Human trafficking prevalent in Washington, but precise numbers hard to find; U.S. and Canada reach tentative deal on Columbia River Treaty update

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• US wholesale inflation picked up in June in sign that some price pressures remain elevated (AP)
• More than 1 in 3 US households have financial insecurity, survey says (FOX 13)
• The commercial real estate credit crunch: ‘There’s a tsunami coming’ (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)
• Union leaders react to Kroger, Albertson’s planned store sell-off (KIRO TV)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• In Crosby, a community comes together to revive historic schoolhouse (Kitsap Sun)
• OPINION: Pierce County AIDS Foundation lost your trust. We’re sorry. Here’s what comes next (Pierce County AIDS Foundation Board of Directors/The News Tribune)

CONGRESS

• New bill would help foster care youth pay for college campus housing (KIRO TV)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Conflict and confusion after state suspends intake for convicted juveniles (KUOW Radio)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• EDITORIAL: Court reduces power of the regulatory state (Capital Press)

COURTS (STATE)

• Petition to recall Mabton mayor to be reviewed in superior court (Yakima Herald-Republic)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• King County Sheriff’s Office caution drivers to stay vigilant against car thefts (KING TV)
• Seattle launches initiative to reduce gun violence (Axios – Seattle)
• Report: Crime down significantly in Moses Lake year over year, but what about the rest of Grant County? (Source One News)

CYBERSECURITY

• AT&T says new hack includes records of customer calls, texts (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)

DAMS

• U.S. and Canada reach tentative deal on Columbia River Treaty update (Washington State Standard)
• US would keep more hydropower under agreement with Canada on treaty governing Columbia River (AP)
• U.S., Canada reach vital Columbia River pact. Some worry it’s not enough to protect salmon (Tri-City Herald)

DRUG CRISIS

• New recommendations for tackling fentanyl, crime on Seattle streets (The Seattle Times)
• New audit shows where drug overdoses, crime are the worst in Seattle (KING TV)
• Kitsap launches youth opioid prevention program (Kitsap Sun)
• COLUMN: King County will sneak ‘harm reduction’ supplies into Crisis Care Centers levy to enable addicts (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

EDUCATION

• Spokane Public Schools to ban cellphone use in classrooms (The Spokesman-Review)
• Come fall, Monroe students must silence their cellphones in class (The Everett Herald)

ELECTIONS

• King County Elections perform annual accuracy test ahead of primary election (KOMO TV)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• A 6.4 earthquake off Vancouver Island triggers alert in Western WA (The Seattle Times)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• New research ideas for bird-safe wind turbines (KPQ Radio)
• UW Tacoma power outage a concern for local businesses on same grid (KIRO TV)
• Tumwater to purchase solar-powered EV charger in cloudy western Washington (The Center Square)

ENVIRONMENT

• WA adopts landfill rules to combat methane leaks (The Seattle Times)
• Port of Seattle takes action to safely remove PFAS foam from fire trucks (KING TV)

HANFORD

• Can Eastern WA nuclear workers raise safety issues without retaliation? Feds concerned (Tri-City Herald)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• OPINION: The US primary-care system can’t withstand the next pandemic (Bloomberg News/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

• Human trafficking prevalent in Washington, but precise numbers hard to find (Yakima Herald-Republic)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• Report revives talk of mandatory riparian buffers in Washington (Capital Press)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Tucson assistant chief selected to lead Spokane Police Department (The Spokesman-Review)
• Spokane announces new police chief; interim takes position with Sheriff’s Office (The Center Square)
• Spokane approves police retirement incentives despite being ‘woefully understaffed’ (The Center Square)
• WWU police officer fired, county pursues assault charge following incident in January (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Youth diversion program the subject of scrutiny under renewed calls for violence mitigation (KING TV)
• Richland condemns hate-filled antisemitic flyers left in mailboxes, driveways (Tri-City Herald)
• Chelan County looking to hike fees on land, building development (KPQ Radio)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Seattle sees slight student mental health improvement after $4.5M investment (The Center Square)
• Mental health pilot program at Seattle schools is working, but challenges remain (KUOW Radio)
• How 5 King County cities are reimagining care for people in crisis (The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Thousands of Oregon hospital patients may have been exposed to infectious diseases (AP)
• 14 deaths in Oregon linked to heat wave (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Climate change increasingly taking a toll on Oregon farmers, ranchers (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Portland-area officials OK new approach to curtail homelessness; it could fall apart in 3 months (The Oregonian)

SPORTS

• These Olympians in the 2024 Paris Games have ties to Washington state (The News Tribune)

TAXES

• IRS collects milestone $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth taxpayers (AP)

TRANSPORTATION

• Lack of boats leads to canceled trips, long ferry lines in Anacortes (The Seattle Times)
• Citizen group demands Sound Transit halt work on ST3, be held accountable for delays (KOMO TV)
• New work group tasked with finding solutions to curb growing crowds at SEA Airport (KING TV)
• COLUMN: New boats don’t address WA ferry system’s urgent problem (Roland Rexha, secretary-treasurer of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association/The Seattle Times)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• New bill aims to reform credentialing for Indian Health Services (KAPP/KVEW)

WATER

• Lacey asked residents to reduce outdoor water use. Now, that request has been extended (The Olympian)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Fire Report: More than 100 human-caused fires in the Northwest so far this summer (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Pioneer Fire enters Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (The Wenatchee World)

WOLVES

• Why Washington’s wolf count is under scrutiny (Washington State Standard)
• Officials concerned about wolves in Asotin County (The Lewiston Tribune)