OUR NEWS RELEASES FROM THIS WEEK
- 35th District lawmakers frustrated after majority refuses to hear vital bill on sexually violent predators
- Mosbrucker fentanyl detection bill providing immunity to law enforcement K-9 handlers gains unanimous House approval
- Education Committee passes two bills from Rep. McClintock to improve student success in Washington
- Committee unanimously passes Rep. Klicker’s bipartisan bill that would help local governments share tax revenue
- Rep. Jacobsen’s effort to hold felony hit-and-run offenders more accountable unanimously clears committee
- Rep. Stephanie Barnard’s bill to cut redundancy in electric utility reporting heads to Senate
- Tri-Cities economic boost: Rep. Stephanie Barnard’s bill advancing clean nuclear energy and manufacturing advances in Olympia
- Bill from Rep. Chris Corry combats tax proposals by majority party with creative solution that won’t cost taxpayers
AGRICULTURE & WATER
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- ‘People are steering clear’: Seattle business owners frustrated with construction delays (KING TV)
- Number of Boeing workers in WA jumped 11% last year (The Seattle Times)
CANNABIS
CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM
- Republicans, Democrats, carbon, and you: Debating Washington’s cap and trade (KUOW Radio)
- The future of Washington state’s carbon auction may come down to gas prices (KUOW Radio)
- High gas prices drive ‘big oil transparency’ legislation in Olympia (KNKX Radio)
CONGRESS
CORRECTIONS & JAILS
- King County pauses plan to close juvenile detention centers by 2025 (MyNorthwest)
- COLUMN: King County needs to drop its plan to close youth jail (Ursula Reutin/MyNorthwest)
COURTS (FEDERAL)
COURTS (STATE)
- Jefferson County prosecutor wants changes to law blamed for child’s death (FOX 13)
- OPINION: WA judges must uphold legal principles for all — including granting pretrial release (Judge Timothy Ashcraft, presiding judge for the Pierce County Superior Court; and Judge John Skinder, presiding judge for the Thurston County Superior Court/The News Tribune)
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
- Gunfire on Highway 18 marks King County’s 7th freeway shooting of 2024 (The Seattle Times)
- Crime wave of stolen cars used in smash-n-grab robberies is news to Seattle City Councilmember (KVI Radio)
- Was Tacoma mother of 7 killed for providing information to police about rape suspect? (The News Tribune)
- Daylong standoff ends with Everett gunman, who will survive, family says (The Everett Herald)
DAMS
- Troubled waters: Talks intensify about future of Lower Snake River dams (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
- Biden administration’s deal with Six Sovereigns sparks debate over Lower Snake River Dams (KLEW TV)
DRUG CRISIS
- Legislation to train police dogs to detect fentanyl moves ahead in Olympia (The Center Square)
- Mosbrucker bill to train K-9s to sniff fentanyl passes House (KIHR Radio)
- Washington Senate approves requirement for all public schools to have naloxone (Washington State Standard)
- OHSU study co-authored by Vancouver addiction specialist finds addiction treatment scarce for teenagers in Washington, around U.S. (The Columbian)
EDUCATION
- Eastern WA school board considers starting meetings with prayer. Students pushed back (Tri-City Herald)
- Pilot program in Mukilteo schools gets local teachers in local schools (The Everett Herald)
- North Kitsap School District superintendent ID’d as suspect in campaign sign theft (MyNorthwest)
ELECTIONS
- Washington Senate panel passes bill forcing citizens to vote (Capital Press)
- Republican lawsuits challenge mail ballot deadlines. Could they upend voting across the country? (AP/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
- Washington bill would allow PSE to end natural gas service for existing customers (The Center Square)
- Would a bill ban natural gas in Washington? Here’s what we can Verify (KREM TV)
- Bill addresses concerns over tall wind turbines and aerial firefighting (The Center Square)
- WA state council supports cutting half of proposed giant wind turbines near Tri-Cities (Tri-City Herald)
ENVIRONMENT
- Could a 10-cent bottle deposit system be in the state’s future? (MyNorthwest)
- Recycling a mixed, reusable bag (Columbia Basin Herald)
GUN RIGHTS
HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS
- After Washington state lawsuit, Providence health system erases or refunds $158M in medical bills (AP)
- Tips for those stressed about losing MultiCare for in-network services through Regence (The News Tribune)
- Harris bill to assist independent health care providers passes committee (KIHR Radio)
HOMELESSNESS
HOUSING
- WA lawmakers weigh tax breaks for developers turning offices to homes (The Seattle Times)
- Rent stabilization stalls in WA Senate, complicating its path forward (NW News Network)
- High rents have tenants on edge: 25% of Vancouver renters spend more than half their income on rent (The Columbian)
- Fast-track housing projects among task force recommendations for Spokane (The Center Square)
- OPINION: Proposals hurt landlords, don’t help increase WA affordable housing (Cory Brewer, vice president of residential operations at Windermere Property Management/Lori Gill and Associates and serves on the Rental Housing Association of Washington board of directors/The Seattle Times)
IMMIGRATION
- WA advocates press for state funding to help migrants camped at Tukwila church (Washington State Standard)
- Seattle dips into $200,000 fund to shelter refugee families for one week (The Center Square)
- Video shows heavily armed guards detaining hunger strikers at Tacoma ICE center after using tear gas (KUOW Radio)
LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- New committee could determine who’s honored on Washington law enforcement memorial (KING TV)
- Here’s how the recent spree of law enforcement shootings can impact staffing in Spokane County (KREM TV)
- EDITORIAL: Some demand change. Cops want support. Can Tacoma do better after Manny Ellis’ death? (The News Tribune)
- EDITORIAL: Pass ban on use of ‘hog-tying’ by law enforcement (The Seattle Times)
LEGISLATURE
- WA Democrats unsure of next moves on six GOP-backed initiatives (The Seattle Times)
- Olympia rallygoers demand Democrats hold hearings on voter-backed initiatives (The Center Square)
- ‘The people in the state of Washington have spoken’: Rally attendees push for hearings for six initiatives (The Chronicle)
- The 6 voter initiatives likely heading to Washington ballots this fall, explained (NW News Network)
- What bills are dead, alive after WA Legislature’s first cutoff (The Seattle Times)
- Time runs out on latest push to end Washington’s yearly clock changes (KIRO TV)
- Warnick bill promoting WDFW, nonprofit cooperation advances (Columbia Basin Herald)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Franklin Co. heading toward multi-million budget crisis. Can it avoid a tax increase? (Tri-City Herald)
- 3 takeaways from Marysville mayor’s state of the city speech (The Everett Herald)
MENTAL HEALTH
- WA Senate bill to establish network for student mental, behavioral health (FOX 13)
- The impact of social media on kids’ mental health (KXLY TV)
OTHER STATES
- Oregon high court says 10 GOP state senators who staged long walkout can’t run for reelection (AP)
- Oregon Supreme Court ruling will have significant implications for state Legislature, could deter future walkouts (The Oregonian)
- Bill allowing concealed carry in Idaho schools clears House (KXLY Radio)
SCHOOL SAFETY
STATE GOVERNMENT
TRANSPORTATION
- Surge of new EV charging stations coming to Washington state (KUOW Radio)
- Washington state to add nearly 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations (KOMO TV)
- Rep. Jim Walsh sounds the alarm on Democrat plan to restrict tire sales (KLCK Radio)
- Widowed by Snohomish County plane crash, woman sues aviation companies (The Seattle Times)
