Spokane lawmakers eye legislation to help fire victims rebuild; As Washington gas prices stay higher than almost any other state’s, debate over state climate legislation rages

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• PFAS is in the groundwater west of Spokane. What’s known about the contamination is only growing. (The Seattle Times)
• Yakima Health District data suggests need for better information-sharing on groundwater contamination (Yakima Herald-Republic)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• AI researchers uncover ethical, legal risks to using popular data sets (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• New normal or no normal? How economists got it wrong for 3 years (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• GDP surges past expectations in Q3, recession less likely (FOX 13)
• Clean Buildings bill might get messy for commercial property owners (Spokane Journal of Business)
• Snohomish County businesses can’t totally nix cash under new law (KUOW Radio)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• As Washington gas prices stay higher than almost any other state’s, debate over state climate legislation rages (The Spokesman-Review)

CENSUS

• California, Oregon and Texas supplied most new Washingtonians in 2022 (The Center Square)

CHILD CARE

• Trouble finding Tri-Cities child care? You’re not alone and why it may get worse (Tri-City Herald)

CONGRESS

• 9 takeaways from Mike Johnson’s first interview as speaker (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Federal judges uphold California’s ban on assault weapons (NPR/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• COLUMN: Courts should claw back their constitutional authority (Bob Hassoldt/The Lewiston Tribune)

COURTS (STATE)

• WA business scammer ‘ignores’ WA AG lawsuit, website shut down (KPQ Radio)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• ‘Not right now’: Gov. Inslee on potential state funding for Yakima Valley Local Crime Lab (KAPP/KVEW)
• COLUMN: ‘He had so much in life to live’: A son, brother, friend lost to gun violence (Carlton Winfrey/The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: King County gun violence prevention office is a much needed new tool (The Seattle Times)

CYBERSECURITY

• OPINION: Take individual steps to secure your identity and our world (Dan Brown, cybersecurity advisor for Eastern Washington/The Spokesman-Review)

DRUG CRISIS

• Spokane Regional Health District opens new clinic for opioid treatment (The Spokesman-Review)
• COLUMN: ‘Hug your kids every day’: A Bellevue mom’s fentanyl tragedy (Laura Lynch, lives in Bellevue and gives presentations about the dangers of fentanyl poisoning to schools, community groups and others/The Seattle Times)

EDUCATION

• Five seismic changes to education in Washington over the past decade (The Seattle Times)
• As Education Lab turns 10, our team’s work is just beginning (The Seattle Times)
• Kids can get dental, medical care at this local school without parents taking off work (The News Tribune)

ELECTIONS

• Printing error on ballots sent to Waterville voters (KPQ Radio)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Washington state and Canada agree to work together on Nooksack River flooding (KING TV)
• Winlock has a new $745,000 fire truck thanks to state treasurer program (The Chronicle)

ENVIRONMENT

• WA’s largest oil refinery ramps up cleaner fuels as climate laws take hold (The Seattle Times)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• The Biden administration is encouraging the conversion of empty office space to affordable housing (AP)

FISH

• As Skagit Valley waterways get warmer, the Swinomish push to save fish (The Seattle Times)
• Washington’s Baker River sockeye salmon run smashes record, despite hydroelectric dams (KING TV)
• Federal funds boost tribal-led revival efforts for salmon in upper Columbia River Basin (Idaho Capital Sun/The Spokesman-Review)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• State investigates violence against nurses at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (KOMO TV)
• Kaiser: Some plans will still have First Fill (The Lewiston Tribune)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Jewish students at UW express safety concerns after recent rallies (KOMO TV)
• New technology developed at WSU will help doctors grow cancer-fighting white blood cells (The Spokesman-Review)

HOMELESSNESS

• Spokane Valley will continue with regional homeless plan for now (The Center Square)
• ‘Voice of hope.’ Help for the Tri-Cities most vulnerable and homeless (Tri-City Herald)

HOUSING

• Will Washington state adopt more tenant-landlord regulations? (The Center Square)
• Gov. Jay Inslee emphasizes importance of supportive housing during stop in Yakima (Yakima Herald-Republic)

IMMIGRATION

• Venezuelan refugee starts anew in Olympia with help from nonprofit. She’s one of dozens (The Olympian)

INVASIVE SPECIES

• All quiet on the Northwestern giant hornet front (so far) (KUOW Radio)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• EDITORIAL: Timely testing of evidence critical for justice (The Columbian)

LEGISLATURE

• Case against WA state Sen. Jeff Wilson, who brought a gun on flight, dismissed (The Seattle Times)
• WA lawmaker plans hiatus from think tank job to comply with ethics rules (Washington State Standard)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle leaders don’t have much to say about city’s restroom problem (The Seattle Times)
• Spokane Valley creates transportation benefit district, a likely precursor to new taxes (The Spokesman-Review)
• Snohomish County settles lawsuit over care worker’s rough arrest (The Seattle Times)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: Fewer following the news, to democracy’s peril (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• After another delay, Cascade CEO says Chehalis inpatient facility ‘needs to get done’ (The Chronicle)

OTHER STATES

• Class sizes in Oregon are at or near historic lows, but for how long? (The Oregonian)

PRIVACY

• Police love Google’s surveillance data. Here’s how to protect yourself. (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Vancouver police investigating threat found in Fort Vancouver High School bathroom (The Columbian)
• Teen gymnast sues former Gig Harbor coach, gym following sexual misconduct allegations (Gateway News/The News Tribune)
• Tourniquets, gauze now in hundreds of Gig Harbor classrooms to prepare for school shootings (KING TV)

TAXES

• Blue and red states slash taxes despite warnings of hard times ahead (Stateline.org/The Columbian)

TRANSPORTATION

• I-90 to close Tuesday, Wednesday near Snoqualmie Pass (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Fire-consumed bridge replaced ahead of schedule (The Lewiston Tribune)
• Washington ferries will pause ads, at least until Coca-Cola controversy fizzles (KUOW Radio)
• Keller Ferry on State Route 21 is out of service due to mechanical issues (KHQ TV)
• Sound Transit needs more railcars soon, so it won’t run out of room for riders (The Seattle Times)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Work to locate burials at Fort Simcoe Indian boarding school in Washington intensifies (Yakima Herald-Republic)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• Oregon Cascades, Western states losing glaciers, new analysis finds (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Oregon Public Broadcasting)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Spokane lawmakers eye legislation to help fire victims rebuild (The Center Square)
• Local legislators introducing bill to ease regulations for rebuilding homes lost to wildfires (KXLY TV)
• New rules to protect homes from wildfire ignite controversy (Washington State Standard)
• As winter nears, wildfire victims still waiting on asbestos testing, permitting to clean up (KREM TV)

WILDLIFE

• Newhouse criticizes North Cascades grizzly bear reintroduction plan, public comment period open (The Wenatchee World)
• Newhouse to appear at bear listening session (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)
• Second snow crab season canceled as researchers pinpoint cause (The Seattle Times)
• Kittitas County reports bird flu (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)