Shauna Sowersby

Public records fight over what WA lawmakers can withhold continues in court The battle over whether Washington lawmakers are entitled to shield certain records from the public using “legislative privilege” continued Thursday as oral arguments in the case were delivered at the...

Lawyers for the WA Legislature are continuing to argue for a broad "privilege" asserted by Democratic legislative leaders to hide records from the public. @ssowersby.bsky.social covers the latest court developments.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Nearly 24 hours after a notice went out about Gov. Bob Ferguson going out of state for two weeks, we finally got a (vague) explanation about his plans.

Where is Gov. Bob Ferguson until Oct.9? Unclear yet because the press release sent out by his office at 6:41pm last night doesn’t say 🤔

Cascade PBS slashes Seattle newsroom, citing federal cuts Formed in 2015 by the merger of KCTS 9 TV and Crosscut, Cascade PBS will continue making video programs but will stop making "long-form written journalism."

“These are painful cuts to make,” said Cascade PBS CEO Rob Dunlop. Worth noting that Dunlop made over $550k last year, an almost $50k increase from his salary in 2023.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

After 10 years and $31M, WA workers’ comp upgrade has little to show An effort to modernize Washington's aging workers' compensation system that has produced few results is getting renewed scrutiny amid the state budget crisis.

Despite $31m in spending, the project has "has yet to roll out any new technology and is at least $240 million and nine years from completion." via @pauledroberts.bsky.social @ssowersby.bsky.social
www.seattletimes.com/business/aft...

WA union marches into state Capitol as budget bargaining boils over "No cuts, no furloughs! Tax, tax the rich!" members of the Washington State Federation of State Employees chanted inside the Capitol building during a Wednesday protest.

New from @ssowersby.bsky.social and me - Escalating tensions around cuts for Washington’s budget and potential furloughs boiled over Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of workers stormed into the state Capitol building looking to pick a fight: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Ferguson suspends auto-deletion of public records after $225K settlement A policy at Washington state agencies allowed Microsoft Teams messages between staffers to be automatically deleted after seven days.

Background here:

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

King County Council will introduce legislation tomorrow morning to bring King County in line with Ferguson’s instant message public record policy, per email from the council’s director of communications.

Four current state employees, who requested anonymity because they feared workplace retaliation, told me they were instructed to put things into instant messaging platforms such as Teams and Slack specifically to avoid public disclosure laws.

Ferguson suspends auto-deletion of public records after $225K settlement A policy at Washington state agencies allowed Microsoft Teams messages between staffers to be automatically deleted after seven days.

New from me: WA governor suspends policy that allowed public records to be destroyed for years, despite warnings and concerns about the policy since it was implemented in 2021. Taxpayers will now pay out $225k for the destruction of records by DCYF.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

NEW: In a departure for WA governors, Bob Ferguson is avoiding regular news conferences. David Ammons, the retired longtime AP correspondent who covered 7 governors, called Ferguson's early stance "disappointing and counterproductive" (w. @ssowersby.bsky.social) www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Doesn’t sound efficient at all to me

Gov’t transparency continues to decline in Washington under Democratic rule.

Not sure why Dems think hiding is good politics:

In a departure for WA governors, Ferguson avoids news conferences

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Current and former WA state government employees: if you were ever instructed to put work-related information in Microsoft Teams chats specifically to subvert retention policies, please send me a DM here or text me on signal at 206-832-9372

Push to end WA's seizure of foster youth benefits faces multibillion dollar hurdle Washington's child welfare agency is on board with ending the practice of diverting federal benefits. But a multibillion dollar hurdle may stand in the way.

Washington state collects approximately $700,000 every month in federal benefits intended for about 750 eligible foster children, to fund the agency overseeing their care. Is this the year WA changes this policy? New from me:

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Ferguson opposes wealth tax, calls for spending cuts, but boost for K-12 Governor-elect Bob Ferguson's budget proposal diverges from the spending increases proposed by outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee.

NEW: WA Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson comes out against the 'wealth tax' floated by outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee. Ferguson is calling for spending cuts in the face of a shortfall, but would boost K-12 & fund free school lunches (w. @ssowersby.bsky.social) www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Started my first day at The Seattle Times today! Please send any questions, tips, compliments or complaints to me at ssowersby@seattletimes.com

Hello Bluesky! For my first post here I’m happy to announce that I will be moving to The Seattle Times as the new state government reporter. I’m sad to leave my position at Cascade PBS but I am excited for this new opportunity!