Disputed Spokane County land trade called off
Washington’s Department of Natural Resources is cancelling a controversial land deal on Spokane’s West Plains. The agency and a development company, Blue Fern Management, had planned to swap 200 acres of state land in Latah Valley for a supermarket in Bellingham.
The deal generated a lot of backlash in Spokane from people who thought the land is more valuable as a natural area than as a housing development.
Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove says his agency heard that feedback and decided to give critics time to look for another opportunity for the property. He says it will continue managing the Thorpe land tract for up to two more years.
"The news is a wonderful shock," said Jeff Lambert, the president of the group Friends of the Bluff, which opposed the trade. "Commissioner Upthegrove will be engaging with the community to find a conservation option for Thorpe that meets Spokane's needs as well as fulfilling the obligation to fund K-12 education."
Upthegrove says if nothing materializes during the two-year community exploration period, he says the department will look again for another use for the property.
The process for Washington's August primary begins
Ballots go out in the mail this week for Washington’s August 5 primary election.
Voters in towns and cities will narrow the races for city councils, school boards and special taxing districts to two candidates apiece. Those candidates then advance to the November general election ballot.
Spokane County elections officials tomorrow will hold a session to train partisan election observers.
“We teach them about the entire process from start to finish, from voter registration to mailing out the ballots to processing and signature verification, opening, tabulation, letting them know the whole process. So before they come in to observe, they know what to look for," said Ryan Dosch, Spokane County's lead supervisor for elections services.
Dosch says political parties are allowed to have up to three representatives watch election workers process the ballots.
Homeless count results released today; many students sleep on friends' couches
Spokane city officials plan to release the latest results of the city’s 2025 Point-in-Time count of people who are homeless today. The count is mandated by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development as a guide to help local officials determine what services they need to provide.
Homelessness isn’t always visible.
A Washington state report says during the 2022-23 school year, more than 42,000 students lacked stable housing. About three quarters of those students are doubled up. For example: staying on a friend’s couch.
“For us, couch surfing and double-ups are experiencing housing instability, so at any time they can be asked to get out of the house," said Carmela Solorio Preciado, a liaison for homeless youth at the Wenatchee School District.
During the 2024-25 school year, the Wenatchee School District reported that it had 634 homeless students. More than half were couch surfing.
Hospital leaders in Washington wait for effects of spending cuts to Medicaid
In Omak, Andy Bertapelle, the chief executive of Mid Valley Hospital, says Medicaid patients make up about 30% of the hospital’s business, which has served the community since 1966.
“This legislation is not good legislation as it relates to health care and health care reimbursement specifically so — when these decreased reimbursements are implemented, and they start to take place, there will be, obviously, decreased reimbursements to our hospital, no different than any other hospital," he said.
He says the hospital won’t face closure but will work with local organizations and leaders to diversify its revenue to offset the financial impact.
The Washington State Hospital Association has warned Medicaid spending reductions could force its members, especially in rural areas, to reduce services. That would require people who live in those areas to have to drive longer distances to receive the care they need, especially for more specialized services.
Reporting contributed by Eliza Billingham, Doug Nadvornick, Renee Diaz and Monica Carrillo-Casas.