WA counties lawsuit presses state to cover more legal defense costs for the poor; Washington counties win initial legal victory over scarce mental health beds

ABORTION

• Port Angeles pharmacy becomes first in Washington state approved for abortion drug mifepristone (KUOW Radio)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Restaurant employment surpasses pre-pandemic levels for the first time, signaling renewed hope in industry (KOMO TV)
• Amazon caught between retail troubles and the FTC (The Seattle Times)
• Yakima County’s labor force is growing again (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• As San Juan county workers switch to 32 hours a week, some are taking second or third jobs (KNKX Radio)
• Big crane in Big Pasco shines during WA state manufacturing tour (Tri-City Herald)

CAPITAL BUDGET

• Aquatic Center at MLK Park in Yakima inches closer to reality during Saturday rally (Yakima Herald-Republic)

CENSUS

• Indian Americans now largest Asian American group in U.S. (Axios – Seattle)

CHILD CARE

• Help needed in Yakima County for child care crisis (Yakima Herald-Republic)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian demonstrators face off in Kirkland (The Seattle Times)
• Protestors clash in Kirkland over Hamas attack (MyNorthwest)
• Where to go when nature calls? Seattle has a public restroom problem (The Seattle Times)
• ‘Call, push, shock’: New AED is memorial to teen at Meadowdale Playfields (The Everett Herald)

CONGRESS

• Democrats and Republicans in Washington state agree the nation’s debt is unsustainable. What could Congress do about it? (The Spokesman-Review)
• COLUMN: Undeterred, US. Rep. Derek Kilmer has high hopes for Congress (Kate Riley/The Seattle Times)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• H2-A abuse lawsuit against Stemilt reaches settlement in federal court (NCW Life Channel)
• OPINION: Washington couple taxed on money they haven’t made yet. Supreme Court could stop it (Olivia Johnston, contributor for the Mountain States Policy Center/The News Tribune)

COURTS (STATE)

• WA counties lawsuit presses state to cover more legal defense costs for the poor (Washington State Standard)
• Judge orders Larch to remain open until Tuesday; still deciding on further closure delays (The Columbian)
• King County’s public defense attorneys plea for change to caseload standard (The Center Square)
• Thurston County judges using new risk tool to inform bail decisions. Here’s how it works (The Olympian)
• Family reacts to 17-year sentence for man who killed teenager during Port Orchard drug deal (Kitsap Sun)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Is there a shoplifting crisis? What you need to know about retail crime (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• King County prosecutors warn of elder abuse after nearly 13,000 cases were reported in 2022 (FOX 13)
• Harrell resurfaces ShotSpotter, seeks other surveillance tools in Seattle (The Seattle Times)
• Police: Marysville man stabbed Walmart employee while shoplifting (The Everett Herald)

DAMS

• NW tribes push for removal of Snake River dams (KUOW Radio)

DRUG CRISIS

• 2023 set to be deadliest year yet for overdoses in King County (KUOW Radio)
• At Lummi Nation, a string of overdose deaths and generations of trauma (The Seattle Times)
• In wake of ‘Blake,’ 1,500 drug convictions scrubbed in Snohomish County (The Everett Herald)
• Group advocating for addiction recovery launches in Snohomish County (The Everett Herald)
• North Kitsap man arrested in Texas for providing drugs that left man dead in Bremerton (Kitsap Sun)

EDUCATION

• A ‘routine’ reconfiguration of Seattle schools brings tears, concerns (The Seattle Times)

ELECTIONS

• States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find (States Newsroom/Washington State Standard)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Rep. Peter Abbarno proposes grant program to fund rural fire safety upgrades (The Chronicle)
• Small earthquake felt in Puget Sound region (The Seattle Times)
• 4.3-magnitude earthquake felt across Puget Sound region (MyNorthwest)
• Whatcom County getting new equipment. Here’s how it’s preparing for another flood disaster (The Bellingham Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Yakima County crisis response unit is a step forward (Yakima Herald-Republic)

ENVIRONMENT

• $1B will bring more city trees. But it’ll take more than seedlings to grow urban forests (Stateline.org/The Columbian)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• US raises the death toll to 9 of Americans killed in the weekend Hamas attacks on Israel (AP)
• Federal, state, local officials look to help homeless migrants in Tukwila (The Seattle Times)
• Tukwila mayor declares state of emergency to get help for dozens of migrants living at local church (KING TV)
• EDITORIAL: A Tukwila church steps up where the federal government fails on migration (The Seattle Times)

