Seattle police no longer face restrictions for misdemeanor bookings
It’s been a little over a week since jail booking restrictions were lifted, enabling Seattle police to book people into the King County Jail for low-level offenses, like shoplifting or property destruction, for the first time in more than four years. But not much has changed — yet. Officers and sergeants are still adjusting to the shift and, with winter weather in full effect, there’s already a reduction in the number of potential bookings to begin with, said Deputy Chief Eric Barden. But the lifting of restrictions first put in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic means officers can again weigh whether there’s a public safety benefit to getting someone off the streets, however briefly. Continue reading a the Seattle Times. (Greg Gilbert)
Seattle senator Pedersen to become new WA Senate majority leader
Washington Senate Democrats chose state Sen. Jamie Pedersen as their new majority leader on Monday. His appointment makes Washington the first in the nation to have two LGBTQ+ legislative leaders at the same time. He joins House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, who became the first woman and first lesbian to lead the chamber in 2020. In the 2025 legislative session that begins Jan. 13, lawmakers will be working with a new governor and writing a new two-year state operating budget. Separately and together they will be wrestling with how to plug a potential multi-billion dollar gap between incoming revenue and the costs of maintaining programs and services approved in prior years. Continue reading at the WA State Standard. (LSS)
Removing guns is a key suicide prevention strategy in WA
Statistics show that a significant portion of firearm deaths in Washington are suicides. In 2023, 66% of all firearm deaths were suicides, and just two years ago, in 2021, that number was above 69%, according to figures from the state Department of Health. But despite the propensity of firearm use in completed suicides, such deaths are discussed far less often among the public and in the media compared to other forms of gun violence and firearm injury, such as mass shootings and homicides. Continue reading at Crosscut. (Grant Hindsley)
Associated Press
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Bainbridge Island Review
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Bellingham Herald
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Everett Herald
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International Examiner
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Seattle Times
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Seattle police no longer face restrictions for misdemeanor bookings
Skagit Valley Herald
Skagit County allocates lodging tax funds to various groups
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Spokesman Review
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Washington Post
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WA State Standard
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Wenatchee World
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KING 5 TV (NBC)
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Washington state sees alarming rise in whooping cough cases this year
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Cascadia Daily News
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Crosscut
Removing guns is a key suicide prevention strategy in WA
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Jamie Pedersen of Seattle elected majority leader in WA Senate (Pedersen, Billig)
West Seattle Blog
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