3/18/2022
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The Inlander
Spokesman-Review
Missing 5-year-old who sparked large search found safe hours later in nearby car
Inslee signs bipartisan use-of-force bill into law
Wall St Journal
KREM
KXLY
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The Inlander
Maggie Yates: "We need to acknowledge that this is something worth talking about."
For three-and-a-half years, Maggie Yates helped lead criminal justice reform efforts in Spokane County. The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation had contributed nearly $4.5 million in grants to try to safely reduce the inmate population in the county's jail and to address racial disproportionality.
She resigned her position as regional law and justice administrator the first week of January.
In her resignation letter to Spokane County CEO Scott Simmons, she expressed pride in launching programs like the Criminal Justice Information Hotline, free rides to court, and court access at shelters but concluded "it's clear that I'm no longer the right fit for the role given the County's current priorities."
This wasn't a resignation about spending more time with her family or about being ready for new challenges. It was about whether she was allowed to do her job.
"I wasn't able to continue to push for the work of the office," Yates tells the Inlander. "I just wasn't able to continue to ensure that we were pursuing a criminal justice system that is fair, efficient and equitable."
To some degree, it was inevitable that Yates' job would become increasingly difficult: We've had almost two years of debates about George Floyd and "defund the police" and protests and police brutality and riots and legislative reforms and backlash to that legislative reform. We've had a Spokane County prosecutor who's decried his wife's White nationalist online comments as "racist," but argued that his wife was not racist. We've had legislators in multiple states clamoring to make even teaching about systemic racism illegal.
As Yates navigated this morass, she says it became clear that Spokane County was uncomfortable with a central part of her job: talking about racial disparities.
As just one example, the racial inequity is starkly visible in the jail dashboard she helped build: In a snapshot in February, there were 120 Black people jailed — equivalent to a little over 2 percent of the entire Black population of the city of Spokane. Compared to the population of Spokane, Black people were jailed at a rate over eight times the rate for White people. It's even starker if you compare it with Spokane County.
"We need to acknowledge that this is something worth talking about, and something that is worth solving," Yates says.
Even now, three months after her resignation, Yates is wary about getting into specifics. But public records show that even something as simple as presenting county data on racial inequities to a community group could ignite a firestorm.
By Any Other Name
Yates wasn't the one who wrote the controversial title — or the second also-controversial revised title — for her Oct. 28th presentation to Spokane Rotary Club 21.
The Spokane County Bar Association's Systemic Racism Task Force first proposed Yates' presentation to Rotary under the title "Solutions to Systemic Racism in our Regional Justice System." But attorney Janaé Ball, head of the task force, says they quickly got pushback from Rotary over whether the proposed title was polarizing.
"I remember calling Maggie and just being very upset," Ball says. "We can't even agree on the word. How are we even supposed to have meaningful discussion if we keep fighting over the word to use?"
"Systemic racism" is one of those phrases that gets interpreted like an inkblot test.
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich decries the term as a simple catchphrase used by "a bunch of people that do nothing more than want to divide a nation," and suggests the only way it's possible for a criminal justice system to be racist is if the judges, prosecutors and cops who run it are all personally bigoted.
But to someone like Yates, systemic racism is more complicated — combating it is more about looking at ways that seemingly race-neutral policies can have disparate impacts on different populations.
Ball says her group, grudgingly, offered a compromise alternative name for the presentation: "Solutions to Entrenched Racial Inequities in our Regional Justice System." But that was controversial too.
Kyle Weir, president of Spokane Rotary Club 21, says multiple Rotary members wanted him to pull the plug on the presentation.
"Needless to say, I've already received negative feedback just based [on] the title alone," Weir wrote in an email to Mark Richard, then president of the Downtown Spokane Partnership. "It's too late to pull the program, and I don't think it would be fair to all concerned to pull it."
Instead, he proposed looking to find another speaker for "some balance."
"These kinds of conversations need to happen. They need to happen in a balanced and fair environment," Weir tells the Inlander. "It's easier said than done in this polarizing environment."
Richard fired off an email about the program's title to Knezovich, thanking the sheriff for being "willing to speak up."
"Are you aware of and do you support the message being presented?" Knezovich wrote in his own email to Simmons and the county commissioners.
