Erickson to be buried today
Larry Erickson joined the sheriff’s office in 1963 when as few as three deputies patrolled the county at one time.
He was elected sheriff in 1978 and served the county alongside then-Prosecutor Don Brockett.
“I think Spokane County owes Larry Erickson a debt of gratitude for his service,” Brockett told SPR News.
Erickson led Spokane County’s response to the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens and many other major events until his 1995 retirement.
He and Brockett worked together on many cases.
“I personally will miss Larry a lot,” Brockett said. “He was a close friend of mine, a compatriot in our efforts to hopefully make Spokane safe for many years.”
After leaving the Sheriff’s Office, Erickson moved to Olympia and was director of the Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs for ten-years.
Larry Erickson was 85.
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Reporting was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Owen Henderson, Brandon Hollingsworth and Tom Lee.