What the data says about pandemic school closures, 4 years later; Update of Washington’s wildfire building code gets ditched

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Analyst: Wheat prices decline amid record Russian exports (Capital Press)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Inslee signs bill creating criminal penalties for distribution of AI fabricated intimate images (The Spokesman-Review)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Extended foster care for young adults up to 21 set to expand in WA (Washington State Standard)
• Timeline: Oso, the deadliest landslide in US history (KING TV)

CORONAVIRUS

• What the data says about pandemic school closures, 4 years later (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Washington state reduces isolation period for Covid from five days to one (KUOW Radio)

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Prisoner-led cultural groups in Washington say they’ve been sidelined under state’s prison diversity initiative (KUOW Radio)
• King County makes progress in tracking juvenile solitary confinement (The Center Square)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Lawsuit claims EPA, Corps disregarded court’s WOTUS ruling (Capital Press)

COURTS (STATE)

• Supreme Court: Bar exam will no longer be required to become attorney in Washington State (The Spokesman-Review)
• King County sexual assault report finds many defendants pleaded down (The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: Public defenders’ plight is finally getting some attention (Yakima Herald-Republic)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• How parents can help prevent children from falling victim to online sex crimes (MyNorthwest)
• The Spotlight: ‘I’ve got 70,000 volts to your back’ (FOX 13)
• Residents, nonprofits, law enforcement, businesses focus on solutions along Fourth Plain corridor (The Columbian)

DRUG CRISIS

• ‘Fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic crashes ashore, propelled by fentanyl and meth (KFF Health News/Washington State Standard)
• Prosser paraeducator arrested after officers find 2,000 fentanyl pills in home (KNDO/KNDU)

EARLY LEARNING

• Harrell’s office announces Seattle preschool slots for thousands of kids (MyNorthwest)
• Is Seattle headed toward preschool for all? Another expansion announced for 2024-25 (KUOW Radio)
• Spokane early learning center benefits from $30 million grant for Washington state (KXLY TV)

EDUCATION

• Inslee signs bill requiring schools to include LGBTQ history, perspective in teachings (The News Tribune)
• 10 years in, here’s what to know about WA charter schools (The Seattle Times)

ELECTIONS

• 60,000 Washington ballots not yet counted over party declarations (FOX 13)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Winter brought numerous challenges to fire and EMS operations in Clark County (The Reflector)
• Governor signs bills supporting firefighters (Columbia Basin Herald)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• The Pacific Northwest is finalizing plans for $1 billion in investments in ‘green’ hydrogen to power aviation, shipping, long-haul trucking and more (The Inlander)
• OPINION: Reevaluate decisions that hamper WA’s clean energy future (Norm Dicks, represented Washington’s 6th Congressional District from 1977-2013/The Seattle Times)

ENVIRONMENT

• State officials: Downtown Walla Walla gas leak began months before it was discovered (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

FISH

• Washington fish, octopus farms becoming a thing of the past (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)
• King County must take swifter action to save salmon, auditor says (Crosscut)
• Lummi Nation gets almost $10 million to help save endangered Chinook salmon on Nooksack River (The Bellingham Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Return focus to fish in culvert replacement (The Seattle Times)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• New kind of hospital is coming to rural U.S. To qualify, facilities must close beds (AP)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• WA students soon may not have to take the bar exam to become attorneys (The Seattle Times)
• The SAT is coming back at some colleges. It’s stressing everyone out. (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)

HOMELESSNESS

• City says ordinance affecting unhoused residents to remain in effect (Northwest Public Broadcasting)

HOUSING

• What Seattle-area homebuyers should expect after national settlement (The Seattle Times)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Building trust in police a key goal, Lovick says (Washington State Journal/Columbia Basin Herald)
• Chelan sheriff commends Schrier for $660,000 body camera funding (KPQ Radio)
• Former Yakima police officer arrested on suspicion of domestic violence (KAPP/KVEW)

LEGISLATURE

• Property crimes such as vandalism may qualify as hate crimes in WA (Washington State Journal/Columbia Basin Herald)
• Inside Olympia’s “Fur Fighters” (The Washington Observer)
• New Washington state law criminalizes deepfake porn (Axios – Seattle)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• City Council offers take on Spokane’s $50 million budget deficit (KREM TV)

OTHER STATES

• Lawsuit seeks to oust Oregon lawmaker, says she doesn’t live in district (The Oregonian)
• Legislation defining urban agriculture advances in Idaho (Capital Press)

REDISTRICTING

• Court realignment splits Wenatchee into 12th, 7th Legislative Districts (NCW Life Channel)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Washington UTC chair who used racial slur asked to resign (KXLY TV)

TRANSPORTATION

• Ahead of spring, gas prices on the rise in Washington state (The Center Square)
• As WA traffic deaths climb higher, remembering those who died in 2023 (The Seattle Times)
• Washington subcommittee contemplates toll rates for new I-5 bridge (The Center Square)
• Is Tri-Cities becoming part of metropolitan WA? Big city driving tips as traffic grows (Tri-City Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Your choice, drivers; slow down or pay up (The Everett Herald)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Update of Washington’s wildfire building code gets ditched (Washington State Standard)

WILDLIFE

• Lawmaker’s move to study sea lion predation removed from state’s budget (The Reflector)