County communications manager Jared Webley remembers his own reaction to the title of the presentation was that the use of the word "entrenched" implied a kind of intentionality — that some person or group had created the problem.
"It sounds purposeful," Webley says. "'Entrenched' is a fiery word. A trigger word."
Simmons, the county CEO, says he reached out to Yates, seeing it as a "coachable moment," and encouraged her to make sure to communicate with the county about information she'd be sharing in future such presentations.
But public records show Yates saw the conversation differently. In an Oct. 22 email to Simmons, she wrote that she understood that, while he wasn't asking her to cancel her presentation, "I should proceed with an awareness of the discomfort at the County around discussions of systemic racism."
She remained "a bit perplexed" about how to do her job, she wrote, "without fully discussing racial disparities, systemic racism, and relevant solutions."
"If you or the Board have additional thoughts or clarity, let me know," Yates wrote.
She never got a response.
"I get 100 emails, and I don't have a chance to go through all of them or respond to all of them," Simmons says. He now says he doesn't even remember seeing her email.
Young Kwak
Sheriff Knezovich says proposed reforms are driven by "junk science."
Stats and Static
"I found it unsettling that there was such pushback for Maggie's presentation," Ball says. "A lot of the data is not even race-related."
Indeed, much of her presentation focused on how COVID created a kind of natural criminal justice experiment: For years, criminal justice reformers in Spokane debated how to reduce the jail population in Spokane. Then COVID hit, and suddenly, almost in one fell swoop, due to lockdowns and social distancing requirements, the jail population was cut by nearly 40 percent.
And yet, crime didn't seem to spike — at least not the way you might expect. Reports of serious property crimes fell. Across the country there was a huge increase in homicides, but when Yates drilled down, she didn't see any increase in recidivism rates from violent criminals.
"What we found was that the rate really remained stable," Yates says. "That indicates that the folks who were released from jail during the pandemic were not accounting for that increase in violent crime."
And yet, even that shift raised issues of racial disproportionality. The White population in the jail fell by a third — the Black population only fell by 12 percent.
"According to Maggie and her studies, they didn't fall across the board the same so therefore, things are systemically racist," Knezovich scoffs.
In January, Knezovich — along with Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell — presented a rebuttal to Yates' presentation, giving Rotary the other side they asked for. He accuses her of cherry-picking her data, noting that, for example, she only looked at violent crime in Spokane, and not the big 2020 spike in property crime in Spokane County's data. (The bulk of the increase Knezovich points to, however, came from fraud — unemployment fraud skyrocketed in Washington during the pandemic — instead of more serious property crimes.)
Knezovich's objection to Yates goes deeper than data. He suggests that he was the reason the county commissioners hired Yates in 2018 in the first place.
"I am the one that convinced them to give the kid a shot," Knezovich says of Yates, a 34-year-old woman with a law degree. But he says his view has since soured.
"Maggie's an activist," he says. "Maggie has drank the Marxist philosophy of critical criminology. And she doesn't believe anybody should go to jail."
Pressed on his own explanation for the racial disparities in crime data, Knezovich does believe there are lingering systemic socio-economic impacts of racism. A century of slavery and a century of Jim Crow continue to have impact on overall crime rates, he says.
"We haven't exactly always lived up to the creed of our nation," Knezovich says.
He believes the criminal justice system is biased against poor people, that historical racism left more Black people in poverty, but he doesn't see any reason to believe that the criminal justice system has a racial inequity problem.
Instead, he turns the conversation toward Black homicide rates nationwide, toward Black people not showing up for the job apprenticeship program he helped create, toward slamming specific local Black activists for infighting and not creating a solution.
"We have people out there that want to keep us drug back into the past, rather than looking at a future that is much brighter than what we've ever had," Knezovich says.
He dismisses even the basic premise of comparing, say, the share of arrests of Black people with the share of the population of Black people in Spokane County.
"'Racial proportionality' is truly junk science," Knezovich declares. "It doesn't tell you the 'why.' It just gives you the number."
Eastern Washington University professor Ed Byrnes, who has conducted studies on local law enforcement's racial justice disparities, chuckles at Knezovich calling a key piece of his own work "junk science."
