Pass bill limiting rent hikes to help stabilize households
About a third of Washingtonians are living as renters and many communities are facing an affordable housing crisis with frequent and sizable rent hikes. The Washington Legislature is poised to intervene to keep rent increases more manageable. House Bill 2114 is not rent control. Rather it would limit how much a landlord could increase rent charges to 7% each year, still almost double the recent rates of inflation. HB 2114 also addresses the economic pressures surrounding housing, with studies, including a Zillow-sponsored study, that found rising rents are pushing more and more people into homelessness. Continue reading at Seattle Times. (Ken Lambert)
Rep. Ortiz-Self: Tacoma’s private detention center is at it again. The pain won’t end until it closes.
The recent standoff between Washington state and GEO Group, the private company operating the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, is more than just a local dispute. It shines a spotlight on a deeply troubling national issue: the lack of transparency and accountability in immigration detention centers. This isn’t just about one facility; it’s about ensuring basic human rights are upheld, regardless of immigration status. The fundamental right to fair treatment and basic human dignity should never be contingent on immigration status. Washington state recognizes this, taking a stand for these fundamental rights. Continue reading at The News Tribune. (Dean J. Koepfler)
Sen. Claudia Kauffman, Rep. Chris Stearns: Racial disproportionality in ‘juvenile points’ sentences
Right now, 422 Indigenous people incarcerated in Washington’s state prisons are serving longer sentences because they were involved in the juvenile system as children. No one should be penalized twice for crimes committed when they were young. Our focus must be on healing and rehabilitation, not punishment. House Bill 2065 would remedy that by giving those people the opportunity to have their sentences recalculated without double-penalizing people for juvenile mistakes. We urge our colleagues to support this necessary reform bill, so we can begin to rectify the vast racial disparities in our prison system. Continue reading at ICT News. (Martin Kraft)
Columbian
Former Vancouver Fire Department captain sues city for negligence
Courier-Herald
Does climate change affect your health? Short answer — yes | Public
Everett Herald
Feds fine Everett test lab for alleged animal welfare violations
WA boost in student homelessness funding reaches more districts
Mining company ordered to stop work next to school south of Everett
How will climate change affect you? New tool gives an educated guess
Indian Country Today
Sen. Claudia Kauffman, Rep. Chris Stearns: Racial disproportionality in ‘juvenile points’ sentences
The Inlander
West Plains residents can now apply for free PFAS water testing from environmental agencies
News Tribune
Rep. Ortiz-Self: Tacoma’s private detention center is at it again. The pain won’t end until it closes
Opinion: Cougar trophy hunters in WA are desperate. It’s why they rely on ‘alternative facts’
New York Times
Abortion Shield Laws: A New War Between the States
Anti-Trans Policies Draw Scrutiny After 16-Year-Old’s Death in Oklahoma
Support for Teaching Gender Identity in School Is Split, Even Among Democrats
Northwest Asian Weekly
Seattle proclamation confronts discrimination against Chinese Immigrants
Puget Sound Business Journal
Small businesses twice as likely to face cyberattacks
Boeing replaces 737 Max head amid leadership shake-up
Seattle Medium
Seattle Reports Reductions In Street Tents And Homeless Encampments
Seattle Times
Seattle police officer who struck Jaahnavi Kandula won’t face charges
Seattle to take back part of Regional Homelessness Authority’s funding
Long-awaited drinking water testing available for residents near Spokane
Editorial: Pass bill limiting rent hikes to help stabilize households
Opinion: Higher reimbursements will help our mental health crisis in WA
Skagit Valley Herald
Schools running short of bus drivers
Spokesman Review
West Plains residents can now sign up for free PFAS drinking water testing
State hearing highlights divergent fortunes of WSU and UW in new era of college athletics
‘It’s going to be a long process’: Local leaders caution that federal fire aid will take time to arrive
Health district predicts more cases of measles following Spokane County’s first patient since 2015
Bill that would make financial education a high school graduation requirement in Washington passes out of committee (Ormsby, Riccelli)
Vancouver Business Journal
PAL of Southwest Washington receives major grant
Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber
Catching up with Vashon’s legislators (Nguyen, Fitzgibbon, Alvarado, Fey)
WA State Standard
Two people honored with Washington’s top awards for civilians
How WA lawmakers are looking to improve K-12 special education (Pollet, Stonier)
Legislation requiring clergy to report child abuse stalls again in Olympia (Senn, Frame, Walen)
Wenatchee World
Wenatchee School Board undecided on Columbia Elementary closure
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
Stand Together: A father and son talk about Black history, identity
Juvenile crime rates in Washington returning to pre-pandemic levels
Faculty at Washington State University say school is declining, points finger at leadership
KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
Former Boeing employee comes forward alleging he was targeted
SPD officer that hit and killed Jaahnavi Kandula in crosswalk will not face charges
KOMO 4 TV (ABC)
200k pounds of debris removed from encampments along I-5 in Seattle’s U-District
Washington lawmakers explore bill to omit juvenile crimes from adult offender scores
KNKX Public Radio
Legislators throw a life ring to Washington’s ‘other’ ferries (Fitzgibbon, Liias)
KUOW Public Radio
Could a broken WA ferry system help cities grow more sustainably?
Some USDA programs have been mired in inequity. A panel’s final report offers changes
KXLY (ABC)
Faculty members at WSU are calling for new president, leadership
Free water-testing for PFAs is now available for West Plains residents
Gonzaga researchers win $850,000 grant to study wildfire impacts on drinking water in Washington, Oregon
NW Public Radio
Pollution causing problems for nighttime pollinators
About 60 people evacuated when potentially explosive chemical found at Hanford site laboratory
Mr. WSDOT — the man who’s helped make road alerts interesting and ‘artistic’ — is heading to a new job
FOX13 TV
Washington utility rebate proposal to support low-income families (Fitzgibbon)
Web
Cascadia Daily News
Opinion: Whatcom farmers already sound stewards of water
Crosscut
Gas prices too high? WA residents may get $200 back for utilities (Robinson, Nguyen, Fitzgibbon, Liias, Billig)
The Stranger
The Five Anti-Trans Bills That Didn’t Survive This Session
Seattle’s LGBTQ Communities Demand Rent Stabilization (Pedersen, Cleveland, Mullet, Billig, Conway, Wellman, Hunt, Van De Wege, Jinkins)
King County Prosecutors Decline to Charge SPD Officer for Killing Pedestrian