Forest feud. WA s fight over the old growth of tomorrow; Building a prison for children : Overcrowded youth detention centers in Washington draw concern

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Trade group sounds alarm as WA restaurants see margins sliced thin (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• Seattle small businesses brace for minimum wage increase (FOX 13)
• When Seattle’s tip credit expires in 2025, will tips end as well? (KUOW Radio)
• 400 hotel workers walk off the job in Seatac, demanding better conditions (KIRO TV)
• Boeing to cut 10% of workforce, stop most 767 production amid strike (The Seattle Times)
• Boeing will stop production of the Everett-built 767 in 2027 (The Everett Herald)
• OPINION: Why digital access is the key to survival for Washington’s small businesses (Ashley Whitley represents the Washington Center of Women in Business under the Thurston Economic Development Council and Center of Business and Innovation/The Olympian)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• ‘Building a prison for children’: Overcrowded youth detention centers in Washington draw concern (The Spokesman-Review)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Ferguson urges decision on mifepristone lawsuit against FDA (The Seattle Times)
• Housing authority agrees to pay $200K in Lynnwood voucher case (The Everett Herald)

COURTS (STATE)

• Whitman County faces $1 million for public defense (The Lewiston Tribune)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Yeah Washington, we’re #2…. for car theft. (KPQ Radio)

DRUG CRISIS

• New WA pilot program aims to change lives in opioid crisis through new treatment (KXLY TV)
• Seattle DEA offers new details on local bust of multi-state drug trafficking ring (The Center Square)
• Tri-Cities leaders are set to approve extra $11M for recovery center improvements (Tri-City Herald)

EDUCATION

• Banned from school? Teens picture life without cellphones (The Seattle Times)
• No calls, no texts, no problem: A month after cellphone restrictions instituted, Spokane Public Schools teachers report benefits (The Spokesman-Review)
• OPINION: Families left out of WA’s new school disciplinary rule-making process (Katherine George, board member of the Washington Coalition for Open Government and practices public records law, and Karen Pillar, executive director of TeamChild/The Seattle Times)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Understanding our earthquake risk in the northwest (KING TV)
• Washington apples aid in hurricane relief (Capital Press)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Scout says Horse Heaven recommendation has ‘little value’ (Capital Press)

ENVIRONMENT

• Forest feud. WA’s fight over the old growth of tomorrow (The Seattle Times)
• The fight for WA’s old-growth forests of tomorrow: How we got the story (The Seattle Times)
• WA’s older forests capture carbon better than nearly any other (The Seattle Times)
• Too much cyanide in Puget Sound? EPA to review state regulations (KUOW Radio)
• Volunteers plant over 1,000 trees to improve ecosystem at Spokane County conservation area (The Spokesman-Review)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Is Columbus Day a federal holiday? Here’s what’s open and what’s closed (KING TV)

GUN RIGHTS

• How are Washington kids still getting guns, despite strict laws? (Cascade PBS)

HANFORD

• The radioactive legacy of the Hanford nuclear reservation will live on, even as plans for cleanup evolve (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Medicare enrollment season begins Tuesday offering enhanced benefits for seniors (KOMO TV)
• Hurricane Helene impact is felt throughout hospitals in Washington (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)
• What to know about Washington’s whooping cough outbreak (Axios – Seattle)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• After 2 students die at WWU, campus reels with ‘shock and sadness’ (The Seattle Times)

HOMELESSNESS

• WA philanthropies shut down youth homelessness organization (The Seattle Times)
• Spokane opens homeless center months after approving $3.85M contract without location (The Center Square)
• Pierce County has more homelessness, gets less federal money than Snohomish County. Why? (The News Tribune)
• Clark County saw slight drop in homeless population in 2023, says Council for the Homeless (The Columbian)
• Vancouver tiny home community ready to welcome families struggling with housing and homelessness (The Columbian)

HOUSING

• People seeking housing assistance in Tacoma soon will have 2 waiting lists to choose from (The News Tribune)

IMMIGRATION

• WA’s asylum-seekers response has largely been this woman. Meet her. (The Seattle Times)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Can police search your phone? Here are your legal rights. (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• ‘Constitutional sheriff’ and his growing volunteer posse provoke controversy (InvestigateWest/KNKX Radio)
• Benton sheriff hopes to buy the newest 4-legged weapon in fight against child predators (Tri-City Herald)

LEGISLATURE

• Should Washington lawmakers get a raise? (The Washington Observer)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle Mayor taps payroll tax to balance city budget (Cascade PBS)
• Seattle mayor signs off on new surveillance technology to improve public safety (The Center Square)
• New estimates reduce Spokane’s deficit to $7.9M, increases to $18.3M by end of 2026 (The Center Square)
• Spokane City Council to vote on changes to landlord regulations (KHQ TV)
• ‘Tough choices ahead’: Lewis County commissioners look to close budget deficit (The Chronicle)
• No minimum wage increase or Workers’ Bill of Rights — yet, Olympia mayor says (The Olympian)
• Mabton Mayor brawls with man who filed petition to recall her (KAPP/KVEW)

OPEN GOVERNMENT

• COLUMN: WA media seek overdue fix to public records rules (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon’s most populous county adds gas utility to $51B climate suit against fossil fuel companies (AP)
• Alaska’s seafood industry lost $1.8 billion last year, NOAA report says (Alaska Beacon/Washington State Standard)
• EDITORIAL: Greater Idaho movement about good governance (Capital Press)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• As educators ramp up security, this Bellingham school is next in line for new safety feature (The Bellingham Herald)

SPORTS

• Seattle civic, business groups awaiting NBA announcement after Rain City Showcase (KOMO TV)

TRANSPORTATION

• A driver’s test for autonomous vehicles? A U.S. expert recommends one (The Seattle Times)
• Electric car subsidies are a plus, but could be improved, study finds (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Suspected explosive device shuts down Interstate 90 on Mercer Island (MyNorthwest)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2024: What’s open, closed in Seattle and beyond (The Seattle Times)
• State arts commission adds award highlighting Indigenous artists (KNKX Radio)

WATER

• Sumas group wants out of Nooksack water-rights lawsuit (The Bellingham Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Government, industry answering drought-year challenges (Yakima Herald-Republic)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• Atmospheric river alert: rainy weather, ‘taste of fall’ headed for the South Sound (The News Tribune)
• WA flood season right around the corner. Here’s how experts say to prepare in La Niña year (The Olympian)
• Amid high asthma rates, Snohomish County seeks climate solutions (The Everett Herald)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Wildfires torch over 300,000 acres in Washington this year (The Spokesman-Review)
• Squilchuck Road Fire 30% contained (The Wenatchee World)

WOLVESConflict resolution specialist reveals tools for national wolf dialogue (Billings Gazette/The Spokesman-Review)