SPOKANE, Wash. — On a cold, windy Wednesday morning on city hall's rooftop, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown warned a storm of a different type is coming, one directly related to the ongoing federal shutdown and its impacts on insurance premiums and food assistance. It's one reason she's declaring an emergency.

“I encourage everyone to see it for what it is. It is, in fact, a disaster," she said of the shutdown.

The declaration allows the city to fast-track contracting processes the mayor said can take months, instead accelerating funding to providers and services for the unhoused and those on the cusp of homelessness.

Flanked by homeless service providers and members of city council, Mayor Brown said the effects of the shutdown are already being felt in Spokane and will make it harder for comm

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