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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 2 |
| 1861 | 8 |
| 1862 | 5 |
| 1863 | 5 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 43 |
| 1877 | 32 |
| 1878 | 21 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 9 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 58 |
| 1884 | 27 |
| 1885 | 32 |
| 1886 | 18 |
| 1887 | 18 |
| 1888 | 17 |
| 1889 | 36 |
| 1890 | 7 |
| 1891 | 61 |
| 1892 | 122 |
| 1893 | 115 |
| 1894 | 117 |
| 1895 | 179 |
| 1897 | 9 |
| 1898 | 8 |
| 1899 | 21 |
| 1900 | 9 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 56 |
| 1904 | 38 |
| 1905 | 8 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 22 |
| 1909 | 69 |
| 1910 | 10 |
| 1911 | 5 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 24 |
| 1915 | 13 |
| 1916 | 33 |
| 1917 | 7 |
| 1918 | 3 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1923 | 9 |
| 1924 | 6 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
1,310 stories matching expens
- The Never-Ending Repairs of Front Street
A skeptical editorial questions the city's approach to maintaining the crumbling bulkheads and sidewalks of the waterfront.
- The Gold Rush at the Swinomish Flats
While miners chased gold in the mountains, early settlers on the Swinomish tide lands found that dyking and ditching the soil offered a far more reliable fortune.
- County Commissioners Fund Transatlantic Return
Local officials approve $150 to send an ailing resident back to family in Trinidad, marking a humanitarian and fiscal decision.
- Labor Volatility at the Railway Shops
Rumors of mass layoffs at the local railroad shops lead to a clarification about seasonal economic shifts.
- Colfax's Endless Search for Pure Water
City council members push for an expensive shift from unreliable pumps to an artesian gravity system to secure the town's health.
- City Hall Balances the Books on the Backs of Women
Mayor Wright’s new municipal policy involves collecting fines from the city's 'fallen women' to cover routine operating expenses.
- Tacoma Property Owners Fight Street Improvements
Citizens mount a second protest against expensive city upgrades to E Street, but the council remains unmoved.
- City Council Slashes Infrastructure Budget
Council finance committee moves to tighten the city's belt, cutting bridge and sewer projects despite resistance.
- The Price of Urban Ambition
A farming family leaves their land for the allure of city life, only to find themselves penniless and humbled by tragedy.
- Who Should Pay for the City's Infrastructure?
Facing a debt crisis following the Great Seattle Fire, city officials in 1891 debated whether to shift the mounting costs of sewer construction from the public treasury onto the backs of individual property owners.
- Warrant Wars and Financial Fights
A legal dispute over county warrants in Kittitas County highlights the volatility of public finance in the 1890s.
- The House That Had to Move
A Seattle man faces an expensive bureaucratic nightmare when he realizes his brand-new home was built on the wrong plot of land.
- Vancouver Voters to Tackle River Obstructions
Frustrated by federal inaction on the Columbia River, Clarke County proposes a local tax to clear a navigational bar.
- Aberdeen’s Battle for School Budget Transparency
Citizens and the local press spar with the school board over a controversial proposal to increase the principal's salary while district expenses balloon.
- Seattle's Local Musicians Sidelined for Outside Talent
The Seattle Cornet Band expresses public indignation after being passed over for a local celebration contract in favor of an expensive imported band.
- Seattle's Library on the Brink: Fines Fall, Debt Rises
The city's finance committee and library commission meet to confront a growing debt caused by declining fine revenue, as circulation soars and the institution struggles to stay open.
- City Finances Near Total Collapse
Tacoma’s Controller warns that general expense funds will run dry within six months as expenditures dwarf tax collections.
- Padding the Patrol
A skeptical editorial questions the necessity of a bloated police force in an orderly town.
- Seattle Teachers Finally Get Paid in Cash—No More Discounting Warrants
A new state law allows the county treasurer to pay current school expenses from the annual tax levy, ending the practice of teachers discounting their salary warrants for ready cash.
- Queen Anne Taxpayers Fight for School Funding
Local residents mount a legal challenge against the county treasurer to ensure tax levies specifically intended for new schoolhouses are spent as promised.
- The End of the Wool-Loading Perk
Railroads are ending the practice of loading wool for shippers, a move that threatens to lower prices for regional wool growers.
- The Rule of Law in the Wild West
A deep dive into the 1854 Washington Territorial legal code governing criminal trials, bail, and the rights of the accused.
- The Battle for the Territorial Capitol
A legal and political standoff over the physical location of the territorial capital and library forces an Acting Governor to weigh state law against federal fiscal crisis.
- The Library Was Closed Because the Landlord Wouldn't Turn Up the Heat
In 1895, Seattle's public library shut its doors over a $25 balance, unpaid rent, and a landlord who promised warmth 'in the spring.' City Council considered a rescue.
- Seattle's Public Ball Grounds Ruined by Grading
Young athletes find their field, cleared and maintained at their own expense, rendered useless by city infrastructure work.