WA Recovery Watch

State administrators overruled or helped mediate telecom objections that have previously disqualified local governments from similar grant awards.

Local officials signed new contracts with The Hand Up Project after two residents died last year and former employees alleged financial mismanagement.

An immigrant businesswoman and a Mariners ticket hawker faced sentencing this week over separate schemes to steal thousands in COVID-19 stimulus money.

From a Spokane T-shirt scheme to a Nigerian unemployment scam, federal prosecutors are grappling with how to prioritize cases amid limited resources.

Findings of fraud or misuse remained rare despite short deadlines set for local governments to spend billions in emergency relief.

As food-stamp recipients see grocery budgets tighten, state proposals would shift money to already strained and short-staffed local services.

Of the 24,000 residents with felony records now able to vote, just 414 did so last fall. Advocates hope to increase registration and voter education.

In King County, public health ambassadors with cultural connections help break down patient/provider barriers.

The Washington Coalition for Open Government recognized records and data reporting that helps readers learn about local pandemic relief spending.

States were given a narrow window to fix long-standing flaws before federal agencies divvy $42B in infrastructure funds.

After billions in telecom subsidies, it may take a new public approach to connect some 'last mile' areas like rural Grays Harbor County to broadband.

Even with $605 million in federal aid, the state can't catch up with its growing maintenance backlog.

A 'once-in-a-generation' project could help Washington coastal cities Hoquiam and Aberdeen hold off economically devastating climate disasters.

Amid a retention crisis, rural hospitals turned to pricey travel-nurse agencies with little oversight or transparency. Now they need a way forward.

WA Recovery Watch published over 30 stories on funding delays, disparities and unspent aid. Here's what came from that reporting — and what's next.