US seeks to turn deportations into an efficient business ‘like Amazon’
Amid rural Louisiana’s crawfish farms, towering pine trees and cafes serving po’boys, nearly 7,000 people are waiting at immigration detention centers to learn whether they will be expelled from the United States. If President Donald Trump’s administration has its way, the capacity to hold tens of thousands more migrants will soon be added around the country as the U.S. seeks an explosive expansion of what is already the world’s largest immigration detention system. Continue reading at The Daily News. (Stephen Smith)
WA Sen. Bill Ramos dies suddenly at 69
State Sen. Bill Ramos, D-Issaquah, died unexpectedly Saturday evening, according to a Facebook post by his wife, King County Councilmember Sarah Perry. Ramos was 69 years old. He died during a trail run, his wife wrote. “Billy is my East, my West, my North and South,” Perry wrote in the post. Ramos and Perry have two children together: Maya and Max. “I don’t know how I’ll do this without him. Prayers for him, for us, please.” Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Ramos Campaign)
Washington State Just Made Stocking Up on Hormones Much Easier
On Wednesday, the Washington State Senate passed HB 1971, a first-of-its-kind bill from House Rep. Nicole Macri that compels insurance companies in the state to cover up to a year’s supply of hormone replacement therapy, starting in January 2026. Now it’s on its way to the governor’s desk. For trans people, whose health care is under federal attack, it’s coming at a clutch time. Continue reading at The Stranger. (Ryan J. Lane)
Associated Press
Renters call on Washington lawmakers to approve rent-control bill (Alvarado, Shewmake, Liias)
Axios
Downtown Seattle is perking up, new report shows
Federal job cuts could land hard in Washington state
Capital Press
Trade rep scales back entry fees on Chinese ships
Grant County PUD waits to condemn farmland for transmission line
The Daily News
US seeks to turn deportations into an efficient business ‘like Amazon’
Woodland port rejects tax plan used to build Vancouver port waterfront
Everett Herald
Edmonds launches technology to destroy PFAS
DelBene talks possible Medicaid cuts at Monroe roundtable
Protesters line Broadway in Everett for Main Street USA rally
PDC issues warning, dismisses complaint against Edmonds officials
$2M grant will fund job training and employment programs for laid-off Boeing workers in Snohomish and King counties.
Editorial: Trump order, SAVE Act do not serve voters
Comment: Lawmakers must protect abortion access in state
Comment: States make the call as to who votes; not Congress
Journal of the San Juan Islands
Draft budgets don’t meet governor’s expectations (Gregerson)
Kent Reporter
33rd Legislative District sets Telephone Town Hall for April 29 (Orwall, Gregerson, Obras)
Kitsap Sun
Grand Forest property grows on Bainbridge after sale of school property
New Bremerton freestanding clinic helping bring down wait times at hospital ER
News Tribune
Updates on Washington’s rent cap debate in the state legislature (Trudeau)
$6 million project in downtown Puyallup will transform this busy street
‘It screws with all of us.’ Tacoma small businesses react to tariff uncertainty
Olympian
Lynden School Board formalizes actions opposing transgender athlete policy
Housing advocates say Senate version of rent-cap bill ‘guts’ tenant protections (Alvarado, Jinkins)
Sign wavers continue string of protests to send messages to President Trump, GOP
Seattle Medium
State Lawmakers Decry Failure Of Juvenile Justice Reform Bill: “We Chose The Wrong Path” (Duerr, Hill, Berquist, Doglio, Simmons, Bernbaum, Mena, Taylor, Obras, Thomas, Reed, Cortes, Lekanoff, Thai, Scott, Berg, Donaghy, Farivar, Entenman, Stearns, Salahuddin, Wylie, Kloba, Peterson)
Rep. Jamila Taylor Advances New Laws to Protect Vulnerable Communities And End-of-Life Rights (Taylor)
Seattle Times
WA Sen. Bill Ramos dies suddenly at 69 (Ramos, Pedersen, Leavitt)
Inflated Seattle public pensions for retirees cost tens of millions (Conway)
Anti-Trump protests build momentum in WA: ‘We’re just getting louder’
Editorial: Is confusion around Head Start a sign of things to come?
