Hundreds of new laws will take effect in Washington on June 6; Washington parental rights law criticized as a ‘forced outing’ measure is allowed to take effect

AGRICULTURE

• Cherry season looking bright for 2024 (KAPP/KVEW)
• OPINION: Washington farmers want to conserve — let’s support what they need to make it happen (Conor Lincoln, ambassador of the American Conservation Coalition/The Bellingham Herald)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• COLUMN: In Seattle, it’s the millionaires next door — 54,200 of them (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

CANNABIS

• Marijuana moratorium extension requested in Grant Co. (Columbia Basin Herald)

CHILD CARE

• How to find affordable child care and child care subsidies in WA (The Seattle Times)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Community groups demand ongoing funding for Seattle’s equitable development program (KOMO TV)

CORONAVIRUS

• EDITORIAL: Lawmakers should prepare for next pandemic (The Columbian)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• ‘In a way I was famous.’ WA state man sentenced for ‘swatting’ hoax calls across U.S. (The News Tribune)

COURTS (STATE)

• Washington parental rights law criticized as a ‘forced outing’ measure is allowed to take effect (AP)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Moses Lake to address its toxic gang problem at town hall this Thursday (Source One News)

CYBERSECURITY

• Eastern Washington University receives $1 million grant for Cybersecurity Clinic (KXLY TV)

DRUG CRISIS

• Mayor Lisa Brown declares emergency for Spokane overdose hotspot at Second and Division (The Spokesman-Review)

EDUCATION

• Parents worried Seattle’s Dual Language Immersion schools could be on ‘chopping block’ (FOX 13)
• Class of COVID-19: This year’s graduating class started high school in lockdown. Here are their stories (The Spokesman-Review)
• Bombshell letters accuse Marysville school leaders of ‘cronyism,’ ‘no plan’ (The Everett Herald)
• Lower enrollment causes Kelso to plan for budget cuts, combining 2 grades into 1 classroom (The Daily News)
• Washington moves to close charter school for first time amid multiple violations (The Center Square)

ELECTIONS

• Intelligence chairman says US may be less prepared for election threats than it was four years ago (AP)
• Mexican citizens in Washington state struggle to have their vote counted in historic election (KUOW Radio)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Puget Sound Energy will ramp up collection efforts for $140M in overdue bills (Washington State Standard)
• King County households can get low- to no-cost heat pumps (The Seattle Times)
• Washington lawmaker plans to resurrect California-style gas price-gouging bill (The Center Square)
• OPINION: The TMX project: This ship should not have sailed (Fred Felleman, serving a third term on the Seattle Port Commission and consults on maritime safety issues for Friends of the Earth/The Seattle Times)

FISH

• New Washington law requires fishing license for smelt, crawfish and carp (The Chronicle)
• Cle Elum gets $1m in federal funds for fish migration project (Daily Record)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Panel rejects psychedelic drug MDMA as a PTSD treatment in possible setback for advocates (AP)
• OPINION: Syphilis is on the rise (Francisco R. Velázquez, M.D is the health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District, and Kirsten Duncan, MPH, lead disease investigation specialist for the Spokane Regional Health District/The Spokesman-Review)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Protesters dispute claims of antisemitic graffiti on UW campus (The Seattle Times)

HOMELESSNESS

• She took the job few others wanted: King County homelessness authority CEO (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• A decision is in on controversial Pierce County village homeless project. Details here (The News Tribune)

HOUSING

• King County aims to speed up some eviction cases (The Seattle Times)
• Former home of Raab family to become housing development on Poulsbo’s south end (Kitsap Sun)
• Kitsap County home listings asked for more money in May – see the current median price here (Kitsap Sun)

IMMIGRATION

• To restrict migrants, Biden leans on Trump’s favorite immigration law (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Migrant encampment in Kent to stay after threats of arrests (KIRO TV)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• What will become of unfinished Tacoma psychiatric hospital? Sale set for this month (The News Tribune)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Exclusive: Video shows Seattle police officers beating man with batons at bus stop (KING TV)

LEGISLATURE

• Hundreds of new laws will take effect in Washington on June 6 (Washington State Standard)
• New laws go into effect this week in WA (KWHT Radio)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• City acts to hasten demolition of derelict buildings (Axios – Seattle)
• Spokane to move forward with $250K settlement over 2022 officer-related death (The Center Square)
• Inflation, slowing growth cited as $42M budget deficit looms for Vancouver in 2025 (The Columbian)
• Private investigator accuses Spokane Valley Councilman of problematic work history during public meeting (The Spokesman-Review)

MEDIA

• Northwest Asian Weekly newspaper turns the page to a new generation (KUOW Radio)
• Live from SnoCo TV: Local access channel to be C-SPAN for Everett (The Everett Herald)

MENTAL HEALTH

• See what the Tri-Cities 1st crisis recovery center will look like inside (Tri-City Herald)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Redmond HS counselor arrested for alleged inappropriate relationship with student (The Center Square)
• EDITORIAL: Failures in student safety jeopardize Seattle Public Schools’ bottom line (The Seattle Times)

SPORTS

• WA’s first transgender high school track champion addresses reaction (The Seattle Times)
• Pickleball courts are in high demand in Olympia, officials say. But what about the neighbors? (The Olympian)

TAXES

• Study of Seattle’s sweetened beverage tax shows reduction in BMI among children (FOX 13)

TRANSPORTATION

• Washington starts nationwide search for electric ferry builders (The Center Square)
• The tricky business of charging Washington’s coming hybrid electric ferries (KUOW Radio)
• Many Americans are still shying away from EVs despite Biden’s push, an AP-NORC/EPIC poll finds (AP)
• Electric cars are suddenly becoming affordable (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Cowlitz tribe among groups awarded millions from state for clean-energy projects (The Columbian)
• Film shines light on missing Tulalip woman’s story — and larger crisis (The Everett Herald)

WATER

• Lacey council OKs eminent domain powers for land near city’s most important water well (The Olympian)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• USDA wildfire plan issued (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Risk of large wildfires on the rise in parts of West (Capital Press)
• Fire-related power outages could become more frequent, Pacific Power says (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Firefighters subdue 80-acre blaze that threatened homes in East Wenatchee (Source One News)

WILDLIFE

• Can a tiny shorebird stop the massive expansion of a container port? (The Seattle Times)