Washington House, Senate release proposed transportation budgets; Democrats seek to quell opposition to WA Cares ahead of potential repeal in November

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Washington and Montana researchers study impact of wildfires on drinking water (KHQ TV)
• West Plains residents can now apply for free PFAS water testing from environmental agencies (The Inlander)
• EDITORIAL: Loss of farmland is an existential threat (Capital Press)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Inside Kroger-Albertson’s would-be merger: ‘Do we have to say that we won’t close stores?’ (The Seattle Times)
• ‘We can’t pay rent’: Seattle app-based workers demand repeal of gig laws (The Center Square)
• Boeing ousts the head of its troubled 737 Max program after quality control concerns (KUOW Radio)
• Cruise line with Northwest steamboat tours shuts down, laying off 500+ (Tri-City Herald)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• Gas prices too high? WA residents may get $200 back for utilities (Crosscut)
• Republicans reject Democrat idea of linking energy policy with California (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)
• COLUMN: Washington Democrat exposed for lying about carbon tax, I-2117 (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

CAPITAL BUDGET

• Rep. Abbarno helps craft House supplemental capital construction budget which assists community needs (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Mining company ordered to stop work next to school south of Everett (The Everett Herald)

CONGRESS

• Sen. Patty Murray discusses childcare, pot shops and presidential candidates during Olympia visit (KING TV)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Senate budget proposal includes ‘legislative-led audit’ of juvenile detention facilities (The Chronicle)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Legislation requiring clergy to report child abuse stalls again in Olympia (Washington State Standard)
• Washington lawmakers explore bill to omit juvenile crimes from adult offender scores (KOMO TV)
• Juvenile crime rates in Washington returning to pre-pandemic levels, with vehicle thefts exceeding (KING TV)
• The Kia Boy and me (KUOW Radio)

DRUG CRISIS

• Bellingham taking emergency steps amid downtown fentanyl crisis (The Center Square)

EDUCATION

• Bill that would make financial education a high school graduation requirement in Washington passes out of committee (The Spokesman-Review)
• How WA lawmakers are looking to improve K-12 special education (Washington State Standard)
• Washington school boards blast bill forcing districts to teach ‘inclusive’ history lessons (KOMO TV)

ELECTIONS

• North Kitsap Superintendent Laurynn Evans charged with misdemeanor in signs incident (Kitsap Sun)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Policy prohibiting balance billing for ambulance services nears governor’s desk (KHQ TV)
• 3.4 magnitude earthquake strikes King County east of Carnation (MyNorthwest)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Washington industries seek to pause new state energy code (The Center Square)
• COLUMN: Lessons not learned yet on industrial power facility siting (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)

HANFORD

• Bomb squad called for ‘extremely dangerous’ chemical at Hanford nuclear site lab (Tri-City Herald)
• About 60 people evacuated when potentially explosive chemical found and isolated at Hanford site laboratory (NW News Network)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Medical merger bill clears House committee (The Washington Observer)
• Debt collection company for several WA hospitals will pay $1M to settle lawsuit (Tri-City Herald)
• Washington, Spokane County immunizations falling after 2020 highs (KREM TV)
• Health district predicts more cases of measles following Spokane County’s first patient since 2015 (The Spokesman-Review)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Faculty at Washington State University say school is declining, points finger at leadership (KREM TV)
• Legislature unlikely to fully fund WSU contract (The Lewiston Tribune)
• South Puget Sound Community College on course to offer 2nd bachelor’s degree in the fall (The Olympian)
• EDITORIAL: Stop pointing fingers and fix faltering FAFSA (The Columbian)

HOMELESSNESS

• Gov. Inslee pushing for more funding for Right of Way Program (KING TV)
• WA boost in student homelessness funding reaches more districts (The Everett Herald)
• Seattle to take back part of Regional Homelessness Authority’s funding (The Seattle Times)

HOUSING

• Rent ‘control’ bill claws its way back in Olympia (KUOW Radio)
• House housing bills get Senate haircuts (The Washington Observer)
• EDITORIAL: Pass bill limiting rent hikes to help stabilize households (The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: Yakima needs affordable housing. But at what cost? (Yakima Herald-Republic)

IMMIGRATION

• OPINION: Tacoma’s private detention center is at it again. The pain won’t end until it closes (Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self/The News Tribune)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• No charges for SPD officer who struck and killed Jaahnavi Kandula (KUOW Radio)
• SPD recommends assault charge against Spokane County Deputy in excessive force investigation (KXLY TV)

LEGISLATURE

• Washington state lawmakers provide update on current session, initiatives to Legislature, at legislative briefing (The Chronicle)
• District 12 reps talk crime, school bonds in town hall (The Wenatchee World)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Cle Elum mayor selected for Association of Washington Cities Board of Directors (KNDO/KNDU)
• ACLU warns Yakima council against strong mayor form of government (Yakima Herald-Republic)

LONG-TERM CARE

• Democrats seek to quell opposition to WA Cares ahead of potential repeal in November (The Center Square)

MENTAL HEALTH

• OPINION: Higher reimbursements will help our mental health crisis in WA (Nick Norman, business manager at Mindful Therapy Group/The Seattle Times)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon Democrats reach tentative deal to address drug addiction crisis (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Washington State Standard)
• Oregon Democrats agree to stronger criminal penalties for drug possession (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Mandatory treatment for addicted teens off the table for 2024, lawmakers decide (The Oregonian)
• Oregon permanent standard time bill survives after Senate splits (Oregon Capital Chronicle/The Columbian)
• Idaho AG wants high court to let state ban transgender children’s health care (Idaho Statesman/The Columbian)
• Surrounding states have legalized marijuana. Idaho lawmaker suggests this instead (The Idaho Statesman/The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: Two California laws that have to go (Capital Press)

REDISTRICTING

• Central Washington could have new voting boundaries in time for this election (Yakima Herald-Republic)

SPORTS

• Lawmakers hear dire circumstances of WSU being ‘Couged’ by former Pac-12 schools (MyNorthwest)
• State hearing highlights divergent fortunes of WSU and UW in new era of college athletics (The Spokesman-Review)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Two people honored with Washington’s top awards for civilians (Washington State Standard)

TAXES

• Inslee signs fuel tax enforcement bill into law (The Center Square)
• OPINION: Repealing capital gains income tax will ‘devastate’ basic education — is that true? (Paul Guppy, VP for research at Washington Policy Center/The Chronicle)
• OPINION: A warning about warning labels — new law aims to thwart initiatives (Sen. Jeff Wilson/The Chronicle)

TECHNOLOGY

• Americans reporting nationwide cellular outages from AT&T, Cricket Wireless and other providers (AP)

TRANSPORTATION

• Could a broken Washington ferry system help cities grow more sustainably? (KUOW Radio)
• Legislators throw a life ring to Washington’s ‘other’ ferries (KNKX Radio/Salish Current)
• $15 tolls for carpool lanes on I-405 and SR-167 start in March (Axios – Seattle)
• Inside SR 520’s safety system in Montlake (MyNorthwest)
• The big switch: Electrifying all U.S. vehicles would be colossal feat (Capital Press)
• EDITORIAL: Bring riders’ voices back on board to sustain WA ferries’ future (The Seattle Times)

TRANSPORTATION BUDGET

• Washington House, Senate release proposed transportation budgets (KING TV)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Gathering in Yakima on Friday will remember missing and murdered Indigenous people (Yakima Herald-Republic)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• Is La Niña making a return next winter? What does that mean for WA’s weather in 2024? (The News Tribune)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• ‘It’s going to be a long process’: Local leaders caution that federal fire aid will take time to arrive (The Spokesman-Review)