Need for diapers persists, even with new WA cash benefit
A law providing low-income Washington families with a monthly subsidy to buy diapers has been in effect for six months, but the need for diaper banks and other resources remains high. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, diaper need is a growing problem. One in two U.S. families can’t afford enough diapers to keep their infant or child clean, dry and healthy, according to a 2023 study commissioned by the network. Three in five parents miss work or school because they can’t afford the diapers required to leave their baby in child care, the national diaper bank says. Continue reading at The Columbian. (Mike Stewart)
My plan as head of Washington State Ferries
As I settle into the role of directing the nation’s largest ferry system, my commitment is to ensure Washington State Ferries restores service to the levels our customers expect and enact long-term solutions that make us reliable for decades to come. WSF’s greatest challenges are the need for new vessels and licensed maritime workers. Since 2021, legislators adopted policies and funding that empower our agency to be more responsive in a nationally competitive market for shipbuilders and mariners. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Erika Schultz)
Republican legislative staff move first to unionize under new WA law
Employees of the Washington Legislature could start pursuing union representation Wednesday and two groups of workers did. Both are Republican. Legislative assistants for GOP members of the state House and Senate want the recently formed Legislative Professionals Association to represent them. Petitions on behalf of workers in each chamber were filed with the Public Employment Relations Commission, which will certify the bargaining unit and conduct an election. Continue reading at Washington State Standard. (Laurel Demkovich)
Aberdeen Daily World
Letters: Climate change, salmon
School board members elaborate on reasons for resigning
Axios
Quake-proofing Seattle’s vulnerable buildings
Pro-Palestinian encampments arrive at Seattle-area colleges
Bellingham Herald
Traffic slows in downtown Bellingham as work on bike lanes trial project kicks off
Opinion: My dad was addicted to crack. That doesn’t mean our family needed to be broken up
Capital Press
Insurance industry mulls wildfire risk reduction
Comment: The many consequences of breaching the Snake River dams
Editorial: Consider relocation from the bear’s perspective
Columbian
Need for diapers persists, even with new WA cash benefit
Report finds Washington ranks low on access to preschool, reinforcing assertions of Clark County education leaders
Everett Herald
Skills, not As, are what count at Tulalip, Everett alternative schools
Court overturns $185M verdict for Monsanto PCBs at Monroe school
Almost all mountain goats died after airlift from Olympics to Cascades
Snohomish County to test for meth contamination in supportive housing
High Country News
Tribes lead on wildlife passages
The Boldt Decision and where the rule of law held
The Inlander
Spokane County’s regional 911 dispatch center wants Spokane to either fully commit or provide its own dispatch
Spokane will require four to six months of advanced notice for rent increases — but many landlords haven’t complied with the city’s other rental rules
Journal of the San Juan Islands
New ferry schedule to take current challenges into account
Kitsap Sun
Naloxone availability expands throughout Kitsap as opioid overdoses continue to rise
Former Breidablik school building to host regional site for students with intensive needs
News Tribune
City of Tacoma ranked among the top 100 places to live in the U.S., here’s why
How long is too long to wait in Pierce County Jail for a probable-cause hearing?
Office of Policing Accountability might come to Tacoma. How much power should it have?
Steve Hobbs: Ranked-choice voting sounds good. But here’s why it would disenfranchise many voters
Olympian
Opinion: My dad was addicted to crack. That doesn’t mean our family needed to be broken up
Puget Sound Business Journal
EV maker Rivian leases South Sound warehouse
REI records steeper losses after year of ‘challenges and growth’
Seattle Times
WA police academy faces second sexual harassment lawsuit
San Juan County ‘encouraged’ by initial results of 32-hour workweek
Surge in electricity demand poses tricky path ahead for PNW utilities, report shows
Opinion: My plan as head of Washington State Ferries
Skagit Valley Herald
Walnuts recalled from two Skagit County stores due to E. coli contamination
Spokesman Review
‘Overcoming reefer madness’: Feds appear poised to ease restrictions on weed. Here’s how the change could impact Washington (Ormsby)
Tri-City Herald
Feds called in to help investigate cause of largest building fire in Tri-Cities history
Walla Walla Union Bulletin
ECEAP preschool roundups scheduled in Pasco
Washington Post
How a Connecticut middle school won the battle against cellphones
Fed leaves interest rates unchanged, signals worries in inflation fight
Biden is spending another $3 billion to replace lead pipes. Some experts say it’s not enough.
WA State Standard
Washington’s neverending housing crisis
Republican legislative staff move first to unionize under new WA law (Stanford, Fitzgibbon)
Yakima Herald-Republic
Efforts underway to add glass recycling option in Central Washington
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
Local emergency declared amid Mercer Island water supply shortage
‘Being Pacific Islander means everything’ | Celebrating AANHPI Heritage Month
Amtrak requests $130 million from Congress to upgrade service before 2026 World Cup
Former Bothell City Council member arrested under investigation of second-degree murder
UW students protesting in solidarity with Gaza demand the university cut ties with Israel, Boeing
KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
The Snohomish County Jail’s drug detection dog is on duty
Warning period over for new speed cameras in Everett school zone
EPA awarding nearly $1 billion in grants to replace aging school buses
Goats airlifted from Olympic Peninsula to North Cascades are mysteriously dying, per Tulalip Tribes
KOMO 4 TV (ABC)
Washington’s new inclusive education law starts soon: Will districts comply?
Seattle I-5 protest defendants challenge social media use for suspect identification
Tensions escalate as pro-Palestinian encampment grows at University of Washington
KNKX Public Radio
Upwards of 16,000 immigrants on track to enroll in WA Medicaid expansion
KUOW Public Radio
Hundreds of asylum-seekers move into park in Seattle’s Central District
Seattle mayor taps outside investigator to address Seattle Police sexism claims
KXLY (ABC)
Spokane elementary school teacher arrested, tests positive for drugs, back in classroom
Web
Crosscut
Audit finds inflation, wages drove Seattle’s $1.7B budget increase
Whatcom County to investigate handling of sexual harassment case
MyNorthwest
Puget Sound Energy customers now paying more as rate hike takes effect
Publicola
Council kills Morales’ affordable housing bill, arguing for more process and delay
The Urbanist
Seattle Council Rejects Morales’ Affordable Housing Bill
Washington’s Statewide E-bike Rebate Program Is Still on the Way (Shewmake)
Community Development Counters Eco-Gentrification from Duwamish Valley Cleanup