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116 stories matching outstand
- The City That Couldn't Pay Its Bills: Seattle’s Fiscal Crisis and the Fight for Expansion
Mayor Moran and Councilman Dane plead with citizens to understand why street paving is stalled and sewer plans are shelved—not from laziness, but because state law caps the city's debt just as the population doubles.
- Stevens County Weighs a Bond to Retire $25,000 in Warrants
Commissioners ask taxpayers whether to bond the county's outstanding warrants and cut the interest rate from 7 percent to under 4.
- The Books Don't Lie: A County's Debt Fight Comes Down to the Fine Print
A contributed broadside against Stevens County's Democratic commissioners argues that a $14,776 'reduction' in the county debt hides $44,420 in new warrants — and the highest tax take in county history.
- 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 General and the Missing Military Money
A Senate committee says Washington's adjutant general ran the militia like a personal fiefdom, blew through his appropriation and left the state with a military deficiency.
- 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.
- Tacoma Park Board Erupts in 'Fossil' Feud
Facing mounting debt and public scrutiny, the city's Park Board lashes out at 'meddlers' and critics.
- The University’s Dilemma: Should UW Sell Its Prime Seattle Land?
In 1890, the University of Washington’s regents warned that its current campus in the heart of the city was a financial and educational liability, urging the state to sell the valuable property and move to quieter grounds.
- The Battle for Tacoma's City Treasury
A councilman claims the city treasury is nearly empty while the treasurer boasts of a surplus, sparking a high-stakes standoff over public funds and transparency.
- 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.
- Walla Walla Schools Face a Debt Crisis
Voters go to the polls to decide on a massive bond measure to cover outstanding district warrants.
- Seattle’s Schools Ask Voters to Make the Ledger Balance
With teachers discounting their own salary warrants, the school board calls a special election to validate a $37,000 floating debt and put the district on a cash basis.
- The $40,000-a-Year Makeover of Seattle's Books — and the Treasurer Who Wouldn't Sign
Seattle's new city treasurer says paying off the city's high-interest warrants will save $40,000 a year — while the city prepares to sue his predecessor over money that never made it into the till.
- A City on the Brink: Olympia’s 1891 Debt Crisis and the Fight Over Jobs
Facing a constitutional debt limit, Olympia’s city council considers firing the deputy clerk, assistant city attorney, and city engineer—while a motion to revoke the street railway franchise fails by a tie.
- Newport City Council Faces Financial Crisis
With only $130 in monthly tax revenue and $3,000 in outstanding warrants, the newly seated council struggles to keep the town afloat.
- Newport’s Financial Reckoning
Facing a mounting deficit and unpaid warrants, the town council moves to put a bond measure before voters to keep the lights on.
- Tacoma Votes to Expand City Infrastructure
Citizens approve a massive bond issue to fund a new City Hall and retire outstanding warrants.
- Everett City Hall Clears Path for Public Water System
Mayor Hartley assures voters that city debt refinancing will precede a municipal water survey, easing tensions at a local ward meeting.
- The Governor's 1895 Warning: Washington Is Spending Itself Into Debt
A message to the legislature tallies a looming deficit, runaway appropriations and a public-land system under pressure — while urging lawmakers to lease harbor areas cheaply and defend taxpayers.
- City Finally Clears Its Debt
After months of bureaucratic limbo and a looming war stalling the markets, Kennewick resolves its warrant crisis.
- The County Treasury Lockdown
Whatcom County officials are at an impasse over a resolution to freeze outstanding warrants, sparking a legal and political battle.
- The Mill That Asked Workers to Wait for Lumber
A Seattle receiver said the Standard Mill Company could survive only if loggers and mechanics agreed to be paid out of the product of their own labor. The court let 35 cents on the dollar go to labor claims.
- A Boomtown School Bursting at the Seams
With 500 pupils enrolled, $24,000 in debt and another classroom already needed, Newport's school board weighs a new building — while the Commercial Club prints 3,000 leaflets to lure the East.
- Seattle’s 1891 Multi-Million Dollar Infrastructure Gamble
Facing a massive backlog of unpaid municipal warrants, Seattle voters were called to the polls in early 1891 to authorize a $861,000 bond issuance to cover street widenings and fire department debts.
- A Financial Crossroads for Kennewick
Voters weigh the merits of refunding high-interest city warrants to avoid fiscal catastrophe.
Also about this, in other words
- The Unintended Leap in Snohomish
A local restaurant owner’s attempt to mimic the athletic feats of his neighbors ends in a public, pants-splitting embarrassment.
- Tragic Fall at the Pomeroy Stock Fair
A novice assistant was dragged into the sky by a tethered balloon, falling fifty feet to the earth in front of a crowd.
- Outweighed Eighteen Pounds a Man, Whitman Nearly Stunned Pullman
A 75-yard touchdown run by Elmo Reser kept the Missionaries in it until the final fifteen seconds, when the Aggies' sheer weight finally told, 18 to 6.
- The Tragic Leap Over the Falls
A man with a prosthetic leg made a final, fatal decision to go over Spokane's Upper Falls.
- Commuter Struck by Streetcar in South Tacoma
A Spanaway man was sent flying into a snowdrift after attempting to flag down an outbound trolley.
- A Dramatic Arrest and a 'Whisky Fit' at the Police Station
A suspect arrested for jumping a boarding house bill and passing bogus checks collapses in his wife's arms while in police custody.
- The Strong Boy and the Local Champion
Omer Marbet and Frans Unfried sign articles for a $500 catch-as-catch-can wrestling match at Turner Hall.
- The Human Spider of Occidental Square
A sailor scaled a 135-foot flagpole in downtown Seattle to keep the city’s Fourth of July celebrations on schedule.