King County’s 2023 fentanyl deaths top 1,050, surpassing record; Seattle’s police chief addresses city’s record breaking homicide numbers

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Microsoft says its AI is safe. So why does it keep slashing people’s throats? (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• Can Microsoft become an AI leader and maintain its ambitious goals to cut carbon emissions? (KUOW Radio)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• State workers see dramatic increase in workplace injuries and illnesses as Washington tops national average (KUOW Radio)
• Minimum wage hike in Washington set to go into effect Jan. 1 : Why this could force families to lose benefits (KAPP/KVEW)
• State’s minimum wage, military pay for active duty, civilian workers going up in 2024 (Kitsap Sun)
• Spokane area businesses brace for minimum wage increase (KHQ TV)
• Report: Seattleites continued to see high cost of living in 2023 (The Center Square)
• Boeing urges airlines to inspect 737 MAX planes for possible loose bolts (The Seattle Times)
• Labor board: Starbucks broke law in Everett, Seattle store closures (The Everett Herald)
• Lumen to pay $825K to WA customers whose phones were disconnected during pandemic (The Seattle Times)

CANNABIS

• Debate over recreational pot shops in West Richland extends to new year issue (KAPP/KVEW)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• Connors files rebate bill to offset WA’s high gas prices (KWHT Radio)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• ‘A role model’: Community in mourning after loss of youth mentor in Tacoma homicide (KIRO TV)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• OPINION: Job losses follow proposal to boost pay for incarcerated people in WA (Raymond Williams, incarcerated at Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, a leader in the Concerned Lifer’s Organization and co-founder of the State Raised Working Group/The Seattle Times)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Federal judge accepts redrawn Georgia congressional and legislative districts that will favor GOP (AP)
• Mountlake Terrace man charged for participation in Jan. 6 riot at US Capitol (KUOW Radio)

COURTS (STATE)

• Cadine Ferguson-Brown appointed to Kitsap County Superior Court, succeeds Sally Olsen (Kitsap Sun)
• This Pierce County man was social media star who targeted neighbors. Now, he faces charges (The News Tribune)
• Victim’s family says Daniel Perez should serve full sentence for Yakima murder 11 years ago (Yakima Herald-Republic)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Seattle’s police chief addresses city’s record breaking homicide numbers (KOMO TV)
• Violent crime rate down in Tacoma (FOX 13)

DRUG CRISIS

• King County’s 2023 fentanyl deaths top 1,050, surpassing record (The Seattle Times)
• 4-year-old found in motel room died of suspected fentanyl overdose. Mom is arrested (Tri-City Herald)

EDUCATION

• Home-schoolers dismantled state oversight. Now they fear pushback. (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: School choice programs actually help public education (Martin F. Lueken, director of the Fiscal Research and Education Center at EdChoice/The Everett Herald)

ELECTIONS

• What to know about the efforts to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Ethics complaint against Clark County auditor Kimsey alleges mishandling of 2022 voter registration challenge of candidate who is facing voter fraud charges (The Columbian)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• City Light rates in Seattle to increase by nearly 10% next year (KIRO TV)

ENVIRONMENT

• Vancouver gets $575,000 from state to boost city’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2040 (The Columbian)

GUN RIGHTS

• New gun laws in effect for Washington starting January 1st (KXLY TV)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• New weight loss drugs are out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare won’t pay (AP)

HOMELESSNESS

• Spokane lawmaker’s bill would audit King County Homeless Authority’s grant spending (The Center Square)
• Encampment returns to Seattle park after city pays $15K to fix damages (FOX 13)
• Homelessness Year in Review: Progress, setbacks seen in Clark County in 2023 (The Columbian)
• EDITORIAL: Respite beds for homeless compassionate, vital (The Columbian)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Prosecutor clears WSU police officer in fatal shooting (The Center Square)
• Seattle settles police leader’s lawsuit over blame for 2020’s ‘pink umbrella incident’ (The Seattle Times)

LEGISLATURE

• A look at some of the proposed bills for Washington’s upcoming legislative session (KOMO TV)
• The new Washington state laws taking effect in January 2024 (Washington State Standard)
• Street racing among new laws, changes going into effect in Washington in 2024 (KIRO TV)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Brown, Klitzke share goals during Spokane swearing-in ceremony (The Center Square)
• ‘I don’t have regrets’: An exit interview with Seattle council firebrand Kshama Sawant (MyNorthwest)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: Will you know when your local news anchor becomes ‘automated’? (Matt Markovich/MyNorthwest)

OTHER STATES

• New Oregon law requires data brokers register before selling consumers’ personal information (KLCC/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Portland General Electric hikes residential rates by record 18% (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• EDITORIAL: Make Seattle school bus safety a legislative priority in 2024 (The Seattle Times)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Can hunting and conservation coexist? A WA proposal sparks debate (High Country News/Crosscut)
• More than 1,700 acres added to conservation lands inventory (Columbia Basin Herald)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• El Niño, drought, wildfires defined Washington’s weather in 2023 (MyNorthwest)
• Snow shortages are plaguing the West’s mountains (The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: From climate change to downtown Seattle, markers to watch in 2024 (Jon Talton/The Seattle Times)

WILDLIFE

• Days-old orca with ‘sweet little face’ seen off WA, photos show. ‘Heart nearly stopped’ (The Bellingham Herald)