Byrnes says his examinations of the Spokane Police Department in 2015 and 2017, for example, found the kinds of stops where an individual police officer showed statistically significant racial disparities. Most revealingly, when the traffic unit conducted stops — the kind often conducted by officers who were "1,000 feet away, shooting a radar gun," too far away to see a driver's race — that disparity disappeared.
In 2020, however, the Spokane Police Department told him they no longer needed his services. Both the police and the county sheriff switched to using a company — Police Strategies — that uses a method much less likely to identify possible racial bias.
City Council President Breean Beggs, a police reform advocate, argues that overall it's easier to get traction with conversations about racial disparities than it once was. But he also argues that leaders like Knezovich and Haskell seem to have taken the debate personally.
"In order to defend themselves, they're trying to argue that systemic racism doesn't exist," Beggs says. "In their efforts to defend the system — which is kind of indefensible — they have been exhibiting more racist behavior and more racist comments. It's the worst of all possible worlds."
Beggs used to be on the Spokane Regional Law & Justice Committee with Yates, a group meant to guide criminal justice reform in the county. But even before Yates resigned, Beggs was booted off: At the urging of Haskell, the number of seats on the committee had been slashed.
Yet, both Yates and Beggs see flickers of optimism. Beggs and Knezovich both agree they're not all that far off in terms of their vision for a new criminal justice facility focused on those with mental health and substance abuse issues.
"It's not a zero sum game," Yates says. "Making sure that our criminal justice system is just for everyone, regardless of race or income is something that makes this the Spokane that I think we all want." ♦
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Spokesman-Review
Missing 5-year-old who sparked large search found safe hours later in nearby car
By Emma Epperly
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
A 5-year-old boy who left his home in the West Central Neighborhood alone and without shoes overnight was found safe Thursday morning after police and residents scoured the neighborhood.
Xavier Jones, who is nonverbal, was reported missing from the area of 1400 W. Broadway Ave. at about 5:30 a.m., according to emergency alerts sent to phones in the area.
He was seen on a security camera leaving the residence between midnight and 1 a.m. Wednesday, said Spokane police Sgt. Teresa Fuller. He was wearing shorts and T-shirt with no shoes.
Fuller said the boy was located in a parked car by someone leaving for work shortly before 8 a.m. Xavier was asleep when found but very cold. He was checked out by medics and cleared as unharmed, Fuller said.
Police sent multiple emergency alerts to phones, and numerous police officers searched the neighborhood, knocking on doors to help find the boy. The Spokane County Sheriff’s helicopter also was used in search.
Fuller had asked residents living in the area to check their yards, especially outbuildings, cars or anywhere else the boy might have gone when cold. Police also asked residents and businesses to check security footage to help find more clues about where the boy went. Emma Epperly can be reached at (509) 459-5122 or at emmae@spokesman.com.
Emergency personnel leave the scene after a 5-year-old autistic boy, who went missing over night in the West Central Neighborhood, was found safe. Xavier Jones was located in an unlocked car in the neighborhood just before 9 a.m. Thursday.
COLIN MULVANY/ THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Inslee signs bipartisan use-of-force bill into law
By Laurel Demkovich
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
OLYMPIA – Changes to police reform legislation passed last year are now in effect, including one that redefines “use of force.”
Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday signed a bill that allows law enforcement the ability to use physical force to stop a person from actively fleeing a scene. It was a change law enforcement requested after they said legislation passed last year hindered their ability to apprehend people. Families of loved ones killed in confrontations with police, said the legislation goes too far and “rolls back” the state further than where it was before last year’s changes.
Inslee said Thursday the bill refines police reform legislation passed last year. Sponsors of the bill worked to “craft legislation that upholds the principle of police accountability, de-escalation and the protection of individual liberties,” Inslee said.
“This bill is a result of that hard work,” he said.
One of the biggest questions surrounding police reform this session was how the Legislature would define “physical force.”
An opinion from the state Attorney General’s Office urged lawmakers to clarify its intent on much of the police reform legislation. Specifically, the opinion urged lawmakers to create a definition for physical force, something not clearly defined last year.
