Washington insurance: Health plan prices may rise; new rule set to begin; How WA counties are spending millions in opioid settlement dollars

ABORTION

• Out-of-state abortions have increased by 50% in Washington post-Dobbs, UW study finds (The Spokesman-Review)

AGRICULTURE

• A win for Washington Ag workers? Court orders DOL to protect WA farmworker wages (Source One News)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Low-wage states with cheap housing dominated the post-pandemic jobs boom (Stateline/Washington State Standard)
• Boeing reaches deadline for reporting how it will fix aircraft safety and quality problems (The Seattle Times)
• Union firefighters, Boeing reach new tentative agreement (The Everett Herald)
• Confidence soaring for Inland Northwest aerospace industry (The Spokesman-Review)

CHILD CARE

• EDITORIAL: Take action on critical U.S. child care crisis (The Columbian)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• OPINION: Wing Luke walkout misconstrues ‘Confronting Hate Together’ (Nancy Koppelman teaches at The Evergreen State College/The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: It’s time to reimagine public restrooms (Angela Poe Russell/MyNorthwest)

CONGRESS

• House farm bill aims to improve, update programs (Capital Press)
• EDITORIAL: FAA bill set to improve flight safety, experience (The Everett Herald)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Clark County Jail to bill Medicaid for medications for alcohol and opioid use disorder (The Columbian)
• Clallam to add monitoring bracelets for some jail inmates (KONP Radio)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• COLUMN: Selective outrage undermines U.S. Supreme Court (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)

DRUG CRISIS

• EDITORIAL: Federal bill to reduce opioid deaths deserves bipartisan support (The Seattle Times)

EDUCATION

• Federal officials extend support for Washington state students with disabilities (KIT Radio)
• More positions axed and hours cut in Yelm Schools. Program and service cuts coming in June (The Olympian)
• Moses Lake School District to eliminate equivalent of 85 more positions (Columbia Basin Herald)
• ‘Segregating’ students? Here are Pasco’s divisive 3 options for high school boundaries (Tri-City Herald)
• Sultan, Snohomish to get federal money for clean school buses (States Newsroom/The Everett Herald)
• Kent School District labor group calls for resignations of district’s top leaders (KIRO TV)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Washington clean energy project mired in ‘no man’s land’ amid planning setbacks (The Center Square)
• Inslee: Hawks not in way of Horse Heaven power project (Capital Press)
• Do rooftop solar panels make sense in western Washington? (The Center Square)

ENVIRONMENT

• Styrofoam and polystyrene materials, like takeout containers, will be banned in Washington starting June 1 (KING TV)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Exclusive: New Seattle National Archives to be a ‘very large project’ (MyNorthwest)

FISH

• WA salmon passage projects are getting more than $75 million (The Seattle Times)

FOOD SAFETY & SECURITY

• 33 hospitalized in Salmonella outbreak including WA, CA, and OR (KPQ Radio)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• We can all help combat loneliness, surgeon general says in Seattle (The Seattle Times)
• 1,100 Tri-Cities medical workers vote to strike if fair wage demands aren’t met (Tri-City Herald)
• Exposure scare at Sunnyside hospital tied to corrosive metals, not radiation (Yakima Herald-Republic)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Gaza-war protesters agree to dismantle tent camp at Western Washington University (The Bellingham Herald)
• Central’s Mental Health Counseling Program reestablished with gift from Comprehensive Healthcare (KNDO/KNDU)
• Heritage University excels in ‘Best Private Colleges in Washington’ rankings (KAPP/KVEW)

HOMELESSNESS

• ‘I feel bad for these people:’ South Lake Union homeless encampment cleared away (MyNorthwest)
• Survey shows homelessness up by 23% in Pierce County (KIRO TV)

HOUSING

• Senior housing has been pitched on West Bay in Olympia. Here’s what concerns residents (The Olympian)
• Low-income housing coming to downtown Bellevue (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• OPINION: Creative developers are supercharging our middle housing ordinance, and projects will start coming out of the ground (Anthony Gill , economic development professional and writer of Spokane Rising/The Inlander)

INSURANCE

• Washington insurance: Health plan prices may rise; new rule set to begin (MyNorthwest)
• Washington will require insurers to reveal reasons for rate hikes (Washington State Standard)
• As insurance rates spike, companies will soon be required to explain rate hikes to policyholders (The Spokesman-Review)
• Home insurance rates have surged nearly 40% since 2019 – but they’re rising fastest in these states (FOX 13)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• Developer sues Spokane Valley over delays, requirements in proposed Painted Hills development (The Spokesman-Review)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Adrian Diaz out as Seattle police chief; Sue Rahr steps in (The Seattle Times)
• Seattle Police Department Chief Adrian Diaz out amid controversy (Cascade PBS)
• Seattle’s new interim police chief vows to hire women as part of nationwide effort (KING TV)
• Seattle churns through police chiefs, and that may be normal (The Seattle Times)
• 30 new officers graduate from law enforcement training academy in east Vancouver (The Columbian)
• Cowlitz Indian Tribe seeks to expand its police force, hopes law proposed by Cantwell will help (The Columbian)
• Klickitat County narrowing its options for jail, icing out the sheriff (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

LGBTQ

• Washington to conduct statewide LGBTQ+ survey (The Center Square)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• How WA counties are spending millions in opioid settlement dollars (Washington State Standard)
• Spokane approves raises for elected officials despite potential reductions (The Center Square)
• Thurston County plans to raise up to $42M through bond issue to buy property, remodel (The Olympian)
• Tukwila to pay $350K to settle lawsuit by man hurt in police shooting (The Seattle Times)
• County letter would urge DNR to move ahead with Elwha watershed timber sale (KONP Radio)

MEDIA

• New chapter for Northwest Asian Weekly after decades of community coverage (The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Amid mental health crisis, new compact allows social workers to practice across state lines (Stateline/Washington State Standard)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• As thousands of veterans receive PACT Act benefits, VA working to ensure equitable rollout (KIRO TV)
• Months after his capture, Army charges JBLM deserter with cabbie’s death, other crimes (The News Tribune)

OTHER STATES

• Another ‘kicker’ tax refund could be in the works for Oregon taxpayers (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Oregon officials urge residents discard mussels harvested near part of WA border (The Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION

• WA fatal crashes at 33-year high, rest of U.S. dropping (KONA Radio)
• May through September is the most deadly period for motorcyclists (MyNorthwest)
• Get ready — construction work will impact both ends of I-5 in Pierce County this summer (The News Tribune)
• Tussling with the future of the US Route 2 trestle (MyNorthwest)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Washington tribes receive millions in state funding for clean energy (The Center Square)
• Southwest Washington Tribes to receive $4.5 million in state grants for clean energy projects (The Chronicle)
• QIN to receive $3.7 million for tribal housing (KXRO Radio)

WATER

• Drought-stricken Yakima: City pleads for water conservation (KIT Radio)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Beverly wildfire prompts evac notice (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Packed crowd for townhall meeting about the Finley fire (KAPP/KVEW)

WILDLIFE

• 1 million acres in NW CA, SW OR set aside for endangered species (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)