State council wrestles with Inslee’s recommendations on wind farm project; Housing costs at all-time highs

ABORTION

• Washington feeling pressure from abortion bans in other states (KING TV)
• OPINION: Here is where things stand in WA, two years after Dobbs decision (Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood’s largest geographic affiliate/The Seattle Times)

AGRICULTURE

• Securities lawsuit claims Lamb Weston hid tech problems that cost millions (Capital Press)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• ‘It’s all happening again.’ The supply chain is under strain (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Bellingham residents spend 40% of income on household bills, index says. See the breakdown (The Bellingham Herald)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• A grieving Seattle community considers ways to keep Garfield kids safe (The Seattle Times)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• OPINION: Personal transformation is a lifelong journey. Mine began in a WA prison (Christopher Blackwell, incarcerated journalist and executive director of Look2justice.org, an organization centered on empowering incarcerated voices through civic engagement/The News Tribune)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Supreme Court enters crunch time for term loaded with big issues (CQ-Roll Call/The Seattle Times)
• Supreme Court will take up state bans on gender-affirming care for minors (AP)
• Supreme Court rejects challenge to Connecticut law that eliminated religious vaccination exemption (AP)
• Missouri, Kansas judges temporarily halt much of President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• Walla Walla County doesn’t have public defense attorney shortage (KWHT/KTEL/KWVN – Elkhorn Media)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Large number of drugs, gun seized at Gorge music festival (KPQ Radio)

CYBERSECURITY

• U.S. hospitals prone to highly disruptive cyberattacks, experts warn (KFF Health News/Washington State Standard)

DAMS

• ‘Surprise U.S. government actions.’ Snake River dam supporters leery of new DC task force (Tri-City Herald)
• Stakeholders weigh in on Columbia River task force, report (Capital Press)

EDUCATION

• This Tri-Cities school board plans to weigh in on the transgender athlete debate (Tri-City Herald)
• Edmonds families organizing special education-specific PTSA (KING TV)
• EDITORIAL: Parents have a right to know about their kids in school (The Reflector)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Mount St. Helens: Seismic activity brewing with more than 350 earthquakes since February (MyNorthwest)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• State council wrestles with Inslee’s recommendations on wind farm project (The Center Square)
• EFSEC resists rolling over on Horse Heaven energy project (Capital Press)
• State sends Tacoma $1.9M to coax low-income residents away from gas appliances (The Center Square)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• U.S. surgeon general declares gun violence a public health emergency (AP)

GUN RIGHTS

• More than 500 people have been charged with federal crimes under the gun safety law Biden signed (AP)

HANFORD

• New presidents coming to 2 Hanford contractors with more than 3,500 workers (Tri-City Herald)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• OPINION: Here are 3 ways WA can increase access to affordable dental care (Linda Edgar, president of the American Dental Association, and Nathan Russell, president of the Washington State Dental Association/The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: COVID, other diseases on the rise in WA. It’s time for vigilance not backing off (Tri-City Herald)

HOMELESSNESS

• Spokane to approve up to $7.6 million in funding for homelessness services (The Center Square)
• Additional funding approved to support Whatcom motel room housing for homeless families (The Bellingham Herald)
• Motel to medical-respite center? Here’s what we know about Tacoma Mall Boulevard project (The News Tribune)

HOUSING

• Housing costs at all-time highs (FOX 13)
• Bellevue landlord gets March 2025 court date in war with squatters (The Center Square)
• OPINION: Strategic land use at the heart of Land Trust and Housing Resources partnership (Cullen Brady Bainbridge Island Land Trust, Phedra Elliot Housing Resources Bainbridge/Kitsap Sun)

IMMIGRATION

• ICE detention center in Tacoma among those with the highest number of deaths (KNKX Radio)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Seattle police on pace to lose more officers than it gains in 2024 (KOMO TV)
• Pierce deputy drove 83 mph in wrong lane during deadly 2020 crash (Cascade PBS)
• Jury: Seattle police violated graffiti protesters’ rights, must pay $680,000 (The Seattle Times)

LEGISLATURE

• Despite an incoming Washington state law, lead-ridden imported cookware remains for sale (KING TV)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Spokane City Council considering ordinance banning open carry in city buildings (KHQ TV)
• Spokane to move to two-year budget cycle in change intended to promote long-term thinking (The Spokesman-Review)
• Thurston County to repay money it spent to furnish and improve Olympia office space (The News Tribune)
• EDITORIAL: King County voters want secure youth detention; council should listen (The Seattle Times)

MEDIA

• Everett Herald newsroom strikes amid layoffs (The Everett Herald)
• COLUMN: Despite more layoffs, newspapers still doing important work (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• King County establishes implementation plan for $1.3B crisis care levy (The Center Square)

OTHER STATES

• Wildfire season – and worries about its severity – arrives amid firefighter staff shortages in Oregon and beyond (The Oregonian)
• Providence nurses return to work after a strike, still without a contract (The Oregonian)
• Tennessee is sued over law that criminalizes helping minors get abortions without parental approval (AP)

TRANSPORTATION

• Seattle traffic slowed a whole lot in 2023 (The Seattle Times)

WATER

• Mandatory watering schedule ordered for Kennewick Irrigation District as drought worsens (Tri-City Herald)
• Conservation, alternate sources part of Quincy water plan (Columbia Basin Herald)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• WA wildfire roundup: Nearly 8,000 acres burning across the state (FOX 13)
• After No. 2 Canyon Fire, chief warns of more to come (The Wenatchee World)
• On the right path: Officials celebrate Forest Resilience Trail in Roslyn (Daily Record)

WOLVES

• Vote nears on ending ‘endangered’ status for WA wolves (Washington State Standard)
• WDFW scientists lay out reasons for sensitive wolf proposal (Capital Press)