Announcement

Anthony Tomashefsky

Investigative journalist covering Washington courts, judicial conduct, and local government. Member, Society of Professional Journalists.

Anthony Tomashefsky's Work 410 Articles
Courts & Law   -   Jul 17, 2026 One Night After Our Investigation, Judge Ferguson-Brown's Facebook Page Silenced the Public
One Night After Our Investigation, Judge Ferguson-Brown's Facebook Page Silenced the Public

On Thursday evening, comments left by members of the public on the “Judge Ferguson-Brown” Facebook page began to disappear. By Friday morning, the public could no longer comment at all. Post after post on the page now carries the same quiet notice from Facebook: “Judge Ferguson-Brown limited who

Criminal Justice   -   Jul 17, 2026 Port Angeles Woman Faces Felony Assault Charge After Welfare Check Ends in Struggle With Police
Port Angeles Woman Faces Felony Assault Charge After Welfare Check Ends in Struggle With Police

A 41-year-old Port Angeles woman is facing a felony assault charge after a Wednesday evening welfare check near Seventh and Laurel streets ended with officers carrying her to a patrol car, where police say she kicked an officer in the stomach. Deanna L. Long made her first appearance

Criminal Justice   -   Jul 17, 2026 Judge Denies Karns' Bid for Pretrial Release to Drug Treatment
Judge Denies Karns' Bid for Pretrial Release to Drug Treatment

A federal judge ruled Thursday that Jonathan E. Karns must remain jailed pending trial, denying a defense motion seeking his release to an inpatient drug treatment program. U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright issued the ruling following a 2:30 p.m. hearing at the Tacoma federal courthouse.  After

Opinion   -   Jul 16, 2026 A Warning from Clallam: As Outrage Mounts Over Judge Ferguson-Brown, Kitsap Prosecutors Must Act
A Warning from Clallam: As Outrage Mounts Over Judge Ferguson-Brown, Kitsap Prosecutors Must Act

Picture the steps of the Clallam County Courthouse this past winter. Angry citizens standing in the freezing cold, holding signs condemning a "Good Ol' Boy's Network" that ignores abuse and breaks up families.  Women dressed in the scarlet cloaks of The Handmaid’s Tale, silently

Courts & Law   -   Jul 16, 2026 State Regulators Warned Judge Ferguson-Brown Over Campaign Disclosures in 2023. Her Next Campaign Failed to Disclose Again.
State Regulators Warned Judge Ferguson-Brown Over Campaign Disclosures in 2023. Her Next Campaign Failed to Disclose Again.

Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Cadine Ferguson-Brown, a familiar presence in the Clallam County courthouse through her regular assignments as a visiting judge, drew campaign finance complaints in each of her last two judicial campaigns, according to Washington State Public Disclosure Commission records reviewed by The Olympic Herald. The

Education   -   Jul 15, 2026 Hamilton Sues Port Angeles School District, Alleging Retaliation, Prior Restraint, and Open Meetings Violations
Hamilton Sues Port Angeles School District, Alleging Retaliation, Prior Restraint, and Open Meetings Violations

Port Angeles School District Director Nancy Hamilton has taken her fight with the board majority to court. In a complaint filed Tuesday afternoon in Clallam County Superior Court, Hamilton asks a judge to declare Resolution 2526-18, the censure the board adopted 4-1 on June 18, "arbitrary, capricious,

Criminal Justice   -   Jul 15, 2026 Court of Appeals: Entire Pierce County Prosecutor's Office Should Not Have Been Disqualified From Case Where Deputy Prosecutor Was the Victim
Court of Appeals: Entire Pierce County Prosecutor's Office Should Not Have Been Disqualified From Case Where Deputy Prosecutor Was the Victim

A Washington State appellate court has ruled that a Pierce County judge went too far when he disqualified the entire Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office from a criminal case because the alleged victim of one of the charges was a deputy prosecutor in that office. In a published

Criminal Justice   -   Jul 15, 2026 Port Angeles Man Pleads Not Guilty to Domestic Violence Strangulation Charge After Arrest at County Courthouse
Port Angeles Man Pleads Not Guilty to Domestic Violence Strangulation Charge After Arrest at County Courthouse

A 26-year-old Port Angeles man pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Clallam County Superior Court to a charge of second-degree assault by strangulation, a domestic violence offense stemming from an alleged July 6 attack on a woman at her Port Angeles apartment. Elijah D. Creed entered the plea

Education   -   Jul 15, 2026 QVSD Board Schedules Midday Special Meeting for Closed-Door Talks on Litigation and Job Applicants
QVSD Board Schedules Midday Special Meeting for Closed-Door Talks on Litigation and Job Applicants

The Quillayute Valley School District Board of Directors will hold a special meeting today at 12:00 PM in the Forks High School Library/Media Center, with nearly the entire session set to take place behind closed doors. According to the published agenda, the board will call the meeting to

Education   -   Jul 14, 2026 QVSD Pays $765,834.77 to Close the Larson Case
QVSD Pays $765,834.77 to Close the Larson Case

