Second of two articles: Cities strongly oppose a bill offered by Sen. Adam Kline would require election of more municipal court judges, rather than allowing their appointment by city officials who may have an interest in raising revenues from traffic tickets, fines, and court costs.
First of two articles: In many cities around Puget Sound and across the state, municipals judges are appointed by city officials. There's cause to worry about the judges' independence and cities' desire to sway the amount of revenue from the courts.
Visions of opportunity clash with fears of being squashed by the big players.
The practice of suddenly jailing people who have failed to comply with collection requests comes close to violating a ban on imprisonment for debt. Judicial watchdogs are taking note and getting some relief, but many people desperately in debt are still helpless.
It's no Napa, or even Walla Walla, but the area touts a new bistro, upscale lodging, and plans for a farm-to-table restaurant. Tom Douglas even has his eye on the region.
