Latest news with #WashingtonLegislature
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trio of coastal Washington schools secure money to move out of tsunami zone
Up to a dozen public schools across Clallam, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties could be swallowed by tsunami waves after a major Cascadia fault earthquake. (Photo by Tom Banse) Teachers and staff in low-lying schools along the Pacific Northwest coast face an unusual extra responsibility alongside educators' usual duties: can they herd the entire student body to higher ground on foot in 20 minutes or less to escape a tsunami? It's a daunting challenge with the highest possible stakes should an offshore earthquake unleash a wall of incoming seawater. The last megathrust earthquake to hit the region was in 1700, and the Northwest is now in the window for the next magnitude 9.0+ Cascadia fault quake and tsunami. 'It's something that's always on your mind. You try not to let this take over,' said North Beach School District Superintendent Richard Zimmerman. The Washington Legislature allocated $151.5 million in the recently passed state construction budget to relocate three coastal schools out of the tsunami zone and build a refuge tower at a fourth. Zimmerman's district is one of the beneficiaries, along with the Taholah and Cape Flattery school districts. 'We're anxious to get this done because the lives of our students, staff and community might very well depend on it,' Zimmerman said in an interview from Ocean Shores. In 2022, the Washington Legislature got serious about the hundreds of older, unreinforced public schools at risk of collapse in a major earthquake. Lawmakers allocated $100 million to a revamped School Seismic Safety Grant Program overseen by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In 2023, the Legislature chipped in another $40 million. But now comes an unexpected twist. This spring, the Legislature took back more than half of that initial sum — $80 million — because it was unspent. OSPI Director of School Facilities Randy Newman said money was left in the bank toward the end of the budget cycle because many of the prioritized seismic retrofits and school relocations were still in the design phase. The state schools superintendent asked to carry over the unspent balance into the next budget along with the new allocation, but lawmakers chose not to. 'The reality of trying to find the right locations, negotiating the contracts, doing the engineering has taken more time,' noted state Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend, the chair of the House Capital Budget Committee. 'It's taken us a while to build momentum.' Tharinger said the Legislature's budget writers decided to be more prescriptive in the newly signed state budget by steering specific sums to projects ready to go in the most vulnerable coastal school districts. Hence, the green light to break ground in Ocean Shores, Taholah and Neah Bay. Overall, the seismic safety program was renewed at a lower level than the state superintendent asked for in light of many other competing priorities for state construction dollars. 'It's pretty exciting to have avoided a tragedy and to be able to start building schools in safer places,' Tharinger said. From his perch in the state superintendent's office, Newman wishes the Legislature had funded additional school seismic projects in the new budget. Since 2021, he's seen state-funded earthquake retrofits through to completion in Centralia, South Bend, Boistfort and Marysville — with Cosmopolis Elementary on deck to receive seismic strengthening this summer. 'We were happy with the funding level we received from the Legislature,' to now lift the highest priority schools out of the tsunami zone, Newman said in an interview last week. Placed on standby pending future funding were multiple projects in Hoquiam, Aberdeen and the Long Beach peninsula, including seismic retrofits and elementary school consolidations and relocations. Also on the state's future priority list is a rooftop tsunami refuge atop a seismically-strengthened North Beach Junior/Senior High School in Ocean Shores. Washington state has long lagged behind neighboring West Coast states and provinces in addressing earthquake risk in school buildings. The Oregon Legislature, way back in 2005, created a school seismic retrofit grant program on the scale now underway from Olympia. The provincial government of British Columbia started a seismic mitigation program for schools in 2004 and has shelled out more than $1.9 billion since then. The relocation of the Taholah K-12 public school is part of a larger, years-long process led by the Quinault Nation to move much of the lower village of Taholah about three-quarters of a mile uphill, out of danger from increasingly common floods, storm surges and a future tsunami. The new school will eventually be surrounded by neighborhoods, parks and ballfields to be built on freshly-cleared forestland. Taholah Superintendent Herman Lartigue Jr. said he hopes to welcome roughly 200 students to their new quake-ready school in 2027. He said the use of cedar planking on the outside of the school and exposed cedar beams and columns inside — as well as installations of tribal art — would give the building a distinctive appearance. 