The Spotlight: Washington pursuit laws change, criminals in for big surprise; ‘Modest at best’: The WA Legislature’s not-so-banner year on housing policy

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Labor wins and losses (The Washington Observer)
• Seattle nightclub says it will become first strip club in Washington to serve alcohol (KING TV)
• New details revealed from FAA audit of Boeing’s 737 MAX production. Dozens of issues found (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: Retiring WA congress members have been champions for the economy (Kris Johnson, Association of Washington Business/The Reflector)

CAPITAL BUDGET

• United Learning Center sees influx of additional state, federal funds (The Chronicle)
• District lawmakers secure funding for Battle Ground projects (The Reflector)
• Quincy rail project receives $4.5M in state funding (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Odessa groundwater project receives $5.5M in state funding (Columbia Basin Herald)

CONGRESS

• $19 million for Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest conservation included in Interior funding bill (KNDO/KNDU)
• More than $11M headed to NCW for land conservation, airport and body cameras (The Wenatchee World)
• House Republicans move ahead with TikTok vote even as Trump voices opposition to possible ban (AP)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• John Stockton files lawsuit against Washington Attorney General, medical commission over COVID sanctions (KXLY TV)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Report: Car thefts down across Western Washington (KIRO TV)
• New funding will provide genetic genealogy testing for unidentified remains in Washington (KNDO/KNDU)
• OPINION: Big changes come to Washington state’s DUI law (Jakob McGhie, attorney and partner at Althauser Rayan Abbarno, LLP./TheChronicle)

CYBERSECURITY

• Hackers are targeting a surprising group of people: young public school students (NPR/Oregon Public Broadcasting)

DRUG CRISIS

• Spokane Councilmember Paul Dillon asks Governor Inslee to declare a state of emergency (KXLY TV)
• Sen. Cantwell secures $1 million to hire tribal police for Yakama Nation drug task force (KAPP/KVEW)

EDUCATION

• WA lawmakers ease burden for parents challenging school special ed (The Seattle Times)
• Mandatory financial literacy bill died as legislative session came to an end (The Center Square)
• Toppenish School District releases investigation report on John M. Cerna (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• No ‘right answer.’ Should Tri-Cities graduation ceremonies honor students who’ve died? (Tri-City Herald)
• Take a look. Pasco unveils new logo for its innovative high school opening fall 2025 (Tri-City Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Truancy problem starts long before students miss the first bell (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• EDITORIAL: Another chapter in book ban political debate (The Columbian)

ELECTIONS

• Harassing election workers set to become a felony in Washington (KNDO/KNDU)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Biden says he never meant to keep classified documents. Hur stands by report on president’s memory (AP)

FISH

• Biden earmarks half a billion for salmon on upper Green River (The Seattle Times)
• ‘Like rooting for the Yankees’: Lawmaker’s move to study sea lion predation removed from state’s final budget (The Chronicle)
• Study shows short pesticide exposure harms fish (NW News Network)
• Pierce County bridge blocked critical salmon routes for nearly 80 years. The fix is $53M (The News Tribune)

GUN RIGHTS

• Legal challenges likely await gun retailer oversight bill if it’s signed into law (The Center Square)

HANFORD

• Biden admin proposes 2025 Hanford nuclear site budget, topping record set 2 days ago (Tri-City Herald)
• Over $3 billion for Hanford cleanup included in Biden’s 2025 budget proposal (KNDO/KNDU)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• How creating the new FAFSA unraveled (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• Legislature agrees to partial funding for WSU academic student worker pay hikes-budget includes 3 million dollars towards the 1 billion plus dollars needed for WSU to comply with climate commitment act (KQQQ Radio)

HOMELESSNESS

• King County sheriff seeks judgment from federal court on Burien’s recent amendment to camping ban (KING TV)
• Homeless, service providers protest impending clearing of Bellingham Walmart encampment (The Bellingham Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Burien’s anti-camping ordinance is not an answer to homelessness (The Seattle Times)

HOUSING

• ‘Modest at best’: The WA Legislature’s not-so-banner year on housing policy (Washington State Standard)
• WA approves more funds for tenant attorneys as evictions remain high (The Seattle Times)

IMMIGRATION

• Court blocks state inspections of federal immigration facility in Tacoma (Washington State Standard)
• Convicted killer from Caribbean is person who died at Tacoma immigration center, ICE says (The News Tribune)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• The Spotlight: Washington pursuit laws change, criminals in for big surprise (FOX 13)
• Community to honor fallen WSP trooper Christopher Gadd in public procession, memorial (KOMO TV)
• Low salary limits police officer recruitment in Seattle despite bonus offers, report says (KOMO TV)
• Officers soon will be allowed to work part-time (Columbia Basin Herald)

LEGISLATURE

• Opioid prevention, new gun laws, and co-living. Here are bills passed the last week of session (The Olympian)
• 2024 WA Legislature passes bills on guns, environment, education (KXLY Radio)
• Oakville teen serves as a page in the Washington state Senate (The Chronicle)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Spokane Valley City Council considers changes to rules and regulations for council members (The Spokesman-Review)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon bill to clear way for more addiction, mental health treatment centers passed both chambers, then died anyway (The Oregonian)
• What did Oregon lawmakers do to help young people in 2024? Here are 9 education bills you’ll want to know about (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

REDISTRICTING

• Federal judge to decide on new Latino voter majority district map (Crosscut)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Chehalis youth detention center employee arrested for conspiring to commit a prison riot (FOX 13)
• $500,000 approved for DNA testing of unidentified bodies in Washington (KHQ TV)
• State initiative filing fee increased to $156 (The Columbian)

TECHNOLOGY

• Return to Quincy: Ag land becomes fertile territory for data farms (Yakima Herald-Republic)

TRANSPORTATION

• Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wants tolling plan on sections of Interstates 5, 205 scrapped (AP)
• Gov. Tina Kotek shelves plans for I-5, I-205 tolls in Portland area (The Oregonian)
• Higher tolls could be en route as Highway 520 costs surge (The Seattle Times)
• Drivers say new $15 toll has them avoiding SR 167 (KIRO TV)
• Two decades and $1 billion later, HOV lanes through Tacoma are filled with scofflaws (The News Tribune)
• Drivers to pay Tacoma Narrows Bridge tolls longer than expected to cover construction costs (The Seattle Times)
• Stakeholders seek task force for I-90/SR 18 projects (Snoqualmie Valley Record)
• Start of construction on the I-90 Vantage Bridge Friday creates traffic delays and restrictions (KAPP/KVEW)
• Bainbridge Island residents show new optimism and resolve to revive Washington’s ferries (KUOW Radio)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Some wildfire survivors frustrated with FEMA assistance (KXLY TV)