Government

Halfway through the enrollment season for Washington's Guaranteed Tuition Savings program, the number of new enrollments is lagging compared to the last two years. Consumer confidence in the program is slipping, at least for now, even as state lawmakers express their concerns about the $600 million shortfall in the program.  

The Washington Supreme Court threw out the voter passed initiative requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to pass higher taxes. The supermajority law has had a heavy influence on state government for 30 years. Ross Reynolds talks to lawmakers and lawyers about what this decision means for politics in Washington state.

The Seattle Police Department is using a new software program designed to help predict where crimes are most likely to occur in the city.

A state ethics board has fined the former state Department of Corrections communications director for violations. The board determined that Belinda Stewart used state time and resources to run corrections oriented nonprofits.

A group that includes Washington’s largest teachers’ union has formally asked state Attorney General Bob Ferguson to challenge the constitutionality of the state’s new charter school law.

Sequestration has apparently led to a “get out of jail free” card for some detainees at an immigration lockup in Tacoma.

As the date of the sequestration nears, fingers continue to get pointed, but what if political infighting is really the fault of the constituents? Ross Reynolds talks with New York Times Washington Bureau Chief David Leonhardt about why he thinks it is the constituents that are to blame for the looming across-the-board budget cuts.

Washington Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond said Tuesday that cracks in the pontoons for the state Route 520 floating bridge project were largely the result of a flawed design by the state.