NEWS GLEAMS | Voters Likely to Approve Levy for Fingerprint ID Technology; Open House for Water Quality Treatment Facility in South Park; Tax Credit Cafe

With 59.7% in favor of the levy, early results from the April 22 special election appear to show King County voters supporting the regional automated fingerprint identification system, also known as AFIS. The AFIS levy has been renewed eight times by voters over the last 40 years. It was first approved in 1986, and if passed again, the new renewal will go into effect in 2026 and be effective for seven years.

King County's AFIS database has over 3 million fingerprints that have been collected locally, and they are used to compare to unmatched prints at crime scenes. It can also be used to exonerate individuals in the case of wrongful identification.

The system is used by law enforcement agencies within all 39 cities and unincorporated areas in King County. Regional agencies are allowed to share data with one another because the county has its own dedicated AFIS computer. After AFIS fingerprints are collected, they are also added to larger state and federal systems, such as the Washington State Patrol, Western Identification Network, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If voters do not pass funding for AFIS during this election cycle, individual city police departments would need to collect their own fingerprints, and the county would be responsible for collecting them for unincorporated areas.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is in the process of building a new water quality treatment facility in South Park, along the Duwamish River. It is currently in its community engagement phase and will go into site selection later this year, with design and construction taking place from 2026 to 2030.

Once completed, the facility is intended to remove pollutants found in urban stormwater runoff across a 240-acre drainage basin, which currently discharges into the Duwamish River. Its completion will help reduce flooding in South Park. It will also aid in the ongoing cleanup efforts around the river, which was declared a Superfund site in 2001.

The treatment facility will be located on a 3-acre site bounded by 8th Avenue South to the west, South Kenyon Street to the south, and the Duwamish River to the north and east.

During the community engagement process, SPU will be hosting a number of upcoming in-person and online workshops, so that the community can offer feedback on the site design and intentions for community spaces.

The next meeting takes place on Thursday, April 24, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Duwamish River Community HUB (8600 14th Ave. S., 98108), with Spanish interpretation and free food from Muy Macho. Learn more on SPU's website, and sign up for their listserv to stay informed about future community engagement events.

Scholar Fund will be offering help and guidance around how to apply for Washington state's Working Families Tax Credit. The Working Families Tax Credit is a tax credit for Washington state individuals and families, who may receive up to $1,290 back if they meet certain eligibility requirements.

To receive support, one is expected to bring a copy of their federal tax return that was recently filed, a social security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), dates of birth for oneself and family members, Washington state ID or license, residential and mailing address, and bank routing number or account number in the case that one hopes for direct deposit.

Tax Credit Cafe takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Station (1600 S. Roberto Maestas Festival St., 98144) on April 25, with support in both English and Spanish.

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