Audit finds more problems with how WA spent federal COVID aid; Post-pandemic learning loss affecting WA students

ABORTION

• Inslee affirms WA’s position that hospitals must provide emergency abortion services (Washington State Standard)

AGRICULTURE

• Farmworkers rally as hearing on mushroom farm begins (Yakima Herald-Republic)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• US inflation cooled in May in sign that price pressures may be easing (AP)
• Seattle falls to No. 20 in global ranking of startup ecosystems (The Center Square)
• Thousands of drivers file arbitration claims against Amazon for unpaid wages and other losses (AP)
• Boeing sales tumble as the company gets no orders for the 737 Max for the second straight month (AP)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• New CDC, CBP rules are about to make it much harder to bring your dog across the border (The Bellingham Herald)

COURTS (STATE)

• Ex-Washington state auditor fights disbarment following prison time (Washington State Standard)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Road rage shootings remain high, report says – here are the worst states (FOX 13)
• Gold scammers are back, says Washington State Patrol (KIRO TV)
• New public database answers Snohomish County’s pressing crime questions (The Everett Herald)

EDUCATION

• Post-pandemic learning loss affecting WA students (KIRO TV)
• Evergreen, Vancouver district eighth-graders lag behind state in math scores (The Columbian)
• Shadle Park, North Central open new in-school health clinics to expand healthcare access (The Spokesman-Review)
• Clark County children can get free breakfast, lunch every day this summer (The Columbian)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Snohomish County drill to simulate response to terrorist attack (The Everett Herald)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Summer wildfire risk has PSE planning for potential power shutoffs (Kitsap Sun)
• Federal grant to help people in Northeastern Washington get hooked up to the power grid (NW News Network)
• OPINION: The warning sign ahead on the road to ending fossil fuels in Washington (Phil Vandervort, Producer of the John Carlson Show/KVI)

ENVIRONMENT

• Ecology seeks input on where businesses must have organic waste services (The Wenatchee World)
• Study quantifies loss of wetlands around Padilla Bay (Skagit Valley Herald)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Biden administration seeks to wipe medical debt off most credit reports (AP)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Drug shortages hit highest number since 2001, impacting patients, hospitals and pharmacies (KIRO TV)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• WA community colleges to get $9 million to train workers on front lines of climate change (The Seattle Times)
• Washington State University researchers to track virus transmissions between livestock and humans (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

HOMELESSNESS

• Spokane County homelessness down 15% compared to 2023, up 15% compared to 2022 (The Center Square)

HOUSING

• Amazon invests $1.4 billion for affordable housing options in regions where it has corporate offices (AP)

IMMIGRATION

• Americans push Biden to help spouses living in country illegally (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

INSURANCE

• Frustration over insurance rates in wildfire prone Plain area (KPQ Radio)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Seattle police provide update on hunt for Garfield student’s killer (FOX 13)
• Two Seattle police officers under investigation after violent arrest caught on video (KIRO TV)
• Everett police to be in ‘On Patrol: Live,’ a controversial heir to ‘Live PD’ (The Everett Herald)
• Burien police chief resigns, accepts outside employment opportunity (KING TV)

LEGISLATURE

• Law banning child marriages in Washington state now in effect (The Center Square)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• King County council member seeks audit of youth diversion program after murder case (KOMO TV)
• Seattle continues to delay vote on new delivery driver pay law (The Seattle Times)
• License plate reader expansion in Seattle up for final vote amid privacy concerns (The Center Square)
• Spokane allocates remaining COVID-19 relief funding ahead of cutoff (The Center Square)
• Spokane landlords can no longer ban tenants from installing AC units (The Spokesman-Review)
• Vancouver eyes new taxes, possibly on streaming services and commercial parking, to address projected budget shortfall (The Columbian)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Washington launches Hear Me WA, a 24/7 mental health hotline for teens (KOMO TV)

OTHER STATES

• Controversial Idaho wind project moves forward, but is nearly halved in size (Idaho Capital Sun/Washington State Standard)

PARKS

• WA’s 10 most popular state parks in 2023 — plus some hidden gems (The Seattle Times)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Should cops return to Seattle high schools? Interim Chief Rahr signals she wants to talk about it (KUOW Radio)
• Garfield High School student raises money to increase school’s security following deadly shooting (KIRO TV)
• OPINION: Stop the bleeding: SPS needs to do better to keep students safe (Carol Rava, parent of two former Seattle Public Schools students and one current, former SPS employee and lifelong advocate for public schools/The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: Garfield High used to have a cop, but Seattle schools canceled the job (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

SPORTS

• Cricket is having a PNW moment (Axios – Seattle)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Audit finds more problems with how WA spent federal COVID aid (Cascade PBS)
• Washington Attorney General sues Apple for monopolizing smartphone market (KHQ TV)

TRANSPORTATION

• I-5 bridge could face more than a year in delays (The Center Square)
• ‘A ticking time bomb:’ family of crash victim suing state DOT over ‘dangerous’ SR 509 intersection (KIRO TV)
• WSDOT reclassifies two roundabouts on Highway 101 (Peninsula Daily News)
• Thefts of charging cables pose yet another obstacle to appeal of electric vehicles (AP)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Wildfire forces dozens of evacuations southwest of Spokane amid high winds; fire knocked down Tuesday night (The Spokesman-Review)
• 40+ mph gusts fuel several Tri-Cities fires, threatening schools and homes, closing roads (Tri-City Herald)
• Lawn mower sparks wildfire that prompts evacuations in East Valley (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Updates on Pioneer Fire near Chelan; fire estimated at 600 acres (KPQ Radio)
• Palisades Fire burns 700 acres, 95% contained (The Wenatchee World)