With repeal measure rejected, WA carbon auction prices surge; Dueling lawsuits filed over natural gas ballot measure in Washington

With repeal measure rejected, WA carbon auction prices surge

Washington State Standard — Prices for Washington’s air pollution allowances rebounded at an auction this month, the first sale since voters upheld the state’s cap-and-trade program. The Department of Ecology on Wednesday said allowances the state offered on Dec. 4 sold for $40.26 each. That’s about 35% higher than the $29.88 sale price in September. Allowances for 2027, sold in advance at the latest auction, fetched $26 apiece.

Dueling lawsuits filed over natural gas ballot measure in Washington

Axios – Seattle — Competing lawsuits have been filed over Initiative 2066, which Washington voters approved last month to ban state and local governments from discouraging the use of natural gas. Why it matters: The outcome of the lawsuits will decide the future of the state’s new energy-efficient building codes, along with other government policies that encourage the use of electric heat pumps over gas furnaces as a way to curb emissions and fight climate change.

AGRICULTURE

• Spreading the word about pears, Washington’s ‘forgotten’ fruit (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Inflation ticks higher in November, with prices rising for used cars and groceries (AP)
• With Christmas looming, Washington state sees apparent uptick in bankruptcies (KPQ Radio)
• Migrant brush pickers face risks, few protections in WA woods (Cascade PBS)
• The great grocery merger is dead. Can Albertsons, QFC and others survive? (The Seattle Times) $
• Albertsons sues Kroger after Oregon, Washington judges block $24.6 billion merger (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Washington State Standard)
• Washington state’s last Sears closes up shop (KUOW Radio)
• EDITORIAL: Public better off without grocery chain merger (The Columbian) $

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• WA carbon auction hits high for 2024 (Cascade PBS)

CENSUS

• COLUMN: These are Seattle’s highest- and lowest-income neighborhoods (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Washington ranchers serve 975 families in need in December (Capital Press) $

CONGRESS

• Cantwell, McMorris Rodgers make year-end push to pass Kids Online Safety Act (The Spokesman-Review) $

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• State to pay $960K over man’s suicide in Monroe prison (The Everett Herald) $

COURTS (STATE)

• Officials plan to file lawsuit challenging constitutionality of I-2066 (KING TV)
• King County, Seattle sue over natural gas initiative passed by voters (The Seattle Times) $

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• EDITORIAL: New Washington law might help; Now let’s see some proactive measures (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) $
• EDITORIAL: Make Seattle nightlife safer with strong legislation, enforcement (The Seattle Times) $

DRUG CRISIS

• Seattle expands opioid crisis response with buprenorphine pilot program (KIRO TV)
• Chelan and Douglas counties shattering records for drug overdose deaths (KPQ Radio)

EDUCATION

• What Trump’s second term could mean for education in Washington state (KUOW Radio)
• MAGA moms slam GOP-backed school attendance bill (The Washington Observer) $
• OPINION: Legislature must address schools’ financial crisis (Bob Maxwell, superintendent of the Pullman School District and is currently serving as president of the Washington Association of School Administrators/The Spokesman-Review)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• South King Fire chief, deputy chief placed on leave amid investigation (The Seattle Times) $
• Tacoma Fire will get $2.5M in more funding, but city budget reveals difficulties ahead (The News Tribune) $
• Out of options, Franklin agrees to join $30M fix for Tri-City region’s failing 911 towers (Tri-City Herald) $

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Natural Gas group touts I-2066 as evidence Americans love natural gas (The Center Square)
• COLUMN: Washington state needs to broaden its energy strategy to meet the future (Don C. Brunell, former president of Association of Washington Business/The Chronicle)

ENVIRONMENT

• A river in Washington state now has enforceable legal rights (Inside Climate News/KNKX Radio)
• Full cleanup begins at Lower Duwamish Superfund site (The Seattle Times) $
• Persistent rain damages Spokane’s award-winning stormwater system before it’s fully operational (The Inlander)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency (AP)

GUN RIGHTS

• Washington gun control group to push for permit-to-purchase in 2025 (The Center Square)
• Gun control advocates push again for permit-to-purchase (The Washington Observer) $

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Washingtonians have until Dec. 15 to sign up for health insurance coverage going into 2025 (KNDO/KNDU)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Washington guarantees free in-state tuition for low-income students (KING TV)
• Student aid now simplified process (Peninsula Daily News) $

