Spokane launches 'comprehensive' plan for homelessness
Spokane city officials are pursuing a multi-pronged strategy for dealing with homelessness, siting shelters, and enforcing existing laws.
"This isn't about tinkering on the edges, finding Band-Aid fixes, As I said, we have needed a plan for years, and now we have one," Mayor Lisa Brown said during her announcement of the plan at a press conference Thursday.
It’s composed of three proposed ordinances. One creates a comprehensive strategy and establishes metrics for success.
Those include increased housing units at all income levels and decreased numbers of residents paying more than a third of their income for housing.
Another would unify Spokane’s existing laws around unauthorized camping and obstruction of public property and expanded their reach to the whole city, rather than just downtown.
Brown said the new plan focuses on connecting individuals with navigation services and provides law enforcement with a clear enforcement mechanism.
"So this is an approach which relies heavily on continuing to learn more about what works and trying to put more resources into what works," she said.
This announcement comes in the wake of the Washington Supreme Court overturning the city’s voter-approved camping restriction, Prop 1.
The other ordinances announced yesterday would base the requirements to open inclement weather shelters on heat index and wind chill rather than temperature, codify community engagement requirements for siting any new shelters with more than 20 beds, and establish the city’s metrics for progress on housing.
The proposed ordinances now go to the city council for consideration.
Manufactured home owners celebrate rent caps passed by WA legislature
A bill to cap rent increases was approved by the Washington state legislature.
It creates limits for all renters but gives special protections to manufactured homeowners.
They’re a group that’s especially vulnerable to increases since they own their homes but rent the land underneath them.
That also makes it harder to leave, even if they can’t afford the rent.
"It’s stabilization. For us to have some idea of what we’re going to be going through next year," Robin Zorich, the president of the Association of Manufactured Home Owners in Washington, said. "They raise the rent every single year."
Over the last seven years, Zorich said the rent for the land her Woodland, Wash., home sits on has more than doubled to $1300 per month.
She said this new legislation will help protect seniors like her.
"There’s people who are not taking their medication, who can’t afford to buy it, who are keeping their temperatures of their house down at like 60, 65, so they can save on electricity," she said.
Under the bill, rent at manufactured home parks can only go up 5% per year. On average, Zorich’s rent has gone up triple that amount each year.
Rent in other types of homes could be increased up to 10%.
Owners of manufactured home parks warn that capping rent increases will make it harder for them to maintain properties.
Democratic lawmakers carried the legislation through the statehouse. Governor Bob Ferguson has yet to sign it to become law, though lawmakers say he’s supported the bill behind the scenes since the start of the legislative session.
Law Day celebrations aim to raise trust in legal institutions
Lawyers stood in a circle in front of the Stevens County Courthouse early yesterday afternoon, while Stevens County judges read the attorney’s oath for National Law Day.
Law Day has been a visible part of American legal culture since former President Dwight Eisenhower established it in 1958.
Northeast Washington State Rep. Hunter Abell (R-Inchelium) attended, saying it was important to join lawyers because of his concern about declining public trust in many parts of government.
"Today is a day where we can show the public that our lawyers are doing what they can to help build up our institutions. That includes the courts," Abell said. "That includes standing up for our foundational documents, like the U.S. Constitution and our Washington State Constitution.”
Abell, a Republican, said yesterday’s event wasn’t about political parties but more of a reminder of the importance of the due process and the U.S. Constitution.
Remember carbs and rest in your Bloomsday prep, says Gonzaga health lecturer
Race day is about 48 hours away for people participating in the 2025 edition of Bloomsday.
It’s not too early to begin thinking about what you should eat and drink before the event, said Jake Deckert, who lectures Gonzaga undergraduates and University of Washington medical students in Spokane.
"About one to three days before the race start to increase the amount of carbohydrates that you eat, particularly the night before," Deckert told SPR News. "The idea is we just want to make sure that we go into the race fully recovered and with as many carbohydrates as we can store since that's going to really fuel our race."
Deckert also advises participants to keep themselves moving during the days before the race.
You might cut back on your distance training, but he said, don’t become a couch potato. And do stay hydrated during the days leading up to the race.
When it comes to race morning, Deckert said breakfast should include some kind of carbohydrate — like a bagel or oatmeal — two or three hours ahead of the race, and perhaps a quick snack a few minutes before it.
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Reporting by Owen Henderson, Erik Neumann Monica Carrillo-Casas and Doug Nadvornick.