FISH

• Local efforts helping to restore region’s salmon habitats (FOX 13)

FOOD SAFETY & SECURITY

• WA Department of Ag helps the hungry (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)
• OPINION: Volunteers keep WA food banks open — join the team (Thomas Reynolds, CEO of Northwest Harvest, and Doug Baldwin Jr., CEO of Vault89 and member of the Super Bowl 48 Champion Seattle Seahawks/The Seattle Times)

GAMBLING

• Sports betting tax revenue spikes as more states open doors (Pluribus News)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Washington hires Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen to replace Jen Cohen, who left for USC (KING TV)

HOMELESSNESS

• Homeless people being bused to Tri-Cities? Advocates say there’s no truth to claim (Tri-City Herald)

HOUSING

• How a Washington agency is trying to get housing built on public land (Washington State Standard)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• USDA review takes land out of conservation program in Washington (Capital Press)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Oregon man convicted of murder in shooting of sheriff’s deputy in Washington sentenced to life (MyNorthwest)
• Seattle town hall calls for transparency, police accountability after death of Jaahnavi Kandula (KOMO TV)
• Before fatal pursuit crash, Everett woman accused of speeding at police (The Everett Herald)

LGBTQ

• LGBTQ+ renters face more financial barriers to homeownership, Redfin survey finds (KOMO TV)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• King County considers adding sales tax to generate $70M for cultural programs (The Center Square)
• Spokane County spending $625k on energy efficiency audit (The Spokesman-Review)
• How Redmond evolved from sleepy WA suburb to fast-growing city (The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Washington counties win initial legal victory over scarce mental health beds (KUOW Radio)
• Judge rules against Washington’s DSHS in lawsuit over mental health treatment (KING TV)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• The US will send a carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean in support of Israel (AP)
• Ex-JBLM soldier arrested after attempting to spy for China (MyNorthwest)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon sees record-high unionization (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon seeks $27.6 million for Winchester Dam work linked to mass death of Pacific lamprey (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• New California law takes a step toward single-payer healthcare (Los Angeles Times/The Seattle Times)
• California governor vetoes bill to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms (AP/The Oregonian)

POLITICS

NATIONAL

• OPINION: America’s gerontocracy dilemma (Jeffrey J. Matthews, George F. Jewett Distinguished Professor at the University of Puget Sound, historian and author/The Seattle Times)

PRIVACY

• Chrome has new privacy settings. Here’s what to change now. (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Pierce County gymnastics coach accused of sexual misconduct has been suspended (The News Tribune)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Meta, X questioned by lawmakers over lack of rules against AI-generated political deepfakes (AP/FOX 13)
• OPINION: UW misinformation researchers will not buckle under political attacks (Kate Starbird, director and co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington/The Seattle Times)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• No guns, no uniforms: Meet WA’s new investigators of police force (The Seattle Times)
• WA SOPB chair reiterates support for community notification on sex offenders (The Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION

• Washington state gets $1B boost for roadwork, including EV infrastructure (KUOW Radio)
• I-5 bridge environmental impact statement delayed, again — this time until 2024 (The Columbian)
• Residents have mixed feelings over large ad on Wash. ferry (KIRO TV)
• Washington train trestle destroyed by fire to resume service this month (Capital Press)
• Dude, where’s my train? Why freight makes Amtrak late (KUOW Radio)
• Seattle leaders address violence, safety issues aboard public transit (FOX 13)
• OPINION: ‘I thought we were going to have digital driver’s licenses by now. What’s the holdup?’ (Doug Dahl, director of communications for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission/The News Tribune)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Indigenous People’s Day celebration to take place in Lummi Nation (KGMI Radio)
• Sauk-Suiattle tribal leader Norma Joseph dies at 76 (The Everett Herald)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• OPINION: Wildfire mitigation work can keep people safe and our insurance market healthy (Mike Kreidler, Washington State Insurance Commissioner/The Spokesman-Review)

WILDLIFE

• Rep. Dan Newhouse demands extension of public comment period on grizzly bear introduction (NCW Life Channel)
• How 10 billion snow crab vanished from Alaskan waters and what it means for the seafood industry (KING TV)

WOLVES

• Special delivery: 10 wolves to be shipped from Oregon to Colorado (Capital Press)