Rent stabilization bill stalls in WA Senate; Washington bill permitting end of sex offender supervision passes out of committee

ABORTION

• Washington abortion numbers rise dramatically (The Lewiston Tribune)

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Washington OT law helped kill farm, legislative committee told (Capital Press)
• EPA and Washington Department of Ecology to provide free well testing to West Plains residents amid investigation into PFAS contamination (The Spokesman-Review)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Does a world run by AI scare you? WA lawmakers are trying to get on top of the tech explosion (The News Tribune)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Boeing declines to give a financial outlook as it focuses on quality and safety (KUOW Radio)
• EDITORIAL: Behemoths’ merger is bad for WA grocery shoppers (The Seattle Times)

CANNABIS

• OPINION: High-potency pot is not what WA citizens voted for (David Horsey/The Seattle Times)

CHILD CARE

• At ‘Mega Club’ on Casino Road, kids get healthy dose of screen-free time (The Everett Herald)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• EDITORIAL: Yakima’s responses to domestic violence are paying off (Yakima Herald-Republic)

CONGRESS

• House passes $79 billion tax cut package (AP/KREM)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Group homes would replace jail for youth in King County under plan to close detention center (KUOW Radio)

COURTS (STATE)

• Seattle police, King County prosecutors accused of fabricating evidence (The Seattle Times)
• Renter sues BNSF Railway over July Tunnel Five Fire, says home, belongings destroyed in blaze (The Columbian)
• OPINION: Some say locking people up before trial holds them accountable. Here’s the truth (Judge Timothy Ashcraft, presiding judge for the Pierce County Superior Court; and Judge John Skinder, presiding judge for the Thurston County Superior Court/The Olympian)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Washington bill permitting end of sex offender supervision passes out of committee (The Center Square)
• Can fake ivy work as graffiti deterrent? (MyNorthwest)
• OPINION: Democrats have pushed Washington into lawlessness. Here’s how we restore order (Sen. Jim McCune/The News Tribune)

DAMS

• Northwest lawmakers grill feds over ‘secret backroom deal’ on Snake River dam breaching (Tri-City Herald)
• House committee hears conflicting views on Biden salmon plan, Snake River dams (The Center Square)

DRUG CRISIS

• State Representative hopes coming forward about addiction will inspire others to seek help (KING TV)
• Washington teens advocate for Narcan in every school (Crosscut)

EDUCATION

• Student attendance on the rise at Washington schools (KING TV)
• Students scores up despite challenges, school leaders report (Whidbey News-Times)
• Gravel yard warns Snohomish County school to stop speaking out — or else (The Seattle Times)
• Olympia School District has backed out of plan for 3rd high school on park site. Here’s why (The Olympian)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Protection for wildfire-prone areas to be considered in siting new wind turbines under Rep. Barnard’s bill (KLCK Radio)
• Hydrogen hub: Commissioner continued skepticism during informational meeting at Baw Faw Grange (The Chronicle)
• OPINION: Rising energy costs and climate goals have a common solution: Community solar policy (Mason Rolph, board member of the Washington Solar Energy Industries Association; and Derek Chernow, state renewable energy policy expert/Tri-City Herald)

ENVIRONMENT

• Lynnwood pays $550K fine over air quality violations (The Everett Herald)

FISH

• Dungeness crab: The West Coast’s forever fishery (Capital Press)

HANFORD

• Justice department investigates alleged misuse of funds and negligence at Hanford site (KEPR TV)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Gov. Inslee visits Spokane, looks at innovative way to bring healthcare to unhoused (KREM TV)
• A potentially deadly fungus was found at a Seattle hospital. Here’s what you need to know before you panic (KUOW Radio)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Free community college bill advances through House committee (The Everett Herald)

HOMELESSNESS

• COLUMN: Housing first, paid last (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)

HOUSING

• Rent stabilization bill stalls in WA Senate (The Seattle Times)
• As plan to cap rent hikes derails in WA Senate, House Democrats may keep pushing (Washington State Standard)
• ‘I just don’t believe this is the right policy’: Sen. Cleveland votes against rent stabilization bill (The Columbian)
• Rent restriction drama (The Washington Observer)
• Residents rally at the state Capitol for rent control (The Center Square)
• Single women are winning real estate in Washington state (Axios – Seattle)
• Kenmore’s canceled affordable housing project draws sharp criticism (The Seattle Times)

IMMIGRATION

• ‘We don’t have the ability’: Refugees plea to Seattle for immediate shelter (The Center Square)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• EDITORIAL: Solar and wind power ‘nimbyism’ in Washington (Capital Press)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Proposed legislative bills would direct taxes to hiring more officers (KONP Radio)
• 4 deputies placed on administrative leave after suspect shot, killed in north Spokane (KHQ TV)
• ‘Lawlessness…with zero ramifications’ in Pierce County, says sheriff (KVI Radio)
• Investigation of ex-Richland chief widens. Search to replace her back to square one (Tri-City Herald)

LEGISLATURE

• Washington Democrats propose ban on gas-powered landscaping equipment: ‘Not going to work’ (The National Desk/KEPR TV)
• Proposed bill designed to require the teaching of the Pledge of Allegiance’s meaning in schools (KHQ TV)
• 3 bills pass Washington House that could protect animals, alter makeup sales (KIRO TV)
• Washington proposed a new animal cruelty bill which would make it a Class C felony (KAPP/KVEW)
• Washington introduces TSWIFT Bill to prevent ticket scalping after Taylor Swift Eras Tour fiasco (KAPP/KVEW)
• Take this historic house, please! Lawmakers unsure about acquiring political trailblazer’s home (Washington State Standard)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: WA leaders ‘absolutely’ committed to saving local journalism (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek indicates she would sign a bill recriminalizing drug possession (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• How to solve Oregon’s child care crunch (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• 3 people killed and 9 injured in hangar collapse on grounds of Boise airport (MyNorthwest)
• Deadly ‘pink rose’ fentanyl surfaces in North Idaho from East Coast (KLEW TV)
• Saving salmon: California governor unveils blueprint for ending decades-long decline (CalMatters/Washington State Standard)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Meta, TikTok and other social media CEOs testify in heated Senate hearing on child exploitation (AP)
• ‘A product that’s killing people’: Lawmakers chastise social media giants for harm to kids (States Newsroom/Washington State Standard)

SPORTS

• Former Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart fronts new WNBA documentary (Axios – Seattle)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• DCYF downplays youth overdoses at Green Hill school as fentanyl floods in (FOX 13)
• Pierce County sex offender committed to McNeil Island prior to release (FOX 13)
• Officers deny LGBTQ+ bar visits were raids, officials seek to change lewd laws (MyNorthwest)
• Appeals court rules in favor of DCYF in negligence lawsuit over Wenatchee Valley child’s death (The Wenatchee World)
• Washington state seeking public’s help as demand for outdoor recreation increases (Yakima Herald-Republic)

TAXES

• WA lawmaker floats state/local tax shift to protect taxpayers but raise muni revenue (The Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION

• Highway speed camera pilot program being considered in Olympia (KOMO TV)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• PNW lawmakers want faster FEMA response for wildfire victims (The Center Square)

WILDLIFE

• Bighorn sheep dealing with fatal disease (The Lewiston Tribune)

WOLVES

• Washington Fish and Wildlife director ‘hates’ Inslee’s wolf order (Capital Press)