Washington has few paths to early prison release. Advocates fear Gov. Ferguson has closed off a critical one
Gov. Bob Ferguson has rejected everyone the state board recommended for commutation
Government
Massive change coming to Portland city government
Voters in Oregon’s largest city ousted an incumbent and agreed to radically remake the city’s form of government and process for electing its leaders.
‘I kept reoffending’: why unhoused people are choosing to go to jail
People on the street who are resistant to shelters face a cruel choice: living rough in the cold or spending time behind bars
Housing vouchers sit unused at some rural Washington agencies
COVID stimulus gave public housing authorities new resources. While King County leads the nation in distribution, that's not the case across the state.
Yakima, Spokane counties forfeit nearly $2M in federal rental aid
The U.S. Treasury pulled funds from jurisdictions that didn't meet the deadline to distribute at least 20% of their most recent allocation.
At least one juror refused to call them guilty. But they’re still in prison.
In Oregon and Louisiana, hundreds remain behind bars two years after U.S. Supreme Court outlawed split-jury verdicts
How Washington state law lets clergy hide child sexual abuse
Clergy in the state have no obligation to report child abuse
Data gaps make relief payments to WA officials hard to trace
Learn how to match public officials and candidates to billions in federal relief dollars, and why watchdogs say financial disclosure rules need improvement.
Oregon officials report new uptick in mail about election fraud conspiracies
The current batch of letters comes as county clerks prepare for the November election
Shelved report details 14 COVID deaths inside Washington prisons
Six of those who died between June 2020 and Aug. 2021 were not adequately evaluated after they requested to be seen for symptoms, according to an unreleased state watchdog report.
How state taxes make inequality worse
All but a few states take a greater share of income from poor people than the wealthy. Systems designed by white supremacists are part of the reason.