WASHINGTON, USA —
No new taxes under Washington state House budget proposal
Washington state House of Representatives budget writers have proposed spending $69.5 billion for state expenses for the next two years.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, said the budget proposal for the 2023-25 biennial prioritizes improving the state's workforce and addressing the state's housing crisis.
The House proposal includes $704 million for affordable housing and $893 million for behavioral health.
State Rep. Drew Stokesbary, the highest-ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said he would have liked budget writers to include tax cuts in the proposal and said not enough money is going toward helping students who suffered learning loss during the pandemic. Read more
Twenty-seven people were indicted by a grand jury for drug trafficking in Washington and other states, including the alleged leader who is believed to be a member of a white supremacist prison gang.
Jesse James Bailey, 39, out of Steilacoom, is alleged to have trafficked large amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs in Washington, Idaho and Alaska. Bailey and other defendants had detention hearings in Tacoma on Monday.
On March 22, law enforcement seized 177 firearms, more than 10 kilos of meth, more than 11 kilos of fentanyl in pill and powder form, 3 kilos of heroin and more than $330,000 in cash from 18 locations in Washington and Arizona. Read more
Tractors picked up the last remnants of the East Pasadena encampment under the Ship Canal Bridge.
“To watch all of our stuff get shredded and put to the dump like that, that hurts,” said Summer who is homeless.
Summer spent the day packing up her friends' belongings.
“Actually everybody here got housing and they’re already in their places, like they got their keys yesterday," Summer said. "That’s just incredible."
According to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, all 14 people who lived at the camp have accepted more permanent housing. This marks the sixth site to be resolved since KCRHA received state funding. Read more
A suspect who is accused of fleeing the scene of a deadly accident on I-5 was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and felony hit-and-run related to the crash that occurred in late February.
Police still cannot find the suspect. A temporary warrant is out for his arrest.
Prosecutors noted the accident is the latest in a string of traffic violations the suspect, identified as 21-year-old Antonio Michael Lopez, has committed over the past six years, including another fatal hit-and-run that killed a 21-year-old man in 2017. Read more
The Seattle Mariners are kicking off the highly anticipated 2023 season by granting a special wish.
When fans pack T-Mobile Park for the home opener on Thursday night, a 6-year-old will run the bases and fire up the ballpark. Coleman Tawresey only wished for a new bat, but his parents knew they could encourage him to dream bigger. Read more
RELATED: Western Washington Forecast
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