Government

OLYMPIA – Ahead of the November 1932 election, organizers in Washington gathered enough signatures to place an initiative on the ballot asking whether the state should adopt a graduated tax on personal and business income to fund schools and other government programs. If approved, the plan called for the state’s property tax to be cut as a way to balance the state’s tax code.

Baumgartner, of Spokane, praised Trump for toppling an "anti-American, communist, narco-terrorism, narco-trafficking regime." Smith, of Bellevue, said the unintended consequences of Nicolás Maduro's ouster could spark years of American military involvement, increased violence and instability.

An overnight U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife drew harsh criticism from Democrats questioning the justification and lack of notification of military action while Republicans applauded the move, referring to Maduro as a “narcoterrorist” responsible for flooding the United States with drugs.

About 75 people stood on the Maple Street Bridge overpass in Kendall Yards Saturday holding signs and yelling chants condemning the United States’ military strikes on Venezuelan’s capital city and the capture of the South American country’s leader.

Yeah, there’s a lot happening in the federal government. But let’s not lose site of the big policy dilemmas facing our local and state leaders as we start 2026.

Momentum for an additional judge to join the Spokane County Superior Court appears to be building in the new year.

Along with resolutions and festivities, the new year also brings increased trash rates for Spokane County residents.

A dominating force in Spokane Valley politics for more than a dozen years has stepped aside.

Gov. Bob Ferguson’s proposed budget includes nearly $5 million in funding to pay for the state’s lawsuits against the Trump administration.

A legacy decision that was put in place to protect renters during the COVID-19 pandemic is now the target of class-action lawsuit by property owners in Washington state, including Spokane, who claim that the policy constituted an unlawful "taking" from landlords.

Four dogs within the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection shelter have died this month as the agency contends with an outbreak of a highly contagious virus circulating among its adult dog population.

WASHINGTON – The Capitol is quiet this week, with Congress out of town for its end-of-year recess, but lawmakers are gearing up for what promises to be a hectic few weeks of work when the Senate returns on Monday and the House a day later.

Gov. Bob Ferguson has requested $11 million from the Legislature for the design and preconstruction of a new 120-bed veterans home in Spokane.

WASHINGTON – In October 2015, dozens of Republicans joined a minor revolt led by then-Rep. Denny Heck and the House’s Democratic minority to go around the GOP chairman of the Financial Services Committee and reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, a federal agency that finances foreign purchases from Boeing and other U.S. companies.

Gov. Bob Ferguson proposed spending nearly $13 million to enhance security at the Capitol campus following an October break-in.

Spokane County will send $200,000 to aid in rebuilding efforts in Elk and Medical Lake after the devastating wildfires of 2023.

While there will be far fewer ballot initiatives affecting abortion access in the 2026 midterm elections than there were in the previous national election, two in Republican-led states could be consequential.

OLYMPIA – Gov. Bob Ferguson has proposed closing the state’s $2.3 billion budget shortfall through a combination of cost-cutting measures.

OLYMPIA – Gov. Bob Ferguson said Tuesday he supports a state income tax on those who make more than $1 million a year. The proposal, he said, would be tied to reducing sales taxes on baby and hygiene items, expanding the working families tax credit, increasing K-12 school funding, and lowering the key tax rate for small businesses.