WA state employees fought against furloughs. They count new WA budget a ‘win’; Mandatory driver’s education to expand under new Washington law

WA state employees fought against furloughs. They count new WA budget a ‘win’

The Olympian — Throughout the 2025 legislative session, critics accused state leaders of trying to balance Washington’s budget on the backs of state workers. Those elected officials apparently took note. The Washington Federation of State Employees said in a recent news release that it’s counting the adopted budget as a “win.” Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a budget May 20 that doesn’t include furloughs and that funds union contracts and WFSE raises. $

Mandatory driver’s education to expand under new Washington law

FOX 13 — Young drivers will eventually have to get more traffic safety education under legislation signed into law this month. House Bill 1878, which got Gov. Ferguson’s approval on May 17, annually expands mandatory driver’s education to drivers up to 21-years-old by 2030, starting with 18-year-olds in 2027. Right now, only 16- and 17-year-olds have to take driver’s education before getting their first license. The bill also requires safe driving courses for young drivers who accumulate traffic tickets. And starting in 2031, drivers under 21 will be required to take a traffic safety “refresher course” to retain their license.

AGRICULTURE

• OPINION: EPA “minions” must confront the agency’s war on Washington farmers (Ben Tindall, Save Family Farming Executive Director/Pacific Northwest Ag Network)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Will AI collapse the career ladder before new graduates can get on it? (KUOW Radio)

CHILD CARE

• Child care cost the most in these states in 2024, analysis found (FOX 13)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• How the FBI came to investigate Seattle protests (Axios – Seattle)
• FBI scrutiny puts pressure on Seattle mayor after protest clash (FOX 13)
• EDITORIAL: Free speech must come first even as tensions flare in Seattle (The Seattle Times) $

CONGRESS

• EDITORIAL: ‘Big, beautiful bill’ would take from our climate, too (The Everett Herald) $

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• WA jail inmate attacks corrections deputy, tries to steal keys (FOX 13)
• Chehalis council denies renewal of fire and medical agreement with Green Hill School (The Chronicle)
• Former Green Hill employee admits she tried to smuggle drug filled burrito into detention center (KING TV)
• Murderers of beloved Kennewick coach seek early prison release (KONA Radio)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Federal court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers law (AP)
• 16 states sue Trump administration over $1.4B in science cuts (The New York Times/The Seattle Times) $

COURTS (STATE)

• BIAW asking SCOW for direct appeal of ruling against natural gas initiative (The Center Square)

DRUG CRISIS

• Spokane County hoping to combat opioid crisis with $13M sobering center expansion (KXLY TV)
• Yakima County reports new overdose spike, officials believe carfentanil to be cause (KNDO/KNDU)

EDUCATION

• Title IX federal investigation clashes with Washington gender identity laws (Cascade PBS)
• Seattle students spend about 25% of school day on phones, local study shows (KOMO TV)
• Special ed students shine in North Thurston’s ‘Day of Champions’ (KING TV)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• $14 billion in clean energy projects have been canceled in the US this year, analysis says (AP)

ENVIRONMENT

• Crystal Mountain’s wastewater problems raise stink with WA regulators (The Seattle Times) $
• Washington beach ranks among top 10 most bacteria-contaminated in U.S., report finds (MyNorthwest)

FISH

• New report shows signs of progress for Washington state salmon, but many are still on the brink of extinction (The Chronicle)

GUN RIGHTS

• COLUMN: Better mental health care and protecting our civil rights are more important than adding new requirements for gun permits (Bill Bryant/The Inlander)

HANFORD

• Federal jobs not the only ones being cut at Hanford. Contractor has layoffs (Tri-City Herald) $

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• WSU College of Nursing launches program to boost rural health care workforce (KXLY TV)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• ‘We’re going to be looking at you’: Trump administration halts student visa application interviews (The Spokesman-Review) $
• University of Washington to build $61 million welcome center (Puget Sound Business Journal) $
• Campus services disrupted as 1,200 WWU student employees walk off the job (The Bellingham Herald) $

