Bids to build new plug-in Washington state ferries come in high; How the Pacific Northwest s dream of green energy fell apart

Bids to build new plug-in Washington state ferries come in high

Washington State Standard — Ferry system managers and state budget writers in Washington took a cold wave over the bow Monday upon opening the bids to construct up to five new hybrid electric ferries. “I don’t see how you get to five. There’s money for three on a good day,” said state House Transportation Committee Chair Jake Fey, D-Tacoma … What about cheaper options? Republicans, who are in the minority in the Legislature, have pushed for a cheaper diesel ferry option to be put back on the table.

How the Pacific Northwest’s dream of green energy fell apart

KUOW Radio — For all their progressive claims, Oregon and Washington trail nearly all other states in adding new sources of renewable energy. Iowa, a Republican-led state with roughly the same population and usable volume of wind as Oregon, has built enough wind farms to generate three times as much wind power. What’s held the Northwest back is a bottleneck Oregon and Washington leaders paid little attention to when they set out to go 100% green, an investigation by ProPublica and Oregon Public Broadcasting found: The region lacks the wiring to deliver new sources of renewable energy to people’s homes, and little has been done to change that.

ABORTION

• Abortion services program is in line for steep reduction in Washington budget (Washington State Standard)

AGRICULTURE

• USDA closes southern border to imported cattle, bison, horses (Capital Press) $

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• April CPI inflation report: Egg prices decline for first time in months (FOX 13)
• Seattle tourism faces headwinds as international travelers steer clear (Puget Sound Business Journal) $
• Microsoft laying off 3% of its staff, leaving thousands without a job (MyNorthwest)
• COLUMN: What new 401(k) data tells us about King County (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times) $

CAPITAL BUDGET

• Napavine fire district breaks ground on new $1.3M apparatus bay that will let firefighters respond to calls faster, more safely (The Chronicle)
• Ridgefield landslide project partially funded, other city priorities left waiting in tight state budget (The Reflector)

CONGRESS

• Rep. Michael Baumgartner reflects on first 100 days (KHQ TV)
• Gluesenkamp Perez introduces bipartisan bill to support rural public health coordination (The Chronicle)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Judge refuses to block IRS from sharing tax data to identify and deport people illegally in U.S. (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• Natural gas initiative’s backers prepare appeal request to Washington Supreme Court (The Center Square)
• Former Benton County firefighter reaches $540,000 settlement in workplace harassment case (KAPP/KVEW)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Expanded hate crime bill signed into law by Gov Ferguson (The Center Square)
• Washington DOC officers searching for convicted sex offender with disturbing history (FOX 13)

DRUG CRISIS

• A Puyallup boy died of fentanyl toxicity in March. His mother is now charged with manslaughter (KING TV)
• Gabriel’s Challenge launches in effort to bring ‘the heart of family into the heart of our city’ to curb fentanyl deaths (The Spokesman-Review) $

EDUCATION

• EDITORIAL: Equity policy requires clarity and accountability (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) $

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Three Washington rock climbers dead, one hurt in North Cascades climbing fall (The Seattle Times) $

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Seattle Dem blocked tax break to help Richland woo $3.5B in nuclear manufacturing (Tri-City Herald) $

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Trump signs order aiming to lower U.S. drug costs to match prices abroad (States Newsroom/Washington State Standard)

GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

• A brief history of the veto pen (The Washington Observer) $
• Gov. Bob Ferguson signed nearly 40 bills into Washington state law today. Here’s what they are (KING TV)
• Bill on governor’s desk could change notice period for layoffs in Washington (KNDO/KNDU)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Between pandemic, federal funds and state budget, hospitals in WA say finances are fragile (Kitsap Sun) $

HIGHER EDUCATION

• UW professor criticizes university’s response to campus antisemitism and violence (KOMO TV)
• CWU Board of Trustees meeting to decide student media’s fate (KNDO/KNDU)
• EDITORIAL: CWU must preserve student newspaper, magazine (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

HOUSING

• Seattle home sellers double down on buyer incentives (Axios – Seattle)
• A health care agency adds affordable housing to its mission in Kitsap (Kitsap Sun) $
• OPINION: Rent control was signed into law last week – here’s why it was exactly the wrong thing to do (Mark Harmsworth, Washington Policy Center/Clark County Today)

IMMIGRATION

• New Washington law targets private detention centers (Axios – Seattle)
• Spokane considers banning ICE agents from parks despite board opposition (The Center Square)

INSURANCE

• Disasters? What disasters? End to weather-loss tallies worries insurers (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times) $

INVASIVE SPECIES

• The European green crab problem may be worse than we thought (KONP Radio)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• Washington bill inspired by Renton family’s reparations quest signed into law (The Seattle Times) $

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Excessive force claims unclear in body camera footage of East Wenatchee arrest (The Wenatchee World) $

LEGISLATURE

• Washington state updates animal cruelty laws with stricter penalties (KNDO/KNDU)
• Abuse survivors defend Washington law that feds slam as ‘anti-Catholic’ (The Seattle Times) $
• COLUMN: Catholic Church tells priests to ignore Democrats’ attempt to destroy confession (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
• EDITORIAL: Four bills that need a second look by state lawmakers (The Everett Herald) $

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• After stops and starts and a lot of standing still, the Monaghan statue will be removed, City Council says again (The Spokesman-Review) $
• Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office to cut 12 ARPA-funded positions by 2026 (The Center Square)
• EDITORIAL: Adopt fair, transparent change to Seattle City Council ethics rule (The Seattle Times) $

MEDIA

• Say hello to The News Tribune’s new Tacoma city hall and schools reporter (The News Tribune) $

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Gov. Ferguson renews focus on veteran suicide prevention in Olympia (KHQ TV) $

OPERATING BUDGET

• Thousands of Washington public workers don’t want Ferguson to sign budget (KONA Radio)

OTHER STATES

• Republican lawmaker wants Oregonians to have more time to fight media errors (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon governor testifies for controversial bill focusing on foster kids (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

PARKS

• Summer reservations are back at Mount Rainier — but Sunrise only (The Seattle Times) $

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Seattle Public Schools sued by family of Garfield student killed in shooting (The Seattle Times) $

SPORTS

• Washington lawmakers approve funding for 2026 World Cup matches in Seattle (Cascade PBS)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Money crunch: Nearly 50 Washington State Library employees facing layoffs (Washington State Standard)
• Layoff notices, threats of closure rattle Washington State Library (The Seattle Times) $
• Dozens of layoffs expected at Washington State Library amid state, federal reductions (The Olympian) $

TAXES

• Washington breweries just avoided a steep tax increase that’s expected to resurface (The Bellingham Herald) $
• OPINION: We’re feeding our communities. Why are we being punished? (Andra and John Mobley, owners and operators of A&J Market in Stevenson/The Reflector)

TRANSPORTATION

• Washington to rein in fast drivers with speed limiters (Washington State Standard)
• Gov. Ferguson signs law requiring speed-limiting device for frequent offenders (The Center Square)
• Ferguson signs bill to require speed-limiting devices for habitual speeders in Washington (The Spokesman-Review) $
• Washington gets just two bids to build new electric ferries, and the prices are in (The Seattle Times) $

WATER

• Yakima Basin water supply forecast shows irrigation shortfall (KNDO/KNDU)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Spokane County to consider Avista plan to bury power lines to reduce wildfire risks in three Spokane County urban wildlands (The Spokesman-Review) $

WILDLIFE

• Environmentalists worry changes to Endangered Species Act will hurt more wildlife than the spotted owl (The Columbian) $

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