Rep. Ramel: Big Oil, not cap and trade, is gouging your wallet
Over the last few weeks, the public has been increasingly besieged by a public relations campaign focusing our attention on gas prices in Washington. You, your family and your wallet should be aware of what’s truly at stake here — corporations that stand to profit would prefer to blame Olympia when gas prices go up. The Climate Commitment Act is already utilizing revenue raised from its first two auctions to help our communities have access to affordable active transportation, alternative fuel and electrification that creates good-paying jobs, and modernizing our railways, ports and ferry systems. This funding will tangibly change Washington for the better. If oil companies or their surrogates suggest repealing the Climate Commitment Act, we should ask what they propose to replace it. Until I hear a better idea, I’m convinced that polluters’ pay is a fair system and an efficient way to support the emerging clean economy, a healthy, clean energy workforce, and real climate justice. Continue reading at Cascadia Daily News. (Hailey Hoffman)

Washington’s juries have a diversity problem, survey finds
People of color and those with lower incomes are underrepresented in Washington’s juries, according to a report released Monday. Black and Native jurors in particular “continue to face greater barriers to jury service,” Frank Thomas, an analyst for the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission, said in a statement. The study, completed by the Minority and Justice Commission in partnership with Seattle University researchers, collected nearly 250,000 usable survey responses over 17 months in 2022 and 2023. The authors of the report say it’s the largest and most comprehensive survey to date of juror demographics in Washington. On average, people who reported for jury service were more educated and had higher household incomes than the median in their respective counties. The study uses data from demographic surveys required under a state law the Legislature passed in 2021. The purpose of the effort is to determine whether people reporting for jury duty are representative of their respective counties’ demographics.. Continue reading at WA State Standard. (Getty)

WA public colleges match private schools on diversity despite affirmative action restriction
Washington’s public universities are just as diverse as the state’s private colleges, even though they’ve had to work under a statewide ban on affirmative action for the past 25 years. Neither public nor private colleges are racially representative of the K-12 school population at large. But the available enrollment data from four-year colleges with more than 1,000 students show both types of colleges are around 50% students of color. As colleges around the country navigate the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling on race-conscious admissions, Washington and several other states with their own affirmative action bans might serve as examples of what happens to college enrollments if more colleges adopt a “race-neutral” doctrine when making decisions on applications. If Washington’s experience were indicative of the country, minus the most selective of institutions, not much would change — at least in the long term. Continue reading at Seattle Times. (Alan Berner)