Washington Saves fills gap for private-sector employees without a 401(k); plan set to launch in 2027
Most people who have retirement savings set their money aside in a 401(k) or similar tax-deferred accounts. But 401(k)s are not available to everyone. About 40 percent of private-sector Washington employees work for companies that don’t offer retirement plans, according to an analysis from AARP. For those roughly 1.2 million Washingtonians who don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement account, lawmakers recently created an alternative: Washington Saves, an automatic individual retirement account program for private-sector employees. Continue reading at The Columbian. (Taylor Balkom)
WA’s ‘one of a kind’ youth homelessness response shows big results
Over the last decade, Washington state has built from nearly nothing a uniquely robust youth homeless response system that is showing staggering results. By one count, there were 40% fewer homeless youths living on their own in 2023 than there were in 2016. At the center of the state’s transformation is the Office of Homeless Youth, an agency created in 2015 not only to administer funding but to shape policy and solutions for homeless youths and young adults. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Kevin Clark)
States shift toward kin-first foster care
In recent years, state legislatures — some frustrated with crowded foster care systems — have sent more resources and money toward kinship foster care. At the start of the year, Washington State’s kinship caregivers saw a massive rise in monthly foster care payments, with base payments starting at $722 to $860, based on the age of the child. Officials from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families told Stateline that more than policy change, a “culture shift” among the staff to prioritize support for kinship caregivers has increased their kinship care placements. Continue reading at The WA State Standard. (Scott Olson)
Axios
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Bellingham Herald
Bellingham sees declining trend in federal funding for affordable housing, services
Capital Press
Corn resistant to five herbicides stokes weed control debate
Columbian
Is the middle class shrinking? Here’s how much you have to make to be in WA’s middle class
Washington Saves fills gap for private-sector employees without a 401(k); plan set to launch in 2027
Woodland schools new policy forces staff to reveal students’ gender identity information to parents
‘People are just much more willing to fight’: More health care workers in Clark County push to unionize
Everett Herald
Bike sign project marks lanes, distances for Everett cyclists
Struggling Marysville schools dropped from insurance pool
State OKs Marysville plan with schools, jobs on chopping block
Here’s your chance to give feedback on the US 2 trestle and its future
As wildfires creep west of Cascades, county plans for next Bolt Creek
Comment: I lost my niece to gun violence 10 years ago this week
Editorial: FAA bill set to improve flight safety, experience
Letter: Expanding grants will help more students get college degrees
Kitsap Sun
Navy program helping military families navigate Kitsap prenatal care services
News Tribune
Tacoma touts streets initiative as a success. Could there be another round in 2025?
2021 heat wave killed nearly 30 people in Pierce County. What lessons were learned?
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Increase in number of homeless people? Annual count says yes, though results imperfect
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New York Times
Lawyers to Plastics Makers: Prepare for ‘Astronomical’ PFAS Lawsuits
Climate Change Added a Month’s Worth of Extra-Hot Days in Past Year
Northwest Asian Weekly
Northwest Asian Weekly sold — Assunta Ng passes the torch to next-generation ownership group
Puget Sound Business Journal
Immigrants a crucial part of American small-business boom
Sound Transit won’t alter light rail plans to accommodate Amazon
Seattle Medium
UW To Enact A Student’s Vision For Black-Student Housing
Washington Ranks Among Top 10 States with the Most Billionaires in U.S.
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Seattle Times
What a 32-hour workweek looks like in San Juan County
Schools across WA are struggling to balance their budgets
Seattle isn’t claiming Tukwila’s migrant crisis. But it did start here
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WA’s ‘one of a kind’ youth homelessness response shows big results (Senn)
Wait times decrease for WA mental health patients, but gains are ‘fragile’
Spokesman Review
Washington Lands Commissioner: Wildfire season is here, so be careful
WSP trooper suffers medical emergency on Interstate 90, collides with another vehicle
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How an ‘unbelievable’ $55 million gift brought Gonzaga’s Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center to life
Spokane County Commissioner Al French proposes ambitious PFAS solution for new water source on the West Plains. Some remain skeptical
Tri-City Herald
Wildfire closes 20+ miles of highway across Hanford nuclear site Saturday night
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Any WA student can enroll in new virtual school. Why Pasco is offering online classes
Washington Post
The climate refugee crisis is here
America’s best decade, according to data
Covid will still be here this summer. Will anyone care?
How a simple fix could double the size of the U.S. electricity grid
Home insurance was once a ‘must.’ Now more homeowners are going without.
In communities of color, long-covid patients are tired of being sick and neglected
WA State Standard
States shift toward kin-first foster care
More weapons showing up in Washington’s schools
On the Washington-Idaho border, a high school for pregnant and parenting teens
How did Moms for Liberty end up on WA’s approved list of groups training teachers?
Wenatchee World
Yakama Nation leads charge as EPA sets limits on PFAS in Columbia River
Yakima Herald-Republic
School funding shortfalls in Yakima Valley are part of a bigger statewide issue
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
Black leaders reflect on 4 years since police killing of George Floyd
WSF to remove large vessel from fleet for the next 4 weeks. Here’s which routes will be impacted
Stuck in the likely path of a new I-5 bridge, Vancouver property owners struggle with uncertainty
Chinatown-International District homeless shelter residents asked to ‘downsize,’ facility preparing to move
‘They are American, it’s an American story’: Memorial Day event honors Nisei veterans who fought in WWII
KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
FAA deadline fast-approaching for Boeing
KOMO 4 TV (ABC)
Puget Sound’s first hydrogen=powered bus set to launch in Snohomish County
Sound Transit to introduce fare inspection process using ambassadors on June 3
Navigation Center shelter relocation welcomed by some neighbors in Seattle’s CID
KNKX Public Radio
Northwest bees that fly during mild winters are dying quicker than before
KXLY (ABC)
Green Bluff farmers face fruit loss due to cold weather
Spokane police looking for witnesses to Pride mural defacement
Eastern Washington’s critical need for long-term care volunteers
City of Spokane considering settlement to family of man shot by police
NW Public Radio
Officials clash over North Cascade grizzly bear reintroduction
Fruit storage contractor faces fines after Wenatchee worker’s death
Web
Cascadia Daily News
Bellingham REI union members strike day before Ski to Sea
Health department closes recreational harvest of shellfish in Whatcom County
Crosscut
Tech CEOs join chorus of criticism for Seattle housing plan
WA spent $5B over past decade on homelessness, housing programs
WA college students build campus harm-reduction support networks