WA ban on sale of AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles can go forward, judge rules
A federal judge Tuesday denied an attempt to halt Washington’s new ban on the sale of AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles. In his ruling, Judge Robert Bryan pointed to a number of reasons why he was denying the motion, including that the law’s challengers hadn’t shown that an injunction was in the public interest. “Considering the exceptional dangerousness of these weapons, the public interest in their regulation by the State far outweighs the Plaintiffs’ desire to purchase more assault weapons,” Bryan wrote. “In light of recent mass deaths caused by assailants using assault weapons, it is appropriate for governmental bodies to find ways to protect the public from dangerous weapons, within the limits of the Second Amendment.” Continue reading at Seattle Times. (Elaine Thompson)
Early fire conditions mark start of ‘a very long’ season
Washington’s heightened fire risk west of the Cascades is unusual this early in the year and is worrying officials. And if hot, dry conditions continue as predictions show, Washington is facing a late summer where the entire state will be at an above-normal risk for significant blazes. Resources to fight fires could be spread thin if both the eastern and western reaches of the state are badly parched this summer. The Department of Natural Resources has received new funding in recent years to increase their supplies, and those resources could come into service this year. Under 2021 legislation, the department added new firefighting aircraft, a new camera system that can help detect fires and more firefighters. Continue reading at WA State Standard. (David Ryder)
WA airport-coordinating commission to meet for final time. Will it recommend a location?
The Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission, tasked by state lawmakers with recommending a preferred location for Washington’s next major airport, will convene Friday for the final time before expiring at month’s end. Following more than three years of investigating possible airport landing spots and less than nine months after controversially narrowing options to three greenfield sites in Pierce and Thurston counties, the state-created commission could choose Friday to select one site to recommend to the state. The key question is whether such a recommendation would carry much weight. Continue reading at Olympian.
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