Fourth quarter carbon auction brings in $371M for a total of $2B in 2023; Washington lawmakers propose legislation for AI task force

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Washington lawmakers propose legislation for AI task force (KING TV)
• Artificial intelligence can find your location in photos, worrying privacy experts (KNKX Radio)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• The post-pandemic ups and downs of Seattle’s Downtown recovery (Crosscut)
• Like the nation’s, Spokane’s 2023 economy exceeded expectations (The Spokesman-Review)
• Worker falls to death in Poulsbo while trimming trees (Kitsap Sun)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• Fourth quarter carbon auction brings in $371M for a total of $2B in 2023 (The Center Square)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Google to pay $700 million to US states, consumers in app store settlement (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• Jury deliberations in Tacoma police trial start over after juror’s family emergency (The Seattle Times)
• Ellis trial calls for alternate juror, likely to delay verdict (MyNorthwest)
• Latest lawsuit over CHOP filed by teen who was shot, critically injured (The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: A verdict in the Ellis killing is coming. Here’s what justice should look like (Mark Lindquist, principal attorney, and was the elected Pierce County Prosecutor from 2009 until 2019/The News Tribune)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Anti-Israel protestors vandalize dozens of Seattle-area businesses (KOMO TV)
• The Spotlight: Where is Oakley Carlson? (FOX 13)
• Yakima coalition looks at the connections between gangs and domestic violence (Yakima Herald-Republic)

DAMS

• USDA: Snake River dam deal provides ‘near-term stability’ (Capital Press)

DRUG CRISIS

• COLUMN: Some good news in the opioid epidemic as we try to save lives (Dr. Peter Barkett/Kitsap Sun)

EDUCATION

• Braun introduces bipartisan bill to strengthen Jewish Holocaust education in public schools (The Chronicle)
• Seattle Public Schools wins nearly $2 million in vaping lawsuit (KUOW Radio)
• Jury: Monsanto must pay $857M over PCBs in Monroe school (The Everett Herald)
• Olympia School Board puts forward plan to close Madison, McKenny elementary schools (The Olympian)
• Over a year after a fatal shooting, Ingraham High wants to retire track meet starter pistols (KNKX Radio)

ELECTIONS

• Reforms coming to WA elections after three counties settle with the UCLA’s Voting Rights Project (InvestigateWest/KUOW Radio)

ENVIRONMENT

• US moves to protect old growth forests as climate change threatens their survival (AP)

FISH

• Analysis of Northwest, other salmon hatcheries finds nearly all hurt wild salmon populations (Oregon Capital Chronicle/The Columbian)

HANFORD

• Hanford site contractors prepare for REDOX plant demolition, 50% completed (KEPR TV)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Better scheduling decisions reduce nurse aide turnover rate, according to WSU study (KHQ TV)
• Everett nurses reject tentative agreement with Providence (The Everett Herald)
• MultiCare’s Spokane hospitals require masks again until respiratory illness rates decline (The Spokesman-Review)
• Third of US unknowingly battles pre-diabetes, warns University of Washington Medicine (KEPR TV)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Cause of death of Evergreen student confirmed as carbon monoxide poisoning (The Olympian)

HOMELESSNESS

• HUD reports record-high homeless count in 2023 for U.S., WA (The Seattle Times)

HOUSING

• ‘At best misleading’: Summit Everett wins legal battle with landlord (The Everett Herald)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• State finalizes deal for 20,000 acres of logging lands in southwest Washington (Washington State Standard)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Pierce County expands use of license plate reading cameras to tackle car theft amid privacy concerns (KOMO TV)
• Clark County sheriff talks crime trends, staffing and more at town hall (The Reflector)
• Blaine Police officers get funding for mental health wellness (KGMI Radio)

LEGISLATURE

• These new laws are taking effect in Washington state in 2024 (KOMO TV)
• Bills, bills, and more bills (The Washington Observer)
• Banning corporate political money could grow legs (The Washington Observer)
• Investigation finds Washington lawmaker berated, bullied staff (Washington State Standard)
• Work begins on Capitol Lake’s transition to estuary (KING TV)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• King County to explore restorative justice options for historic redlining (Snoqualmie Valley Record)
• Everett City Council debates 30-day jail sentence ordinance for repeat offenders (KOMO TV)
• ACLU says Walla Walla council comment policy for disruptions is too broad (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

LONG-TERM CARE

• OPINION: WA Cares is a lump of coal in workers’ stockings (Elizabeth Hovde, Washington Policy Center/The Reflector)
• OPINION: Long-term care residents’ rights don’t match those of other tenants (Patricia Hunter, state long-term care ombuds and manages the nonprofit Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program/The Seattle Times)

OPEN GOVERNMENT

• Sen. Jeff Wilson proposes bill to amend state ‘Sunshine Committee’ (The Chronicle)
• Lawsuit claims Economic Alliance of Lewis County unlawfully shielded from public records law (The Chronicle)

OTHER STATES

• Republican lawmakers press for special session to reassess Oregon’s vehicle taxes (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon county approves one-mile setback for large CAFOs (Capital Press)

SPORTS

• Huskies head to Sugar Bowl and a shot at national title (Axios – Seattle)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Surveillance video shows Echo Glen escape back in May (KING TV)

TRANSPORTATION

• Rising costs could delay new Washington transportation projects (The Center Square)
• Overpass closed, I-5 traffic slowed after pipe bomb found in Tumwater, State Patrol says (The Olympian)
• Spokane County gets $4 million in state funds for Hatch Road reconstruction (The Center Square)
• Head of Washington State Ferries Patty Rubstello to step down (The Seattle Times)
• Washington State Ferries to start ‘international recruitment effort’ after leader announces retirement (FOX 13)
• WSF: Ferry passenger ridership might never reach 2019 levels (MyNorthwest)
• $3 per ride: Sound Transit sets new fare for all Link trips (The Everett Herald)
• Why Tesla’s woes signal trouble for the electric car industry (KUOW Radio)
• EDITORIAL: Mega Grant stokes big hopes for new bridge (The Columbian)
• EDITORIAL: Use passenger boats to ease WA ferry crisis (The Seattle Times)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• Flooding drives millions to move as climate migration patterns emerge (AP)
• Washington State University researchers set out to discover the impact the 2021 heat dome had on snow melt, but what they found revealed an alarming warming trend (The Columbian)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• SFD, DNR partner to ensure year-round wildfire risk reduction (KXLY TV)