Judge tosses counties’ lawsuit pressing for more state funding for public defenders; WA unemployment program still struggling, 4 years after COVID

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Wage theft victims are owed $5.4 million that WA hasn’t collected (The Seattle Times)
• What is wage theft? Your guide to workers’ rights in WA (The Seattle Times)
• Guaranteed income programs in Washington continue to see positive results (KNKX Radio)
• What is a living wage for Bellingham? Official estimates don’t hold up against the average budget (The Bellingham Herald)
• Boeing’s long fall, and how it might recover (The Seattle Times)
• FAA’s ‘cozy’ relationship with Boeing at issue again after Alaska Air blowout (The Seattle Times)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Food bank asks Olympia to create more community gardens as city considers urban farm park (The Olympian)
• Bellingham domestic violence housing facility awarded state funding for needed repairs, preservation (The Bellingham Herald)
• COLUMN: A new fund is giving $40K a year to Black Tacomans. The latest winners just got the cash (Matt Driscoll/The News Tribune)

CONGRESS

• Cantwell, McMorris Rodgers strike bipartisan deal on landmark data privacy bill (The Spokesman-Review)
• Key lawmakers unveil landmark data privacy bill (Axios – Seattle)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Green Hill School officials claim security advances amid scrutiny following recent crimes (The Chronicle)
• King County wants its own corrections officer training program (Crosscut)

COURTS (STATE)

• Judge tosses counties’ lawsuit pressing for more state funding for public defenders (Washington State Standard)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Washington ranks highest for burglaries in the nation (KPQ Radio)

DAMS

• Power generated from Northwest dams fell last year to lowest level in two decades (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Tolt Dam false alarm ruled an accident (Snoqualmie Valley Record)

DRUG CRISIS

• New ‘zombie drug’ tranq sold as standalone for first time, Seattle Police say (FOX 13)
• The ‘zombie drug’ has claimed a life in Western Washington (MyNorthwest)

EDUCATION

• Farm-to-school programs flourish in Washington (Washington State Standard)
• Washington school districts are poised to start swapping out their diesel buses for electric under new law (The Spokesman-Review)
• WWPS receives $4.7M in grants for 15 new electric buses (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• As SPS faces a massive budget deficit, here’s what to expect (The Seattle Times)
• Seattle Public Schools ‘reviewing’ teacher comments about murder of Israeli women (KOMO TV)
• Snohomish County schools await standards for drug, alcohol education (The Everett Herald)
• Para educators to strike, PA schools closed Monday (KONP Radio)
• OPINION: When it comes to math, maybe the kids aren’t the problem (Brian Baird, former member of Congress, clinical psychologist and university professor/The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: School truancy crisis means more than missed classes (Claudia Rowe/The Seattle Times)

ELECTIONS

• Spokane elections official confirms 26 ballots found on side of road are real (KHQ TV)
• An Eastern WA county has to recount its presidential primary ballots by hand. Here’s why (Tri-City Herald)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Questions remain about the costs of State Building Code Council’s gas phaseout (The Center Square)
• Amid explosive demand, America is running out of power (Washington Post/The Spokesman-Review)
• Wheat Country forecast: Specter of wind turbines divides the Palouse (The Spokesman-Review)
• COLUMN: Utility must make reliability, affordability priorities (Ann Donnelly/The Columbian)
• EDITORIAL: Keep lights on as Washington transitions to clean power (The Seattle Times)

FISH

• Chinook season downstream of Bonneville Dam extended to Tuesday (KIHR Radio)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• More Seattleites have ADHD than ever, but finding meds and docs is a challenge (KUOW Radio)

HOMELESSNESS

• Washington youth homelessness has dropped 40% but gaps remain, report says (MyNorthwest)
• County leaders debate testing shelters for meth, fentanyl contamination (The Everett Herald)
• Organizations take new approaches to help the homeless in Yakima (Yakima Herald-Republic)

HOUSING

• Why Seattle’s young families can’t find big houses (Axios – Seattle)

INSURANCE

• Yikes! Washington auto insurance rates blast past inflation (MyNorthwest)
• Insurers reap hidden fees by slashing payments. You may get the bill (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• 4-year-old Bremerton boy found after taken by mother, Amber alert canceled (MyNorthwest)
• Tentative agreement with Seattle police union makes only minor accountability changes (The Seattle Times)
• Sneak peek of proposed Seattle police contract shows big raises, but little increase in accountability (KUOW Radio)
• Former Spokane chief coming to Richland. It’s the 2nd interim chief in less than 6 months (Tri-City Herald)
• Public can ‘air their grievances’ about controversial Sheriff’s Office hire Thursday (The Olympian)
• EDITORIAL: Zero traffic deaths by 2030? Put more emphasis on law enforcement (The Seattle Times)

LEGISLATURE

• Republican Sen. Ann Rivers will not seek another term in state Senate (The Columbian)
• He’s leaving the legislature, but Frank Chopp says he’s ‘not the retiring type’ (KNKX Radio)
• Walla Walla Valley lawmakers recap session, respond to questions at town hall (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• After court ruling, Everett set to solidify bikini barista dress codes (The Everett Herald)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: Garfield freshman, 15, boosting newspapers, civic literacy (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Suicides among college athletes doubled over 20 years, UW study finds (KING TV)
• Biennial Healthy Youth Survey: Clark County students are feeling better (The Columbian)

OPERATING BUDGET

• State officials set aside 500K to help clean up gas leak (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• WA 16th District lawmakers announce $500K for gas leak cleanup (KWHT Radio)

OTHER STATES

• Idaho is losing OB-GYNs after strict abortion ban. But health exceptions unlikely this year. (Idaho Capital Sun/Washington State Standard)

REDISTRICTING

• Your questions answered: Redistricting in the Yakima Valley (Yakima Herald-Republic)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• One big reason Gen Z is still on Facebook: To save money (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• WA unemployment program still struggling, 4 years after COVID (The Seattle Times)
• Dept. of Licensing computers shut down statewide (KIRO TV)

TAXES

• The IRS is testing a free method to directly file taxes. But not everyone is thrilled. (States Newsroom/Washington State Standard)

TRANSPORTATION

• Deaths on Washington roads continue to rise (KIRO TV)
• Over 2,800 drunk driving arrests in Washington in 2024 so far (KHQ TV)
• 2 killed, trooper hurt in crash on Highway 101 near Shelton (The Seattle Times)
• Federal data-WA has some of the worst roads conditions in the US (KONA Radio)
• How help for electric cars went sideways (The Washington Observer)
• Key Interstate 5 Bridge document delayed again, but replacement work could still start in 2026 (The Columbian)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• UW studies a drastic way to cool a warming planet — cloud ‘brightening’ (The Seattle Times)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Southwest Washington faces its first wildfire season without Larch crews on hand to battle blazes (The Columbian)
• FEMA funding exceeds $2 million, but Spokane County wildfire victims say they’re not getting enough (KREM TV)
• Agencies team up to head off fire season (Columbia Basin Herald)
• COLUMN: Natural forest management is forest mismanagement (Bob Hassoldt/The Lewiston Tribune)

WILDLIFE

• Last man to see a grizzly in Cascades says return ‘would be wonderful’ (The Everett Herald)
• Blue Mountain elk herd treads water (The Lewiston Tribune)
• Time is running out for stranded, orphaned baby orca near Vancouver Island (KUOW Radio)