Burien chooses site for homeless shelter as county deadline passes

Burien has chosen this lot owned by Seattle City Light at South 136th Street and 4th Avenue South as the future site for a tiny home village. The village will use King County money and resources, after months of delay and debate around how to handle a growing number of homeless people in the public

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Huge spike in costs to help salmon could derail WA transportation budget

By David Kroman   and  Mike Reicher  Seattle Times staff reporters Times Watchdog stories dig deep to hold power accountable, right wrongs and create change. This work is made possible by The Seattle Times Investigative Journalism Fund. Donate today to support watchdog journalism in our community.   Come January, lawmakers will face a surprise that will strain Washington’s transportation

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Judge rules WA lawmakers can withhold documents via ‘legislative privilege’

By  Claire Withycombe  Seattle Times staff reporter OLYMPIA — A Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the law allows Washington state lawmakers to withhold records that are “privileged.” Although the scope of that privilege has yet to be precisely defined, transparency advocates were despondent after Friday’s ruling, worrying that it delivers a sharp

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One court case changed how West Coast cities deal with homeless encampments

By  Greg Kim Seattle Times staff reporter Five years ago, federal judges ruled it was “cruel and unusual” for cities to fine or arrest homeless people for sleeping outside when they had nowhere else to go. Fast-forwarding to recent months, elected officials in Seattle and along the West Coast are railing against the decision, asking

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A deep dive into Seattle’s busy, beloved Ballard Locks

By  Sandi Doughton  Pacific NW magazine writer THREE YEARS AGO, a Washington state senator from Ferndale introduced a bill to study the costs and benefits of breaching the Ballard Locks. Republican Doug Ericksen, who died in 2021, didn’t really expect it to happen. His legislation was a jab at Seattle liberals calling for removal of dams on the

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Can a city banish its poor? WA’s highest court is asked to weigh in

Being in the Top 10 isn’t always a good thing. Especially when it comes to homelessness. Washington state ranks number nine in the number of unsheltered homeless individuals, or those living on the street, and in the top five of the total number of people experiencing homelessness. The crisis escalated between 2020 and 2022, when that number jumped

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Schools must connect students to college, careers

The Seattle Times editorial board Seven years ago, a group of prominent Washington business leaders known as the Washington Roundtable crunched the data and announced that young people would need to beef up their post-high school game significantly to participate in this state’s booming high-tech economy. Assessing their own industries, the business leaders — including

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Despite state law, South King County cities limit homeless shelters

By  Greg Kim Seattle Times staff reporter In 2021, the Washington Legislature passed a law that attempted to stop cities from banning homelessness facilities. Yet last month, Des Moines fined the city’s only existing homeless shelter and asked it to shut down. Earlier this year, Federal Way denied a permit for a fully funded shelter.

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