Washington in Focus

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Fiscal Fallout: 2026 Legislative Session ‘Could Be Worse Yet’ Jul 31, 2025

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(The Center Square) – Washington state is currently forecast to run out of money by 2027 and experience a fiscal deficit by 2028 despite the largest tax increase in state history this session, in addition to record revenue levels. While some elected and appointed state officials have highlighted the impacts of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Medicaid funding for the combined operating budget, one lawmaker says it’s a distraction from how the state actually got to this point.

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Will Ferguson Extend Ban on Auto-Deletion of Public Records? Jul 30, 2025

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(The Center Square) – The end of a six-month suspension of a policy that for years allowed for the auto-deletion of Microsoft Teams or instant messages at Washington state agencies after one week is approaching. Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based team collaboration software that allows users to communicate, set up meetings, and share files within a workspace environment, typically via email.

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Late-Night Camping Ban Vote Triggers Probe Into Spokane Mayor, City Council Majority Jul 30, 2025

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(The Center Square) – Amid allegations of a quid pro quo, the Spokane Ethics Commission voted Wednesday to initiate an independent investigation into Mayor Lisa Brown and the city council. The allegations claim that Brown and five of the seven council members violated the ethics code on June 16 by reversing their vote on a proposed camping ban after much of the public had left.

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Weekend Edition | Fiscal Fallout: Long-Term Care Spending Driver of Washington DSHS Swelling Budget Jul 26, 2025

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(The Center Square) – Washington state faces deficit spending by 2028 as lawmakers just hit taxpayers with the state's largest combined tax increase – all driven by massive state spending increases over the past decade, an investigation of state budgets by The Center Square found. Washington state spent about $80 billion in the 2013-15 budget but is set to spend more than $173 billion in 2025-27, a more than 116% increase over that time. U.S. inflation since 2015 has risen just 35.63%. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Olympia Council Sends $20 Minimum Wage, Workers’ Bill of Rights to Nov. Vote Jul 24, 2025

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(The Center Square) – The Olympia City Council on Tuesday night rejected a proposal to adopt a $20 minimum wage as part of a Workers' Bill of Rights initiative. The council voted 4-3 against passing the initiative outright. However, the council did vote unanimously to send the initiative to Olympia voters for a decision in the November election. Ahead of the vote, members of the council expressed varying opinions about the initiative.

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WSDOT Begins $203M Revive I-5 Project; Lane Closures Underway Jul 22, 2025

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(The Center Square) – The Washington State Department of Transportation’s $203 million project to repair a major section of Interstate 5 is underway with northbound traffic limited to two lanes for the next four weeks. Revive I-5 is a multi-year project with significant work on the Ship Canal Bridge located in Seattle. The project began on July 18 with northbound I-5 completely shut down through downtown Seattle up until Monday at 5 a.m.

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Fiscal Fallout: Long-Term Care Spending Driver of Washington Dshs Swelling Budget Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

(The Center Square) – The Washington state Department of Social and Health Services' spending since 2015 has nearly tripled from $9 billion to $25.4 billion, a 182.22% increase heavily driven by long-term care cost increases due in part to an aging population. Since the 2013-15 budget, long-term care spending grew from $3.8 to $12.9 billion, and now represents half of DSHS’ biennial budget.

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Weekend Edition | Fiscal Fallout: Washington State Government Spending Surges 116% Since 2015 Jul 19, 2025

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Sen. Braun Urges Ferguson to Get Past Fearmongering on ‘Big Beautiful Bill' Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

(The Center Square) – Six months after Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson took office with a moderate-sounding tone that encouraged many Republicans, state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, says Ferguson has instead proven to be in “lockstep” with majority party Democrats in the Legislature. “He put forward a very bipartisan, no-nonsense … I just want good government image during the session,” the Senate Minority Leader said in a Monday interview with The Center Square.

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Spokane Conservatives Question Accuracy of 2025 Homelessness Count Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

(The Center Square) – Despite recording the second consecutive decline in homelessness since 2016, the Spokane City Council’s conservative minority questioned that data on Monday – one of the two members had participated in the Point-in-Time Count last January, calling the feedback “unreliable.” The 2025 Point-in-Time Count released Monday recorded 1,806 people experiencing homelessness in January, a 10.6% dip compared to 2024. City staff were supposed to lead a committee meeting on Monday with the data but fell behind on the agenda, citing last-minute changes they made that morning.

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