Why a drug decriminalization crisis looms for Washington state lawmakers
After voting down a bill last month to keep drug possession illegal and boost services for people struggling with addiction, Washington lawmakers are entering a special legislative session to find a compromise before a temporary law keeping the possession of small amounts of drugs outlawed expires. If a new law is not passed, Washington would become the second state in the U.S., after Oregon, to decriminalize possession of personal-use amounts of drugs, even as widely available and cheap fentanyl worsens an opioid crisis defined by open drug use and soaring overdose deaths. Here’s what to know about the crisis. Continue reading at KING5.
For those who lived through addiction, a split on whether jail can help
For Jennifer Cunningham, who turned her life around after a 25-year struggle with addiction, criminalizing drugs is not the answer. Incarceration, she said, is like “going to the walk-in clinic for a gunshot wound. You’re just putting a Band-Aid on (the problem).” Nicole Speaks, another advocate, sees it differently. Jail changed the course of her life. “People can go one direction or the other,” she said. Either they continue abusing drugs or use the legal consequences as “an eye-opener — and that’s how I chose to use it.” Cunningham and Speaks are just two voices in a divide over criminalizing drugs in the aftermath of a 2021 state Supreme Court ruling known as the Blake decision. State lawmakers approved a temporary law making possession a misdemeanor, but it’s set to expire July 1. Continue reading at Everett Herald. (Olivia Vanni)
With stroke of pen, Inslee weighs in on controversial search for WA’s next major airport
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday signed a bill into law that called for ending the current search for the state’s next major airport as he expressed a desire for a deeper review of expanding existing facilities before contemplating a brand-new one. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1791 sought to immediately supplant the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission, which was tasked by state lawmakers in 2019 with recommending a preferred location for a potential new airport to fill a looming void in Washington’s commercial flight capacity. “The pressure valve was getting ready to explode and this took the pressure off,” Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, a primary bill sponsor, told The News Tribune. But the governor’s vetoes of four sections Monday also changed elements of the legislation. Continue reading at News Tribune.
Associated Press
Washington lawmakers reach deal on drug policy, avoid automatic decriminalization (Goodman)
Aberdeen Daily World
21 teachers impacted in Aberdeen School District cuts
Axios
New Washington state law should mean fewer spam robocalls
Pacific Northwest heat wave shatters records
Capital Press
Washington rolls out rules for working in wildfire smoke
Everett Herald
Giving food, supplies, water in protest of Everett ‘no sit, no lie’ law
For those who lived through addiction, a split on whether jail can help
On front lines of fentanyl crisis, Somers mourns brother’s overdose
Comment: For nation awash in guns, is there hope tide will turn?
Comment: Degree for local career can start with remote learning
Editorial: Honing our skills on discourse and democracy
News Tribune
Here’s what Pierce County intends to do about drug possession if Legislature doesn’t act
With stroke of pen, Inslee weighs in on controversial search for WA’s next major airport (Fey, Liias, Keiser)
Olympian
Low Income Housing Institute to build 70-unit affordable housing project in Olympia
Seattle Times
WA lawmakers kick hunt for major airport site far into the future (Fey)
Inslee vetoes collection of WA drivers’ odometer readings (Fey)
WA lawmakers unveil deal on proposed drug possession law (Goodman)
What most of us think about opioid treatment is wrong, researcher says
Skagit Valley Herald
State to close Harry Osbourne State Forest
Spokesman Review
Backed by former auto shop owner, ‘right-to-repair’ bills pick up steam in Congress, statehouses
Washington lawmakers strike tentative compromise on drug possession penalties ahead of special session (Billig)
Opinion: New health care bill gives children something to smile about (Riccelli)
Walla Walla Union Bulletin
Walla Walla Public Schools prepares for funding ‘cliff’ in new budget
WA State Standard
Lawmakers strike deal to ensure drug possession remains a crime (Robinson)
Yakima Herald-Republic
Record-setting heat predicted in the Yakima Valley this week
Yakima to consider using $125,000 of ARPA money for air service fund
Yakima County to work with Bureau of Land Management on solar farm criteria
Editorial: How many more EPA studies will it take before we start talking solutions?
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
Why a drug decriminalization crisis looms for Washington state lawmakers
Extended closure of SR 504 possible after landslide near Mount St. Helens
Seattle police introduce less-lethal weapons officers will be using on duty
Washington bans 9 toxic chemicals in makeup
KOMO 4 TV (ABC)
Gov. Jay Inslee signs bill that bolsters protection against endangered Washington orcas (Lekanoff, Lovelett)
KNKX Public Radio
As COVID emergency ends, some Washingtonians still plan to mask
KUOW Public Radio
Why are drug possession laws so contentious in Washington state?
KXLY (ABC)
Audit calls for better tracking of federal COVID relief money in schools
Web
Cascadia Daily News
Whatcom County invests $100K to confront fentanyl crisis
Crosscut
Washington slates $50M for trees to shade salmon streams (Chapman, Tharinger)
WA Legislature special session on drug law begins Tuesday (Robinson, Wilson, C., Orwall)
MyNorthwest
Special legislative session for drug possession set for Tuesday
City of Lakewood passes drug law despite special state session
King County Metro Transit to discuss service cuts, reduced fares
Proposed WA drug possession law to make it a gross misdemeanor
New law requires boaters to stay further away from Southern Resident orcas (Lovelett, Lekanoff)
West Seattle Blog
STATE FERRY FARES: They have to go up. Survey asks you – how?