Washington state lawmakers consider police pursuit and parents’ rights initiatives; Long-time Washington Republican not running for re-election

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Washington drifts into ‘snow drought;’ water outlook turns drier (Capital Press)
• EDITORIAL: Reopening of Indian apple markets is worth celebrating (Yakima Herald-Republic)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Final push in Olympia for unemployment benefits for striking workers (The Seattle Times)
• ‘Strippers’ bill of rights’ is one step closer to becoming Washington state law (KING TV)
• Strippers in Washington pushing for more rights, protections like in Oregon (KING TV)
• Justice Department looking into Boeing door plug blowout (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)
• OPINION: WA egg prices giving you sticker shock? Blame this counterproductive state law (Amber Gunn, senior policy analyst for the Mountain States Policy Center/The News Tribune)
• EDITORIAL: Don’t extend unemployment benefits to striking workers (The Seattle Times)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Eligible Tacoma residents can get $500/month with no strings attached. Here’s how (The News Tribune)
• Bill to set minimum marriage age to 18 in Washington state heads to governor (KOMO TV)

CONGRESS

• McConnell will step down as the Senate Republican leader in November after a record run in the job (AP)
• Senators sponsor bill to get cash out of the cannabis industry (Snoqualmie Valley Record)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Seattle may spend $1.8M on controversial gunshot detection program (Crosscut)
• 2 more sentenced in Longview Net Nanny sting, including central WA teacher (The Daily News)

CYBERSECURITY

• Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner speaks on pharmacy system cyberattack (NCW Life Channel)

DRUG CRISIS

• New figures show Clallam County now second highest for drug overdose rate in Washington (KONP Radio)

EDUCATION

• To ban or embrace ChatGPT? Local teachers fight AI with AI — or don’t (The Everett Herald)
• Facing nearly $20 million budget deficit, Evergreen Public Schools may cut 140 positions (The Columbian)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Vancouver eyes changes to emergency services; it studies if it should opt out of CRESA (The Columbian)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Ybarra energy bill approved unanimously by WA House and Senate (The Center Square)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• COLUMN: Bellevue officer losing health benefits after VP Harris motorcade injuries (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

FISH

• Waters bipartisan fish barrier removal bill receives full support from the Senate (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)
• Columbia River Basin Agreement offers promise of ‘socially just’ clean energy, restored salmon (The Inlander)

GUN RIGHTS

• ‘Death sentence’ for gun dealers passes the Washington Senate (The Center Square)
• Washington lawmakers pass bill tightening restrictions on gun shops (KOMO TV)
• Policy creating additional oversight of gun retailers passes Washington Legislature (KHQ TV)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Doctor pleads guilty to conspiring to accept kickbacks in connection with fraudulent telemarketing scheme victimizing Medicare and Tricare patients in Eastern Washington (KCLK Radio)
• Kiosks dispense free COVID and flu tests in Washington state (Axios – Seattle)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Major Washington scholarship program extends portion of deadline (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Central’s school psychologist program helping with statewide shortage (Daily Record)
• OPINION: The new FAFSA has been glitchy. Why Pierce County students are at particular risk (Sen. T’wina Nobles and Dr. Tafona Ervin, executive director of Foundation for Tacoma Students/The News Tribune)

HOMELESSNESS

• Homelessness authority’s uncertain future (Axios – Seattle)
• Beyond shelter: Longview-based housing authority offers help with work, health (The Daily News)

IMMIGRATION

• Ukrainians in Spokane and the rest of U.S. can remain longer with two-year extension (The Spokesman-Review)

INVASIVE SPECIES

• Japanese beetle treatments coming to Sunnyside after pest found in force (Yakima Herald-Republic)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Washington state House overwhelmingly passes ban on hog-tying by police (AP/FOX 13)
• Deputies did not pursue Burien hit-and-run suspect before fatal crash (MyNorthwest)
• Spokane Valley faces slew of challenges in filling newly approved deputy positions (The Spokesman-Review)

LEGISLATURE

• Washington state lawmakers consider police pursuit and parents’ rights initiatives (AP)
• WA lawmakers hear initiatives on parents’ bill of rights, police pursuits (The Seattle Times)
• WA lawmakers prepare to act on voter initiatives targeting police pursuits, parental rights (NW News Network)
• Heywood testifies and tense exchanges at hearing on police pursuit initiative (Washington State Standard)
• Republicans, others lament ‘sham of a hearing’ on police pursuit initiative (The Center Square)
• Should WA police be allowed to engage in more pursuits? An initiative would allow that (The News Tribune)
• Initiative that would give Washington cops more legal leeway in vehicular pursuits draws public debate (The Spokesman-Review)
• ‘I think it has tremendous public support’: Initiative to ease police pursuit law gets public hearing (The Chronicle)
• Video: WA state joint committee listens to testimony on police pursuit initiative (The Olympian)
• WA lawmakers hear debate on parental rights initiative (Washington State Standard)
• Parental rights initiative gets a hearing in Olympia but supporters don’t feel heard (The Center Square)
• Washington lawmakers consider Initiative 2081, a proposal strengthening parental rights in schools – though some say it wouldn’t change much (The Spokesman-Review)
• Supporters press Washington state lawmakers for parental bill of rights (The Chronicle)
• Legislature holds hearing on initiative to ban income tax in Washington (The Chronicle)
• Long-time Washington Republican not running for re-election (The Center Square)
• WA state lawmaker J.T. Wilcox says he will retire from Legislature after term is over (The News Tribune)
• Former WA House Republican leader will not seek re-election (Washington State Standard)
• Steele, Goehner introduce resolutions for local high school teams (KPQ Radio)
• OPINION: Why we are voting to pass WA’s parental-rights initiative (Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins and Sen. Jamie Pedersen/The Seattle Times)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: A look at WA’s first state-funded news fellowships (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

OPERATING BUDGET

• Washington farmers could be reimbursed by state for paying gas fuel surcharge (The Wenatchee World)

OTHER STATES

• In first vote, Oregon legislative committee passes bill to unwind drug legalization law (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Washington State Standard)
• Bill cracking down on Oregon child labor laws heads to Gov. Kotek (Investigate West/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Financial relief for wildfire victims passes Oregon Senate (KWHT Radio)
• Muddying the waters: Court-ordered dam drawdowns kill fish, frustrate residents (Capital Press)
• EDITORIAL: Hold legislators responsible for regulations (Capital Press)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Washington State House advances bill for Narcan access in schools (KAPP/KVEW)
• Football drill leaves several Shelton High School students with serious injuries, parents say (KING TV)
• Tri-Cities high school student arrested for making pipe bomb. Another student reported him (Tri-City Herald)

TRANSPORTATION

• It’s not bus rapid transit, but Pierce Transit hopes this new bus line will save you time (The News Tribune)
• EDITORIAL: The big switch has a short circuit (Capital Press)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Northwest to get federal prosecutor dedicated to missing and slain Indigenous people (The Spokesman-Review)
• Clark County, Cowlitz Indian Tribe partner on plan for new fish habitat and recreation area (The Columbian)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Internal Revenue Service offers additional relief to wildfire victims (KHQ TV)
• COLUMN: How a simple bill becomes bloated (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)