Operation Guardian nets 21 arrests in Snohomish County related to exploitation and sexual abuse of children

EDMONDS — Twenty-one individuals were taken into custody in Snohomish County over the last week during a multi-agency operation dubbed “Operation Guardian,” for allegedly sexually abusing and exploiting children, the Washington State Patrol announced in a news release Tuesday. Operation Guardian was spearheaded by the WSP’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF), a Washington […]

WA income tax on higher earners clears first legislative hurdle

OLYMPIA [Jerry Cornfield]—Democrats advanced controversial income tax legislation out of a key Washington state Senate committee on Monday after pledging more proceeds to local public defender costs and increasing a tax break for small businesses. Senate Bill 6346 passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee on a voice vote. This marked the first legislative test of […]

Bill proposes permanent tax break for senior centers

OLYMPIA [ANNIKA HAUER]—Roughly 200 senior centers in Washington state could become permanently exempt from paying property taxes under a proposed bill, which passed its first committee Feb. 3. In 2017, House Bill 1526 established that senior centers did not have to pay those taxes. That bill had an automatic termination, or “sunset clause,” set for […]