Proposal aims to cut Washington public defender caseloads, critics say it’s too costly; Washington public sector unions split on new two-year contract

AGRICULTURE

• Washington pear harvest worst in decades (The Spokesman-Review)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• With Seattle-area costs, how are Boeing strike workers getting by? (The Seattle Times)
• Striking Boeing workers in Washington state say they’re in it for the long haul (KUOW Radio)
• Facing skeptical Senate committee, FAA chief defends Boeing oversight (The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: Consumer freedom threatened by the Albertsons/Kroger merger, undermining competition (Carla Romagnano and Kaye Balk, both union grocery works in Idaho and Washington/The News Tribune)
• COLUMN: After record surge, Seattle sees sharp drop in remote work (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times)

CANNABIS

• WA’s retail cannabis industry could benefit from fed reclassification of marijuana (The Center Square)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• California and Québec consider forming shared carbon market with Washington (NCW Life Channel)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Northwest Tea Festival offers teas from around the world (Axios – Seattle)
• Macklemore backtracks after controversial statements about America (MyNorthwest)

CONGRESS

• Congress passes temporary bill to avoid shutdown as lawmakers punt spending decisions to December (AP)
• Northwest lawmakers help Congress pass short-term spending bill, averting government shutdown (The Spokesman-Review)
• Parents react to House passing bill to stop hazing culture on college campuses nationwide (KIRO TV)
• EDITORIAL: Deja vu all over again (Capital Press)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Chehalis could seek more resources to investigate Green Hill School (The Chronicle)
• Everett woman accused of trying to smuggle drugs into Aberdeen prison (The Everett Herald)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• King County Sheriff’s lawsuit over Burien camping ban thrown out by federal judge (KUOW Radio)

COURTS (STATE)

• Proposal aims to cut Washington public defender caseloads, critics say it’s too costly (KING TV)
• Toutle teen, family sued after man fatally shot on their property in 2023 (The Daily News)
• Arlington woman killed by son pleaded for restraining order (The Everett Herald)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• DOJ highlights King County violence intervention groups (FOX 13)

DRUG CRISIS

• Overdose deaths declining for the first time in more than five years (KIRO TV)
• Woman charged with murder of baby in Seattle lodging for homeless people (The Seattle Times)

EDUCATION

• Seattle parents weigh in after latest twist in ongoing school closures debate (KING TV)
• Wenatchee School District support staff call for better pay amid financial struggles (The Wenatchee World)

ELECTIONS

• Washington voting centers strengthening security ahead of election day (KING TV)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• How worried should Tacoma be about the ‘Big One,’ the looming M-9.0 Cascadia earthquake? (The News Tribune)
• Swarm of 100+ earthquakes rattle edge of Hanford nuclear site northwest of Tri-Cities (Tri-City Herald)

ENVIRONMENT

• Washington state allocates millions to Puget Sound restoration (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)
• Mysterious stench looms across WA — and people want answers about the disgusting odor (The News Tribune)
• Officials still have no idea what that odor was in Southwest Washington (The Columbian)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• OPINION: The university encampment mess over Israel-Gaza was predictable (Andrew J. Perrin, chair of the Department of Sociology in the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, and Christian Lundberg, founding faculty member at the School for Civic Life and Leadership at UNC-Chapel Hill/The Seattle Times

HOMELESSNESS

• Decrease in homeless encampments changes Kitsap’s strategy to reach unhoused population (Kitsap Sun)
• COLUMN: Beyond rearranging deck chairs for homeless folks (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)

HOUSING

• Seattle City Council lifts 10-year-old affordable housing restrictions (Puget Sound Business Journal)

IMMIGRATION

• WA asylum seekers feel ‘deceived’ after relocation to temporary housing (FOX 13)
• 90 days to make a life: One Afghan family’s resettlement in Washington state (KUOW Radio)

INVASIVE SPECIES

• More invasive quagga mussels detected in Idaho’s Snake River (Washington State Standard)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• WSP to honor fallen trooper with statewide emphasis patrol this weekend (KOMO TV)
• Seattle Police to stop responding to alarm calls amid depleted resources (The Center Square)
• Spokane police ombuds calls out media over misinformation about officer’s firing (The Center Square)
• Benton deputies, Kennewick police offer new, easier way to report minor crimes (Tri-City Herald)
• HR investigation finds inappropriate workplace conduct at Sunnyside Police Department (Yakima Herald-Republic)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle mayor’s proposed budget closes $250M gap through layoffs and payroll tax (The Center Square)
• Police surveillance cameras in Seattle neighborhoods? Bill passes its first hurdle (KING TV)
• County report on harassment allegations points to failings of executive, HR, prosecutors (The Bellingham Herald)
• Police: Yakima County Coroner Curtice was using dead people’s drugs when he said he was poisoned (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Update: Franklin Co. will defend ex-administrator in $5M lawsuit filed by its own auditor (Tri-City Herald)
• Spokane Valley City Council elects not to provide Councilman Al Merkel legal representation in terse meeting he refused to leave (The Spokesman-Review)
• Spokane Valley officials didn’t disclose info capable of saving residents $400K (The Center Square)
• Chelan councilors discuss top state legislative priorities (KOZI Radio)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: WSU providing more reporters for new Olympia bureau (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon drug possession arrests up since new misdemeanor charge took effect (Washington State Standard)
• Noncitizen votes could not have swayed Oregon contests, officials tell lawmakers (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon offers to help non-citizens who were mistakenly registered to vote remain eligible for citizenship (The Oregonian)
• Oregon judge denies motion to put transparency law on hold (Capital Press)
• Oregon’s first-ever offshore wind auction in jeopardy (The Oregonian)
• EDITORIAL: Loans on tax credits won’t solve the rising cost of labor (Capital Press)

PARKS

• Free entry at Washington’s national parks this Saturday (Washington State Standard)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Biden wants to make active shooter drills in schools less traumatic for students (AP)
• Police say boy, 11, brandished gun at Camas middle school football game; owner of guns arrested (The Columbian)
• Kentwood High School student detained for threatening another student (KOMO TV)
• Rise in cyberbullying at Peninsula School District (FOX 13)

SECURITY

• Spokane airport to begin using new facial recognition units at security checkpoints (KREM TV)

SPORTS

• Analysis: How did the Pac-12 and Mountain West get here? Explaining a realignment tug-of-war (The Athletic/The Spokesman-Review)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Washington public sector unions split on new two-year contract (Washington State Standard)
• WA temporarily prints nonembossed license plates to address shortage (The Seattle Times)
• Gov. Jay Inslee named on Forbes’ first-ever list of worldwide leaders in sustainability (The Olympian)

TRANSPORTATION

• Electric conversion of WA ferry delayed a year, and the cost is rising (The Seattle Times)
• Proposal for Washington ferry engineers, oilers falls short of pay parity (Cascade PBS)
• Tacoma has spent $371M since ‘15 to fix streets. Why are its main routes getting worse? (The News Tribune)

WATER

• Does Trump want to turn ‘giant faucet’ to send Columbia River water to CA? What he said (Tri-City Herald)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• EDITORIAL: As the summers gets drier, the challenges will rise (Yakima Herald-Republic)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• NCW prescribed burns starting soon (The Wenatchee World)