The Quillayute Valley School District has paid $765,834.77 to former assistant cross-country coach Kari Larson, formally closing the books on the federal lawsuit that exposed years of institutional failure inside the Forks school system. A Satisfaction of Judgment filed July 2 in U.S. District Court in

Education   -   Jul 14, 2026 State Auditor Flags "Material Weakness" in North Kitsap School District's Handling of Federal Title I Funds
State Auditor Flags "Material Weakness" in North Kitsap School District's Handling of Federal Title I Funds

The Washington State Auditor’s Office has cited the North Kitsap School District for a material weakness in its internal controls after finding the district failed to properly document how it spent federal money intended for students at risk of falling behind academically. The finding appears in the district’s

Criminal Justice   -   Jul 14, 2026 Court of Appeals Reverses No-Contact Order Conviction in Kitsap County Jailhouse Truck Sale Case
Court of Appeals Reverses No-Contact Order Conviction in Kitsap County Jailhouse Truck Sale Case

A Washington State appellate court has thrown out a man's Kitsap County conviction for violating a domestic violence no-contact order, ruling that the State failed to prove a friend's phone call to the man's ex-wife amounted to contact "through a third

Courts & Law   -   Jul 14, 2026 Appeals Court Hands Department of Revenue Major Win in $10.9 Million Title Insurance Tax Fight
Appeals Court Hands Department of Revenue Major Win in $10.9 Million Title Insurance Tax Fight

Division Two rules that title insurance and escrow services sold to Washington property owners are taxable here — even when the work is performed at out-of-state offices.

Education   -   Jul 13, 2026 Arbitrator Rules Port Angeles School District Failed to Bargain Before Cutting Office Staff Hours
Arbitrator Rules Port Angeles School District Failed to Bargain Before Cutting Office Staff Hours

The Port Angeles School District should have bargained with its office professionals’ union before cutting secretarial hours as part of its 2025 budget reductions, an independent arbitrator has ruled, sustaining the union’s grievance and ordering the district to negotiate before any more bargaining unit work is moved out of

Criminal Justice   -   Jul 13, 2026 Karns Asks Federal Judge for Release to Drug Treatment
Karns Asks Federal Judge for Release to Drug Treatment

A federal judge in Tacoma will hear arguments Thursday on whether Jonathan E. Karns should remain jailed pending trial or be released to inpatient drug treatment.

Jul 12, 2026 Our New Website is Live
Our New Website is Live

The Olympic Herald’s new website is live. Same mission, better machine: nearly 300 stories — every investigation, court report, and records fight we’ve published — now organized by section, fully searchable, and built to carry this work for the long haul. What hasn’t changed matters more. Every story is

Criminal Justice   -   Jul 11, 2026 Trial of Former Sequim Police Officer Delayed to November
Trial of Former Sequim Police Officer Delayed to November

A Clallam County Superior Court judge on Friday postponed the felony rape trial of former Sequim police officer Christian Whitaker until November, granting a defense request for more time over the objection of prosecutors who argued the defense had already had nearly two years to get ready. Judge Simon Barnhart

Education   -   Jul 11, 2026 State Revokes Credential of Former Peninsula Teacher Convicted of Child Molestation
State Revokes Credential of Former Peninsula Teacher Convicted of Child Molestation

Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has permanently revoked the teaching certificate of Jordan Henderson, a former Evergreen Elementary School teacher convicted this year of sexually abusing four of his young students, and has permanently barred him from ever applying to teach in the state’s public schools

Criminal Justice   -   Jul 10, 2026 Kitsap County Man Sentenced to Five Years in Casino Fentanyl Case
Kitsap County Man Sentenced to Five Years in Casino Fentanyl Case

A Kitsap County man was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing fentanyl with intent to deliver it, capping a Clallam County prosecution that began with a March drug raid at the 7 Cedars Casino in Blyn. Dylan C. Marsh-Backs, 36, pleaded guilty July

Opinion   -   Jul 10, 2026 The Power of Independent Journalism: Our First Six Months
The Power of Independent Journalism: Our First Six Months

Six months ago, The Olympic Herald was launched with a single, uncompromising mission: to provide fearless, independent investigative journalism that holds power accountable. Two hundred and fifty years ago this month, Thomas Jefferson wrote the job description for every honest newspaper that would follow: “let Facts be submitted to a

Free Speech   -   Jul 08, 2026 Port Angeles School District Produces the Hamilton Letter
Port Angeles School District Produces the Hamilton Letter

Earlier today, the Port Angeles School District released the first installment of records responsive to my June 22 Public Records Act request: the June 11 letter from Director Nancy Hamilton to the board and district counsel—the document at the center of last month’s censure fight. Readers can download

Your link has expired. Please request a new one.
Your link has expired. Please request a new one.
Your link has expired. Please request a new one.
Great! You've successfully signed up.
Great! You've successfully signed up.
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.
Success! You now have access to additional content.