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44 stories matching impair
- The Governor Vetoes Debtor Relief—and Warns It Would Speed Foreclosures
Gov. McGraw kills a bill meant to shield struggling debtors, arguing it cannot apply to existing contracts and may trigger the mortgage sales it was supposed to prevent.
- Who Gets to Run Seattle's Streetcars?
A proposed thirty-year franchise for the Consolidated Street Railway cleared its first reading at city hall, but fights over fares, paving and transfers were far from over.
- The Waterfront War: How Seattle's Property Owners Stopped the State from Stealing Their Land
A landmark court ruling in January 1901 declares that the state cannot redraw harbor lines and seize waterfront property without paying fair compensation, marking a major victory for private ownership against government overreach.
- A Monster Rally Against Rome: Nativists Pack the Seattle Armory
Anti-Catholic secret societies and the American Protective Association fill the Armory to protest 'papal interference' in American politics and to promise a fight at the ballot box.
- A Seattle Wife Sued Her Husband for Beating Her. The Court Said She Couldn't.
Judge Osborne ruled that a married woman could not maintain a damages action against her husband for assault—even after testimony of a fist to the eye and kicks with heavy boots—sending the case to the state Supreme Court.
- A Russian Immigrant's Alleged Property Fraud
A local man sues his lawyer for allegedly abusing his trust to seize his Washington Street property.
- The Great 'Puget City' Real Estate Scam
Promoters are peddling worthless 'paper towns' to investors by falsely claiming the Northern Pacific Railroad will build its western terminus there.
- The Battle for the Ballard Waterfront
A long-standing feud between the city of Ballard and a railroad company culminates in a dramatic late-night confrontation over street construction on the tide flats.
- Harbor Line Commission Lapses After Heated House Debate
Legislative gridlock leaves Washington's tide lands in a state of administrative limbo.
- The Great Canal Dream
Proponents argue that connecting Lake Washington to the Sound would revolutionize Seattle's shipping and spare iron hulls from the ravages of salt water.
- A Miner's Life and Limb
A worker sues the Seattle Coal & Iron Company for $7,450 after a roof collapse in the Gilman colliery.
- The Doctor’s Debt: A Patient’s Humiliating Public Seizure
A Tacoma woman's attempt to board a train to Chicago was halted in the cruelest fashion when a sheriff seized her luggage over an unpaid medical bill.
- The Constitutional Question of Local Option
A landmark court ruling in Dayton challenged the constitutionality of Washington's local option liquor laws, sparking a debate on police power and contracts.
- The Supreme Court Defies Its Own Constitution
A legal dispute over Walla Walla land reveals how Washington State wrestled with the transition from federal territory to sovereign statehood.
- The City vs. The Water Company
A federal judge blocks Walla Walla from building its own water works, citing an existing contract as an 'inviolate' property right.
- Seattle's Streetcar Franchise Fight: A City Council Asked to Extend a Struggling Railway's Lease
In 1896, the Seattle Consolidated Street Railway Company asked the city to extend its franchise to fifty years and share gross returns, arguing that a mandated paving bill would otherwise bankrupt the line.
- 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.
- The Power Company Reckoning
A legal fight over bondholder claims and allegations of conspiracy has left the Olympia Power company facing a federal receivership.
- A County Asks to Refinance Its Credit Card
Pend Oreille County carries $183,000 in 8-per-cent warrants it cannot pay, plus $18,000 in accrued interest. On September 7 voters are asked to swap the whole pile for $200,000 in 4-per-cent bonds — a second time, because the first election was voided on a technicality.
- The Sudden Passing of a Sound Pioneer
A prominent attorney and former Steilacoom citizen collapses and dies aboard a train en route to California.
- A Seattle Butcher Beat the Drunkard’s Label and Kept His Estate
A Gilded Age guardianship trial asked whether John Murphy’s drinking made him unfit to manage his own affairs. The jury said no—and his rags-to-property story came out in court.
- The Fight for Seattle’s Soil
A 19th-century editorial warns that land monopolies and timber speculation threaten to turn Washington into a land of feudal tenants, sparking a civic debate on who truly owns the future of the Northwest.
- The Streetcar Combine That Built North Seattle
D. T. Denny and his sons bought control of the Consolidated Street Railway, merged it with the Third Street electric line, and set their sights on every route north of downtown.
- The Price of Public Education
Facing a financial crisis, the Seattle School Board slashes teacher pay and cancels special programs in a contentious, late-night vote.
- King County Lawmakers Want to Cut the Budget—and Railroad Rates
Ahead of the 1901 legislative session, King County’s representatives outline a shared agenda: slash state expenses, abolish useless commissions, lower railroad freight and passenger rates, and create a state grain inspector to protect farmers from brokers.
Also about this, in other words
- The Stray Horse of Fourth and Terrace
A mysterious black mare, unclaimed and alone, faces the gavel at a police-led auction in downtown Seattle.
- The Shadow Over the County Poor Farm
A newly impaneled grand jury is tasked with investigating grave charges of corruption and misconduct at the King County almshouse.
- Industrial Accident at the Everett Waterfront
A deck hand is critically injured after a barrel of acid falls, highlighting the daily dangers faced by laborers on the docks.
- The Flat-Iron, the Umbrella, and the Inkstand: A Port Townsend Divorce Suit
J. K. Meyer's divorce petition turns a respectable Port Townsend marriage into a catalogue of thrown household goods, alleged affairs, and very public embarrassment.
- The Asylum for Impecunious Politicians
A satirical look at the backroom deals, bribery, and state-level corruption behind the selection of a new government institution site in Yakima.
- Safety Crackdown After Lake Chelan Boat Fire
Following a near-disaster on the gas launch Victory, officials mandate stricter safety inspections for inland watercraft.
- The Sheriff's Impoundment Auction
A stray horse and a bell-wearing sheep are slated for public auction on Washington Street, as the city cracks down on roaming livestock.
- Shingle-Weaver Collapses After Mistaking Poison for Breath Fresheners
An amateur theatrical rehearsal in Tacoma turns into a medical emergency when a man swallows the wrong bottle.