WA’s first-of-its-kind officer training center opens in Pasco. Inslee signs police pursuit law
Name placards are all laid out for Monday’s start of the first class of Washington state’s first regional police training center in Pasco. Among those who will fill those seats next week are a single mother and the only English-speaking member of an immigrant family. They are among many police officer candidates who in the past couldn’t have considered a law enforcement career because they would need to be away from their families for five months during the rigorous training in Western Washington. “It was law enforcement in the state of Washington’s vision of how we could better recruit officers, potentially better train them at the local level,” Pasco Police Chief Ken Roske told a crowd gathered Wednesday outside the new training site. The training center is one of four that are expected to open across the state, and the only one in Eastern Washington. Others are planned for Vancouver, Everett and Bellingham. Continue reading at Tri-City Herald. (Bob Brawdy)
Opinion: Amid the celebrations, a somber MMIP remembrance
One of the most exasperating aspects of the ongoing tragedy of the missing and murdered is that many of the root causes are preventable. As experts at an April 28 community forum in Yakima explained, a lack of basic services like reliable internet and cellphone signals often leave residents of rural reservations with no means of communicating plans or calling for help. And without transportation, they can be left stranded. Efforts are underway in our region to address the underlying factors that put so many rural residents at risk. The Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force has been exploring why the rate of disappearances and murders is so high among Indigenous people. The group plans to report its findings to Gov. Jay Inslee next month. Continue reading at Yakima Herald. (Emree Weaver)
WA lawmakers increase special education funding, but gap still remains
As state lawmakers went dark for budget negotiations last month, there was hope they’d emerge with a solution to fully fund special education. But the new state budget signals they’re still not done talking about it. Programs for disabled kids in Washington schools got a $365 million boost over the next two years, bringing the total budget for special education up to $4.1 billion. It’s a significant increase — 9% — in a session where concerns over an economic downturn shaded many decisions, but the extra funds meet only half of the gap outlined by state education officials. Lawmakers also kept in place a major driver of that funding gap — a policy that caps funding to school districts if they enroll more than a certain percentage of disabled children. Among disability rights advocates, one of the most-watched K-12 proposals this session called for removing this cap entirely. Instead, lawmakers increased the percentage from 13.5% to 15%. Advocates warn that this cap opens the state to litigation: The state has a constitutional promise to cover basic education costs for all students. About 95 school districts are above the cap, including the Olympia and Spokane school districts. Continue reading at Seattle Times.
Associated Press
Washington AG’s office, DSHS fined for evidence withholding
Capital Press
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Everett Herald
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The Inlander
A tech executive from San Diego wanders the streets of Spokane with one mission — find his son
News Tribune
‘Check on him.’ How did a Pierce County welfare call end in a deadly police shooting?
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Peninsula Daily News
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Top counties for growth in Washington
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Washington New Hazing Law Has Teeth
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Seattle to expand bans on right turns on red
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WA lawmakers increase special education funding, but gap still remains (Pollet)
Tri-City Herald
WA’s first-of-its-kind officer training center opens in Pasco. Inslee signs police pursuit law (Lovick)
Washington Post
WHO declares covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency
Yakima Herald-Republic
Pain endures for families of missing, murdered Indigenous people
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Opinion: Amid the celebrations, a somber MMIP remembrance
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Lummi Nation honors missing and murdered Indigenous people
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