Washington Settles Lawsuit Over 15-Hour-Per-Day Lockdown For Inmates With Mental Illness

By Austin Jenkins
File photo of a tower at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has named Stephen Sinclair as the state's new secretary of Corrections. WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Washington's Department of Corrections has agreed to improve conditions for inmates with mental illness at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Under a court-approved settlement reached last week, the agency will open a new minimum- and medium-security unit for these inmates, with the goal of reducing the amount of time they spend locked up in their cells.Read More

Booked And Buried: After Dehydration Death, Grieving Father And Jail Chief Form Surprising Bond

By Austin Jenkins
Fred Farris, the father of Keaton Farris, and Island County Jail Chief Jose Briones pose together on the Coupeville Wharf. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3
Four years ago this month, Keaton Farris died naked, dehydrated and malnourished on the floor of an isolation cell in the Island County Jail on Whidbey Island. Farris, who was bipolar and in the throes of a mental health crisis, had been arrested 18 days earlier for failing to appear in court for allegedly stealing and cashing a $355 check. An investigation later found Read More

Washington Senate Democrats Propose New Taxes On Capital Gains, Support For Wildfire Funding

By Austin Jenkins
Washington State Sen. Manka Dhingra speaks to reporters during a briefing on the Senate Democratic budget on Friday. AUSTIN JENKINS / N3
Washington Senate Democrats on Friday proposed a capital gains tax that would fund a suite of tax reductions for low-income families, small businesses and senior citizen homeowners. The tax proposal was rolled out in conjunction with the Senate Democrats' unveiling of a $52 billion two-year state spending plan, which followed a House Democratic budget presentation earlier Read More

‘Hey Guys, How You Doin’?’ How Jay Inslee Introduces His Ambition Beyond Washington State

By Austin Jenkins
Gov. Jay Inslee enters a conference room at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College where he spoke to students in January. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3
As Washington Gov. Jay Inslee inches closer to a likely run for president, he's starting to sound more and more like a candidate on the stump than a two-term incumbent, even when addressing audiences at home. At a recent legislative forum in Olympia, Inslee recounted his first foray into politics 30 years ago and told the story behind one of his first votes as a freshman Read More

Jay Inslee Proposes Big Boost In State Spending, New Taxes In Two-Year Washington Budget

By Austin Jenkins
Gov. Jay Inslee announced his proposed budget for the 2019-21 biennium at a Capitol news conference Dec. 13, 2018. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is proposing a hefty $10 billion increase in state spending over the next two years to maintain current services and fund new priorities, including mental health and orca recovery. To pay for it, Inslee is once again pushing for a new state capital gains tax on high income earners as well as an increase in the business and occupation tax on Read More
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