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Washington in Focus — News
Washington in Focus

The podcast bringing you the most important stories out of Washington from TheCenterSquare.com. Join us as we dive into the top headlines and provide insightful commentary and analysis.

Copyright: © America's Talking Network

Latest Episodes:

Spokane, Washington $50 Million Short of Legal Obligation in General Fund May 25, 2023

Show notes

The City of Spokane is facing some tough budgetary choices before the year is out. Current projections place the unallocated strategic reserve at $9.2 million in the red, and the targeted total for the general reserve, where $19.1 million remains, is nearly $50 million short of where it's legally obligated to be by city law. The meeting opened with Council President Breean Beggs highlighting the recent ordinance it passed to bring greater transparency and accountability to the budgeting process from the Mayor's office and quickly descended into numbers with the city's budget manager.

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King County’s Homelessness Authority CEO Steps Down After Two Years May 20, 2023

Show notes

King County Regional Homelessness Authority CEO Marc Dones is stepping down from the role after serving as head of the agency since 2021. In a letter addressed to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and King County Executive Dow Constantine, Dones compares the role as CEO of the agency to “a relay race,” adding that the time spent as head of the homelessness authority was more of a sprint. “As a queer black person, I have watched many members of my community burn out trying to hold too much for too many and I have watched them become unable to contribute the full breadth of their talent or vision to the work,” Dones said in a letter. “ I have watched them become bitter and destructive and what I know is that I don’t want that for myself.”

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Woodward Touts Blake Fix Victories, Council May Need to Fix Blake Fix May 19, 2023

Show notes

With the recent passage of the "Blake fix" by the Washington State Legislature, Mayor Nadine Woodward took to Twitter Wednesday to highlight what she called Spokane's "leadership role in new drug laws." "We asked other mayors around the state to join us in pushing for a common-sense solution that sets clear expectations by balancing accountability to community safety and compassion for the individual struggling with addiction. We sent a strong message on behalf of everyone who lives, recreates, attends school, or otherwise enjoys our cities and the Legislature responded," said Mayor Woodward, after calling the current state of affairs a drug crisis and praising the legislation for putting up tougher boundaries and prioritizing public health and safety.

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Washington Gun Ban Lawsuit Moved to Thurston County May 18, 2023

Show notes

A lawsuit filed in Grant County Superior Court against a newly-enacted Washington state law banning the sale or purchase of firearms deemed “assault weapons” has been moved to Thurston County. Washington Gun Law, or GWL, tweeted out the decision was a “brutal development,” writing in a separate tweet, “This would be very bad for this case.”

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Yakima Police Propose 10% Budget Reductions to Balance City General Fund May 13, 2023

Show notes

The Yakima Police Department is proposing reductions to its staffing levels to help the city avoid a potential budget gap in the near future. The City of Yakima is requiring all of its departments to identify significant reductions to reach a goal of $7.2 million in savings. The Yakima Police Department is allotted about 44% of the city’s bi-annual budget. Salary and benefits represent 84% of the police department’s bi-annual budget, so cuts to its staff are being proposed.

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Drug Possession Controversy in Washington Comes Full Circle in Spokane May 12, 2023

Show notes

The Spokane City Council voted on their "Blake fix" law, set to re-criminalize drug possession passed by a 7-0 vote, bringing a local fix to a statewide problem that originated in Spokane. "The idea for this [ordinance] is to pass something now that will, one, help lead the way in Spokane for the whole state. Which is ironic because the Blake decision, which outlawed felony drug possession laws was created by our county prosecutor at the state supreme court, so it's ironic that we're trying to lead the way [for] the state now," said Council President Breean Beggs shortly before the vote on the politically-charged legislation.

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Washington Attorney General’s Office Accused of Playing Favorites in $15 Million Contract May 11, 2023

Show notes

A series of complaints filed late last year and early this year allege that employees with the Washington Attorney General's Office engaged in "unethical and unlawful conduct" during the selection of a university to create a police use of force database. Per 2021's Senate Bill 5259, the AGO was tasked with overseeing an advisory group to develop recommendations on how to better collect police data, along with creating a request for proposal, or RFP, for a private or public university to collect and store police use of force incident data that would be available for the public to view and download.

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King County Officials Tout Newly-Approved Crisis Care Center Levy May 06, 2023

Show notes

King County officials see the newly-approved crisis center levy as a step forward in providing sufficient mental health services. While the King County Canvassing Board does not certify the election until May 5, The Center Square is calling the race with the levy receiving 57% approval from voters.

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What Spokane’s Drug Possession Laws Could Look Like Without State Blake Fix May 05, 2023

Show notes

"Criminalizing drug possession and use is an important step for the public health and safety of our community. We have a drug crisis that requires us to act locally," Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward told The Center Square just prior to Gov. Jay Inslee calling a special session of the Legislature. The topic of debate for the special session, dubbed the "Blake fix" because of the Washington Supreme Court decision that it addressed, was meant to head off the de-facto legalization of all drug possession in Washington state starting after the current law expires on June 30.

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Washington Elections Bill ‘Generates More Distrust in the System’ May 04, 2023

Show notes

A bill sent to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee for consideration would exempt various aspects of the election system from public records requests and centralize all local records requests with the Secretary of State's office.

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