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Initiative 2124: Long-term care ballot measure could kill program before it can start to pay out
A citizen-led ballot initiative to amend the WA Cares Act would allow workers to opt out of a state long-term care insurance program, but would likely effectively kill it, too. The 2019 legislation created a public long-term care insurance program that provides older, injured or disabled people up to $36,500 to pay for long-term care services and needs, like nursing home care, equipment, medication and meals. To pay for the program and access the benefits, workers are required to pay a 0.58% tax, which started in July 2023.
Columbia River Basin restoration requires collaboration and resolve, as demonstrated by Gov. Kotek
Imagine a not-so-distant future in which the Snake and Columbia River basins are again home to healthy and abundant populations of salmon and steelhead, and clean energy is also abundant, reliable and affordable. This vision of a healthy and flourishing Northwest is worth fighting for – and closer than ever before to becoming reality. The […]
Commissioner Franz Announces Approval to Transfer DNR Lands to Pierce County for Affordable Housing in Western Washington
OLYMPIA - The Washington State Board of Natural Resources has unanimously approved a transfer of approximately four acres of state trust land to Pierce County for future affordable housing. The parcels near Graham have been zoned residential and could accommodate up to 28 lots of affordable housing units, both single-family and duplex. The Board approved the transfer at its regular meeting on October 1st.
Death, taxes, and horseplay
Washington has a fraught relationship with taxes. And what that relationship looks like in the future is a big part of your ballot this November. In the latest episode of Sound Politics, hosts Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann break down two relatively new taxes that voters will decide whether to get rid of: the capital gains tax (which only the richest Washingtonians pay) and the Washington CARES tax (which most voters probably see on their paychecks). Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes.Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer this week is Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone.
Gas tax revenue coming up short in new transportation revenue forecast
(The Center Square) – The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council has approved Washington state's updated transportation revenue forecast. There was some challenging news in the forecast, but at least there was transparency, according to Washington Research Council Senior Research Analyst Emily Makings. “It confirms what we’ve known for some time, and that is transportation revenues and the transportation budget are really facing a lot of challenges,” she told The Center...
Washington State Unemployment Growing Faster Than You’re Told
Unemployment in Washington State is higher, and growing faster, than you think. Numbers are a snapshot in time when it comes to things such as unemployment. Month to month the changes may not strike you as significant, but when you compare data from 6 and 12 months ago it does. Let's work our way to that.
Six Washington airports want to charge ahead preparing for electric aircraft
The managers of half a dozen Washington airports see a future where you could hop across Puget Sound or the Cascade Mountains in minutes on a non-polluting electric commuter plane or air taxi. They want to be ready for that day by winning government funding to install pricey charging stations for battery-powered aircraft now. A […]
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