Skagit Valley Herald
Return of Guemes Island Ferry delayed
Spokesman Review
Are you ready? What to know with the Real ID deadline only weeks away
Talking more about politics? Lots of Washingtonians are these days, poll shows
Getting There: Few days remain to apply for state’s first instant rebate for e-bike purchases
Spokane County Sheriff seeks $30,000 raise as wages for command staff subordinates outpace his own
Even after devastating blazes, Whitman County doesn’t have a fire protection plan. Now, residents have a chance to shape it
Washington Post
Pope Francis dies at 88
Supreme Court to weigh future of free preventive care
Police officers who joined Jan. 6 rally ask Supreme Court for anonymity
WA State Standard
Tax fight crescendos in Washington Legislature (Pedersen, Frame)
WA Commerce chief warns tariff fallout could hit state hard
Up a creek: $5B culvert removal plan appears dead in WA Legislature (Tharinger, Trudeau)
WA food banks bracing for potential impacts from federal cuts and tariffs
WA health care expansion for low-income immigrants on track to be maintained (Thai)
Wenatchee World
Officials break ground on Confluence Parkway project
Cantwell, Schrier visit Wenatchee to hear concerns about potential Medicaid cuts
Yakima Herald-Republic
More than 100 rally in Yakima against Trump policies on immigration, climate change
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
State Senator Bill Ramos passes away during trail run
Protesters shaken by gunfire near Whidbey Island rally
Less than a quarter of Boeing employees would recommend it as a place to work, survey shows
Extended interview: Gov. Ferguson ahead of state budget deadline, global tariff impacts, deportations and more
KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
WA State Senator Bill Ramos dies unexpectedly
KOMO 4 TV (ABC)
Washington mourns the loss of Sen. Bill Ramos after unexpected passing
Real ID deadline prompts long waits at Washington licensing departments
Whatcom County businesses hit as Canadian visits drop amid tariffs, Trump boycotts
KUOW Public Radio
34 international students in Washington state deleted from federal database
KXLY (ABC)
Preschool access in question: Washington lawmakers could limit TK programs (Santos)
Governor Ferguson to decide fate of over 30 house bills Monday as legislative session comes to a close
NW Public Radio
Why affordable housing providers say they’re facing an ‘existential’ crisis
Repentina suspensión de Head Start afecta a cientos de niños en el centro de Washington
Web
Cascadia Daily News
Glacier gets wildfire plan created by WWU students
Northwest farmworker activist gets court hearing date; still detained in ICE facility
New soil mix that strips salmon-killing chemical out of runoff water being tested in Bellingham
Cascade PBS
The Washington Legislature’s final week brings long to-do list (Jinkins)
WA lawmakers pass major parking reform bill to boost housing (Bateman)
WA Supreme Court strikes down Spokane camping ban initiative
The Newsfeed: ACLU of Washington offers ‘Know Your Rights’ info
MyNorthwest
Washington State Senator Bill Ramos dies unexpectedly
Limited appointments, hour-long lines: Real ID deadline looms in WA
Washington Democrats push through $12 billion tax hikes, as new poll shows little support (Frame)
The Stranger
Washington State Just Made Stocking Up on Hormones Much Easier (Macri)
The Urbanist
State Budget Cuts Could Slash Puget Sound’s Passenger Ferry Service (Liias, Nance, Alvarado)
Op-Ed: Ferguson Must Get Tough on Trump, Illegal Tacoma ICE Jail (Ortiz-Self, Jinkins)
Washington Observer
Democrats tighten gun control (Berry, Krishnadasan)
A new rulebook for nonprofit jails (Ortiz-Self)
Lot-splitting has its day in the Senate (Hansen)
A tax on short-term rentals gets axed (Lovelett)
Saving kids and critters from deadly cars (Leavitt)
Senate passes transit-oriented development (Reed, Trudeau)
More Ferguson shade on Democrats’ tax proposals
Washington moves toward a new Medicaid money shuffle (Macri, Riccelli)