HOMELESSNESS

• King County Executive doubles down on housing-first approach to homelessness (The Center Square)
• Homeless encampments are on the decline, Seattle officials say. But where do those people land? (KUOW Radio)
• ‘We’re going in the right direction’: Vancouver has cleaned camps, expanded staff in year since homelessness emergency declared (The Columbian) $
• ‘We’re here’: Whatcom service providers share ideas for aiding unhoused in encampments (The Bellingham Herald) $

HOUSING

• Some Washington homeowners to receive payment after mortgage servicer mismanagement resolution (KREM TV)
• Seattle renters see more space for their money amid construction boom (KOMO TV)
• Pierce County’s eviction rate among highest in state. Are more aid programs necessary? (The News Tribune) $
• Experts tackle the ‘all of us problem’ of housing in Snohomish County (The Everett Herald) $

IMMIGRATION

• Over 1,000 refugees resettle in Spokane County as U.S. welcomes record number of refugees in 2024 (KHQ TV)

INSURANCE

• Why Washington’s home and auto insurances rates won’t come down anytime soon (KNDO/KNDU)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Seattle police near end of federal oversight, tackle crowd control policy changes (KOMO TV)

LEGISLATURE

• Sen. John Braun, of Centralia, reelected as state Senate minority leader (The Chronicle) $
• A TVW-familiar face gets Keiser’s seat (The Washington Observer) $
• Gig Harbor education leader to become WA’s newest Democratic state senator (Washington State Standard)
• A state lawmaker is suing the nonprofit she created. Here’s why. (NW News Network)

LGBTQ+

• Will Olympia become a sanctuary city for trans and queer people? Here’s what the council thinks (The Olympian) $

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Thurston County board votes to censure Commissioner Emily Clouse Wednesday (The Olympian) $
• Yakima GOP demands Coroner Curtice’s resignation (KIT Radio)
• Mabton residents and council raise concerns about police protection and next year’s budget (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

LONG-TERM CARE

• OPINION: Supporting caregivers: How WA Cares addresses long-term care needs in Washington (Christina Keys, fellow with Caring Across Generations and CEO of Keys for Caregiving/The News Tribune)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: La Conner paper may get reprieve, plus Oregon cuts, AI shenanigans (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times) $

OTHER STATES

• Oregon isn’t paying its wildfire bills on time. Now legislators must act (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon won’t catch up on sexual assault kit backlog until end of 2025, state police say (The Oregonian) $
• EDITORIAL: Massive solar project seeks to mitigate impact on ag economy (Capital Press) $

POLITICS

BALLOT MEASURES

• Takeaways from our new-school direct democracy panel (The Washington Observer) $
• COLUMN: Climate advocates finally won in WA. How? By not talking about climate (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

PRIVACY

• Online retailers aren’t the only ones digitally spying on you. Brick-and-mortar stores are, too (KUOW Radio)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Seattle assistant principal resigns after arrest in sex trafficking sting (The Seattle Times) $
• Police: Northshore school teacher arrested for attempted child rape (FOX 13)
• Missing Olympia elementary school students found safe (KING TV)

SPORTS

• WIAA proposes new league for transgender high school athletes (KIRO TV)
• WIAA says decision on transgender athlete amendments won’t be made until April (KXLY TV)
• David Bonderman, Seattle Kraken co-owner and billionaire investor, dies at 82 (KUOW Radio)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Draft report calls Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission ‘dysfunctional’ (The Spokesman-Review) $

TAXES

• Washington voters agree — tax the wealthy (KUOW Radio)
• What Jeff Bezos and Norway can tell us about latest tax hike plan gestating in Washington Legislature (KVI Radio)

TRANSPORTATION

• New proposal could have EV drivers in Washington volunteer to pay per mile (KING TV)
• Construction sign reads ‘one less CEO’ in Seattle during AM commuting hours (MyNorthwest)
• More electric school buses to hit Washington streets in 2025 (KNDO/KNDU)
• ‘It seems so outrageous’: C-Tran board shocked at $21.8M per year light rail budget staff unveils at meeting (The Columbian) $
• ‘It’s time to take a victory lap’: C-Tran plans for growth with $93M budget for 2025 (The Columbian) $

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Washington Supreme Court to take up tribal sovereign immunity (Capital Press) $

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• OPINION: Federal forest managers are too tangled in their own bureaucracy to mitigate wildfires (Madi Clark, Mountain States Policy Center policy analyst/The Chronicle

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