Washington Legislature approves $340M for COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund, making it one of the country’s largest
Washington’s Immigrant Relief Fund got an enormous boost this week when the Legislature approved $340 million in additional funding. That brings the total allocated so far, first by Gov. Jay Inslee and then by the Legislature, to $467 million — believed to make this the second-largest fund of its kind in the country, behind New York’s. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Bettina Hansen)
Washington state creates permanent rental assistance program
The idea of rental assistance — the government stepping in to pay people’s rent to prevent them from losing their home — is not new, but it has taken on a new prominence and urgency in the pandemic, as billions of federal dollars have helped pull tenants out from under mounting debt. Now, Washington state is making that policy permanent. Continue reading at The Bellingham Herald. (Steve Bloom)
WA schools catching up on Black history and ethnic studies
Washington state Rep. Jesse Johnson, D-Federal Way, doesn’t remember learning about Black history until the seventh grade. He recalls studying about slavery, but says most of the Black history he was taught “came in little pieces, it wasn’t that in-depth.” He wouldn’t really learn Black history until college at the University of Washington, where he majored in African American history. Continue reading at Crosscut. (Dorothy Edwards)
Associated Press
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Web
Civic Skunkworks
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