Publicly air WA’s long-term care plan; Critics of proposal to raise property taxes call it the ‘largest in state history’ if fully implemented

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Workers worry ChatGPT and AI could replace jobs, survey finds (Axios – Seattle)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Lawmakers back rewrite of bar and nightclub lewd conduct rules after inspection backlash (Washington State Standard)
• Alcohol in strip clubs? Washington Senate approves bill boosting dancer protections and allowing alcohol service (The Spokesman-Review)
• Incentives for injured employees to stay in the workforce pass the House (The Spokesman-Review)
• Skagit Valley nursery withers in bad business climate (The Seattle Times)
• Expedia CEO to step down after 4 years (The Seattle Times)

CONGRESS

• Local politicians and leaders reflect on Rep. McMorris Rodgers’ surprise retirement announcement (The Spokesman-Review)
• Washington Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers announces she will not run for re-election (KREM TV)
• Rep. McMorris Rodgers to not seek re-election, colleagues respond (KNDO/KNDU)
• After 20 years, Eastern WA Republican says she won’t run for re-election to Congress (Tri-City Herald)
• U.S. Rep. McMorris Rodgers won’t seek reelection (The Seattle Times)
• Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers won’t run for re-election (KUOW Radio)
• McMorris Rodgers won’t seek re-election (Capital Press)

CORONAVIRUS

• Kiosks for free Covid and flu tests unveiled this week in Washington state (KUOW Radio)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Former guard at women’s prison near Gig Harbor accused of sexual misconduct with inmate (The News Tribune)

COURTS (STATE)

• Families of patients exposed to mold at Seattle Children’s awarded damages (The Seattle Times)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• ‘Stuff I’ve never seen’: Searching for solutions as teen crime soars across Washington (KIRO TV)
• Downward trend in property crimes in Spokane is a positive sign, but it could be misleading (KHQ TV)
• State sends alert after home invasion robbery reported near Capitol Campus with suspect at large (The Olympian)
• Olympia home invaders stole guns, assaulted victim, police say (FOX 13)

DAMS

• Snake River dam agreement challenged over electric rates, reliability worries (Tri-City Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Discuss dams transparently, without hyperbole (The Columbian)

DRUG CRISIS

• Data shows uptick in Spokane drug overdoses in first days of 2024 (KREM TV)
• OPINION: My constituent lost a son to fentanyl. WA can solve this crisis — if we act fast (Rep. Mari Leavitt/The News Tribune)

EDUCATION

• Bill tying school funding to curriculum materials moves forward in Olympia (The Center Square)
• Will WA ever end supermajority law for school construction bonds? (Crosscut)
• WA schools would lose nearly $6 billion if initiative to repeal capital gains tax is approved (The News Tribune)
• North Kitsap superintendent placed on administrative leave amid sign investigation (Kitsap Sun)

ELECTIONS

• WA House votes to allow local even-year elections (The Seattle Times)
• Bill to push for even-year elections across Washington state clears House (KIRO TV)
• House passes bill shifting elections to even-numbered years (MyNorthwest)
• Washington State House passes bill allowing local governments to change election years (KHQ TV)
• Federal cybersecurity agency launches program to boost support for state, local election offices (AP)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Biden angrily pushes back at special counsel’s report that questioned his memory, handling of docs (AP)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Why Washington might shorten the time mortuaries must keep unclaimed bodies (Washington State Standard)
• Legacy Health might terminate Regence BlueCross BlueShield contract (The Columbian)
• OPINION: Seattle Children’s must make systemic changes to keep patients safe (Jennifer Mills MD, FACP, FHM /The Seattle Times)

HOMELESSNESS

• Seattle preschool condemns city’s ‘woeful inaction’ to deal with nearby encampments (KOMO TV)
• Community steps up to aid Clarkston homeless as camp evacuation looms (KLEW TV)

HOUSING

• OPINION: WA renters deserve stability in their housing costs (Kelley Rinehart, landlord in Kitsap County, and Shenandoah Myrick, residential real estate agent in Whatcom County/The Seattle Times)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Bill to limit lying by police scaled back in Washington Legislature (Axios – Seattle)
• King County Sheriff’s Office to improve language access after alleged bias (The Seattle Times)
• SPD asks for $5 million for software to help catch online child predators (FOX 13)
• Spokane police identify the 9 officers who shot, killed suicidal man who allegedly waved a gun at them (KHQ TV)
• Paw enforcement on rise: Clark County law enforcement agencies are training five new recruits for K-9 units (The Columbian)

LEGISLATURE

• Inslee’s gas price bill fails to clear committee (Capital Press)
• His juvenile record added 17 years to his prison time. A new bill would allow him to be resentenced (KING TV)
• State lawmakers fail to advance funding bill for Office of Public Defense. Now what? (KAPP/KVEW)
• Yakima Valley 14th District lawmakers plan virtual town hall meeting (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Schoesler bill on liquor licenses gets green light in Washington Senate (The Lewiston Tribune)
• Razor clams, geoducks battle to be WA’s top clam (The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: Legislature could open dialogue on initiatives (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• WA House approves Klicker’s bill to allow sharing of tax revenue (KWHT Radio)
• WA House passes bill to allow cities to share sales tax revenue (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

LONG-TERM CARE

• EDITORIAL: Publicly air WA’s long-term care plan (The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek urges lawmakers to pass her housing bill (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon Gov. Kotek pushes Senate panel to approve $500 million housing plan (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Washington State Standard)
• Oregon lawmaker seeks more oversight for foster kids placed in hotels (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Idaho Republicans oust House majority leader after ‘tension’ on budgets process (Idaho Statesman/The Spokesman-Review)
• Idaho House Republicans oust majority leader (The Lewiston Tribune)
• OPINION: Idaho Supreme Court declares Legislature the final authority on rule-making (Amber Gunn, senior policy analyst, Mountain States Policy Center/Capital Press)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• WA Liquor Control Board halts protocol after controversial visits. Queer spaces still safe (The Bellingham Herald)

TAXES

• Critics of proposal to raise property taxes call it the ‘largest in state history’ if fully implemented (FOX 13)
• Republicans blast Democratic bill that would allow tripling of property tax rates (The Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION

• After delays, I-5 Bridge replacement environmental impact statement on the horizon (The Columbian)
• Washington Senate bill would ban certain car tires, vehicle idling (The Center Square)
• Both hands on the wheel, Washington drivers. Your insurance rates are about to jump 24% (KUOW Radio)
• Proposed WA bill would subject your tires to efficiency standards (KONA Radio)
• COLUMN: Washington tire ban secretly added into bill (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• Warm winter melts meager snowpack in Cascades, with far-reaching effects (The Everett Herald)

WOLVES

• WDFW proposes to take wolves off state endangered list (Capital Press)