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For more than a century, Eastern Washington has sought separate statehood. Proposals included the state of Lincoln, Columbia and Liberty. Now, there’s a different twist on independence. A Seattle columnist is metaphorically calling for creation of the state of “King.” He has revived an old idea that King County secede from Washington. Hey King County, you’ve got my vote for statehood. We should’ve gotten to this divorce at several times in our state history already. This time...
To taxpayers, it’s just plain common sense. Elected officials, government employees and supporting boards and agencies cannot use taxpayer resources to campaign for or against a candidate or office or to endorse or oppose any ballot measure. To make sure elected officials and employees understand that, Revised Code of Washington 42.17A.555 specifically says: “No elective official nor any employee of his or her office nor any person appointed to or employed by any public office...
FOUR LAKES -- A crash near Milepost 269 of a snow-covered Interstate 90 has claimed the life of a motorist. The Washington State Patrol is still on-scene at the site of the fatality between the Four Lakes and Salnave Road exits. The crash occurred when a pickup truck and the flatbed trailer it was hauling separated, sending the truck down an embankment along the westbound lanes, the patrol said. The driver was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. Information on the...
OLYMPIA — Despite the overwhelming objection of new gun control laws across most of Eastern Washington, State Attorney General Robert “Bob” Ferguson is pushing for more. As a result, Ferguson is now the subject of both impeachment and recall efforts statewide. Gov. Jay Inslee is also the subject of a request for impeachment. On Dec. 16, Matt Marshall of Eatonville filed a recall petition for Ferguson with the Secretary of State's Office. To get the recall on the ballot, Marshall has to collect signatures from appro...
OLYMPIA — The state Transportation Commission voted Tuesday to recommend the state implement a new pay-by-mile road tax. The commission recommendation is expected to be presented to Gov. Jay Inslee and the Legislature by Jan. 13, the first day of the 2020 legislative session. The recommendation calls for phasing in the new tax. Meanwhile, gas taxes will continue to be collected at the pump. The recommendation also calls for an additional $75 license tab fer on hybrid and e...
SEATTLE – Despite an ethics complaint and overcoming thousands of affidavits of complaining witness earlier this year for his involvement in anti-gun Initiative 1639, State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is again taking aim at firearms. On Thursday, Ferguson has announced that he will push for more anti-firearm legislation to be introduced during the Legislative session that begins Jan. 13. Ferguson said he wants legislation to limit magazines and clips to a maximum of 10 b...
SEATTLE – The judge who issued an injunction on Initiative 976 will hear a motion from measure sponsor Tim Eyman to have State Attorney's Office attorneys removed from the case. Eyman is organizing a pro-I-976 and anti-Attorney General Bob Ferguson rally at 8:45 a.m. outside the King County Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson's courtroom, E-713, in the county courthouse, 516 Third Ave. The hearing will take place after the rally. The measure was approved by 52.99% of v...
TACOMA – Initiative 976 sponsor Tim Eyman is calling on supporters to pack a meeting Tuesday as the elected Pierce County Council considers intervening in a lawsuit over the measure. The meeting is at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10, in chambers at 930 S. Tacoma Way (10th Floor). Eyman, now a candidate for governor, suggests arriving early to sign up to testify on the measure, which generally caps car license tabs and taxes to $30 for non-commercial vehicles. King County Superior C...
ELK – State officials say three wolves from Eastern Washington have been tracked out-of-state. According to state Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf report released Monday, Wolves from Stevens and Pend Oreille counties have been tracked to British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. All three wolves had been previously captured and outfitted with satellite-tracking system collars, officials said. A wolf from the Carpenter Ridge Pack, which generally lives along the Stevens-Pend O...
SPOKANE - Deputies are asking for the public to help identify two men suspected of using stolen credit cards to buy merchandise in Spokane County. Det. Chuck Haley said Thursday that the men are believed to be using credit cards reported stolen from a locker at Kalispel Tribal Country Club. Local businesses provided photos of the suspects, he said, noting the cards were used to purchase more than $10,000 of goods. Haley said detectives want to talk to the men to determine...
CHENEY – A regional effort to provide a Thanksgiving meal to indigent residents is feeding more than 100 local families this holiday. The 2nd Harvest Tom’s Turkey Drive will feed more than 11,000 families in the region, officials said. That includes families who were expected to line up Tuesday at the Cheney Food Bank, 624 3rd St., to pick up their meals. Approximately 60 individuals and 64 families were scheduled to pick up turkey and all the trimmings, 30-year volunteer Joh...
ELLENSBURG - After coming back at the end of the regular season to land a spot in the state championships, the Lady Blackhawks were eliminated in two matches last week to end the 2019 season. "Heading to the state tournament was a great accomplishment for this team," head coach Heather Zorrozua said. "It is a big deal getting there and the excitement and hype of this experience seemed to get the best of us." Cheney first faced the formidable Northwest League's Burlington-Ediso...
