Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the proposed budget for 2023-2024 on Tuesday. The budget totals approximately $7.4 billion, including $1.6 billion to the general fund.
In his address, Harrell said public safety, homelessness and a clean city are his top priorities.
The budget would allocate $88 million to the King County Regional Homeless Authority, a 13% increase for the organization. The money would go towards outreach, homeless shelters and other programs.
The budget also includes $250 million for affordable housing, which would be the largest one-year investment in the city's history. Read more
A four-mile stretch of US 2 near Skykomish is closed due to the Bolt Creek Fire burning near the roadway. Three miles of US 2 closed Monday night, and the closure was extended to four miles Tuesday morning.
Both directions of US 2 are closed between Northeast Old Cascade Highway and 747th Avenue Northeast in Skykomish (milepost 46-50), according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
The WSDOT said crews were working with Incident Command Tuesday morning to remove trees along the highway that posed a danger to public safety. Read more
A man suspected of throwing rocks and debris at cars along State Route 900 near Renton was arrested Tuesday morning.
The 55-year-old man is accused of causing more than $2,200 worth of damage, according to the Washington State Patrol (WSP). He was arrested without incident just after 10:30 a.m. near SR 900 and 164th Avenue Southeast, which is outside the Renton city limits. SR 900 is a heavily trafficked roadway connecting Renton and Issaquah.
Danny Engels, who was driving back from a doctor’s appointment in Issaquah on Sept. 13, was one of the victims. Engels said a man threw a rock at his car, smashing the windshield and sending glass onto the passenger seat.
“It came out of nowhere,” Engels said at the time. “It literally came out of nowhere.” Read more
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), U.S. Navy and Island County personnel began recovery operations Tuesday morning for the wreckage of the DHC-3 Turbine Otter that crashed near Whidbey Island on Sept. 4.
The team will be conducting work in 12-hour shifts around the clock.
The two barges for the operations moved into position on Monday and anchored in proximity to the aircraft wreckage. One is outfitted with a crane which will be used in the lifting operation and the other barge holds the remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
The Deep Drone 8000 ROV has two arms, video cameras and is equipped with sonar and lighting systems. The ROV requires a team of four specialists to operate the equipment. Read more
A prototype all-electric airplane took its first flight Tuesday out of Moses Lake. The plane, called Alice, took an eight-minute flight at an altitude of 3,500 feet.
“Today’s first flight was absolutely amazing, we had the aircraft ready to go on time, we brought it into the field and were able to execute a nearly perfect first flight activity,” said Gregory Davis, president and CEO of Eviation.
The company said Alice produces no carbon emissions, significantly reduces noise and costs a fraction to operate per flight hour compared to light jets or high-end turboprops. Read more
RELATED: Western Washington Forecast
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