'This building is going to be indicative of the culture. It's great,' Lartigue said. The Cape Flattery School District is making a parallel push to incorporate tribal culture in the new Neah Bay K-12 campus, which will replace an elementary school and secondary school at sea level on the Makah reservation. The groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for mid-July, with move-in anticipated in mid-2027. The Makah Nation donated a long-term lease on a hillside parcel about one mile inland from Neah Bay to build the new school with a capacity for about 600 students. District Superintendent Michelle Parkin said she harbored a lot of concern last winter upon reading about the budget shortfalls the 2025 Legislature had to grapple with. 'It's such a relief,' the school relocation funding came through, Parkin said. 'Our children are going to be safe.' Some unusual features of the new Neah Bay school she mentioned include a fish hatchery on campus, carving and canoe making areas in the shop class space, and outdoor fire pits where students can learn to kipper salmon. In Grays Harbor County, the $8.2 million budgeted by the Legislature to relocate Pacific Beach Elementary covers land acquisition and conceptual design, but isn't enough to construct a new school on higher ground. The existing school, which enrolls around 100 students, was built within earshot of the Pacific surf in 1956, long before modern seismic codes existed. Moving the North Beach district's other primary school out of harm's way is virtually impossible because there is no suitable high ground nearby on the long and flat Ocean Shores peninsula. The solution the Legislature blessed with $8.2 million is to build a tsunami evacuation tower next to Ocean Shores Elementary. This robust steel tower will have a platform on top with a minimum capacity of 300 people to host the entire student body and staff. Modeling done for the city of Ocean Shores in connection with another tsunami tower proposal said the refuge platform should be about 50 feet high to be comfortably above the surging waves. Earthquake risk mitigation can also be done with local funding, which is how larger and wealthier Washington school districts have replaced or modernized the majority of their buildings to withstand strong shaking. But small and rural districts with limited tax bases and tax-averse voters usually have trouble with that approach. Waiting years in line for state grant funding for seismic upgrades is a gamble, but there's a financial incentive for districts: taxpayers statewide foot the bill for at least two-thirds — if not close to 100% — of the school reconstruction costs. 'We know that districts have struggled to pass local bonds and levies to modernize their school facilities,' Newman said. 'It's a big lift to address all the seismic needs of aging school buildings.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislative ballot battles shaping up for Washington's fall elections
Friday marked the deadline for candidates seeking nine seats in Washington's Legislature to file to run in elections this year. (Laurel Demkovich/Washington State Standard) Intriguing match-ups in the fall elections emerged Friday as Democrats look to retain control of several seats in the Washington state Legislature. Two Senate contests should provide a test of voters' views on new laws, higher taxes and spending decisions pushed through by the majority Democrats over the objections of Republicans. Races for two other legislative seats will showcase strains within the Democratic Party between its progressive and moderate factions. Three appointed Democratic lawmakers are breathing easy. They drew no challengers before the filing window closed Friday. This all but assures the trio — state Sens. Tina Orwall of Des Moines and Emily Alvarado of Seattle, and Rep. Brianna Thomas of West Seattle — will retain their seats for the 2026 session. Here's where things stood Friday. Candidates have until Monday to formally withdraw from any of the races. 26th District: This looms as the must-watch contest of the year. Sen. Deb Krishnadasan, a Gig Harbor Democrat, is looking to keep the seat she was appointed to after the district's former state senator, Emily Randall, was elected to Congress. She faces Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier, also of Gig Harbor. She was first elected to the House in 2014 and re-elected in November with nearly 55% of the vote. The winner will represent the legislative district which encompasses parts of Kitsap and Pierce counties and includes Bremerton, Port Orchard, Purdy and Gig Harbor. They will need to run again in 2026. Caldier enters with backing from most of the Senate Republican Caucus. She is expected to focus on what GOP legislative leaders say has been Democrats' overreach with passage of a $9.4 billion package of tax increases to balance the budget and another $3.2 billion for transportation, anchored by a 6-cent per gallon gas tax hike. Krishnadasan, who served six years on the Peninsula School District Board of Directors, was among the vulnerable Democrats voting against their party's major tax bills and transportation revenue package. She'll be pressed to make that clear in the coming campaign. 5th District: This race is to fill the vacancy created by the death of Democratic state Sen. Bill Ramos in April. Whoever wins will serve the remaining three years of the term. Rep. Victoria Hunt, D-Issaquah, a scientist and former Issaquah City Council member, won her House seat in November with 54% of the vote. She formally entered the race Monday and is backed by her seatmate, Rep. Lisa Callan, D-Issaquah. 