Ferguson vows to keep so-called 'sanctuary' law as Bondi threatens funding cuts, legal action
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson sent a scathing reply to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for her letter that calls out the state for being a so-called "sanctuary jurisdiction."
While Ferguson said Bondi’s letter does not give specifics, he told reporters yesterday he believes she’s referring to the 2019 Keep Washington Working Act.
It bars law enforcement officers from helping to enforce federal immigration laws, and Ferguson said Washington will continue to enforce it.
“Pam Bondi seems to think and seeks to have Washington State bend the knee to a Trump administration that day by day drags us closer to authoritarianism. That’s not going to happen either," Ferguson said during a Tuesday press conference. "I’m not intimidated by Pam Bondi or the president. We will defend our democracy, the rule of law and the people of our state."
In her letter, Bondi wrote Congress has developed laws that require state and local governments to cooperate with enforcing immigration laws.
She asked Ferguson to respond by Tuesday with a list of actions Washington is taking to "eliminate laws, policies and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement."
Ferguson said the letter implies that he and other state officials could face criminal charges if they don’t change state law.
"Pam Bondi seems to believe that cavalierly citing criminal statutes, and personally threatening me, a democratically elected governor will compromise the values of my state," he said. "That is not going to happen."
Bondi’s letter to the governor also threatens loss of federal money for not allowing state law enforcement to assist immigration authorities.
Ferguson said the state will defend itself from any litigation Bondi files.
Referring to his own record as attorney general challenging the Trump administration, he said the state won 55 of 58 cases it filed. So far, state AG Nick Brown has filed more than 30 cases against the Trump administration.
In her own statement, Washington Democratic U-S Senator Maria Cantwell said that <quote> “limited state and local law enforcement resources are needed to fight violent crime and fentanyl” and shouldn’t be required to divert their own personnel to help with federal priorities.
Kalispels becomes first local tribe send rep to SRHD
The Kalispel Tribe of Indians is the first tribe to appoint a representative to the Spokane Regional Health District under a new Washington law.
Liz Henry is currently the Health Care Administrator for the Camas Center Clinic for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians. She has decades of experience serving multiple area tribes, and led the Seattle Indian Health Board for nearly four years.
Now, Henry is the first tribal appointee to the Spokane Regional Health District board under new requirements from the state.
A Washington law passed this year requires health boards to include a representative from every local tribe or urban Indian organization.
The Kalispel Tribe is the first to appoint their representative in Spokane. The Spokane Tribe of Indians is also eligible to do so, and there may be other organizations as recognized by the Indian Health Service.
The board opted to add an additional elected official for every tribal member who’s appointed. That could mean it will nearly double in size once all appointees join.
Spokane County Commissioners voted Tuesday to reappoint Spokane City Council member Michael Cathcart to the health board.
Cathcart used to be the vice-chair, but had to briefly step off the board while it juggled numbers to stay in compliance with the state. He’s set to rejoin now that the first tribal rep is appointed.
Spokane awards grants to increase affordable housing supply
More than 250 low income households will have places to live, thanks to new affordable housing investments made by the City of Spokane.
The City of Spokane is putting $7.5 million dollars towards new and existing affordable housing projects around the city.
The money comes from local sales tax revenue and federal grants.
Four awards are going to new construction, including projects by Volunteers of America and Mujeres in Action.
Another is the Threshold project, a “diverse affordable housing campus” between East Central and the South Perry Business District.
The Threshold units will be for rent—some will be dedicated to families leaving homelessness or people with disabilities, while others will be sold at market rate.
Adjacent to the Threshold Apartments will be the Ben Burr Townhomes, another recipient of these new city funds.
The 12 single-family townhomes will be part of a project that promotes home ownership. Six will be sold to households earning less than the area’s average income. The other six will be sold at market rate.
ID officials work to increase coroner capacity
Officials in Idaho are drafting legislation to improve the state’s last-in-the-nation reputation when it comes to autopsies and death investigations.
A state report from 2024 found Idaho coroners conducted the fewest autopsies for both children and homicide cases in the country.
Coroners’ budgets are set by each county, with low wages and few, if any, staff.
On top of making certain autopsies mandatory, a task force studying the issue is also hoping the state will kick in funding for personal protective equipment like gloves.
"Those are things that we already purchase, minus the body bags," Matthew Gamette, who runs the Idaho State Police forensic lab, said. "So, the mechanisms all exist for that to happen and for us to distribute those resources statewide."
Another priority is to build a pathology lab in eastern Idaho since the only current facilities are in Ada and Canyon counties.
The task force hopes to present their case to legislative budget writers in January.
Walkable design in cities does actually increase physical activity, study shows
When people relocate from a less walkable city to one that is more pedestrian-friendly, they walk more.
That's the main finding of a new study led by a University of Washington professor.
Dr. Tim Althoff's team used a step-tracking app to collect information about some five thousand people who moved from one city to another.
In almost every case, subjects who moved to more walkable cities got in an additional 1,400 steps a day.
The study results ultimately show smart city planning is a public health tool, Althoff said.
"It informs their efforts and shows that investing in sidewalks, safe intersections, mixed-use zoning that's going to put parks and shops, businesses and work closer to our homes is a lot more than an amenity," he told KUOW public radio.
The one demographic that walked more but significantly fewer than 1,400 additional steps was women over the age of 50. It'll take another study to determine why they moved less.
According to Walk Score data, walkability in Spokane varies greatly by neighborhood.
Downtown is ranked first, scoring a 91/100. Northtown gets a 68, while Comstock scores a 42 and Latah Valley is dead last at 7.
The report was just released in the latest edition of the science journal "Nature."
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Reporting by Steve Jackson, Owen Henderson, Eliza Billingham, James Dawson and Lisa Brooks.