The bill signed by Inslee received support from Republicans, who made fixing police reform bills a top priority this year. On the Democratic side, votes were mixed. Some Democrats wanted the definition of use of force to include “intentionally and actively” fleeing a scene, but the word “intentionally” was taken out in the final version.
The bill now allows officers to use physical force to prevent a person from actively fleeing a lawful temporary investigative detention, provided the person has been given notice that they are being detained and are not free to leave.
The Washington Coalition
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for Police Accountability asked Inslee to veto that section of the bill as they said it would target people of color. Inslee did not veto the portion of the bill.
Inslee said Thursday he thought the bill struck a “great balance” that allows officers to calm a situation, and it was consistent with what the state was trying to do to keep everyone safe.
“This bill, I thought, was an appropriate response to what we learned in the last year about our police accountability measures,” Inslee said.
It would allow officers to use physical force against a person to “the extent necessary to protect against a criminal offense when there is probable cause that the person has committed or is committing the offense.”
It also allows physical force to make an arrest, prevent an escape, take a person into custody or to protect against imminent threat of bodily injury.
Another bill that failed to make it out of the Legislature on time would have allowed officers to engage in vehicle pursuits when there is “reasonable suspicion” that a person has or is committing a violent offense, nonviolent sex offense, escape or driving under the influence offense and when not pursuing has serious risk of harm to others. “Reasonable suspicion” is a lower bar than the current probable cause standard.
Two other laws, one that adds more clarity to allow officers to respond to mental health calls and one to allow agencies to purchase some nonlethal weapons, were already signed by Inslee. They had broad support among both parties.
Laurel Demkovich can be reached at (509) 416-6260 or at laureld@spokesman.com.
Sheriff’s address to commissioner candidate draws ire
By Kip Hill
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s retort to a Spokane County commission candidate in a video recorded at the courthouse and posted to the office’s Facebook page is being investigated by state election officials as a potential misuse of taxpayer resources.
Knezovich said the video is part of a public information campaign intended to give citizens the ability to question leaders he believes are working against public safety efforts of his office. Spokane resident Paul Dillon filed a complaint with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission earlier this month alleging Knezovich’s address to several elected officials in February violated a prohibition on the use of a public office in campaigning. The agency, which is charged with ensuring compliance of state campaign finance laws, opened an investigation Tuesday. Dillon alleges that Knezovich’s singling out of Amber Waldref, a former Spokane City Councilwoman who’s seeking election to the new five-member county commission this fall, amounted to advocating on behalf of her opponent, Spokane City Councilman Michael Cathcart.
“When he mentioned Waldref as a candidate, he certainly appears to have crossed PDC law,” said Dillon, who also serves as the vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho.
Knezovich denies violation of state law, arguing that the video was one of several he’s made in recent years and pointed out who the public should question regarding what he sees as an escalation of crime in the community. The video is part of a two-part series intended to illustrate that increase in crime, the sheriff said, and the message is intended to inform the public.
“I’m not saying ‘Don’t vote for
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Amber,’” Knezovich said. “I’m saying ‘Come and have a chat.’” In the video, posted to YouTube on Feb. 18, Knezovich speaks in front of an image of Waldref, identifying her as a “candidate for Spokane County Commissioner.” He accuses the former councilwoman of being part of a bloc of officials critical of his agency, a claim that other members of Spokane City Council mentioned by Knezovich have disputed, and that she supports “broken policies” that have not improved public safety in the community.
The law Dillon cited prohibits using public facilities “for the purpose of assisting a campaign for election of any person to office.” It grants an exemption for “activities which are part of a the normal and regular conduct of the office or agency.”
“The purpose of these laws is to avoid confusion for voters,” Dillon said. “That’s partially what the sheriff is trying to do, in addition to bullying and intimidating progressive and Black leaders in Spokane.”
Knezovich in addition to challenging the City Council members also told viewers to question state Sen. Andy Billig and Reps. Marcus Riccelli and Timm Ormsby. He said he selected those officials to highlight because of their support for policies he said are hindering law enforcement’s ability to investigate crime. But he also said part of the reason for including Waldref was because of a Twitter exchange last fall when the sheriff’s office shared an image of their advertising efforts in New York City, and the former councilwoman – who had not yet announced her candidacy – suggested there should be more oversight of the sheriff’s budget as a result.
