Washington’s neverending housing crisis; Tensions escalate as pro-Palestinian encampment grows at University of Washington

AGRICULTURE

• Agritourism and special event venue approved near Moxee (Yakima Herald-Republic)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• New Bellingham citywide minimum wage goes into effect May 1; among highest rates in WA (The Bellingham Herald)
• Amazon CEO’s comments violated labor law, NLRB judge rules (The Seattle Times)
• Whistleblower Josh Dean of Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems has died (The Seattle Times)

CANNABIS

• U.S. Senate Dems launch renewed push for full marijuana legalization (States Newsroom/Washington State Standard)
• What rescheduling marijuana means for Washington state’s cannabis industry (The Center Square)
• ‘Overcoming reefer madness’: Feds appear poised to ease restrictions on weed. Here’s how the change could impact Washington. (The Spokesman-Review)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Appeals court rejects climate change lawsuit by young Oregon activists against US government (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• 6 charged in Seattle cease-fire protest that blocked I-5 plead not guilty (The Seattle Times)
• Seattle I-5 protest defendants challenge social media use for suspect identification (KOMO TV)
• Court overturns $185M verdict for Monsanto PCBs at Monroe school (The Everett Herald)
• Former Bothell City Council member held on investigation of murder (The Seattle Times)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Everett police arrest suspect in 1984 cold case homicide (The Everett Herald)

DAMS

• Rivers are the West’s largest source of clean energy. What happens when drought strikes? (KNKX Radio)

DRUG CRISIS

• Mother who lost daughter to fentanyl praises law sanctioning traffickers, manufacturers (KIRO TV)
• Mother of child who died from fentanyl at Kennewick motel pleads guilty to manslaughter (KNDO/KNDU)
• Snohomish County to test for meth contamination in supportive housing (MyNorthwest)
• Naloxone availability expands throughout Kitsap as opioid overdoses continue to rise (Kitsap Sun)

EARLY LEARNING

• Washington spends big on early education. So, why is it so hard to get your kid into preschool? (KUOW Radio)
• Report finds Washington ranks low on access to preschool, reinforcing assertions of Clark County education leaders (The Columbian)

EDUCATION

• Washington’s new inclusive education law starts soon: Will districts comply? (KOMO TV)
• Should we make it easier to pass school bonds in Washington state? (KPQ Radio)

ELECTIONS

• Tacoma could soon ‘open the door’ to ranked-choice voting. How does that system work? (The News Tribune)
• OPINION: Ranked-choice voting sounds good. But here’s why it would disenfranchise many voters (Steve Hobbs, Washington’s Secretary of State, and Vicky Dalton, Spokane County Auditor/The News Tribune)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Feds called in to help investigate cause of largest building fire in Tri-Cities history (Tri-City Herald)
• Disabled Longview man questions why EMS can’t take him to doctors’ appointments (The Daily News)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Surge in electricity demand poses tricky path ahead for PNW utilities, report shows (The Seattle Times)
• Demand for electricity in Northwest projected to grow 30% in decade, triple previous estimates (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Washington State Standard)
• Puget Sound Energy customers now paying more as rate hike takes effect (MyNorthwest)
• EFSEC releases findings on Horse Heaven energy proposal (Capital Press)
• EDITORIAL: Keeping powerful secrets (Capital Press)

ENVIRONMENT

• Failing grades for Washington air quality due to wildfire smoke (KNKX Radio)
• Efforts underway to add glass recycling options in Central Washington (Yakima Herald-Republic)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• President Biden approves disaster declaration for Washington counties, including Lewis County (The Chronicle)

HANFORD

• Hanford Site cleanup takes steps forward and backward under new agreement (The Center Square)
• EDITORIAL: Hanford cleanup plan encouraging, depressing (The Columbian)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Tensions escalate as pro-Palestinian encampment grows at University of Washington (KOMO TV)
• Protesters start second encampment demanding UW end ties with Israel (The Seattle Times)
• Pro-Palestinian encampments arrive at Seattle-area colleges (Axios – Seattle)
• UW student workers hold sit-in protests while calling for a fair contract (FOX 13)
• Prolonged federal financial aid issues challenge Clark County students, counselors, colleges (The Columbian)

HOMELESSNESS

• Key county official: Is controversial homeless village ‘smuggling in’ incompatible uses? (The News Tribune)
• Salvation Army’s shelter extends to May 2025, starting clock to find city’s next shelter (Kitsap Sun)

HOUSING

• Washington’s neverending housing crisis (Washington State Standard)
• Seattle City Council rejects land use exception to address affordable housing (The Center Square)
• First phase of Stuart Meadows affordable housing project is complete (Daily Record)
• COLUMN: Clean Buildings Act spawns ridiculous regulations (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)

INSURANCE

• Insurance industry mulls wildfire risk reduction (Capital Press)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• WA police academy faces second sexual harassment lawsuit (The Seattle Times)
• Office of Policing Accountability might come to Tacoma. How much power should it have? (The News Tribune)

LEGISLATURE

• Republican legislative staff move first to unionize under new WA law (Washington State Standard)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Owner says King County appraiser pushed ‘tax advocacy’ side biz after boosting valuation (The Seattle Times)
• Audit finds inflation, wages drove Seattle’s $1.7B budget increase (Cascade PBS)
• After months of criticism, Tacoma City Council adopts Gaza ceasefire resolution (The News Tribune)

MEDIA

• Republicans call on NPR’s CEO to testify about political bias (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Former Breidablik school building to host regional site for students with intensive needs (Kitsap Sun)

OTHER STATES

• Police and pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash in tense scene at UCLA encampment (The Seattle Times)
• Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek apologizes, walks back plan to expand her wife’s role in administration (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• New data suggests Oregon taking longer to pay jobless claims; state will increase overtime to pick up pace (The Oregonian)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Gov. Jay Inslee visits air quality monitoring site at Mountain View High School (The Columbian)

TRANSPORTATION

• OPINION: My plan as head of Washington State Ferries (Steve Nevey, assistant secretary for Washington State Ferries/The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: Telsa’s Autopilot may be ‘unsafe at any speed’ (The Everett Herald)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Whitman College hosting Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women awareness event on May 3 (KNDO/KNDU)
• Yakama Nation hosting a walk for justice, symposium for MMIP awareness (KNDO/KNDU)
• Cowlitz Indian Tribe expands reservation near La Center by about 60 acres (The Columbian)

WATER

• The cost of farming: Irrigation expenses follow a unique set of rules (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Odessa groundwater area bridge rebuilds receive fed funds (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Local emergency declared amid Mercer Island water supply shortage (KING TV)

WILDLIFE

• Spot stripes? What we know about WA’s missing zebra (The Seattle Times)
• Washington opens public comment on cougar proposal (The Spokesman-Review)
• WDFW seeks public input on proposed cougar hunting season changes (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)

WOLVES

• U.S. House votes to remove gray wolf endangered species protections (Spokane Public Radio)