WA lawmakers wrestle with declining tax receipts and looming deficit; Washington low-income home buying program underused, auditor says

AGRICULTURE

• Health officials announce highly contagious bird flu detected in Whatcom County flock (The Bellingham Herald)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Class action lawsuit on AI-related discrimination reaches final settlement (AP)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Washington’s unemployment rate remains fifth-highest in nation; local rates rose in October (The Bellingham Herald)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• COLUMN: Gov. Jay Inslee called 40% of state ‘miscreants’ for disagreeing with him (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
• EDITORIAL: Inslee and the ‘miscreant’ climate policy critics (Capital Press)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Redmond’s shift from bedroom suburb to urban hub (Axios – Seattle)

CONGRESS

• Senate Committee approves legislation that helps monitor PNW volcanoes (The Chronicle)
• Majority in House: 4 races still uncalled to finalize size of GOP lead (FOX 13)
• U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez proposes bipartisan electoral reform committee (The Chronicle)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Green Hill School inmate accused of assaulting, threatening to kill five staff members (The Chronicle)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Senate confirms Rebecca Pennell of Yakima as federal judge (Yakima Herald-Republic)

COURTS (STATE)

• State court network back online, though ‘it will take some time’ until it is fully operational (The Chronicle)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Even blue states are embracing a tougher approach to crime (Stateline/Washington State Standard)
• Uncle Sam’s conundrum for crime victims (The Washington Observer)

DRUG CRISIS

• Spokane County on track to hit opioid overdose death record in 2024 (KHQ TV)

EDUCATION

• Many schools across western Washington still closed due to power outages (KOMO TV)
• Seattle school closure plans face uncertain future (The Seattle Times)
• SPS proposal for turf sports field in Wallingford park stirs debate (The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: Lawmakers must make financial proficiency a graduation requirement (Yakima Herald-Republic)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Local officials seek community input on safety improvements (KNDO/KNDU)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Lawsuit against governor on windfarm decision to go to Supreme Court (KNDO/KNDU)
• How many days will the power be out in western WA? Here’s what we know (FOX 13)
• Between cyclones, WA line workers bear burden of keeping lights on (The Seattle Times)
• Enumclaw, hit with cyclone’s highest winds, recovers without power (The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: Hydrogen is likely to replace diesel in agriculture (Don C. Brunell, former president of Association of Washington Business/The Chronicle)
• What to know during the Western WA bomb cyclone power outage (Cascade PBS)

ENVIRONMENT

• WSDA Compost Reimbursement Program to accept more applicants (The Wenatchee World)
• Mystery of disturbing September odor that wafted through SW Washington, Portland area might be solved (The Oregonian)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• COLUMN: Federal forest managers tangled in their own bureaucracy (Madi Clark, senior policy analyst, Mountain States Policy Center/Capital Press)

HANFORD

• Deal reached on what to do about 3rd tank leaking radioactive waste in Eastern WA (Tri-City Herald)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• New report shows the most unsafe hospitals in western WA. See if your hospital is listed (The Olympian)
• Western WA hospitals, clinics face windstorm-related outages, closures (The Seattle Times)
• Washington state seeing huge uptick in whooping cough cases (KONP Radio)

HOMELESSNESS

• Are the homeless a protected class? One Washington representative says yes (KPQ Radio)

HOUSING

• Washington low-income home buying program underused, auditor says (Cascade PBS)
• Ambitious effort to bring more housing to Tacoma’s neighborhoods passes City Council (The News Tribune)

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

• Eight arrested in Othello, WA human trafficking operation (KHQ TV)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Clark County council split on how to pay for sheriff department staffing (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• EDITORIAL: Adequate law enforcement not zero-sum equation (The Columbian)

LEGISLATURE

• Rolling out the Re-Wire Agenda (The Washington Observer)
• Rep. Ybarra named STEM Legislator of the Year (NCW Life Channel)
• Rep. Peter Abbarno encourages students in 20th District to apply for Washington State House Page Program (The Chronicle)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Pierce County workers alleged culture of racism inside their department. They’ll get $1M (The News Tribune)
• Tacoma’s cash assistance pilot program leads to improved quality of life for families (KING TV)
• ‘Our revenues are not keeping pace with our rising costs’: Clark County faces $10M shortfall in general fund for 2025 (The Columbian)
• Yakima County facing budget shortfall in 2025, commissioners looking at cuts (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Here’s why Kennewick shoppers will pay more sales tax starting in 2025 (Tri-City Herald)
• Spokane Valley City Council votes unanimously to further criminalize homelessness (The Spokesman-Review)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: Media literacy: Plain language (R. Hans ‘Rob’ Miller, managing editor for the Columbia Basin Herald and Basin Business Journal/Columbia Basin Herald)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Washington state increases Veteran-Owned Business spending by 152% in 2024 (KIRO TV)

OPERATING BUDGET

• WA lawmakers wrestle with declining tax receipts and looming deficit (Washington State Standard)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon House Republicans bring back Christine Drazan as leader (The Oregonian)
• New Oregon economic forecaster predicts higher state revenue (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Washington State Standard)
• Chronic absenteeism finally begins to rebound in Oregon schools. There’s still a long way to go. (The Oregonian)
• Facing special education workforce shortage, Oregon to give special education teachers, paraeducators one-time stipends (The Oregonian)
• Idaho education board will consider eliminating diversity offices from UI and other state colleges (The Spokesman-Review)

POLITICS

ELECTIONS

• COLUMN: The election is over and the world didn’t end — for most of us (John McCroskey/The Chronicle)

TRANSPORTATION

• Fines for license plate covers start in 2025 (MyNorthwest)
• SR 112 closed from Neah Bay to Sekiu due to slides (KONP Radio)

WATER

• US towns plunge into debates about fluoride in water (KIRO TV)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• Two killed, more than 600,000 without power in Western Washington amid Pacific bomb cyclone winds (KUOW Radio)
• ‘It almost killed me’: Bomb cyclone wreaks havoc in Snohomish County (The Everett Herald)

WOLVES

• Washington ranchers: Process too hazy for clear decisions on wolf removal (Capital Press)