Political stalking, leaders in hot water, ICE trends. Tri-Cities month in politics
June brought a wave of consequential political and government news across the Tri-Cities, from a bi-county juvenile services breakup to a suspected political stalking case involving a state senator’s family. Federal, state and local stories all shaped the region this month.
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Pasco Councilman Leo Perales was unanimously censured for allegedly leaking confidential information and addressing city staff in a demeaning manner, allegations he denies saying they were politically motivated.
Franklin County has fully taken over juvenile court, detention and probation services for Pasco after a lawsuit and negotiations with Benton County, with youth offenders now held at Martin Hall more than 120 miles away in Medical Lake.
A 21-year-old Kennewick man was arrested for suspected politically-motivated stalking of state Sen. Nikki Torres’ adult daughter, allegedly to gather evidence challenging Torres’ voter registration and 8th Legislative District candidacy. Last week the Tri-City Herald obtained 30 pages of police reports documenting Kennewick School Board President Gabe Galbraith’s involvement.
The Department of Energy is proposing to speed treatment of 56 million gallons of Hanford radioactive tank waste by grouting some pretreated waste for out-of-state disposal, though Washington’s Department of Ecology opposes the plan.
Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney, Trump’s pick to replace retiring Rep. Dan Newhouse, is declining to publicly grade Newhouse’s tenure despite previously saying she wanted to “retire him” for his impeachment vote.
A 2-alarm fire heavily damaged a notorious Richland nuisance property at 2100 Pullen St. amid an ongoing city lawsuit seeking court approval to force a cleanup of the debris-covered lot.
Legacy High School graduate Eduardo Birrueta was edited out of the Kennewick School District’s archived graduation video after unfurling a Mexican flag during the ceremony, a move he calls discriminatory.
Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond avoided a jail booking deadline by returning a $26,000 fingerprint scanner, though six handguns remain in dispute in the ongoing feud over jail control.
The city of Richland closed on a $7.1 million purchase of a seven-story office building at 1200 Jadwin Ave. to convert into its new police headquarters, with an expected $50 million renovation to follow.
Washington’s Legislature allocated $3.2 million to clean up the state’s largest discarded tire pile near Richland’s landfill, with the city set to manage the effort over an estimated two years.
Immigration arrests surged in Benton and Franklin counties, with most detainees having no serious criminal history and many being longtime agricultural workers taken during traffic stops and immigration appointments.
Benton County Commissioner Will McKay pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors — fourth-degree assault and lying to police — in a Kennewick parking lot road rage case, a deal that lets him remain in elected office.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.