U.S. Supreme Court won’t block Washington’s new legislative district map; Pacific Northwest leads nation in infrastructure vandalism

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Northwest dairy farms push to allow whole milk, 2% milk in schools (KING TV)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• COLUMN: Washington’s Lottery forced to pull site after creating AI porn of lotto user (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Washington adds worker protection laws, including ban on mandatory anti-union meetings (Washington State Standard)
• Washington worst state in the nation for starting a business: analysis (The Center Square)

CHILD CARE

• OPINION: Legislature is failing to address the child care crisis (Rep. Tom Dent/Yakima Herald-Republic)

CONGRESS

• Congressional dollars headed for Pierce County. Here’s which projects will receive funding (The News Tribune)
• Congress approves $5M for Everett’s opioid crisis, child care needs (The Everett Herald)
• Murray, Perez secure $3 million for Salmon Creek Wastewater Treatment facility improvement project (The Columbian)

COURTS (STATE)

• Grandmother of missing Everett boy told judge mother was a threat according to court documents (KIRO TV)
• EDITORIAL: New alternatives to Washington bar exam level the field for law licensing (The Seattle Times)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Pacific Northwest leads nation in infrastructure vandalism (KIRO TV)

CYBERSECURITY

• Bethel School District data breach causes stress, financial issues for community (KOMO TV)

DAMS

• Power generated from Northwest dams fell last year to lowest level in two decades (Washington State Standard)
• OPINION: We should invest in the lower Snake River Dams – not tear them down (Eleanor Baumgartner, Eastern Washington senior adviser for the Washington Policy Center/The Spokesman-Review)

EDUCATION

• Governor signs McEntire legislation to increase flexible school calendar waivers (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)
• Will Tri-Cities schools see expected ‘financial crisis,’ layoffs other Washington districts face? (Tri-City Herald)
• Yakima students create petition, continue to protest school district staff cuts (KNDO/KNDU)

ELECTIONS

• Walla Walla elections office to start hand recount of presidential primary (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• New Washington state law does not ‘ban’ natural gas, does discourage use (KING TV)
• Puget Sound Energy rate hikes are about to hit customers (MyNorthwest)

ENVIRONMENT

• Federal judge finalizes protections for large trees east of the Cascades (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Emergency response phase of Olympic gas spill now complete (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• How prepared the U.S. is for a bird flu pandemic (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• Renton mom accused of ‘medical child abuse’ sues for false allegations (FOX 13)
• OPINION: My son is one of 750,000 in Washington with a rare disease. Lawmakers failed them (Lindsey Topping-Schuetz is a rare disease mom, grassroots advocate, and board member of the NW Rare Disease Coalition/The News Tribune)
• COLUMN: Finally, here to stay? Nearly 1 million in Washington now get Obamacare (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• First Washington State University Provost finalist announced publicly (KREM TV)

HOMELESSNESS

• Walmart encampment property owner pushes back against city’s lawsuit, denies allegations (The Bellingham Herald)

HOUSING

• The five cheapest and five priciest states to buy a home in 2024, according to study (FOX 13)
• Report: Washington now home to 18 cities where the typical home is worth $1 million or more (KING TV)
• Battle Ground council rejects partnership to almost double amount of affordable housing in the city (The Columbian)

IMMIGRATION

• With no room for asylum-seekers, Tukwila church turns families away (The Seattle Times)

INSURANCE

• Various factors driving up car insurance premiums in Washington state (The Center Square)

INVASIVE SPECIES

• State begins annual beetle treatments (Columbia Basin Herald)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Washington State Patrol to offer awards in honor of Trooper Chris Gadd (KNDO/KNDU)
• Seattle’s new contract with police union would mean big raises (The Seattle Times)
• Officer acquitted in Manny Ellis trial hired by Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (The Olympian)
• Facing demotion, Washington State Patrol trooper resigns after citing innocent truck driver (KING TV)
• EDITORIAL: Law enforcement complex, requires coordination (The Columbian)

LEGISLATURE

• Lawmaker says tougher child protection laws in Washington could help save kids like Ariel Garcia in the future (FOX 13)
• Call for tougher laws to protect children (FOX 13)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle City Council approves wage increases, simultaneously growing budget shortfall (KOMO TV)
• Seattle Council unanimously approves raises for 10,000 city workers (Crosscut)

MEDIA

• Two Seattle radio stations flip to country music (The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• ‘Lost Patients’ podcast Episode 4: What led to deinstitutionalization (The Seattle Times)
• 50 years ago, many psychiatric hospitals closed. Did that cause today’s mental health crisis? (KUOW Radio)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon ends decriminalization of drugs, joins Washington in pushing jail or treatment (MyNorthwest)
• Oregon lawmakers allocated $85M to add mental health treatment beds, didn’t show same drive to expedite staffing (oregonlive.com/The Oregonian)
• ‘Very little left to do:’ Idaho Legislature plots path toward adjournment as ITD vote looms (Spokane Public Radio)

POLITICS

STATE

• COLUMN: Washington’s top problem? Your answer may depend on where you live (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times)

REDISTRICTING

• U.S. Supreme Court won’t block Washington’s new legislative district map (Washington State Standard)
• U.S. Supreme Court denies stay in Central Washington redistricting case (The Seattle Times)
• SCOTUS OKs new Washington voting maps, Wenatchee Valley to split into three districts (The Wenatchee World)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Social media contributes to bullying in Quincy schools (Columbia Basin Herald)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• OPINION: Why a TikTok ban isn’t what we need (Aynne Kokas, author/The Seattle Times)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Washington, Idaho receive “F” grades for tobacco prevention programs (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
• Washington parents denied foster care license sue state over gender ideology (The Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION

• New $15 Peak Toll is costing SR 167 commuters more; state insists speeds are up (KIRO TV)
• Not ‘reasonable’: Spokane International Airport hits back against state PFAS cleanup order (The Spokesman-Review)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Forest agencies seek tribal inclusion in policymaking. Indigenous leaders are holding them accountable (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

WILDLIFE

• Extinction risk to southern resident orcas accelerating as researchers raise alarm (The Seattle Times)