Nisqually Valley News

09/11/2026

Yelm City Councilor Griselda Arias has endorsed democrat candidate Kevin Burton-Crow in his campaign to become Thurston County Sheriff.

He will appear on the ballot in Thurston County’s November general election against incumbent sheriff Derek Sanders, an independent.

It means a lot to have the support of my friend Griselda Arias. Griselda is a fellow veteran, serving as Chair of the Thurston County Veteran's Advisory Board, Yelm City Councilmember, and President of the Yelm Lions Club. We share a belief that service doesn’t end when you take off the uniform, and I’ve been fortunate to serve alongside her in the community we both call home.

Griselda is someone who shows up, puts in the work, and cares deeply about the people she serves. I’m grateful to have her support.

“I’m proud to support Kevin Burton-Crow, the most qualified candidate for Thurston County Sheriff.” — Griselda Arias, Yelm City Council, Position 3

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

The cuts are in addition to the $9.84 million in budget cuts the county made to the 2026-27 budget last year as it navigates a hefty structural deficit.

The deficit for 2027 to 2029 is estimated at $23.3 million, according to the county. The amount is slightly lower than the $23.8 million deficit the county measured in 2025.

The reductions are part of a three-year budget plan intended to close the deficit by dividing about $15 million in reduced spending over three years.

The cuts are spread out in an attempt to lessen impacts on community services, according to the county.

The budget plan factors in about $8.3 million in anticipated reversions, or the return of any unspent budget dollars back to the General Fund, and relies on “hopeful revenue projections,” the county stated.

More here: https://tinyurl.com/ua7pyww5

09/07/2026

Timberland Regional Library will host drop-in information sessions about the upcoming levy lid lift throughout its five-county service area in September and October.

Community members are invited to stop by a session to learn more about the upcoming measure and what it would mean for their library and community.

TRL administrators and staff will be available to provide information and answer questions.

More here: https://tinyurl.com/58339z6z

09/06/2026

Members of a legislative oversight committee voted 10-1 this week to subpoena Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen for the type of information her office turned over to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sen. Mike Cuffe, a Eureka Republican, cast the only opposing vote. Cuffe said some of the discussion in recent months had been partisan, and he believes Jacobsen was trying to follow the rule of law.

For months, lawmakers have tried to learn what voter information Jacobsen’s office provided to the Department of Justice in response to its demands that states turn over voter rolls so it can confirm ineligible voters aren’t on the lists.

Jacobsen, a Republican, has been largely unresponsive to legislators. She did not appear at the State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs Interim Committee meeting Wednesday or send a representative from her office.

Secretary of State spokesperson Richie Melby said Jacobsen was not invited to that portion of the meeting and was occupied with a security test in preparation for the general election in November.

“The Secretary of State’s Office and its partners are focused on protecting Montana’s elections from bad actors in China, Iran and Russia,” Melby said in an email. “I think you would agree that ensuring the physical and cyber security of Montana’s midterm federal general election is pretty significant.”

More here: https://tinyurl.com/3ns5s87v

09/06/2026

President Donald Trump said earlier this year he’d “do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections” this fall, declining to rule out sending the National Guard or federal law enforcement officers to polling locations throughout the country.

Those comments came a few months after Trump casually and briefly mentioned canceling the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Any such actions would lie outside the bounds of presidential power and the law, according to experts interviewed by States Newsroom. Nonetheless, one Democratic U.S. senator is sending letters to numerous members of the administration asking for commitments troops won’t be sent to the polls, and state officials are readying plans to keep voting secure.

“The president can say whatever he wants, but his powers are extraordinarily limited in this way,” said Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

With two months until voting ends on Nov. 3, the administration’s only publicly disclosed plan to monitor elections is a decades-old Justice Department program that sends federal workers throughout the country.

More here: https://tinyurl.com/yc6jy9kr

09/06/2026

Members of the Idaho National Guard have been deployed to the nation’s capital since February, although state officials did not publicly announce the deployment at the time, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

The soldiers are there with guardsmen from other states as part of a Joint Task Force-DC Mission in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order titled Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful.
“Governor Little is proud of Idaho’s citizen-soldiers and the professionalism, dedication, and service they bring to every mission, including Operation Safe and Beautiful,” Emily Callihan, Gov. Brad Little’s communication director, said in an emailed statement.