'While this was not a campaign I wanted to run, I am honored to build upon the legacy of leadership and spirit of selfless service exemplified by Bill Ramos, while continuing to rely on my experience in Olympia and local government,' Hunt said in her announcement. Republican Chad Magendanz, a former two-term state representative for the district, is opposing her. He ran for Senate last year, losing to Ramos by 3,400 votes. In 2022, Magendanz lost to Callan for the House seat. In his announcement, he targeted Hunt's support of 'billions in new, unnecessary, and regressive taxes' and called the election 'our opportunity to correct course.' 48th District: Sen. Vandana Slatter, D-Bellevue, and Rep. Amy Walen, D-Kirkland, are squaring off in what will be a litmus test for some of the party's priorities and the district voters' allegiances. Slatter had served in the state House since 2017 until being appointed to replace Patty Kuderer, following her election as Washington's insurance commissioner. Walen won her seat in 2018 and also sought the appointment. The district covers communities in Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland. Both opposed the largest piece of the Democrats' $9.4 billion tax package, a sweeping bill containing an across-the-board increase in the business tax and surcharges on the state's largest corporations and financial institutions. And both supported another key component, extending the retail sales tax to some services. Slatter voted for the gas tax increase. Walen did not. They differed on some high-profile policies, too. For example, Walen opposed the new rent increase cap and Slatter voted for it. This will be a costly contest. As of Thursday, Walen had raised nearly $320,000 to Slatter's $107,000, according to filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission. 33rd District: Rep. Edwin Obras, D-SeaTac, who was appointed to fill Orwall's House seat, is being challenged by Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling, a Democrat, and Darryl Jones, a Republican and Kent resident. The two with the most votes in the August primary will advance to the general election. The district includes Burien, Normandy Park, Des Moines, SeaTac, and much of Kent. Obras formerly worked for the city of Seattle's Human Services Department. This will be his first election campaign for a public office. 'We need someone in Olympia who will fight for the diverse communities in South King County and not settle for or slide back into the status quo,' he said in his announcement. Schilling was elected to the Burien City Council in 2019 and reelected in 2023. He's been mayor since last year. He is the government affairs director for the Washington State Dental Association and former political director for retired congressman Derek Kilmer. Schilling did not seek the appointment to the post. 'The government of the state of Washington is not doing things differently to solve the problems that need to be solved,' he said. He said he wants to bring new approaches to addressing homelessness, housing, and public safety based on his experience as mayor. Jones, who filed Friday, made an unsuccessful run for a Kent City Council seat in 2023. As of Friday, Schilling had raised $83,100. Obras, who could not raise money during the session, had not reported any contributions yet on the state Public Disclosure Commission website. 41st District: Rep. Janice Zahn, D-Bellevue, who was chosen to replace Tana Senn when she left to lead a state agency, will face two opponents – Democrat Vinita Kak of Newcastle and Republican John Whitney of Bellevue. The top two finishers in the primary will face-off in November to represent the district that includes Mercer Island, Newcastle and part of Bellevue. Zahn is a former Bellevue City Council member and chief engineer at the Port of Seattle. She's formally endorsed by more than 40 members of the House Democratic Caucus, along with Gov. Bob Ferguson. Kak is a member of the planning commission for the city of Newcastle. 48th District: Rep. Osman Salahuddin, D-Redmond, who serves on the Redmond City Council and was chosen to replace Slatter in the House, drew two challengers Friday afternoon – Ranga Bondada and Dennis Ellis. Bondada, a Democrat, lives in Bellevue and owns two small businesses. This is his first campaign. Ellis, a Republican, lives in Redmond and has worked at Boeing. He made an unsuccessful run for Redmond City Council in 2021.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill revises rules for police, fire state retirement plan
Apr. 28—OLYMPIA — The Washington Legislature has approved revisions to state law that will make it easier for law enforcement officers and firefighters in one tier of the state's retirement system to use time they spent on authorized leave toward their retirement, regardless of whether they returned to work. Senate Bill 5306 passed both houses of the Washington Legislature unanimously and will affect law enforcement and firefighters in the LEOFF 2 tier of state government. Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the bill into law Wednesday. Senator Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, the bill's sponsor, said it will give qualifying professionals more flexibility if they want to retire. "This new law makes a change to this retirement system that will help LEOFF 2 members who go on authorized leave of absence, such as being on military duty, that could affect their service credits," Holy said in a press release after Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the bill. "It will help ensure they receive the retirement benefits they deserve." Amanda Cecil, staff member for the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said during testimony on the bill that people in the LEOFF 2 system who return from an authorized leave of absence can buy credits equal to a maximum of two years of work. Those credits go toward their retirement. Previously, people who returned from a leave of absence and wanted to retire rather than go back to work couldn't purchase those credits. With the change to the law, they are eligible to buy those credits. Cecil said analysis of the bill indicated it wouldn't have much impact on the state budget. "For the purposes of the state budget, that equates to no cost, but what they're actually saying is, there is an indeterminate cost to the system because of the purchase of additional service credit that would increase the lifetime benefits to eligible members," Cecil said. "(That cost is) expected to be so small it would not increase the (benefit) rate that's paid and therefore the cost to the state." Quincy Police Department Chief Ryan Green said the QPD does have personnel in the LEOFF 2 system, but none who are in the military reserves or National Guard. Moses Lake Police Chief Dave Sands said the department does have officers who were deployed for military service and came back to work. But Cecil said this change only applies to people who want to retire after finishing their leave without coming back to work. Steve Nelson, executive director of the LEOFF 2 retirement board, estimated it would affect about 40 people statewide each year. "It's a significant issue for them when they are unable to return to work and they can't get that service credit under the (previous) law," Nelson said in his Senate testimony.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spokane Valley passes 'not a sanctuary city' resolution meant to show allegiance to Trump
Apr. 2—The Spokane Valley City Council voted Tuesday to reaffirm the municipality is "not a sanctuary city," in what was likely the most well-attended and raucous meeting of the year. Tuesday's meeting at Spokane Valley City Hall had two banner issues on the agenda that drew supporters and detractors from across the Inland Northwest: a public hearing on a public safety sales tax the council is considering and a vote on a resolution seeking to reiterate the city's stance on immigration for a federal audience. The latter item, approved in a 5-2 vote, replaces an invalid 2016 resolution approved by the council before state legislators passed the Keep Washington Working Act, which supporters said sought to prevent disruptions to the state's economic sectors that largely rely on immigrant labor, like agriculture. Councilman Ben Wick and Deputy Mayor Tim Hattenburg were the two nay votes. In passing the act, the Washington Legislature determined it is not the primary purpose of law enforcement, and a misuse of local resources, to enforce federal immigration law. Local police departments and sheriff's offices are only allowed to assist or share information with federal agents in limited circumstances since the law took effect in 2019. While its previous iteration was more direct in compelling the city's police force, which is contracted from the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, to assist federal forces with immigration enforcement, the resolution will not lead to any practical changes in how city staff members or sheriff's office deputies within city limits conduct their duties, said Deputy City Manager Erik Lamb and Undersheriff Dave Ellis, chief of the Spokane Valley Police Department. Instead, its purpose was to send a message to President Donald Trump that the council does not agree with the state's sanctuary law, said Councilwoman Jessica Yaeger, the board member who brought the resolution forward. "Quite frankly, it's because we put grants out there all the time, and what it means is we will not have money that comes to this city, in this state, because we are a sanctuary state," Yaeger said. Yaeger said she and fellow council members Laura Padden and Mayor Pam Haley were discussing the resolution with White House officials in their advocacy visit to the nation's capital last week, and that without it, the city "will not get millions upon millions of dollars for the roads you drive on, for other grants that come to our city that actually feed hungry mouths." The majority of residents at the meeting, hailing from within Spokane Valley's borders and from neighboring towns, testified in opposition to the resolution. They voiced concerns that the measure would condone discrimination against immigrants and people of color residing and working in Spokane Valley, and is naked political posturing and could lead to a costly legal battle. Haley had to make multiple warnings that she would end public comment if decorum was not upheld as the crowd clapped, snapped and laughed, at times, during the meeting. "I can tell you that there is great fear already among the immigrants and refugees who are here legally," said Christi Armstrong, executive director of World Relief Spokane. "... World Relief wants to be a part of the solution, but I just think that putting those words that Spokane Valley is not a sanctuary city is really, really hurtful." Yaeger admonished members of the public who said or insinuated the resolution would send the wrong message to marginalized communities, stating