Dozens of Clark County residents travel to Olympia to urge legislators to back rent stabilization
Ninety Clark County residents rode to the Capitol for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day today to implore their state legislators to vote for bills that would slow rent increases and pay for affordable housing and homelessness services. The main reason advocates arrived in droves was to support rent stabilization. It’s a key topic this legislative session, as it was last session. Companion bills House Bill 2114 and Senate Bill 5961 propose limiting rent increases to 5 percent a year, unless a new tenant moves in. Continue reading at The Columbian. (Amanda Cowan)
Cash payments for WA residents? Lawmakers propose trying out basic income program
Washington Democrats want to give 7,500 low-income state residents recurring cash payments for two years, no strings attached. The Evergreen Basic Income Pilot Program would pay qualifying participants a monthly amount equal to the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment where the participant lives. Fair market rent is a statistic used by government agencies and nonprofits that represents the cost of a moderately-priced rental home in a local housing market. Continue reading at WA State Standard. (Getty Images)
I-5 boulders spark debate over “hostile architecture”
Washington state officials are debating when, if ever, it’s appropriate to install permanent fixtures in public spaces to try to stop people who are experiencing homelessness from sleeping there. A bill in Washington’s Legislature would ban cities and counties from using hostile architecture, defined as “any building or structure that is designed or intended to prevent people experiencing homelessness from sitting or lying on the building or structure at street level.” Continue reading at Axios. (WSDOT)
Axios
Seattle bans batteries in the trash, citing fire risk
I-5 boulders spark debate over “hostile architecture” (Lovelett)
Capital Press
Lawmakers grill officials on secret Snake River dam deal
Columbian
Vancouver awarded $3.5M in grants for affordable housing
Washington lawmakers make another run at legalizing home-grown marijuana (Kloba, Reeves)
Dozens of Clark County residents travel to Olympia to urge legislators to back rent stabilization (Cleveland, Wilson, Wylie, Stonier)
Everett Herald
In new program, nurses help 911 callers who don’t need an ambulance
Comment: Local government has work ahead to reflect community
Mercer Island Reporter
King County Regional Homeless Authority’s Point-In-Time Count underway
New York Times
Meta Rejected Efforts to Improve Children’s Safety, Documents Show
U.S. Will Pay to Add Solar Panels to Hospitals, Schools After Disasters
Olympian
Opinion: I’m in prison because I committed a crime. In WA, people like me deserve to vote (Simmons)
Peninsula Daily News
Water reserves low in Olympics
Puget Sound Business Journal
Microsoft shows its AI investments are paying off in latest earnings
King County buys former Renton hotel that it used as homeless shelter
Seattle Medium
New Ban – Batteries Not Allowed In The Garbage In Seattle
Students Walkout After Shooting Of 15-Year-Old Mobarak Adam
Nobles Bill To Increase Student Access To Free School Meals Heard In Committee (Nobles)
Washington State Revives Child Abuse Reporting Bill Despite Past Catholic Opposition (Frame)
Washington State Introduces Mandatory Sex Trafficking Prevention Curriculum For Students
Seattle Officer Faces Possible Discipline For Offensive Comments Regarding Indian Woman’s Death
Seattle Times
Rent stabilization bill stalls in WA Senate (Cleveland, Stonier, Shewmake, Trudeau)
WA pays $9.9 million to woman who got terminal cancer in prison
Seattle police, King County prosecutors accused of fabricating evidence
Inslee signs executive order for WA to study, issue guidelines for AI use
Opinion: ‘A cost on simply existing’: How political tension is rising in WA
Spokesman Review
As elections loom in the age of AI, Washington officials look for answers (Stanford)
McMorris Rodgers brings Snake River dam debate to the Capitol, while Yakama Nation warns of ‘misinformation’
Schools in Washington are required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. A new bill would make sure students actually understand what it means
Tri-City Herald
‘Arbitrary, drastic’ restrictions could kill huge wind farm near Tri-Cities, says developer
WA State Standard
Washington lawmakers hope to tweak new wildfire protection rules for homes (Van De Wege)
Allegations of ‘secret’ deal to remove Snake River dams aired by U.S. House GOP
Cash payments for WA residents? Lawmakers propose trying out basic income program (Kauffman)
Wenatchee World
Greater Wenatchee Regional Landfill to house $43 million renewable natural gas project
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
Pot shop robbery penalties would increase under proposed Senate bill (Keiser)
Hundreds of tenants to rally at the state Capitol to oppose rent gouging
Advocates pushing to make Lunar New Year as an official holiday in Seattle
New Everett ‘Pallet Shelter’ community welcomes families facing homelessness
KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
Bill proposes testing automated speed cameras along state highways
Governor Inslee signs new executive order on generative AI like ChatGPT
Sit-in at Seattle City Hall buys 60 refugees another week before they face eviction
KOMO 4 TV (ABC)
Renton Village Starbucks workers become latest store to unionize
Washington state to develop guidelines for agencies using generative AI
WA Liquor and Cannabis board rejects claims of targeting LGBTQ+ bars, clubs
Residents rally for rent control in Olympia while pushing for 5% cap on yearly increases (Alvarado)
‘It’s a revolving door’: RVs, tents return to SODO neighborhood months after city cleanup
KUOW Public Radio
Why Washington cars could get a little Smokey in 2024 (Nobles, Trudeau, Lovick, Conway)
King County Homelessness Authority gets new leader, for now
A federal court declines to revisit a ruling that could weaken the Voting Rights Act
Seattle police commanders condemn ‘destructive unprofessionalism’ of officer caught laughing about pedestrian death
KXLY (ABC)
New FAFSA form encourages students to not leave money on the table
Washington lawmakers to consider lowering pet fees to support pet owners
New bill introduced would help get federal assistance to wildfire victims faster
Increased vaping among Washington kids prompts local schools to seek solutions
NW Public Radio
Nez Perce Tribe honors the wolf
Spokane’s Black newspaper relaunches
Agricultural overtime law still causing controversy
Q13 TV (FOX)
Senate considers bill to end child marriage in WA
Hundreds rally for bills against rent gouging in Washington
Seattle LGBTQ nightclubs allegedly raided: Routine inspections or intimidation?
Web
Cascadia Daily News
Water users in Nooksack Basin targeted in new survey
Suspected fentanyl overdoses leave two dead in Lummi Nation
Crosscut
Speaking Lushootseed: WA’s Indigenous curriculum may be renamed (Lekanoff)
MyNorthwest
Cell phones would be banned in Wash. schools under new bill