(The Center Square) – Spokane County ran through the Sheriff’s Office 2025 budget request on Monday, which is 14.7% more than budgeted for 2024 as departments brace for revenue shortfalls countywide. The Board of County Commissioners has spent the last several weeks working through each department’s 2025 requests as revenues struggle to meet projections. The shortfalls resulted in the commissioners asking each department to try and match next year’s expenditures to 2024. Chris Wiese, director
(The Center Square) – The Washington State Department of Agriculture has received a report of a possible sighting of the northern giant hornet in the Burley area near the city of Port Orchard in Kitsap County, the WSDA said in a social media post on Monday. The agency said it’s in the process of investigating the suspected sighting of the world’s largest hornet, which can grow to be 2 inches long. These apex predators are
(The Center Square) – Pierce County has launched a pilot program to pay jury members $100 per day of service plus mileage reimbursement. The pay increase replaces the $10 traditionally paid to jurors in Pierce County. The goal is to measure whether higher juror pay reduces barriers to jury participation and, in turn, improves diversity. Laurie Louise Sale, a court program analyst for the Administrative Office of the Courts, told The Center Square that an
(The Center Square) – A ballot proposition to be decided in next month’s election could do away with Washington’s controversial carbon auction system. The Center Square team has a quick rundown of what the measure is and how it affects Washington taxpayers. The 2021 Climate Commitment Act launched Washington state’s carbon market in 2023. It requires emitters of pollution to pay for their emissions by purchasing allowances at quarterly auctions. Proponents claim this will motivate
