WA districts received $2.6 billion in federal COVID relief funding. Here s how they spent it; Small businesses continue legal battle over denied pandemic aid

AGRICULTURE

• Ag exporter, port strike settlement in Clean Water Act lawsuit (Capital Press)
• Washington dairy, under fire from EPA, to close (Capital Press)
• EDITORIAL: The EPA pulls ag back from the brink (Capital Press)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Small businesses continue legal battle over denied pandemic aid (Cascade PBS)
• US inflation reaches lowest point since February 2021, though some price pressures remain (AP)
• ‘No relief is coming’: Seattle restaurants prepare for $3 minimum wage hike (The Center Square)
• Push to end Machinists strike stalls as storm clouds gather over Boeing (The Seattle Times)
• First look inside Amazon’s gigantic new package hub in Tri-Cities (Tri-City Herald)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Mother sues Yakima jail for $50M over death of son, alleged cover-up (The Seattle Times)

COURTS (STATE)

• Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial pushed back to August 2025 (The Spokesman-Review)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• ‘Worse than ever’ | Community members voice safety concerns about crime near Seattle’s Magnuson Park (KING TV)
• Sex offender charged with rape and promoting prostitution on Aurora Avenue in Seattle (KOMO TV)

DRUG CRISIS

• Spokane County joins Washington DOH pilot program for opioid response (KREM TV)

EDUCATION

• Washington districts received $2.6 billion in federal COVID relief funding. Here’s how they spent it (Washington State Standard)
• Seattle Public Schools moves forward with plan, timeline to close up to five schools (FOX 13)
• Though years away, major changes could be in store for the bell schedules and school calendar at Spokane Public Schools (The Spokesman-Review)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Asbestos survey before Snohomish training was inadequate, report says (The Everett Herald)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Bureau of Reclamation transfers three switchyards to Bonneville Power (The Spokesman-Review)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Social Security recipients will get a 2.5% cost-of-living boost in 2025, smaller than in recent past (AP)

FISH

• Steelhead fishing to open in Upper Columbia River for first time in nine years (Source One News)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• What’s new and what to watch for in upcoming ACA open enrollment period (KFF Health News/The Seattle Times)
• Hurricane Helene-related delays halt some elective procedures in Washington (The Seattle Times)
• Seattle Children’s Hospital among top in nation for gender reassignment procedures (The Center Square)
• State commission suspends license of Centralia doctor who prescribed ivermectin to COVID-19 patients in 2021 (The Chronicle)
• Clark County whooping cough trend continues as school year starts (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Elite colleges accused of price-fixing to make divorced parents pay more (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• Your Voices: The story behind the founder of Tacoma’s ‘hidden Black historical college’ (KIRO TV)
• UW professor David Baker wins 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry (Cascade PBS)

HOMELESSNESS

• Washington found a better way to remove homeless encampments. Will it stick? (The Seattle Times)
• ‘I have a home.’ New affordable housing project opens doors to homeless seniors in Olympia (The Olympian)
• New center in Bellingham offers medical services, restrooms, laundry for homeless people (The Bellingham Herald)

HOUSING

• Goodman Real Estate officials: Government hampering affordable housing efforts (The Center Square)
• No tenant evictions or rent increases for landlords not registered with the city? Spokane council to take up proposal next week (The Spokesman-Review)
• Wenatchee Rescue Mission pallet shelters slowly filling up in phased approach (The Wenatchee World)

INVASIVE SPECIES

• Second round of quagga mussel treatment underway in mid-Snake River (KREM TV)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Federal oversight of Seattle police could end in ‘next few months,’ DOJ predicts (The Seattle Times)
• Seattle City Council approves $50,000 bonuses for lateral police hires (The Center Square)
• Spokane days away from intensifying downtown police presence and enforcement (The Center Square)
• ‘Sexual favors for looking the other way:’ Report outlines alleged criminal misconduct at Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office (Source One News)
• Man fatally shot by police in Walnut Grove standoff had a rifle on a shooting tripod aimed at officers (The Columbian)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle City Council passes plan to install cameras in crime-ridden areas (MyNorthwest)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: For everything there is a season (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)
• COLUMN: Skagit Valley town trying to save local newspaper (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon to delay rule to clean up dirty diesel trucks, buses and vans (The Oregonian)
• Oregon aims to add hundreds more treatment beds by 2026, unveils dashboard to track progress (The Oregonian)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Seattle school violence program paused after leader indicted in fentanyl ring (FOX 13)
• Boy, 12, assaults bus driver, climbs on top of school bus, says Clark County Sheriff’s Office (The Columbian)
• Bellingham School District settles lawsuit over failure to report sexual assaults on student (The Bellingham Herald)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Washington sues TikTok for underplaying youth mental health risks (Cascade PBS)

TRANSPORTATION

• Medical emergency exposes ferry concerns on Guemes Island (KING TV)
• What will it take to get rid of train noise in Puyallup? The city is going to find out (The News Tribune)

WATER

• Anacortes company fined for violating Clean Water Act regulations (KIRO TV)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Prescribed burn at Lacamas Prairie Natural Area part of larger plan to protect against wildfires (The Columbian)

WILDLIFE

• Check stations, self service kiosks to open for CWD ahead of general hunting season (The Spokesman-Review)
• Despite fire, elk hunters likely to benefit from mild winter (Yakima Herald-Republic)

WOLVES

• Order to kill wolf expires (The Lewiston Tribune)
• More livestock attacked by wolves in NE Oregon (Capital Press)