AGRICULTURE & WATER
- WA’s snowpack languishes with little hope for the months ahead (The Seattle Times)
- Spokane’s water rates for customers outside city limits must be “just and reasonable,” court rules amid yearslong fight (The Spokesman-Review)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Unemployment benefit bill for strikers gets Washington House committee approval (The Center Square)
- House unanimously approves Spokane Valley lawmaker’s bill to expand state’s injured worker reimbursement program (KLCK Radio)
- Disabled and injured workers in Washington may receive additional state assistance (KHQ TV)
- 2 adult entertainment bills could influence change in lewd laws governing state bars (MyNorthwest)
- OPINION: Workers on strike in WA should not get unemployment benefits (Sen. Curtis King/The Seattle Times)
CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM
CONGRESS
COURTS (STATE)
- Washington gun retailer faces multimillion-dollar penalty for illegal sales: AG (FOX 13)
- Miguel Gaitan’s sentence reduced in 1993 murders of Outlook family (Yakima Herald-Republic)
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
DRUG CRISIS
EDUCATION
- High school financial literacy worth $110K in WA, says study (KONA Radio)
- Washington bill would limit student isolation and restraint (Axios – Seattle)
- Cough? Sore throat? More schools suggest mildly sick kids attend anyway (The Seattle Times)
- EDITORIAL: Education podcast puts more eyes (and ears) on Seattle Public Schools (The Seattle Times)
- EDITORIAL: Ban TikTok in school? Get rid of phones instead (Bloomberg News/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
ELECTIONS
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
- Bill that would require AED’s in all fitness centers unanimously passes state Senate (KNDO/KNDU)
- Spokane Valley Fire Department sees record number of calls for medical emergencies in January (KXLY TV)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
HIGHER EDUCATION
HOUSING
- Proposal to create state Housing Department heads to House floor for debate (Tri-City Herald)
- Bill aims to get property owners to convert vacant commercial spaces into housing (KONP Radio)
- Desperate for affordable housing, some cities sweeten tax breaks for developers (Stateline/Washington State Standard)
- Seattle social housing advocates want an ‘excess compensation’ tax (Crosscut)
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Washington state Senate unanimously approves ban on hog-tying by police (AP)
- WA Senate passes bill that would ban hogtying by police (The Seattle Times)
- Washington Senate passes bill to ban hog-tying by police after death of Manuel Ellis (Washington State Standard)
- Flustered by OPB report, Vancouver police spent months trying to unearth sources (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- Former Yakima police officer accused of raping a passed out teen in West Richland (Tri-City Herald)
- Protest interrupts groundbreaking for new Lacey police station, Thurston Sheriff says (The Olympian)
LEGISLATURE
- House Republicans double down on push for legislative hearings for initiatives (The Center Square)
- Washingtonians demand hearings on citizen initiatives (Washington State Journal/Columbia Basin Herald)
- Cutoff casualties (The Washington Observer)
- EDITORIAL: Ballot initiatives require public discussions (The Columbian)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Pasco officials to discuss relationship with DPDA following critical state audit (The Center Square)
OTHER STATES
- Democrats split on charging public or timber industry for more of Oregon’s wildfire protection (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- Oregon ‘right to repair’ bill draws conflicting reactions from big smartphone companies (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- Farm Bureau, others sue California over emissions reporting (Capital Press)
- Why California legislators of both parties want to ban homeless encampments (CalMatters/Washington State Standard)
POLITICS
NATIONAL
SCHOOL SAFETY
- Bullying at Frontier points toward frustrations for parents (Columbia Basin Herald)
- Othello High School placed on lockdown after social media threat (KHQ TV)
STATE GOVERNMENT
- Foster parents demand change to law blamed for death of an infant (FOX 13)
- Foster parents call for improved child welfare laws in Washington (KING TV)
- Overdoses continue in state juvenile facility, despite governor’s insistence of ‘improvement’ (KING TV)
- Report: WA diverted $340M in federal COVID funds to immigrants via $1K checks (The Center Square)
- WA diverts federal COVID funds to non-citizens (KWHT Radio)
- New regional Ecology director David Bowen focused on water issues and more (Yakima Herald-Republic)
TRANSPORTATION
- Washington looks to put its most famous volcano on a specialty license plate (Washington State Standard)
- Rep. Jim Walsh: Washington Democrats want car tires to be more environmentally friendly, plan to restrict sales (KVI Radio)
- WSDOT crew member saves 4 people from fire on Blewett Pass (The Wenatchee World)
- Washington and Oregon buck trend of rising gas prices across U.S. (The Columbian)
- Federal watchdog says Boeing door plug blowout likely involved missing bolts (Axios – Seattle)
- Sound Transit link extension delayed until 2026 (KING TV)
WEATHER & CLIMATE
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE