Spokane voters to weigh in on 20-year property tax increase
The city of Spokane will ask residents in November to increase the property tax.
The money would go toward improving and adding to the parks system.
The city council last night agreed to let voters decide the fate of a tax measure that is expected to raise about $12 million a year for 20 years.
The proposal was widely praised during public testimony. But some, including Derek Azzaro, believe residents may vote against it.
Azzaro cited the city council’s recent decision not to codify a voter-approved public camping restriction after the state supreme court overturned it.
"They should vote for this. It’s long term. It’s a great thing," he said during public comment on the measure. "But you’re making it really hard for the voters to stand behind you when you slap them in the face on one thing, then you ask them to vote on this. It’s ridiculous."
The city says nearly 90% of the money raised will go to improve existing parks and regular maintenance. The rest would pay to acquire and develop new neighborhood parks.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library seeks donations after Washington state cuts funding
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program is hoping to raise enough money to keep giving books to tens of thousands of kids under age 5 in the state of Washington.
Lawmakers cut funds for the program in the budget they sent to the governor.
Participation in the Imagination Library program in Washington has exploded since it was established in 2022.
"We had about 15,000 children, and to now we have 121,000," Brooke Fisher-Clark, executive director of the nonprofit, said.
The state pitched in half the cost of each book. The rest came from local nonprofit partners.
The Imagination Library asked the legislature for $7 million over the next two years, but lawmakers zeroed that out in the budget they sent to the governor. Now, the organization is looking elsewhere to raise that money.
"It is the first time in the Dollywood Foundation's 30-year history that a state legislature has ever dropped the funding of an imagination library program, that they made a statewide program," Fisher-Clark said. "So it is significant — not in a good way."
She told KNKX public radio if the program can’t raise those funds, it would have to reduce the number of kids it serves.
Candidates get their papers in as auditors open filing week
Five Spokane County mayors formally applied for re-election during the first day of candidate filing week Monday.
They were among more than 50 people who filed their papers to run for office in August.
The five mayors are Terri Cooper in Medical Lake, Chris Grover in Cheney, Tim Verzal in Deer Park, Carrie Roecks in Rockford and Shawna Beese in Millwood. All are unopposed so far, except for Beese, who faces opposition from town Councilman Shaun Culler.
The mayor’s office is not up for re-election in Spokane and Spokane Valley, but city council seats are. In Spokane, Jonathan Bingle is running for reelection in District 1. Two challengers are also on the record as running: Cody Arguelles and Alejandro Barrientos.
Arguelles is challenging Zack Zappone for his District 3 seat. Barrientos is running for the seat Lili Navarrete is vacating in District 2.
In Spokane Valley, Councilmember Laura Padden is running for re-election. Daryl Williams and Kris Pockell want to be first-time councilmembers.
Spokane County Treasurer Mike Volz, who was appointed earlier this year to replace now-U.S. Representative Michael Baumgartner, is running to keep the position through the end of 2026. No challenger has filed yet. Volz also serves in the state legislature.
WA joins suit over Trump wind energy restrictions
Washington and Oregon are among 17 states and Washington, D.C., filing suit against the Trump administration over its attempt to freeze the development of wind energy.
The suit comes in response to an executive order issued in January that indefinitely halted all federal approvals necessary for the development of onshore- and offshore-wind energy.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement that the order kneecaps “some of the fastest growing, most innovative, and cleanest resources in the country.”
With nearly 2-dozen utility-scale wind farms in operation, the complaint says wind is Washington’s second-largest source of renewable energy, after hydroelectric power.
Washington is working toward a goal of emissions-free electricity by 2045.
Both Washington and Oregon say the sector has already created thousands of jobs and that wind energy is crucial in addressing the impacts of climate change.
Murray calls for investigation into fire relief funding delays
Washington U.S. Senator Patty Murray says she wants an investigation into delays to disaster relief funding for the Oregon Road and Gray Fires.
Under a federal disaster relief law signed at the end of December, Spokane County should get more than $44 million in relief money for the 2023 fires.
In a letter to the Inspector General of the Housing and Urban Development Department, which oversees the federal disaster recovery program, Murray said the Trump administration’s mass layoffs, lack of communication with state and local partners, and changes to requirements for the program could jeopardize the funds meant to go to Spokane County.
The Oregon Road and Gray Fires burned more than 21,000 acres in eastern Washington, making them among the most destructive in state history.
Justice Dept. says WA's new clergy abuse reporting law may be unconstitutional
The U.S. Justice Department says it will investigate Washington’s new law requiring clergy to report suspected child abuse.
The law does not include an exemption for priests who learn of allegations during confessions, a portion of the bill specifically opposed by Catholic lobbyists.
In a statement released Monday, the department says that lack of an exception creates an “apparent conflict” between the law and freedom of religion under the First Amendment.
Prior to the law’s passage, Washington was one of just five states that did not require clergy to report suspected child abuse or neglect.
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Reporting contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Freddy Monares, Bellamy Pailthorp, and Owen Henderson.