Washington lawmakers push to require financial education be taught in schools; Ag to Inslee: ‘Assert true leadership’ on dams

ABORTION

• Where will abortion rights land? (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• The rise of AI fake news is creating a ‘misinformation superspreader’ (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• This mega-warehouse project would bring 300 to 500 family-wage jobs to Pierce County (The News Tribune)
• COLUMN: Boeing’s first woman CEO would need to do more than break the glass ceiling (Jon Talton/The Seattle Times)

CANNABIS

• COLUMN: The collateral damage of high-potency cannabis: WA’s youth (Alex Fryer/The Seattle Times)

CENSUS

• Walla Walla, Columbia county populations getting older, recent trends report shows (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Audit suggests pollution from Boeing Field may disproportionately impact BIPOC communities (Snoqualmie Valley Record)
• How Atlantic Street Center helped a domestic violence survivor (The Seattle Times)

COURTS (STATE)

• WA Office of Public Defense states system in crisis (KWHT Radio)
• No verdict reached after 2nd full day of deliberations in trial of Tacoma police officers (KOMO TV)
• Supporters of Manuel Ellis dismayed as Tacoma police case goes to jury (KUOW Radio)
• WA Supreme Court denies review of Pac-12 appeal, handing control of conference to OSU, WSU (FOX 13)
• Firearms forensics: Scientists specializing in guns at Vancouver crime lab love their fulfilling role in court system (The Columbian)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Retailers encouraged to report thefts as retail crimes continue to climb (KOMO TV)
• ‘This is everybody.’ Residents of Seattle’s Central District band together to tackle public safety (KUOW Radio)
• ‘Terrorized our entire region’ — ‘Kia Boys’ from Pierce County charged for crime spree (The News Tribune)
• OPINION: In the midst of crime wave, state leadership has failed (Rep. Peter Abbarno/The Chronicle)

DAMS

• Ag to Inslee: ‘Assert true leadership’ on dams (Capital Press)
• ‘Insane,’ ‘reckless’: Stakeholders respond to Snake River dam plan (Capital Press)
• Congresswoman troubled by Biden pact to restore Columbia Basin salmon populations (The Center Square)
• OPINION: Ditch secret backroom dam breaching deals. Let’s focus on common ground. (Brad Little, governor, Idaho, and Scott Bedke, lieutenant governor, Idaho/Capital Press)

DRUG CRISIS

• 230,000 fentanyl pills, 76 lbs. of meth seized in bust of Tri-Cities trafficking ring (Tri-City Herald)

EDUCATION

• Washington lawmakers push to require financial education be taught in schools (The Spokesman-Review)
• 2 Olympia elementary schools could be closed or consolidated amid declining enrollment (KOMO TV)
• BLOG: GOP Senate Leader John Braun: “School districts and parents should be partners in education, not adversaries.” (Shift)
• OPINION: Hard decisions about school closures must reflect community’s values (Joellen Wilhelm, a former Olympia School Board member/The Olympian)
• COLUMN: Seattle teacher investigated for antisemitic lessons, called ‘rape denier’ (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

ELECTIONS

• EDITORIAL: WA elections officials need rapid data to match misinformation age (The Seattle Times)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• PNNL earns $13M for ‘outstanding’ marks on 2023 DOE report card. How it stacked up (Tri-City Herald)
• Tacoma uses $2.5 million to electrify solid waste utilities; expand outreach (The Center Square)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• GSI joins groups opposing EPA ruling (Spokane Journal of Business)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Study bolsters evidence that severe obesity increasing in young US kids (AP)
• ‘On par with the biggest breakthroughs in medicine’: Spokane doctor discovers new kidney disease treatment. An 11,000-person study will start in 2024 (The Spokesman-Review)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Here’s how universities in the Inland Northwest are addressing antisemitism and islamophobia (The Spokesman-Review)

HOMELESSNESS

• US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses (AP)
• Senator Murray on record 12% increase in homelessness reported this year: “No time to talk about slashing our investments in tackling this crisis” (KLCK Radio)
• In unusual offer, King County offers $5 million for homeless shelters (The Seattle Times)
• Pierce County Sheriff staff shortage hindering progress on homelessness (The Center Square)
• Thurston County will help keep Olympia’s largest tiny home village open for another year (The Olympian)

