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Crackdown on freeway graffiti starts between Tacoma and Seattle

(Pictured: Graffiti like this on Interstate 5 is the target of a new state effort to catch taggers).

A new state law aims to crack down on illegal graffiti on public property.

As approved by the Legislature, the law establishes a pilot program to hold perpetrators accountable and restore the aesthetics of public spaces through swift cleanup overseen by the state Department of Transportation (DOT), with priority given to the Interstate 5 and Puget Sound region from Tacoma to Seattle.

Cameras currently used for toll and work-zone safety enforcement will be used to identify graffiti offenders, officials said. And drone technology will be utilized for spraying paint over graffiti.

The goal is to restore ”the dignity of our public infrastructure” and to combat an “explosion of graffiti,” said state Rep. Andrew Barkis, primary sponsor of the anti-graffiti legislation that took effect June 6. His district includes part of Pierce County.

According to DOT, graffiti vandalism has increased in recent years along state highways on bridges, overpasses, and walls. Taggers, as graffiti vandals are called, often target new or closed sections of roadways at night. Over the past two years, the state spent $1.4 million on graffiti removal.

“We can’t continue allowing the actions of a few to shape the narrative of our communities,” Barkis said.

The Senior Scene by — July 24, 2024 in News

Benefits from the WA Cares Fund, W

Benefits from the WA Cares Fund, Washington’s new long-term care insurance program that started last year, now can be used by Washingtonians who pay into it and later move to another state.

The Legislature earlier this year made the benefits portable beyond the state’s borders. Starting in July 2026, people who need the benefit and have contributed enough to it can access it. The maximum benefit is $36,500.

Money for the benefit comes from automatic deductions from workers’ paychecks. The contributions stop if a workers retires.

A ballot measure in this fall’s election, brought by a petition signed by voters, seeks to make enrollment in WA Cares optional.

WA Cares was initiated by the Legislature to help people pay for long-term care due to illness, accident, or late-in-life medical needs.

that started last year, now can be used by Washingtonians who pay into it and later move to another state.

The Legislature earlier this year made the benefits portable beyond the state’s borders. Starting in July 2026, people who need the benefit and have contributed enough to it can access it. The maximum benefit is $36,500.

Money for the benefit comes from automatic deductions from workers’ paychecks. The contributions stop if a workers retires.

A ballot measure in this fall’s election, brought by a petition signed by voters, seeks to make enrollment in WA Cares optional.

WA Cares was initiated by the Legislature to help people pay for long-term care due to illness, accident, or late-in-life medical needs.

The Senior Scene by — July 24, 2024 in News

Seattle-King County Public Health officials have issued a warning about possible exposure for the public to measles.

The agency is investigating a confirmed measles case in an adult who recently traveled internationally. Since traveling, the individual was at multiple locations in Bellevue, Seattle, and Woodinville while infectious, before being diagnosed with measles. Anyone who was at the locations during the time span when the individual was there June 27 through July 2nd may have been exposed to measles, which is a highly contagious infection.

The locations were Vasa Park Resort in Bellevue, PRO Club Bellevue, Café Turko in Seattle, and Zoomcare in Woodinville.

 Measles is a potentially severe disease that causes fever, rash, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. If one person has it, most people nearby will become infected if they aren’t immunized, officials said. It mainly spreads through the air after a person coughs or sneezes. 

 Measles is preventable with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97 percent effective. 

More information about measles and measles vaccination, including where to get vaccinated, is at www.kingcounty.gov/measles 

The Senior Scene by — July 8, 2024 in News
This fair goes way back

TIME & AGAIN

The King County Fair, which continues this summer as the oldest fair in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, started in 1863—114 years before then-County Executive John Spellman and some 4H participants posed for this photo at the 1977 fair. The fact Abraham Lincoln was president in the event’s first years is just one of its historic ties. On the grounds of Enumclaw Expo Center, where the fair is now staged annually, the buildings came from the Seattle World’s Fair (where Elvis Presley walked through them). In 1972, the County Council discussed but decided against moving the fair to the Kingdome. But parts of the legendary stadium—seats and a ticket booth–wound up at the current fairgrounds after the stadium was demolished. This year’s fair will have a four-day run July 11-14.

Time & Again is a Senior Scene feature that highlights local history.

The Senior Scene by — June 25, 2024 in News