By Jerry Cornfield | Reporter
Washington’s largest state agency is preparing for a difficult budget cycle by pursuing two strategies at once: pulling back where it can while trying to modernize how it delivers services. The leader of the Department of Social and Health Services says this may mean leaving vacant positions unfilled, consolidating systems, renegotiating contracts and narrowing eligibility for some programs.
Also in today’s edition…
A day of rallies, marches and a lot of talk about voting early
Thousands of Ukrainian and Sudanese immigrants could lose protected status
Investments in data centers are hitting historic levels
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Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Angela Ramirez, left, discusses her department’s approach to tight state budgets and federal policy changes with “Inside Olympia” host Austin Jenkins, right. (Photo courtesy of TVW)
By Paul Taylor
DSHS Secretary Angela Ramirez, speaking on “Inside Olympia," said she’s identified about $5 million in savings so far in a two-year budget that totals $26 billion.
At the same time, DSHS is proposing technology investments intended to improve efficiency such as an artificial intelligence pilot aimed at reducing the error rate in the SNAP food assistance program.
The agency’s strategy comes as federal changes to Medicaid, SNAP and other programs create additional administrative and financial pressures.
No Kings demonstrators carried signs on Oct. 17, 2026, bearing messages about the importance of both voting and voting early to prevent doubt later when results are tallied. (Photo by Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)
By Jerry Cornfield
Several hundred people, most with signs and some with props, came to the state Capitol on Saturday for the No Kings rally. They congregated on the lawn surrounding the Tivoli Fountain and lined the sidewalks on both sides of Capitol Way. It was one of more than two dozen events in the state.
The theme, according to organizers, was the importance of both voting and voting early to prevent doubt later when results are tallied. As of Saturday, tens of thousands of ballots for the Nov. 3 election had already been returned to county election offices around the state.
Judy Caron, 83, said this was her fourth No Kings rally. “Each one does feel different,” she said. “I feel our best days are behind us, and I am concerned about our future generations. Here, people are excited about voting and democracy, and I will leave feeling a lot better than when I came.”
By Ariana Figueroa
More than 100,000 Ukrainians and roughly 2,000 Sudanese immigrants are bracing for the possibility they’ll lose their humanitarian protections as early as today.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has not indicated if he will renew protections for Ukrainians, who first received Temporary Protected Status after Russia invaded their country in 2022, and for Sudanese nationals, who were granted the designation several times, most recently in 2022, because of an ongoing civil war.
Those protections are set to end Monday.
By Tim Henderson
The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures.
Railroads in the 19th century consumed about $173 billion in today’s dollars and created more than 2% of the nation’s annual economic output (GDP) over 20 years. Today’s data center buildout, with $10 trillion in investment, is having almost twice the economic impact — nearly 4% of GDP, according to a report created by a Columbia Business School professor, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh.
States are starting to feel left out of the windfall, many having granted tax exemptions before the boom.
ICYMI
Citizen panel rejects pay hike for WA governor | by Jerry Cornfield
Puget Sound Energy announces development of new solar project | by Jordan Hansen
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