that they were the ones who brought "skin color" up and that she was trying to protect young women and "prevent an issue like Laken Riley." The 22-year-old was murdered in Athens, Georgia, by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant, and has become the namesake of a federal law seeking to tighten detention requirements for immigrants who commit crimes. Her death has become a rallying cry among conservatives critical of the prior administration's handling of immigration and border security. Yaeger also decried those same speakers for the lack of positive statements and "standing up to thank us" for code changes the council is considering to crack down on illicit massage parlors and sex trafficking. "How can you guys say that you're defending women and defending minorities when these women are being sex-trafficked and raped every day of their lives," Yaeger said. Councilman Al Merkel said while he does not support the resolution since it lacks any real teeth and is a "complete political waste of time," he heard from multiple Valley residents ahead of the meeting who desired it, so he voted in favor. "I'm saddened to hear that we were discussing this with the White House, because if this is what the White House thinks we spend our time on, that's a little disappointing," Merkel said. He added that his mother is from Honduras and said he doesn't believe racism is driving immigration policy. He said would have preferred an ordinance that allowed for more enforcement. Haley pushed back on Yaeger's characterization of the resolution's timing and purpose, saying she did not think it had "anything to do with politics," and was simply an update to the resolution to correct the sections invalidated by the Keep Washington Working Act. "It has to do with making our resolution that was passed in 2016 comply with both the federal law, which has changed, and the state law, which has also changed since then," Haley said. "This particular resolution allows us to comply with both. It doesn't give a directive to our police to do anything."
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats in WA Legislature shift approach to parental and students' rights bills
The Washington state Capitol on March 27, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard) A tense debate over the rights of public school students and their parents took another twist in the Washington Legislature on Thursday. Democrats on a Senate committee stripped a House bill of provisions dealing with parental rights, while leaving parts covering students' rights. A Senate-approved bill on parental rights is still pending in the House, setting up a situation where the two related sets of issues are on track to be handled with separate pieces of legislation. The Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee passed the amended version of House Bill 1296 on a party-line vote. Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, put forward the amendment that removed the language about parental rights, and said it was part of a strategy to keep the bills moving forward to address some of the issues involved before the session ends on April 27. 'It's keeping all doors open and all windows open so we can make sure something ends on the other side,' Wilson said. Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, sponsor of the House bill, said that she would have rather not seen this language removed from the bill, but that the end goal is still the same: to have policies covering students' rights and parental rights. 'There's nothing in my mind that doesn't allow for students' rights to exist concurrently with parental rights, I don't see any conflict there,' Stonier said. Examples of students' rights included in HB 1296 include the right to learn in a safe, supportive learning environment, free from harassment, intimidation, or bullying; to receive copies of all school policies and procedures related to students; and to access academic courses and instructional materials with historically and scientifically accurate information. Wilson's rewrite also added language from another bill she sponsored, Senate Bill 5179, which is about reporting complaints to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction when certain policies are not followed by schools. The parental and students' rights legislation now under discussion is tied to a citizen initiative lawmakers approved last year. That measure, Initiative 2081, called for public school materials, such as textbooks, curriculum and a child's medical records, to be easily available for review by parents. It also sought to clear the way for parents to opt their child out of assignments and other activities involving questions about the student's sexual experiences or their family's religious beliefs. Democrats said when Initiative 2081 was approved, they would likely need to clean up some of the language to align with other state and federal laws. But Republicans argue that Democrats are now trying to roll back rights granted to parents in the initiative. Mixed into the debate are arguments over gender and transgender issues in schools. 'This bill continues the war against parents' rights and puts girls at risk at schools,' said Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham. Senate Bill 5181, the Senate bill on parental rights, is scheduled for a possible committee vote on March 31 in the House Education Committee. Stonier, sponsor of the House bill, is among the committee's members.
