We were so naive back in 2018. That's when city officials thought the bridge behind City Hall connecting Riverfront Park with Kendall Yards, and a crucial link in the Centennial Trail, would be complete as soon as early 2020. Well, the Post Street Bridge is still not done. To start with, price spikes in steel and lumber delayed the start of the project until early 2020 — and then the COVID pandemic hit, hobbling development for another six months. And once contractors really started to root around to fix it, they learned that the problems with the bridge were far worse than they'd anticipated. "Remember it's over 100 years old," says city Public Works Director Marlene Feist. "Some of it we couldn't tell until we took the lid off." Finally, add a disagreement between the city and Kuney Construction over the order of construction, a fight that landed them in a dispute resolution process. The agreed-upon compromise was adopted by the City Council earlier this year. For now, Feist says the bridge is anticipated to be completed next fall, more than four years after it was first closed to automotive traffic. (DANIEL WALTERS)
SEEKING FORGIVENESS
For the folks contributing to the statewide total of $28.3 billion in student loan debt owed by Washington residents, the application for one-time student loan forgiveness is now available. The form takes minutes to complete and asks borrowers to fill out their full name and Social Security number and to attest that they qualify for forgiveness based on their income (details are explained in the application). The application follows President Joe Biden's announcement that borrowers can receive forgiveness of up to $10,000 or up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, for student loans disbursed on or before June 30, 2022. In Washington, the average borrower has $35,510 in student loan debt, according to EducationData.org, which relies on data from the U.S. Department of Education. In Idaho, the average borrower has $33,012 in student loan debt, with the state total sitting at $7.2 billion. In both states, 52.8 percent of borrowers owe less than $20,000. The application is available at StudentAid.gov/debt-relief/application. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
GUNS AND ABUSERS
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded a $499,833 grant to combat firearm-related domestic violence in the city of Spokane. The grant is part of the DOJ's Firearms Technical Assistance project, which aims to help communities separate domestic abusers from firearms. This is the second grant Spokane has received as part of the project. The first grant, awarded in 2020, was used to hire a domestic violence firearms analyst, whose job is to work with victims and follow up on protection orders to make sure firearms are actually being surrendered. In a letter of support for the additional grant funding, Spokane County Superior Court Commissioner John Stine, who oversees weekly firearm surrender compliance hearings, said the analyst position has significantly increased firearm surrender order compliance rates — from as low as 1 percent to approximately 80 percent in just three years. "In all honesty, the compliance review system in Spokane County would collapse without this position," Stine wrote. (NATE SANFORD) ♦
