Washington stuck mid-pack in national education ranking; Washington’s Supreme Court slashes public defender caseload limits

Washington stuck mid-pack in national education ranking

Washington State Standard — For two decades, reading proficiency has remained largely unchanged in Washington. In 2005, 64% of the state’s 4th graders failed to meet reading standards. The number improved, falling to just 60% in 2013 and 2015, but last year climbed to a new high of 68%. Math proficiency among 8th graders dropped over the past decade, from 58% not meeting standards in 2013, to 70% last year, largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and its toll on student learning and a rise in chronic absenteeism nationally.

Washington’s Supreme Court slashes public defender caseload limits

Washington State Standard — The state Supreme Court on Monday responded to a “crisis” in Washington’s public defense system by slashing caseloads for those providing counsel to poor defendants facing criminal prosecutions. Justices unanimously agreed to set the new statewide standards, which call for public defenders to handle a maximum of 47 felony cases or 120 misdemeanor cases in a year, depending on one’s primary area of practice. The current thresholds are 150 felonies and 400 misdemeanors. The group that represents Washington counties says the new standards are unattainable with the level of funding now available and due to a shortage of lawyers.

ABORTION

• Talks of limits on abortion medication access raise concern (Moscow-Pullman Daily News) $

AGRICULTURE

• Chinese scientists suspected of smuggling plant pathogen into U.S. (Capital Press) $

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Scammers are using AI to enroll fake students in online classes, then steal college financial aid (AP)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Is all this talk of recession indicators a sign a recession is coming? (KNKX Radio)

CENSUS

• COLUMN: Seattle is the nation’s most male-skewed major city (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times) $

CONGRESS

• WA Rep. pushes bill that challenges NCAA settlement, seeks fair pay for student-athletes (MyNorthwest)
• Rep. Adam Smith, House Armed Services Committee member, discusses LA troop deployment (Spokane Public Radio)
• Gluesenkamp Perez’s bipartisan bill to help moms access substance use disorder treatment passes House (The Chronicle)
• Can $1,000 at birth change a child’s future? A Republican proposal aims to find out (AP)
• OPINION: How cuts to Legal Services Corporation will hurt access to justice in WA (Salvador A. Mungia, elected to the Washington Supreme Court in 2024, Bill Pickett, co-chair of the Washington Equal Justice Coalition, and Ronald Flagg, president of the Legal Services Corporation/The Seattle Times) $

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Issaquah pays $5.5M to settle jail deaths as costs mount statewide (Cascade PBS)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• WA joins lawsuit over Trump administration’s plan to redistribute ‘mass-shooting devices’ (The News Tribune) $
• Washington sues federal government to block distribution of forced reset triggers (The Spokesman-Review) $
• Washington state school board director suing OSPI (KONA Radio)
• Dozens of states sue to block the sale of 23andMe personal genetic data without customer consent (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• WA Supreme Court issues rule to reduce public defense caseloads (Cascade PBS)
• How old is too old for jury duty in Washington? Here’s what state law says (The Bellingham Herald) $

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Coroner says Decker girls died of suffocation as search for their father continues (The Center Square)
• Search for Travis Decker: Authorities identify ‘new details, new search areas’ in WA (FOX 13)
• Chelan County deputies issue community alert, Travis Decker suspected to be in the Peshastin area (KIRO TV)
• Thieves targeting Washington’s infrastructure amid rising copper costs (KONA Radio)

DRUG CRISIS

• Parents charged in connection to 15-month-old son’s fentanyl overdose (KING TV)
• Drug deaths plummet among young Americans as fentanyl carnage eases (NPR/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• EDITORIAL: Same-day substance use services a positive step (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) $

EDUCATION

• Teachers’ union files grievance against Vancouver Public Schools over ‘secret’ staffing cuts (The Columbian) $
• Walla Walla Public Schools unveils new electric bus fleet; largest in Washington state (KEPR TV)
• EDITORIAL: Tiny WA district thinks outside the box to help students master skills (The Seattle Times) $

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Port of Walla Walla approves renewable natural gas plant at Stearns Kelly Property (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) $

ENVIRONMENT

• Study on ‘forever chemicals’ in fertilizer gains traction (Capital Press) $

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Trump sends Marines and more National Guard members to Los Angeles (AP)

FOOD SAFETY & SECURITY

• 20 million eggs recalled from Walmart, Safeway other stores in WA, other states (The Olympian) $

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Virginia Mason sued after telling woman her nurse may have stolen pain meds (The Seattle Times) $
• WSU and Providence partner for Everett fellowship program (The Everett Herald) $

HIGHER EDUCATION

• New Welcome Center helps students get started at South Puget Sound Community College (The Olympian) $

HOMELESSNESS

• Nonprofit that operates group homes for homeless youth plans Tacoma expansion (The News Tribune) $

IMMIGRATION

• Washington state farmworkers fear retaliation, deportation for reporting sexual harassment to key federal agency under Trump (Investigate West/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Hundreds in Seattle decry arrest of union leader in L.A. anti-ICE protest (The Seattle Times) $
• Pierce County Sheriff wants to work with ICE. WA law says he can’t. Here’s why (The Peninsula Gateway/The Columbian) $
• COLUMN: After leaks to media, ICE Seattle withholds details on raids to protect agents, community (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• Long life of divisive Uncle Sam billboard off I-5 in Washington nears end with sale of land (The Oregonian) $

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Camano Island chase: Undocumented immigrant rams federal cars, injures 2 agents (MyNorthwest)

LGBTQ+

• Democrats, divided on trans issues, struggle to speak in one voice (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times) $

LONG-TERM CARE

• Washington state nursing homes receive violations at twice the national rate (KING TV)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• ‘A deadly crisis’: Veterans counselors push for more support following Decker homicide (The Wenatchee World) $

OTHER STATES

• Oregon transportation bill gets panned by Republicans – even those who negotiated it (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon lawmakers pass bill to keep medical debt off credit reports (The Oregonian) $
• California will sue Trump over sending National Guard to L.A. protests (AP)

POLITICS

STATE

• Anti-Trump ‘NO KINGS’ protests planned for Seattle this weekend (KING TV)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Seattle school police officer plan proceeds with caution (The Seattle Times) $

STATE GOVERNMENT

• County official tapped to be WA’s next health secretary (Washington State Standard)
• Snohomish County Health Department director tapped as WA health secretary (The Everett Herald) $
• WA AGO task force struggles to define ‘domestic violent extremism’ (The Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION

• State and local officials recommit to 2030 opening of North Spokane Corridor (The Spokesman-Review) $
• North Spokane Corridor moves toward 2030 finish line with final funding secured (The Center Square)
• Light rail in Redmond delayed by overhead wire mishap (The Seattle Times) $
• OPINION: Washington EV sales have stalled and are far short of state’s arbitrary targets (Todd Myers, Washington Policy Center/Clark County Today)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• Forecast failures ahead? KIRO meteorologist warns weather readings are crippled by funding cuts (MyNorthwest)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Washington faces early, high-risk wildfire season (Axios – Seattle)
• Evacuations issued for town near Cle Elum as Red Bridge Fire grows (MyNorthwest)
• Red Bridge Fire near Cle Elum grows to 200 acres, triggers Level 3 evacuations (Daily Record) $

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