HOMELESSNESS

• Chehalis City Council tables homeless shelter agreement over unfinished contract (The Chronicle)
• EDITORIAL: Camping decision doesn’t help solve problem (The Columbian) $

HOUSING

• Ferguson vetoes housing affordability study after signing largest tax increase in Washington history (KVI Radio)
• Even 6-figure earners rent in Seattle (Axios – Seattle)
• Housing Justice Forum to address racially restrictive covenants in Thurston County (The Olympian) $

IMMIGRATION

• ‘Like a jail cell’: Family of six detained at Washington state border facility for more than three weeks (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• PNW Police K-9 teams undergo rigorous training in Tri-Cities (KEPR TV)
• Former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz sues city over firing, claims he faced retaliation (KUOW Radio)
• Thurston County deputy struck with helmet in alleged DUI, hit-and-run (MyNorthwest)
• Investigation: Snoqualmie police chief rated women’s bodies, mocked disabled staffer (KIRO TV)
• Ridgefield police flag out-of-state license plates as population grows (The Columbian) $
• COLUMN: City of Tacoma shouldn’t withhold Moore records on a technicality (Laura Hautala/The News Tribune) $

LEGISLATURE

• Is Washington’s new law requiring clergy to report child sexual abuse effective and constitutional? (The Inlander)
• Local lawmakers discuss legislative session impact on local businesses and families (KAPP/KVEW)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Spokane Valley City Council pulls public safety funding to cover costs of struggles with Councilman Al Merkel (The Spokesman-Review) $

MENTAL HEALTH

• Washington DOH investigators find policy failures at Sacred Heart endangered at least 4 suicidal patients (KREM TV)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon’s school funding formula undercounts poverty, denying some districts millions. Lawmakers are poised to approve it anyway (The Oregonian) $
• Lawmakers clear way for $11.36 billion for schools — plus more accountability (The Oregonian) $
• Controversial wage theft bill passes Oregon Legislature, heads to Gov. Kotek (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon lawmakers approve commercial irrigation with domestic wells (Capital Press) $
• Oregon lawmakers vote to block rising corporate ownership of medical clinics (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon set to ban sale of precise location data (Pluribus News)

PARKS

• Mount St. Helens visitor center set to re-open after renovations (MyNorthwest)

POLITICS

STATE

• Watch: WA Dem: ‘Long road back to common sense’ (The Center Square)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Cheney and Three Springs schools evacuated over bomb threat (The Spokesman-Review) $

SECURITY

• CBP says it follows rules amid concerns over extended holds at Seattle airport (The Center Square)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Upcoming flag directive in memory of former WA House Speaker Frank Chopp (FOX 13)
• WA AG Nick Brown won’t make ‘Survivor’ return for show’s 50th season (The Seattle Times) $
• Silverdale Cemetery becomes 30th Kitsap location inducted in Washington Heritage Register (Kitsap Sun) $

TAXES

• OPINION: The truth about recycling and more taxation from Democrats in Olympia (John McCroskey, former Lewis County Sheriff/The Chronicle)

TRANSPORTATION

• New specialized license plates coming to WA (KIRO TV)
• New bill addresses bad behavior on ferries (Whidbey News-Times) $
• Washington traffic deaths down after record year (Washington State Standard)
• Traffic deaths fall in Washington for the first time since 2019 (KING TV)
• Snohomish County report: 10 bridges set for repairs, replacement (The Everett Herald) $

WATER

• Washington Ecology rolls out new water rights website (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)
• Sen. Patty Murray highlights Yakima Basin water plan at Springwood Ranch (KHQ TV)
• Eastern Washington faces drought amid decreasing snowpack (KPQ Radio)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Second Creek Fire burns 64 acres, grows in steep terrain (The Wenatchee World) $
• EDITORIAL: Strike a balance between wildfire prevention and watershed preservation (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) $

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