(The Center Square) – A decade-long fight over water rights in Central Washington is headed for the Washington State Supreme Court. The fight for Ron and Robin Fodé and Fode Farms centers around water use on their farmland near Moses Lake, and the State Department of Ecology contending the family had no right to tap into “a vulnerable aquifer.” Fodé, alongside his wife, Robin, took over the fourth-generation family farm in eastern Washington in 1984
(The Center Square) – The nine-story King County Administration Building in downtown Seattle is reopening to county office workers after a six-year closure prompted by the pandemic. While the building once housed hundreds of employees, 107 employees from the County Department of Health will move to the Administration Building next month, said Callie Craighead, a spokeswoman for County Executive Girmay Zahilay. The building, built in 1971, currently only holds the county sobering-up center, which is
(The Center Square) – The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is investigating nonprofit We Heart Seattle over the way its volunteers pick up and dispose of used hypodermic needles and fentanyl foil. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health opened the case in late July and initially gave Andrea Suarez, the founder of We Heart Seattle, just two days to produce a long list of safety documents. “We received the notice through an
(The Center Square) – A new state audit has found that Washington’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families broke state law and policy requirements regarding investigations of unlicensed child care providers, child abuse and neglect casework, and the agency’s gift card program for families in need. The Office of the Washington State Auditor released its accountability audit of DCYF on Monday, covering the period from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. The audit identified
