Graffiti-battling drones take flight in WSDOT highway cleanup program; Monroe prison escapee captured, authorities confirm

AGRICULTURE

• USDA to require electronic ear tags in cattle, bison crossing state lines (Capital Press)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Can AI help homeless families find long-term solutions? A local model shows promise (The News Tribune)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• More people landed jobs in Washington last month. More wound up jobless, too. (Washington State Standard)
• Boeing firefighters picket with strike fast approaching (MyNorthwest)

CAPITAL BUDGET

• Abbarno tours Cowlitz County methane capture project, highlights benefits (The Chronicle)

CHILD CARE

• States are required to background check child care workers. Many are falling short. (The 19th/Washington State Standard)

CONGRESS

• Congress has a lot to say about Boeing’s troubles. But what will it do? (The Seattle Times)
• U.S. Rep. Perez tours wastewater treatment plant, shares clean water investments at roundtable (The Reflector)
• EDITORIAL: Pass Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act for greater transparency (The Seattle Times)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Monroe prison escapee captured, authorities confirm (FOX 13)
• 59-year-old escapes Monroe jail, found days later by police (MyNorthwest)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Court says state health-care plans can’t exclude gender-affirming surgery (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• WSP investigating 17 road rage shootings after Federal Way incident (MyNorthwest)
• COLUMN: Seattle employee pulls knife on violent homeless man, cops weren’t dispatched (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

CYBERSECURITY

• Kaiser Permanente says data breach may affect 13.4M customers (FOX 13)

DAMS

• Debate attempts to address dam breaching questions (Columbia Basin Herald)

DRUG CRISIS

• Braun calls for more legislative action after three infants exposed to fentanyl (The Chronicle)

EDUCATION

• These are Washington’s top 10 high schools, according to US News (FOX 13)
• Seattle Public Schools hires state agency to review practices at Rainier View (The Seattle Times)
• Tacoma high school start times to move later, middle schools earlier next year (KING TV)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• States rethink data centers as ‘electricity hogs’ strain the grid (Stateline/Washington State Standard)
• Community outraged over possible multidecade project near local landmark (The Center Square)
• Whitman County residents again slam wind-farm idea (The Lewiston Tribune)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Biden approves disaster declaration for WA after January storms (The Seattle Times)
• FDA brings lab tests under federal oversight in bid to improve accuracy and safety (AP)

HANFORD

• WA, feds upend plan to clean up one of nation’s most costly, dangerous radioactive sites (Tri-City Herald)
• Hanford’s new plan to clean up 56 million gallons of nuclear waste (Cascade PBS)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• UW encampment protesters want school to cut ties with Israel, Boeing (The Seattle Times)
• Pro-Palestinian encampment on UW campus continues to grow (MyNorthwest)
• EDITORIAL: FAFSA frustrations are worth enduring (Yakima Herald-Republic)

HOUSING

• Washington seeks to fix discrimination from racially restrictive property deeds (Washington State Standard)

IMMIGRATION

• Over 100 asylum seekers forced out of Kent hotel, now in encampment in Seattle park (KING TV)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• B.C. court acknowledges First Nation’s land claim off Vancouver Island (The Seattle Times)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• KIRO 7 investigates massive backlog in DUI toxicology results (KIRO TV)
• Seattle police union approves new contract with retroactive raises (The Seattle Times)
• Seattle mayor announces initiatives to enhance police recruitment and accountability (KOMO TV)
• Vancouver man involved in police pursuit that spans two counties in Oregon (The Columbian)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• As Seattle budget deficit grows, City Council begins spending review (The Seattle Times)
• How long should Tacoma elected officials be able to serve? Term limits being debated (The News Tribune)
• Sidhu apologizes for providing reference for manager who quit amid harassment allegations (The Bellingham Herald)
• Chelan County wants hearings on liquor, cannabis licensing clashes (KPQ Radio)
• Burien City Council delays transitional housing vote amid rising homelessness concerns (FOX 13)
• La Center council agrees to let Cowlitz Tribe incorporate land east of I-5 into trust (The Reflector)

LONG-TERM CARE

• Confusion remains over WA Cares exemptions based on private insurance plans (The Center Square)

MEDIA

• Seattle Times’ Mental Health Project wins national reporting award (The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• UW’s “magic mushroom” trial advancing (Axios – Seattle)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• VA remains committed to controversial computer system, says Veterans Affairs official in Spokane visit (The Spokesman-Review)

OPEN GOVERNMENT

• Residents question lack of access to Mabton Council meeting recordings (Yakima Herald-Republic)

OTHER STATES

• Protesters take over Columbia University building in escalation of Israel-Hamas war demonstrations (AP)

REDISTRICTING

• Yakima County at the center of redistricting fight (The Center Square)

SPORTS

• OPINION: WA girls deserve the chance to play varsity flag football (Troy Vincent Sr., NFL’s executive vice president of football operations/The Seattle Times)

TAXES

• EDITORIAL: Address Washington’s property tax limitation (The Columbian)

TRANSPORTATION

• Graffiti-battling drones take flight in WSDOT highway cleanup program (KOMO TV)
• It’s not science fiction: A drone that removes graffiti has arrived (MyNorthwest)
• Look, up in the sky! It’s a drone … painting over graffiti in Washington state (KUOW Radio)
• New WA rebate program could get you an electric car with payments cheaper than phone bills (Tri-City Herald)
• Is Seattle a walkable city? Pedestrian death rates show otherwise (Cascade PBS)
• Eastside gets light rail (KUOW Radio)
• Lummi Island man files injunction as he tries to stop ferry rate hike set for June (KING TV)
• COLUMN: Rest area blues and its dire situation on the I-5 corridor (Chris Sullivan/MyNorthwest)

WATER

• Adjudi-what?! A comprehensive look at the state’s process to set water rights in the Nooksack basin (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)
• Why are Salmon Creek trail ponds drying up? (The Columbian)

WILDLIFE

• One zebra remains missing, three contained after escaping trailer on I-90 East (MyNorthwest)
• EDITORIAL: Bird act’s renewal can aid in saving species (The Everett Herald)