“Amber is already criticizing the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office has a right to address those,” Knezovich said.
Waldref said she was surprised when she saw the sheriff identifying her personally in the video.
“I think that it was really directed, it seemed, more at elected officials,” she said.
She didn’t comment on the sheriff’s response to her social media post, instead saying she looked “forward to partnering with law enforcement, elected officials and community leaders to increase public safety.”
The sheriff called the complaint “political bully tactics” intended to silence his office, and called such filings “common this time of year.” In fact, Knezovich has been the subject of two previous complaints with the PDC, one of which was dismissed.
In 2016, the agency issued a $100 fine after it found a violation of the same public facilities law when the office issued a news release, on official letterhead, announcing Knezovich’s endorsement for reelection in the 2014 campaign by the union representing supervisory law enforcement officers within the sheriff’s office. Knezovich said in that instance he had miscommunicated with then-Deputy Craig Chamberlin, who is now seeking election as Knezovich’s successor after being terminated by the sheriff.
Knezovich repeated in an interview what he said at a news conference addressing Chamberlin’s termination earlier this month, that he intends to retire at the end of his term and teach at the college level in Wyoming, to be closer to his grandchildren.
“This does nothing for me in higher elected office, or anything else,” Knezovich said.
Dillon contends in his complaint that the message in the video, even if it does not explicitly call for a vote for one candidate over another, amounts to an “independent expenditure” under state law. That means it is a statement of support or opposition of a candidate for office that is required to be reported under state campaign finance law.
The PDC has 90 days to make a determination whether a formal investigationinto the complaint is warranted.
Kip Hill can be reached at (509) 459-5429 or at kiph@spokesman.com.
Dignified Work job-training program named finalist for $5 million XPRIZE contest
By Amy Edelen
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Dignified Work, an industry-training program by Spokane-based Career Path Services and Tri Cities-based WholeStory, was selected as a finalist for XPRIZE’s $5 million Rapid Reskilling competition.
XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling is a 30-month competition to quickly reskill under-resourced workers and place them in living- wage jobs.
Career Path Services and WholeStory teamed up to create a platform that addresses the need for skilled workers in high-demand industries such as construction, health care and human and social services by matching them with employers.
“Our goal is to enroll job seekers who are transitioning between careers or young people embarking on their careers,” said Andy Dwonch, team leader for Dignified Work and chief operating officer for Career Path Services.
The free platform provides job seekers with occupational, technical and life-skillstraining. It consists of online training and phone calls with instructors and peers, among other things.
“It’s about making sure the job seekers understand workplace practices and communication skills, so they are not only oriented in what to expect on day one for those jobs, but motivated and prepared for what the employer expectations will be,” Dwonch said.
Builders work on a job site near Airway Heights on June 17. Dignified Work, which includes Spokane-based Career Path Services, is a finalist in a nationwide competition to rapidly retrain workers for jobs in health care, social services and construction.
LIBBY KAMROWSKI/ THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Dignified Work is among five teams selected for the final round of XPRIZE’s Rapid Reskilling competition.
The other teams are Los Angeles-based Alelo; Team Isotonik – formerly Hire-Mee – of Bengaluru, India; SHIFA360 of San Diego and Boston-based VITAL.
The teams were selected because of their reduction in training time as well as job placement and retention rate, according to XPRIZE.
“The finalists are reimagining job training and career development; leveraging AI, VR and disruptive technologies and their efforts are paramount in demonstrating the value of fast-paced training programs,” XPRIZE CEO Anousheh Ansari said in a statement.
Dignified Work was selected out of 118 applicants worldwide and competed in XPRIZE’s Rapid Reskilling semifinal round last year, training and placing jobseekers with construction companies in Virginia.
In the competition’s final round, Dignified Work will partner with employers in the Pacific Northwest to place more than 5,000 job seekers in positions to quickly gain essential skills and potentially launch long-term careers in construction, medical administration and human and social services.
Dignified Work is in the initial stage of reaching out to businesses within its network for placement, with plans for a larger outreach effort in the next month, Dwonch, the team leader, said.
WholeStory is a technology platform that allows job seekers to highlight life experiences and soft skills in addition to work experience.
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Wall St Journal
Increase in value of typical U.S. home exceeded median worker income for first time, Zillow says
Nicole FriedmanMarch 17, 2022 8:00 am ET
Home values surged last year as low mortgage-interest rates helped stoke buyer demand.
Photo: K.C. Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Press
In this booming housing market, many homeowners earned more last year from home appreciation than from their jobs.
Zillow Group Inc.’s home value index, which estimates the value of the typical U.S. home, rose 19.6% in 2021 to $321,634, an increase of $52,667 from 2020. That figure was slightly higher than what the median U.S. full-time worker earned, which was about $50,000 last year before taxes, according to Census Bureau data cited by Zillow.
That marked the first time that the annual nationwide dollar growth for the typical home value exceeded the inflation-adjusted median pretax income, according to a Zillow analysis, which goes back to 2000.
Home values surged last year as low mortgage-interest rates stoked buyer demand and the number of homes on the market remained unusually low. Remote work enabled some households to move from high-cost housing markets to less expensive ones, where they were able to outbid local buyers. Investor purchases of single-family homes also increased.
The surge in home prices last year has been a boon to homeowners but has made it more difficult for first-time home buyers to enter the housing market.
“The people who are winning the housing bids, typically, are folks who have higher incomes or have the equity from their previous home that they’re able to put forward,” said Nicole Bachaud, an economist at Zillow. “That’s definitely a big challenge, I think, when we consider first-time buyers, renters, people who don’t already own a home and aren’t really benefiting from that equity.”
Collectively, U.S. homeowners with mortgages gained more than $3.2 trillion in equity in 2021 compared with a year earlier, according to housing-data provider CoreLogic.
The difference between wages and the change in home values was especially wide in California, where home prices are among the highest in the nation, according to the Zillow analysis of 38 metro areas. In San Diego, for example, the typical home gained about $160,000 in value last year, while the typical worker earned about $55,000, Zillow said.
The median sales price in San Diego County rose to $800,000 in February, up 17.5% from a year earlier, according to the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors.
“We have people…who call up and say, ‘I qualify for $350,000, $400,000, what can I do?’” said Carla Farley, broker owner at Corban Realty Group in San Diego.
At that price point, “there’s not much of anything you can do in the proper city of San Diego and the nearby outlying cities,” she said. “It’s really tough.”
The increase in typical home values in fast-growing markets like Atlanta, Dallas, Salt Lake City and Boise, Idaho, also exceeded the median incomes for those areas, according to the Zillow analysis.
On the other hand, metro areas where last year’s home-value increase was less than the median income included Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Detroit.
The housing market has remained competitive this year. The inventory of homes for sale fell to a record low in January of this year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median listing price rose to an all-time high of $392,000 in February, according to Realtor.com. ( News Corp, owner of the Journal, also operates Realtor.com under license from NAR.)
Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com
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KREM
Five years ago, 75% of county residents could afford a home when the median price was $250,000. Today, the median price is $520,000.
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — There were some clear takeaways from findings of the latest look at the local housing market, as reported by our news partners
Little has changed in the past year.
Home prices are high. So are rents.
Demand is very high. Inventory is very low.
Newcomers are arriving all the time. Workforce housing is shrinking. And locals are priced out, forced to leave the area.
“This is kind of grim, right?” said Maggie Lyons, executive director of the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance.
Lyons, Coeur d’Alene City Councilwoman Kiki Miller and Gynii Gilliam, executive director of the Coeur d’Alene Economic Development Corp., all with the Regional Housing and Growth Issues Partnerships Group, presented a housing update to the City Council on Tuesday, based on their work over the past 14 months.
They offered some hope and possible solutions.
The group’s mission is for home ownership to be achievable for residents of Kootenai County, and to build and retain housing inventory for local workers
But that's growing more difficult.
Five years ago, 75% of county residents could afford a home when the median price was $250,000.
Today, according to the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors, the median price is $520,000.
Lyons said the affordability gap is growing. The median household income in Kootenai County is $65,500. But to buy a $500,000 home requires a median income of $100,000.
“This picture gets worse as mortgage rates go up,” Lyons said.
More than half of county residents can’t afford the average monthly rent of $1,400, and rent rose about 30% in the past year.