The Washington Bankers Association has taken the mantle on an issue all state taxpayers should be outraged over — the Legislature’s use of title-only bills. In the waning days of the 2019 legislative session, lawmakers in Olympia used their “title-only” stunt to enact new taxes without proper debate, public review or comment. Indeed, Democrats even had the galleries cleared and the doors barred to prevent the public from watching the shenanigans. Title-only bills are just th...
OLYMPIA – Bankers are suing the state Legislature for enacting unlawful taxes under a “title only” bill. On Nov. 5, the Washington Bankers Association, represented by former State Attorney General Rob McKenna, filed suit over House Bill 2167, a title-only tax increase passed in the waning hours of the 2019 legislative session. House Bill 2167 was introduced April 10 and only included one sentence: “The legislature intends to enact legislation concerning tax revenue...
PASCO – Area residents are hoping a King County judge will give them something to be thankful for next Tuesday by allowing Initiative 976 to go into effect while a lawsuit plays out. As passed by voters, the measure is supposed to take effect Dec. 5. But a King County Superior Court judge is expected to hear a motion requesting an injunction blocking the $30 car tab fee measure. The hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, in King County Superior Court. The motion s...
COLVILLE – The search for a missing pilot and plane has moved to the forests between Colville and Ione. Spokane County Search and Rescue officials this morning identified the missing pilot as Terry Coleman, 67, of Colville. He went for a one-hour flight Monday in his Cessna 182 Skylane and failed to return. Because of weather, rescuers are conducting a ground search only today, as they did yesterday. Coleman did not file a flight plan, but is believed to have flown from C...
Update: Due to weather and visibility, the aerial search for the missing aircraft has been halted. Transportation officials are instead now coordinating with Stevens and Spokane counties' search and rescue teams for a ground mission. Anyone with information on the aircraft can contact the Stevens County Sheriff's Office at 509-684-2555. COLVILLE – Teams are searching Stevens County and the surrounding areas for a small airplane that went missing Monday. According to the s...
SPOKANE VALLEY – The Pullman defense shut down Cheney and West Valley in the Greater Spokane League’s Kansas City tiebreaker Tuesday night to stay alive in the Class 2A high school football postseason. A sack and a recovered Cheney quarterback Alex Long fumble gave the Greyhounds the momentum they needed to top the Blackhawks, 6-0, in the first of three rounds of the tiebreaker at East Valley High School. In the tiebreaker, each team started with the ball on the 25-yard lin...
Updated Nov. 8 at 9:50 a.m. CHENEY -- Cheney School District's $4.274 million capital facilities levy was narrowly passing after two more days of ballot counts. With another count of the remaining 33,000 ballots coming today (Nov. 8), the levy winning by a margin of 179 votes, 3,276 -- 3,097. The levy was receiving 51.40 percent of the vote. There were no other significant changes in other races, other than candidates and measures winning increased their margins. CHENEY – I...
CHENEY – It’s simply too close to call, and it may remain that way for several days. As of the end of ballot counting in Tuesday night’s general election, Cheney School District Proposition No. 1 was failing by 22 votes. The $4.274 million capital facilities levy was proposed to provide revenue to fund expanding educational facilities in the district due to dramatic growth in the student population, officials said. If approved, the levy would collect 50 cents per $1,000 assess...
CHENEY – There's been a slight increase in the number of wolves reported in southern Spokane County this year. According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife's wolf tracking map, only three wolves were reported by residents in the county south of Spokane last year. So far in 2019, the number of sightings reported to the state has doubled. The most recent sighting reported on the online map at https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/at-risk/species-reco...
SPOKANE – It's a tale of the state's two largest cities, one in Eastern Washington and the other west of the Cascades. While Western Washington's largest city (Seattle) continues to push for an income tax, Spokane voters are soundly rejecting the idea. Spokane is largest city in Eastern Washington and the second largest in the state, second only to Seattle. The preliminary tally in the Nov. 5 general election show Spokane Initiative No. 2019-2 banning any income tax in the cit...
OLYMPIA – The state Office of Attorney General Bob Ferguson has titled a proposed ballot measure to repeal gun-control measures enacted under Initiative 1639, but intentionally left out the word “repeal.” A letter from Deputy Solicitor General Peter B. Gonick sent to Secretary of State Kim Wyman on Monday, Oct. 21, titled the measure, “Initiative Measure No. 1094 concerns firearms.” Neither the title nor description mentions that the purpose of the measure is to repeal I-...
MEDICAL LAKE – While Cheney schools are bracing for massive student population growth over the next decade, the local district is focused on academic growth. During a Kiwanis Club luncheon Wednesday, Superintendent Tim Ames dispelled any notion of overcrowding anytime in the near future. “Growth is not happening in Medical Lake,” Ames said. “We’re not getting the students we expected from the new squadron and Amazon.” Ames was referring to a new refueling squadron at neighbor...
