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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
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| 1876 | 22 |
| 1877 | 15 |
| 1878 | 7 |
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| 1880 | 4 |
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| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 27 |
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| 1889 | 41 |
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| 1892 | 105 |
| 1893 | 142 |
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| 1895 | 155 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 11 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1903 | 70 |
| 1904 | 18 |
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| 1909 | 57 |
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| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 2 |
1,039 stories matching bond
- The $8,000 Schoolyard Fight
A losing contractor accuses Seattle’s school board of steering a South School grounds contract to a favored bidder and wasting taxpayer money. The board fires back that the cheapest bids were unsafe and that a $25,000 schoolhouse was at risk of falling.
- The Secret Courthouse Bond Deal Benton County Tried to Ram Through
Commissioners Clements and McNeill authorized $125,000 in bonds for a Prosser courthouse after a closed-door plan their own lawyer admitted was designed to keep taxpayers in the dark. A Kennewick lawsuit put the deal before Judge Grady.
- The Treasurer-Elect Can't Find Bondsmen for a $400,000 Bond
J. W. Maple's search for sureties exposes a quiet fight over King County's swelling public funds—and the commissioners say they actually let him off easy.
- The Sunday Bond Deal That Split Benton County
Two commissioners secretly arranged a courthouse bond sale, and a courtroom fight over lost premiums exposed how far they went to keep the third commissioner—and the public—in the dark.
- A County Treasurer’s Bond With Too Many Holes
Seattle’s newly elected county treasurer filed a surety bond riddled with defects, withdrawn signatures and backers who pledged more than they could justify.
- The Treasurer’s Bond Had a Hole in It
Seattle’s treasurer-elect filed a $90,000 bond, but wives’ names were penciled in, signatures were missing, and one backer wanted out.
- The $430,000 Question: King County's Treasurer Bond Fight
A taxpayers' committee demands commissioners reduce John Maple's bond and seat him as county treasurer, but the board says his sureties aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
- The European War Ate Kennewick's Bond Sale
Voters approved $23,000 in funding bonds in June. By October the paper was still locked in a Denver vault, the city was still paying interest on its old warrants, and Keeler Brothers blamed a war half a world away.
- The $750,000 Question Tacoma's Park Board Couldn't Answer
Days before a citywide bond vote, an editorial demanded specifics on parks, playgrounds and boulevards—while a Twelfth Street improvement club secretary insisted the plan had backers.
- The $800 School Contract That Smelled Wrong
A losing bidder says Seattle’s school board changed the bonding rules mid-bid to steer the South School job to a higher bidder—and cost taxpayers hundreds.
- The Populist Takes the County Treasury
After a long bond fight, J. W. Maple finally took control of King County's money—and the temporary treasurer resigned rather than stand in the way.
- The Treasurer's Bond Begins to Crumble
Two surety names vanish from John W. Maple's $400,000 bond, and more may follow as King County waits for its prosecutor.
- A $15,000 Bond Issue to Keep Newport's Schools Ahead of Its Growth
Directors call an April 17 election on $15,000 in bonds to retire high-interest warrants, with a new school building already pressing on a district of 300 pupils.
- The Dark-Lantern Courthouse Deal That Split Benton County
Two defeated commissioners pushed a $125,000 courthouse bond through in thirty minutes, and Kennewick's editor saw a county-seat conspiracy — and a raid on the taxpayers' treasury.
- Whose Ox Gets Gored: Kennewick Draws the Line on County Bridge Bonds
A Prosser editor's jab over a Columbia River bridge bond prompts the Kennewick Courier-Reporter to deny it ever sought a bridge — and to attack commissioners' power to borrow without a vote.
- Stevens County's $200,000 Bond Sale Was a Buyer's Bargain—and a Taxpayer Windfall
Chicago investors paid a premium for the county's refunding bonds, cutting the interest rate and saving Stevens County about $6,000 a year.
- King County's Treasurer Missed His Bond Deadline. Then the Fight Began.
Elected treasurer Maple failed to file a legally sufficient bond by January 14, prompting a substitute appointment and a sharp editorial fight over forfeiture, sureties and the public's right to an investigation.
- Stevens County's $14,640-a-Year Interest Bill Goes to the Voters
On Sept. 7, Newport taxpayers were asked to swap stacks of high-interest county warrants for cheaper bonds — a refinancing the commissioners swore would save $6,400 a year and touch nothing but the old debt.
- Seattle's Schools Were Running on Borrowed Money—and the Bill Was Due
In 1895, the school board urged voters to ratify a stack of bonds and warrants incurred to build schools, warning that the alternative was a six-month school year—or repudiation.
- The Great Sweep: Jefferson County Goes Republican for the First Time
In a historic political shift for Washington Territory, the newly elected county officers in Port Townsend take office, marking the first time Jefferson County has been governed exclusively by Republicans.
- Seattle's School Board Votes $400,000 in Bonds—and Pockets the Audit Demand
The board funds a debt, hears charges that thousands were mismanaged, then lets an audit resolution die for lack of a second.
- The $37,500 Handshake: How Benton County's Tax Crusaders Blessed a Courthouse Deal
Prosser's anti-tax league swore it would guard the public purse to the last janitor's salary. Then its own man changed his mind on Monday, and the Kennewick editor noticed where the $37,500 went.
- Seattle’s Post-Fire Financial Reckoning
City Comptroller Carson pushes a new bond issue to cover infrastructure costs and fire-related municipal debts.
- The Horse Heaven Irrigation Scheme
A Paterson landowner warns of a massive bond election, citing conflicts of interest and a lack of reliable engineering data.
- The School Bond Fight Turns on Who Gets the Work
As Olympia weighs a new high school, school board members promise home labor and local material—if the bonds pass. A workingmen's meeting wants that promise made binding.
Also about this, in other words
- City Council Pushes for Financial Bond
Facing high warrant interest rates, the council seeks to float $30,000 in bonds to stabilize the city's debt.
- A School Board’s Paper Trail of Negligence
Aberdeen’s School District No. 5 accepts a contractor's bond that admits to being filled out by 'inexperienced persons' with no legal sureties.
- The City Hall Bond Gamble
Aberdeen is rushing to saddle the city with an $80,000 debt—but do the taxpayers understand the fine print?
- City Finally Clears Its Debt
After months of bureaucratic limbo and a looming war stalling the markets, Kennewick resolves its warrant crisis.
- The Seattle Bond That Broke the Rules
A legal dispute over a $15,000 appeal bond reveals the messy, high-stakes nature of early Seattle commerce and the scrutiny of contract law.
- Everett Faces Crucial Bond Election
A skeptical labor press weighs in on the city's proposed bond issue, noting the deep-seated distrust of the current business-led administration.
- School bonds sold behind closed doors
A critique of the school board’s decision to bypass public competition in the sale of district bonds, potentially costing taxpayers.
- The City Hall Bond Crisis of 1893
Facing a financial panic, Seattle's mayor proposes an experimental fix to keep public works moving and labor employed.