Washington in Focus

(The Center Square) – A complaint against Solicitor General Noah Purcell with the Washington State Executive Ethics Board has been rejected for investigation despite allegations that the decision by Executive Director Kate Reynolds was made amid a conflict of interest. According to emails obtained by The Center Square, Reynolds has previously written that she reports to Purcell. Last month, Purcell wrote a response to the Washington State Bar Association on behalf of Attorney General Nick Brown related to an ethics complaint filed against him. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

(The Center Square) – A complaint against Solicitor General Noah Purcell with the Washington State Executive Ethics Board has been rejected for investigation despite allegations that the decision by Executive Director Kate Reynolds was made amid a conflict of interest. According to emails obtained by The Center Square, Reynolds has previously written that she reports to Purcell. Last month, Purcell wrote a response to the Washington State Bar Association on behalf of Attorney General Nick Brown related to an ethics complaint filed against him. 

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx 

Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_04086815-147d-4b7a-9933-1b3566bfcc15.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) – Let’s Go Washington, a political action committee founded by businessman Brian Heywood, launched two new initiatives to the state Legislature on Monday morning. One concerns parental rights, and the other concerns protecting girls in sports. “The first one will be a repeal of [House Bill] 1296 essentially; 1296 is the legislative gutting of [Initiative] 2081, which was the parents’ bill of rights,” Heywood told The Center Square last week. “It focused on making sure that parents knew what was going on with their kids at school, and schools not having the authority or the ability to keep secrets from parents.” 

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx 

Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_ef410724-df1b-47d4-a7ae-63240f713f68.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) – King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci is calling for a quick response from the county to address major fiscal oversight issues within the Department of Community and Human Services. On Aug. 26, the King County Committee of the Whole was briefed on recent county audit findings revealing that DCHS made policy choices amid an increase in fiscal responsibility without installing a safety net to monitor whether the funds were being used appropriately. 

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx 

Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_c63778fd-e70e-41fd-bae2-af040cd5cb86.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) - One month from Labor Day, a slew of Washington businesses will be subject to new retail sales taxes, which will be passed onto consumers. The 2025 Washington State Legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814, which added new business activities to the definition of retail sales. Those new taxes will be collected starting Oct. 1.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

(The Center Square) - A Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council report found that the state’s commercial real estate excise tax revenue has fallen to pre-2020 levels before the Legislature altered the REET rate. Through 2019, the state’s REET imposed a flat rate of 1.28 % of the value of the transactions, though local governments could impose their own REET on top of that. During the 2019 legislative session, the Legislature enacted a bill that changed it to a graduated rate based on the value of the transaction with a 1.1% rate for properties below $500,000 and the highest rate at 3% for transactions of $3 million or more. 

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx 

Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_7d0c6ff0-11f7-4174-a4cc-5ff25179f078.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) - One month from Labor Day, a slew of Washington businesses will be subject to new retail sales taxes, which will be passed onto consumers. The 2025 Washington State Legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814, which added new business activities to the definition of retail sales. Those new taxes will be collected starting Oct. 1. 
 

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx 

Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_e6ed74cd-338a-45c5-8b62-ce5cddd02e7e.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) – In less than a year, Seattle has conducted 34% of spot repairs to city sidewalks that were promised over the next eight years. In the first Seattle committee meeting in two weeks, the Seattle Department of Transportation briefed the city’s transportation committee on the work being done to improve sidewalks: a major goal of the eight-year, $1.55 billion Transportation levy. 

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx 

Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_a87e1188-d00a-4944-8cdd-8b0076ae7576.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) – A group of Washington state Republican senators, including 31st Legislative District Sen. Phil Fortunato of Auburn, are calling for the repeal of a state law that limits law enforcement's cooperation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The Keep Washington Working Act, adopted in 2019, restricts local law enforcement from using local resources to help federal officials enforce immigration law and prevents local law enforcement from sharing nonpublic information with federal officials in most cases. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

(The Center Square) – Washington Solicitor General Noah Purcell is the focus of a Washington State Bar Association complaint alleging misconduct for responding on Attorney General Nick Brown’s behalf in a separate bar complaint, and directly communicating with private law firm Perkins Coie without its attorney’s consent. The complaint comes right after news broke that Brown faces an inquiry by the bar association over an amicus brief filed in support of Perkins Coie, The Center Square reported this month. 

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx 

Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_18d2bfb4-df4c-4673-ba96-fb702a5ba87c.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.