Washington business leaders push for partnerships against organized retail theft; How Washington schools are dealing with insufficient funding

AGRICULTURE

• Potato manufacturer Lamb Weston to lay off hundreds in Connell (The Spokesman-Review)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Minimum wage hike talk worries Olympia business owners (KING TV)
• Nearly 3 weeks into strike, resolve remains for Boeing workers (The Everett Herald)
• Boeing pulls healthcare coverage for striking machinists as WA taxpayers step up (The Center Square)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• 40% of Asians face discrimination, survey finds (Axios – Seattle)
• OPINION: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in Puget Sound face violence (Georgette Bhathena, chief programs officer at The Asian American Foundation/The News Tribune)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Lawsuit alleges former Green Hill School security guard groomed inmate (KING TV)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• 9th Circuit: EPA lawfully denied request for stricter CAFO rules (Capital Press)

COURTS (STATE)

• EDITORIAL: Washington Supreme Court misses the point, again (Capital Press)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Washington business leaders push for partnerships against organized retail theft (KOMO TV)
• Police interviewing convicted child molesters to help parents protect kids (KING TV)
• Sexually violent predator cuts ankle monitor, last seen in Seattle (KIRO TV)
• YPD investigation alleges drug theft, misuse by Coroner Jim Curtice (KNDO/KNDU)

DAMS

• Tribes celebrate the end of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history (AP)

DRUG CRISIS

• After Curtice incident, Washington coroners say best practice for drugs found during autopsies is to secure, document them (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Whatcom County sees consistent drop in overdoses over the summer (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)

EDUCATION

• How Washington schools are dealing with insufficient funding (KIRO TV)
• As Seattle considers school closures, superintendent gets new contract and a raise (KUOW Radio)
• Bellevue principal placed on leave over swastika comments (KIRO TV)
• Marysville superintendent leaving school district (FOX 13)
• Highline School District families may learn more Thursday on when they’ll get back online (KING TV)
• EDITORIAL: School agreement is promising — and urgently needed (Yakima Herald-Republic)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Tacoma Public Utilities rates to go up for the next 2 years (MyNorthwest)
• WSU Tri-Cities unveils Institute for Northwest Energy Futures facility (KEPR TV)

ENVIRONMENT

• Sister seas on opposite shores face same foe: polluted runoff (KUOW Radio)
• Cowiche Creek Confluence Project gets nearly $11 million in federal funds to reduce flooding, improve wildlife habitat (Yakima Herald-Republic)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Rattlesnake Mountain access still closed to public, despite law. What feds are planning (Tri-City Herald)

FISH

• Hood Canal salmon run sees booming recovery as fish face extinction (The Seattle Times)
• Lewis County, Thurston County to each receive more than $1 million for salmon restoration projects (The Chronicle)
• State awards almost $1M to Kittitas County for salmon, trout habitat restoration (Daily Record)

HANFORD

• Nuclear waste confirmed to pass through Spokane next year (The Spokesman-Review)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• US school-entry vaccination rates fall as exemptions keep rising (AP)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Federal complaint filed for Jewish students accuses UW of ‘antisemitism’ (FOX 13)

HOMELESSNESS

• Burien, King County homelessness feud continues with latest planned sweep (MyNorthwest)
• New KCRHA agreement faces final approval from King County Council next week (The Center Square)
• Spokane County Sheriff’s Office proposes amendment to crack down on homelessness (The Center Square)
• Over 50% of survey responses against Spokane making ‘housing status’ protected class (The Center Square)
• Homeless projects could be at-risk after veto of Pierce County Council funding proposal (The News Tribune)

HOUSING

• 80 seniors scramble to find housing after Seattle assisted living facility announces closure (KUOW Radio)

IMMIGRATION

• State workplace inspectors will have access to immigration detention center in Tacoma (Washington State Standard)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Seattle interim police chief’s push to improve staffing (FOX 13)
• Tacoma Police Chief Avery Moore has returned to duty. City offers an explanation (The News Tribune)
• Tacoma city manager says police chief misused tax payer money (FOX 13)
• Sex toy prank, abuse of power lands Mercer Island, WA officer in hot water (FOX 13)
• Battle Ground Police Department will begin using body cameras (The Columbian)

LEGISLATURE

• Van De Wege officially resigns from state Senate (KONP Radio)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Clark County Treasurer’s Office says residents should disregard property tax bill sent in error (The Columbian)
• Ex-Franklin leader returns to Tri-Cities. This time to help struggling Benton Co. program (Tri-City Herald)
• Vancouver is planning for the birds: Codes will help reduce bird collisions with buildings (The Columbian)
• Edmonds could lose 46 jobs, other cuts looming amid budget woes (The Everett Herald)
• East Wenatchee pre-approved ADU program begins (The Wenatchee World)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: New uses for newspaper boxes — sadly not for news (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Depression was rising among young people. COVID made it worse (Los Angeles Times/The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Latest Oregon testing data shows schools continue to struggle in math, science and English (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregonians won’t see $113M in promised clean energy rebates until late 2025 or 2026 (The Oregonian)
• Is farming ‘greater’ in Idaho? Higher costs in Oregon drive some producers across the border (Capital Press)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Families of girls allegedly molested by teacher sue Peninsula School District (KING TV)
• 8th-grader arrested after an alleged shooting threat at a Kennewick middle school (Tri-City Herald)

SPORTS

• Spokane selected to host first, second rounds of 2027 NCAA men’s basketball tourney (The Spokesman-Review)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Washington officials say 100% of state agency fleets will be electric by 2040. Here’s how it’s going so far: (The Spokesman-Review)

TAXES

• Jumpstart: The fight over how to spend Seattle’s big-business tax (Cascade PBS)

TRANSPORTATION

• Bridge tolls proposed on I-5 (KIRO TV)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• EDITORIAL: Feds, state should help keep former Nooksack members in their homes (The Seattle Times)

WATER

• Office of Chehalis Basin to hold free webinar to discuss flood reduction proposals (The Chronicle)