That's forced some with middle-class incomes, a good job, to either leave the area, move in with relatives, or quit working and seek government subsidized housing.
“Many found themselves homeless for the first time in their lives because the rental became so valuable they were sold,” Lyons said.
More homes are needed in the $200,000 to $350,000 range, but Lyons said that according to the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service, there were only 30 Kootenai County homes currently for sale for under $500,000, and 17 of those were manufactured homes on leased land.
The trend is not expected to change.
Idaho was the fastest-growing state in the nation from 2010 to 2020, with a 17% population increase. Kootenai County’s population rose 24% in that time.
“We have the silver tsunami of people moving in here,” Miller said. ‘We need to be proactive right now to start preserving this inventory.”
She said of those acquiring homes here in the past two years, more than 50% bought either second homes, investment properties or were retirees.
“That ate up a huge amount of our inventory in 24 months,” she said.
Lyons said the area has a 2,350 housing unit deficit that is growing.
All of that negatively affects quality of life, Gilliam said.
It means jobs go unfilled, new businesses won’t come here and old ones leave, and kids growing up here won't be able to stay. The study found it translates into $159 million in lost wages and the loss of $220 million in Gross Regional Product.
“We know that a healthy housing infrastructure reflects the needs and the incomes of the people that live in the community,” Lyons said.
There is a chance to change the trajectory, Gilliam said, but the solution won’t come from government alone.
The Regional Housing and Growth Issues Partnerships Group has been in contact with other cities to try and copy effective methods tackling the lack of affordable housing.
It has communicated with developers, builders, real estate agents and property owners to discuss land trusts, housing trust funds and creative housing, such as putting two or three smaller units, perhaps a townhouse, on a property instead of one larger house.
It's looking at private and public partnerships and tax credits, and reaching out to property owners who will work with nonprofits for low-income housing.
They're also encouraging employer-funded housing and what is called “HomeShare,” a national template that links empty nesters, perhaps with a bedroom/bathroom situation downstairs, with those needing reduced rent.
“That could create a huge amount of inventory and support our seniors at the same time,” Miller said.
“Density flexibility” was mentioned while maintaining the character of neighbors.
“We have land and density opportunities if we’re creative,” Miller said.
Miller talked of policies that protect and create housing for local workers, seniors and the disabled.
“We can’t control demand, but we can control supply, as a community,” Lyons said.
The 49-unit “Culver’s Crossing” development in Bonner County targets low-income housing. It includes income restrictions and prior residency requirements of at least two years.
“I think it’s an exciting model for us to just copy here,” Lyons said.
But time is of the essence.
Miller said she's called many cities and most say, “We did too little, too late."
“It’s really affecting everyone around the country. So, we’ve got some policy work we need to do.”
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KXLY
March 17, 2022 6:59 PM
Updated: March 17, 2022 7:09 PM
SPOKANE, Wash– It’s the law for school districts to report assaults that happen on their grounds, just like they’re required by law to report assaults that happen to students at home.
That’s something Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl said Spokane Public Schools might not be not doing.
Meidl explained he was made aware SPS wasn’t reporting mandated assaults to law enforcement in December.
“In reviewing those different incident reports, I noticed a trend or pattern of multiple reports that should’ve been reported but had not,” he said.
Of the reports he’s looked into, he counted unreported mandatory assaults into the double digits.
“When coupled with the other things I was hearing about this philosophy of not calling law enforcement, it did seem like these were perhaps, inadvertently not called in,” he said.
He recognized there are some incidents that happen that schools deal with internally, but there is a difference.
“Versus a lot of the ongoing bullying behavior that occurs, or a sexual assault that occurs, or you have threats being stated face to face with someone to do grievance harm,” he said.
He explained all assault is included.
“It’s everything from assaults to sexual assaults, to very serious threats as well, so it runs the full gamut,” Meidl said.
Councilman Michael Cathcart released the email confirming the FBI’s involvement.
“It’s just really important that people are aware that these are the allegations, and hopefully the investigation is going to get to the bottom of what’s going on,” Cathcart said. “Is it systemic? Is it from the higher-ups from the schools or is it something else?”
Spokane Public Schools denied an on-camera interview. They did send a written response you can find here.