Attorneys with the ACLU-D.C. in July filed a $3 million legal claim against the Idaho National guard on behalf of a D.C. resident who says she was injured by Idaho guardsmen outside her home in May.

“The ACLU of Idaho is demanding that Governor Little immediately remove all Idaho National Guard troops from D.C.,” ACLU of Idaho Executive Director Leo Morales said Thursday in a press release. “There is no real emergency justifying the need to send troops to the other side of the country. This deployment of National Guard members in D.C. for many months has pulled taxpayer-funded resources away from true, critical emergencies here in Idaho, including wildfires. Additionally, the lack of transparency around this deployment and the recent incident involving a D.C. veteran and Idaho National Guard members should concern all Idahoans. Governor Little has the power to put this to an end.”

More here: https://tinyurl.com/3hphe588

09/06/2026

For people leaving prison, parole is a period of transition that can involve finding housing and work, reconnecting with family and accessing health care while also meeting the conditions of supervision. How well those pieces come together can shape whether someone successfully settles back into the community — a key part, some argue, of reducing future involvement with the criminal justice system and promoting public safety.

The council’s latest report examined nationally representative 2021-2023 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, comparing women who reported being on parole both with women who were not on parole and with men who were on parole.

About 13% of women on parole reported moving three or more times in the previous year, compared with 2% of women who were not on parole and 6% of men on parole, according to the analysis.

Women on parole also were more likely to report poor health. About 29% rated their overall health as fair or poor, compared with 16% of women not on parole and 17% of men on parole.

About 24% of women on parole met the criteria for a severe mental health disorder, compared with 7% of women not on parole and 10% of men on parole, according to the council’s report. About 25% of women on parole also reported experiencing a major depressive episode during the previous year, compared with 10% of women not on parole and 12% of men on parole.

More here: https://tinyurl.com/bd5yu244

09/06/2026

"Like me, about half of all workers in Washington are employed by small and medium businesses, either their own or someone else’s. That simple truth is exactly why the new 9.9% tax on income over a million dollars should worry voters and business owners throughout Washington.

While politicians sell it as only affecting “the rich,” the new tax will hit the many successful restaurants, contractors and other small businesses that reach that threshold and (as is common) are set up as pass-through entities whose incomes flow through to their owner’s personal income tax returns.

Of equal or greater concern, when higher earners and their companies leave our state to avoid the new tax (in addition to rising B&O taxes, increasingly burdensome government regulations, the state capital gains tax, and nation-leading estate tax), our customers disappear with them. This means less spending in our restaurants, fewer clients for our contractors, and shrinking opportunities for the very communities we represent.

I’m a co-founder of the Ethnic Communities Chambers of Commerce, which represents thousands of first-, second- and third-generation small business owners — many of them restaurant owners, contractors and service providers. Our members are already struggling with skyrocketing costs and shrinking margins. Now, this tax threatens to drive away the customers they depend on, making it even harder to survive, grow and pass that success on to the next generation.

This isn’t just about taxes — it’s about what we’re willing to accept as “normal.” When politicians break their promises, when the will of Washington voters is overturned by the courts, and when basic public safety disappears from our streets, people stop believing that hard work and strong values will be rewarded. That loss of faith hurts small business owners most of all.

The real tragedy is what this does to families. When kids watch their parents work long hours, overcome obstacles and still struggle just to keep their businesses’ doors open, they lose faith in the idea that hard work pays off. Instead of seeing entrepreneurship as a path to pride and success, they learn to expect less. That mindset shift can echo for generations."

More here: https://tinyurl.com/4wxmj3c6

09/06/2026

The new laws in Illinois, Virginia and West Virginia bring the number of states with such laws to 13, with 10 of them acting since 2023. Another dozen states have legislation pending.

Known as Alyssa’s Law, the measures are named for 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, one of 17 people killed during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Make Our Schools Safe, a nonprofit founded by Alhadeff’s mother, has advocated for the legislation.

Although all the laws are grouped under the Alyssa’s Law name, they involve different technologies. While some of the laws require schools to use a particular device, others just allow schools to consider implementing some sort of emergency alert system.

Texas, for example, requires silent panic alert technology in classrooms, while Utah mandates that certain members of the school staff wear mobile alert devices. Virginia allows school boards to equip employees with wearable silent panic alarms, but doesn’t require it. The laws also differ in how the devices connect with police or other emergency responders. Funding mechanisms also differ from state to state.

More here: https://tinyurl.com/5n6zrn3c