Lawmakers failed in duty to protect children from fentanyl; Why auto thefts, still high in WA, aren’t ‘just a property crime’

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Newspapers nationwide sue OpenAI for illegally scraping content to train AI (The Center Square)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Seattle considers flipping delivery driver law (Axios – Seattle)
• Snohomish County tied for lowest unemployment rate in Washington (The Everett Herald)
• Latest unemployment numbers dipping after 5-month climb (The Wenatchee World)
• OPINION: This May Day, I’m marching for fairness for undocumented workers (Zenia Javalera, president of the labor union SEIU6/The Seattle Times)

CANNABIS

• Feds to reclassify marijuana in historic shift (AP)

CHILD CARE

• Whidbey child care crisis at breaking point (Whidbey News-Times)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Need for diapers persists, even with new Washington cash benefit (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Pierce County food banks facing ‘crisis’ as record numbers seek help and donations dry up (The News Tribune)

COURTS (STATE)

• Suspect in Marysville teen’s killing still not competent to stand trial (The Everett Herald)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Why auto thefts, still high in WA, aren’t ‘just a property crime’ (The Seattle Times)
• Pierce County man charged after chasing his stolen truck (KIRO TV)

DRUG CRISIS

• A 4-year-old overdosed on fentanyl in a Tri-Cities motel. Her mom now faces prison time (Tri-City Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Lawmakers failed in duty to protect children from fentanyl (The Seattle Times)

EDUCATION

• North Thurston school board taps longtime employee as superintendent in special vote (The Olympian)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Federal disaster declared for 16 Washington counties (KUOW Radio)
• Clark County gets FEMA disaster assistance for January ice storms (The Columbian)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Inslee has 60 days to decide on controversial Horse Heaven wind farm (Washington State Standard)
• Washington lawmaker tours Cowlitz County landfill methane gas capture project (The Center Square)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• A bystander to ’60s protests, Biden now becomes a target (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

FOOD SAFETY & SECURITY

• Nuts sold in Washington sicken 6 people with E. coli. Here’s where they were sold (Tri-City Herald)

HANFORD

• After years of negotiations, new government Hanford plan stirs up plans to treat radioactive waste (NW News Network)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Bothell family alleges racism at Seattle Children’s Hospital contributed to their daughter’s death (KING TV)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Pro-Palestine demonstration at UW refuses to budge: ‘We will be here’ (FOX 13)
• Pro-Palestinian UW encampment doubles by second day (MyNorthwest)

HOMELESSNESS

• Homelessness on the rise among Washington’s K-12 students (Washington State Standard)
• Spokane County funds program aimed at helping homeless people leave Spokane for greener pastures (The Spokesman-Review)

IMMIGRATION

• Hundreds of asylum-seeking refugees create encampment in Central District park (MyNorthwest)
• OPINION: Activists who want ICE abolished skew the truth. The NWIPC is safe, secure and humane (Bruce Scott, facility administrator of the Northwest ICE Processing Center/The News Tribune)

INVASIVE SPECIES

• WDFW sounds alarm over invasive fish on San Juan Island (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• Home builders freaked over 140% Pasco water rights fee increase. This is what’s changing (Tri-City Herald)
• ABC Recycling withdraws plan for controversial metal shredder along Bellingham waterfront (The Bellingham Herald)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Seattle mayor hires firm to investigate SPD sexism, harassment claims (The Seattle Times)
• Jury selection to begin in Vancouver police Officer Daniel Sahota’s death (The Columbian)
• Yakima hosts statewide police K9 training inside old downtown mall building (KAPP/KVEW)

LEGISLATURE

• Rep. Tom Dent receives ‘2023 Legislative Champion’ award from Washington Public Utility Districts Association (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)
• Tri-City Regional Chamber to host membership luncheon with Washington state legislators (KAPP/KVEW)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• King County’s $16 million tax fund faces scrutiny over misuse in eviction aid case (KOMO TV)
• Seattle City Council rejects more density for affordable housing (The Seattle Times)
• Spokane ordinance requires 4-to-6 month notice before increasing rent (The Center Square)
• Whatcom County Council votes to investigate handling of sexual harassment claim (The Bellingham Herald)
• Mayors deliver State of City addresses (Snoqualmie Valley Record)

MEDIA

• KUOW lays off eight staffers, ends RadioActive youth program (KUOW Radio)
• Longtime KOMO News anchor Eric Johnson retiring (The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Dueling protesters clash at UCLA hours after police clear pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia (AP)

RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• Chelan County planning for $15-20 million wood products campus (KPQ Radio)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Garfield High School sex abuse allegations reveal weaknesses in staff oversight laws (KUOW Radio)

TRANSPORTATION

• WSDOT officially testing drones to cover up graffiti on bridges and overpasses (KING TV)
• What’s sending first-generation electric cars to an early grave? (KUOW Radio)
• Tesla fires many on charger team, raising doubts about expansion (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Washington ferry fares increase May 1 for peak season (The Seattle Times)
• Here’s how many people celebrated Eastside light rail opening (The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: Seattle area clocks second-lowest mileage per person among large metros (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: Cooperate to prevent oil spills, disturbances (The Columbian)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Events planned May 5 to honor missing and murdered Indigenous people in Washington and Oregon (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Red Dress Day display, evening vigils bring MMIW awareness to Walla Walla (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

WATER

• ‘Not a finish line’: For water providers, new PFAS rule is first step (The Everett Herald)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Growing wildfire risk leaves states grappling with how to keep property insurers from fleeing (AP)

WILDLIFE

• Almost all mountain goats died after airlift from Olympics to Cascades (The Everett Herald)

WOLVES

• US House votes to remove wolves from endangered list in Oregon, other lower 48 states (AP/Oregon Public Broadcasting)