Category Archives: E-News

The last few weeks have been difficult and emotional for people here in Seattle and across the world. Our response to COVID-19 has required us all to alter our lives drastically for a common goal: to reduce the rate of ...

We passed the halfway mark this week on our 60-day legislative session in Olympia. The pace has been intense as we considered more than 1,800 bills on subjects ranging from homelessness and behavioral health to education and gun violence. We ...

Often the best ideas for new laws originate with friends and neighbors who are willing to tell their stories and put in hours of work to develop and advance legislation. One example close to my heart this week is the ...

Last week I had the opportunity to celebrate the re-opening of the recently renovated Lincoln High School (the first new comprehensive high school in our city in nearly 60 years) and attend the re-opening of Town Hall Seattle after two ...

Controversial bills grab most of the headlines. But every year, the Legislature passes – usually with overwhelming bipartisan support – dozens of bills to modernize and improve state law in a wide range of areas. Since 2010, I have served ...

Thanks to the work and leadership of many survivors of sexual assault in our state, the Legislature took action this year to make it easier for survivors to seek and achieve justice. I am grateful for the courage survivors demonstrated ...

For decades, our state has struggled to guarantee financial assistance for all low-income college students in the state who qualify. Nearly 18,000 people met the requirements for Washington’s State Need Grant last year, for instance, but could not access tuition ...

The next school year starts in less than a month for public school students here in Seattle. My kids are excited to get back into their classrooms at Stevens Elementary, Thurgood Marshall Elementary, and Meany Middle School. Although work remains, ...

The lack of affordable housing has created serious and growing problems across our state, and nowhere more than in the central Puget Sound region. People live under bridges, in tents, and in cars. Families move to distant suburbs to find ...

For decades, Washington state has struggled to meet the needs of people with mental health or substance use disorders, now commonly referred to as “behavioral health.” We have relied on 19th-century models of care and have failed to invest in ...