Federal funding cuts cause Head Start suspensions
More than 400 children in Central Washington are without educational support services after federal funding never arrived.
Inspire Development Centers is located in Sunnyside, Washington. The organization offers early childhood education programming to low-income children through various centers in Central Washington.
They receive federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But now, they say, they can’t operate without these funds.
"There's a delay of some sort," Inspire CEO Jorge Castillo said. "We're not sure exactly what's causing the delay, and we have not seen the award for the balance of funds."
He told NWPB that the organization had to suspend services for more than one hundred children in the Early Head Start program and more than three hundred who are in Head Start.
"It feels like that just kind of got ripped out of from under us and we're kind of like, 'What's gonna happen?'" Griselda Valenzuela, a parent of one of the affect children in Sunnyside, said
Castillo said the lack of funding led to the dismissal of more than 50 staff members.
Grandview, Granger, Sunnyside, Mabton, Othello and Parker Heights are among the Central Washington communities where some centers are affected.
Washingtonians testify on legislative Dems' new tax proposals
A Washington Senate committee heard several hours of testimony last night on five new tax bills introduced to raise money to balance the state’s next two-year budget.
The proposals include increases in several taxes, including the capital gains, estate, and business and occupation taxes.
Progressives like Amy Roark from the Poverty Reduction Workgroup Steering Committee endorsed the idea of wealthy people paying more to maintain state services as current levels.
"Let's stop pretending that this is controversial. The ultra-wealthy won't even notice the change, but for us, it means our kids can access special education," she said. "It means early learning gets funded. It means dignity."
Conservatives generally panned the tax proposals, including Dakota Manley from the Washington State Young Republicans.
"It is clear that the people are tired of seeing more and more tax increases coming down through this legislature," he said. "And a lot of my fellow peers are already looking at moving out of Washington State. We can't keep adding more and more taxes and ignoring the people."
Governor Bob Ferguson has expressed his opposition to wealth taxes proposed by Democratic leaders earlier this session.
It’s not known yet how he feels about his party’s newly introduced alternatives.
Ferguson signs bill inspired by north Spokane community group
The end of the Washington legislative session is near. Governor Bob Ferguson has been signing dozens of bills that made it through the legislative process.
Yesterday, he signed a law inspired by a Spokane non-profit group, Village Cohousing Works. It is selling small manufactured homes at cost at a site in Mead to low-income buyers.
“Currently, manufactured homes are considered personal property rather than real estate and are titled as vehicles. That means dealers of manufactured homes are required to obtain a vehicle dealer license, which comes with significant costs and fees," he said.
The bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Volz (R-Cheney) allows non-profit groups to sell up to a dozen manufactured homes at cost per year without having to obtain a dealer’s license. The previous annual limit was four.
Among the other bills signed by the governor is one that criminalizes the act of distributing forged digital photos, videos and audio of people with the intent to harass or defraud.
WTA and Health Dept. seek public input to track ticks
A Washington outdoor recreation group and the Department of Health are working together to get a better idea of where ticks live in the state.
The Washington Trail Association has been offering a trip report listing on its website for many years. It’s a tool where hikers can report data about what kind of conditions they found at the 4,200 trails in the organization’s database.
"In the winter we might see a hundred per weekend, but in the summer, it’s not uncommon to get 800 or 900 trip reports in a weekend," Trails Association media liaison Anna Roth said.
She said in an interview with SPR that the information caught the interest of a Washington Department of Health researcher, who thought it could provide raw data on where ticks might be found around the state.
The Health Department can use the trip reports to determine where ticks are being encountered and how they can alert the public to tick prone areas, agency etymologist Dr. Liz Dykstra said.
"I’m also interested in what this project did looking at the impact of wildfires on tick distribution and does it have an impact, especially as we move forward with this changing climate," she told SPR News.
You can read the trip reports and leave your own information on the Washington Trails Association website.
The Department of Health is encouraging people to send in ticks, so they can document which varieties are being found.
LC State asks Idaho to change its name
Lewis-Clark State College may be getting a slight name change: Lewis-Clark State University.
The school made its case to the Idaho State Board of Education at a meeting Wednesday, where it received unanimous approval.
“We are very grateful to the State Board of Education for its careful consideration of this proposal, as well as its support and guidance,” LC State President Cynthia Pemberton said in a statement. “We look forward to next steps as we work together for the benefit of students and Idaho.”
The school said the new name would be more reflective of its full range of educational offerings, including baccalaureate, certificate and graduate programs.
The name change proposal would require an amendment to state statute, so the request now advances to the Idaho Legislature.
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Reporting by Johanna Bejarano, Doug Nadvornick, Steve Jackson and Owen Henderson.