Washington in Focus

(The Center Square) – A Washington state labor board is investigating a complaint filed by an employee with the city of Everett regarding dues paid to the local union after that employee attempted to opt out. While the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, representing the employee, claims the incident highlights ongoing problems with the process by which public workers can opt out of paying union dues, the local union and the city of Everett argue it was an administrative mistake that has since been resolved. 

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(The Center Square) – Sound Transit opened its downtown Redmond extension after a year delay and $98 million tacked on after originally planned. The 3.4-mile extension of the 2 Line opened for service Saturday with two new stations at Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond. The latest extension is the first Sound Transit 3 project. 

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(The Center Square) – Much of the funding for Sound Transit’s projects, including ST3, has come from federal grants. In the past seven years, it has secured a total of $3.8 billion, with $9 billion expected in future grants for ST3. However, as the transit system struggles to recover its pre-pandemic ridership volumes, the agency faces a growing fiscal challenge due to what a spokesperson says are rising property values and increased construction costs. Those challenges could affect how much money it can expect, or need, from the federal government. In an email to The Center Square, Media Relations Manager John Gallagher wrote that “the agency has been transparent about the financial headwinds that we face on capital projects. We anticipate coming to the Board later this year with an update to the financial plan.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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(The Center Square) – Much of the funding for Sound Transit’s projects, including ST3, has come from federal grants. In the past seven years, it has secured a total of $3.8 billion, with $9 billion expected in future grants for ST3. However, as the transit system struggles to recover its pre-pandemic ridership volumes, the agency faces a growing fiscal challenge due to what a spokesperson says are rising property values and increased construction costs. Those challenges could affect how much money it can expect, or need, from the federal government. 

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(The Center Square) – A family in East Wenatchee, Wash., at the center of the controversy surrounding transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, tells The Center Square they are reenergized now that the federal government has launched an investigation into the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. On Wednesday, the U.S. departments of Education and Justice announced their Title IX “Special Investigations Team” joint initiative, alleging that the state’s public schools agency has imposed gender-inclusion requirements on school districts in possible violation of federal law. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports. 

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(The Center Square) – Mayor Lisa Brown unveiled an overhaul of Spokane’s homelessness strategy Thursday, pitting the city council’s progressive majority and conservative minority against each other once again. The proposals follow the Washington State Supreme Court striking down one of the city’s camping bans in April. The high court ruled that the citizen-led effort fell outside the scope of an initiative, so the conservatives tried to restore it with a council vote, but the majority declined. 

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(The Center Square) – Seattle spends roughly $6.5 million a year on complementary resources for illegal immigrants, even as the administration of President Donald Trump is taking major steps to reshape immigration policy and practice – with an emphasis on enforcement of federal law. According to city statistics, there are more than 143,687 foreign-born residents in Seattle, including 21,000 illegal immigrants who make up roughly 2.7% of the city’s total population of 755,000. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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(The Center Square) – Outside of budget negotiations, one of the bills that dominated Washington state lawmakers' attention during the 2025 legislative session was a proposal to close a state-operated school for people with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. With just hours to spare on Sunday – the last day of the 105-day legislative session – lawmakers passed a version of Senate Bill 5393 that will prohibit new long-term admissions to Rainier School in Pierce County starting July 27 and stop short-term admissions starting June 30, 2027. The changes were the result of a Republican amendment accepted by both chambers. 

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(The Center Square) – In 1996, voters within the Sound Transit District voted to approve "Sound Move," which imposed a variety of local taxes to fund the construction of public transit such as bus lines, commuter trains and light rail. In the years to follow, voters would then approve ST2 in 2008 that added additional taxes or tax increases, followed by voter-approved ST3 in 2016, both of which expand or seek to expand on existing services. 

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(The Center Square) – Seattle spends roughly $6.5 million a year on complementary resources for illegal immigrants, even as the administration of President Donald Trump is taking major steps to reshape immigration policy and practice – with an emphasis on enforcement of federal law. According to city statistics, there are more than 143,687 foreign-born residents in Seattle, including 21,000 illegal immigrants who make up roughly 2.7% of the city’s total population of 755,000. 

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