Middle housing proposal passes House panel with changes
A proposal to legalize denser zoning laws statewide has cleared its first hurdle in the Legislature but looks a little different from its initial draft. The bill, sponsored by Olympia Democrat Rep. Jessica Bateman, would require cities to expand what types of housing can be built on residential lots. In the amended version, Bateman told the House Housing committee on Tuesday that the changes make the bill easier for cities to adopt. “It enables private property owners to choose whether they want to build middle housing,” she said. The proposal has bipartisan support in both chambers as the Legislature looks to tackle the growing need for housing across the state. Continue reading at Spokesman Review. (Jesse Tinsley)
Rising rents are drowning Washington’s smaller cities
While Seattle may have the highest rents statewide, the most drastic percentage increases over the past four to five years are in smaller cities and rural areas. And affordability is not an issue just for the poor but across different income levels: Even college-educated professionals are feeling the pinch of rapidly rising prices. A survey of 18 Washington counties from the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington shows average rent increases for a one-bedroom apartment of between 10% and 53.3% from 2018 to 2021, when comparable data was available. Continue reading at Crosscut. (Amanda Snyder)
Bill would protect runaway youth seeking gender-affirming care
If a teenager runs away from home, and ends up in a shelter, are shelter staff required to inform parents? In Washington state, the answer is yes. But a bill now before the state Legislature would make a few exceptions to this rule, including if the child has run away to seek gender-affirming care. State Sen. Marko Liias is one sponsor of SB 5599, which is currently working its way through the Senate Committee on Human Services. He says the measure would allow transgender kids who are not being supported at home to find safe accommodation. “We know when people don’t have access to gender affirming care it leads to life-long challenges in terms of mental health,” Liias said. Continue reading at KUOW. (Ted S. Warren)
Associated Press
Boeing plans to cut about 2,000 finance and HR jobs in 2023
Axios
Seattle will get $25.6 million for safer streets
Capital Press
Washington buffer bill gains wide support; Inslee holds out (Chapman)
Columbian
Editorial: In Our view: Smart legislation can help ease labor shortage
Everett Herald
Snohomish County greenhouse emissions up, largely due to cars
A holiday for Lunar New Year, a return of green and white license plates (Santos)
News Tribune
Opinion: Washington must fix this ‘superpredator’ era sentencing law. Take it from a judge
Op-Ed: WA doesn’t doesn’t need more apartments and ADUs — it needs affordable starter homes
Northwest Asian Weekly
Opinion: No promises from Sound Transit about following its own plans
Olympian
WA Attorney General’s Office defends use of ‘legislative privilege’ by state lawmakers
Could new commission restart WA airport process? Here’s what we know about new bill (Fey)
Pierce County adopts anti-airport resolution. Here’s what the Council wants to happen
Peninsula Daily News
$25.7 million asked for center in Sequim (Tharinger, Chapman, Van De Wege)
Puget Sound Business Journal
Inflation hits 40-year high in Seattle, but many consumers are unfazed
Seattle Medium
Berg Promotes Water Safety and Drowning Prevention With House Bill 1750 (Berg)
Seattle Times
Red tape keeps WA psychologists waiting for months to enter workforce
‘Silly’ little WA scandal is another step in something big (Pollet)
Opinion: To keep WA competitive, lawmakers must invest in our ports
Skagit Valley Herald
State aims to fix section of Highway 20, help salmon
Spokesman Review
Spokane County Commission picks Spink for airport board after drawn-out selection process
Middle housing proposal passes House panel with changes (Bateman, Fitzgibbon)
Opinion: Denisse Guerrero: Capital gains tax helps right wrongs of state code
Wenatchee World
Senate bill would mandate zero emission school bus purchases by 2035
Legislation to prohibit power shutoffs in high temps draws concern from local utilities (Nguyễn, Mena)
Yakima Herald-Republic
Lucian Act would provide more tools to find missing people in WA
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
Study: Washington is the most competitive in the country for engineering, manufacturing planes
‘We’ve literally hit bottom:’ Jails across Washington are overwhelmed by mentally ill inmates, sheriff says (Dhingra)
KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
Western Washington city named one of the safest in the country
KUOW Public Radio
Bill would protect runaway youth seeking gender-affirming care (Liias)
With rulings against racial bias, WA Supreme Court starts ‘hard discussions’
NW Public Radio
Obtained documents reveal years of unsanitary conditions at the Northwest Detention Center (Ortiz-Self)
Q13 TV (FOX)
Bill under consideration would increase tax on high-potency cannabis in Washington (Davis)
Web
Crosscut
Rising rents are drowning Washington’s smaller cities (Trudeau)
‘Haphazard and unorganized’: GOP lawmakers react to Dems’ secrecy (Billig, Jinkins, Valdez, Pedersen, Kaiser, Randall, Trudeau)
MyNorthwest
Washington wetlands are renamed to honor Black, Indigenous history
Federal Way mayor in full support of bills re-criminalizing drug possession (Robinson, Salomon)