HOUSING

• Mobile home park residents near Seattle struggle to win bidding wars against investors (KUOW Radio)
• Owners of Ilwaco mobile home park ordered to pay $926k+ for unlawful evictions, shutting utilities off (FOX 13)
• OPINION: Multi Family Tax Exemption: Boon or bane to neighborhoods? (Anna Schlecht, retired from the City of Olympia/The Olympian)

IMMIGRATION

• Biden’s border negotiations mark seismic shift on immigration politics (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• In interview, Snohomish County’s new sheriff outlines playbook for 2024 (The Everett Herald)
• Edmonds police chief candidate sues, saying racism cost him job (The Everett Herald)
• Former Granger police chief says city retaliated against him for investigating officer (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• EDITORIAL: Arbitrator’s reversal shows need for fix of police discipline (The Seattle Times)

LEGISLATURE

• Here are the new Washington state laws going into effect in the New Year (KING TV)
• Vape detectors, financial literacy, Narcan access. WA lawmakers already filing K-12 bills (Tri-City Herald)
• Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce offering monthly Zoom conferences with local lawmakers (The Chronicle)

LGBTQ

• What it takes for WA trans youth to access gender-affirming care (The Seattle Times)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Hate speech trend means Pierce County city won’t take public comments via Zoom, for now (The News Tribune)
• City of Chelan establishes tax district to fund transportation projects (The Wenatchee World)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: WA’s news fellowship draws heavy interest, highlights need (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Navy renames 2 streets on Bangor submarine base to remove names tied to the Confederacy (Kitsap Sun)

OPEN GOVERNMENT

• A review of 2023’s WA worker safety, COVID relief investigations (Crosscut)
• Wilson proposal would revitalize ‘Sunshine Committee’ (KIHR Radio)

OPERATING BUDGET

• Gov. Jay Inslee optimistic about his proposed 2024 supplemental budget (The Columbian)
• EDITORIAL: Inslee’s budget plan is a good start (Yakima Herald-Republic)

OTHER STATES

• Federal judge rejects request from Oregon senators who boycotted Legislature seeking to run in 2024 (AP)
• Oregon says it’s committed to cleaning up Portland’s highways, but not right away (The Oregonian)
• Judge denies eastern Oregon mom’s request to become foster parent over her anti-LGBTQ+ views (KING TV)
• Idaho employee salaries still lag (Moscow-Pullman Daily News)

POLITICS

BALLOT MEASURES

• WA GOP initiative sponsors accuse Democrats, allies of suppression (The Seattle Times)
• Three Washington groups allegedly ran ‘coordinated intimidation campaign’ against signature drive (The Center Square)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Inslee takes early step to hand off power to a new governor (Washington State Standard)
• Investigation finds Washington state is failing to meet lead testing requirements (KING TV)
• ‘It’s just wrong’: First responders in Echo Glen escapes ‘frustrated’ with state-run detention facility (KING TV)

TRANSPORTATION

• WA ranked the top state for deadly multi-car collisions. Stats, tips to protect yourself (Tri-City Herald/Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Feds pledge $600M for new I-5 bridge linking Washington and Oregon (Washington State Standard)
• Inslee proposes to regulate gasoline prices (Capital Press)
• Departing Sound Transit CEO gets big payout (The Seattle Times)
• Seattle-area transit use lags pre-pandemic levels — by a lot (Axios – Seattle)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Brian George leads new investigative team for Indigenous cold cases under Washington Attorney General (NW News Network)
• ‘It is a milestone:’ Yakama Nation opens new justice center (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• NW tribes’ extinct woolly dog was carefully bred for weaving, ancient DNA confirms (The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: Open Rattlesnake Mountain to all. Tribal rights, limited public access can coexist (Tri-City Herald)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• New rules protecting Washington workers from wildfire smoke will start in January (KING TV)

WILDLIFE

• Latest draft of Washington’s controversial conservation policy out for public review (The Spokesman-Review)
• Washington wildlife commissioners will consider tightening bear, cougar hunting rules (The Spokesman-Review)

WOLVES

• Western Innovator: Washington wolf lead takes new challenge (Capital Press)