Click here for our Daily E-Clips policy.

Tuesday, August 27

Fishing for salmon in Pierce County this season? Keep these new state rules in mind
Calling Pierce County anglers: Parts of Minter Creek are closed to fishing for the 2024-25 season, according to new rules from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A news release Aug. 26 announced that “all waters within channels created by exposed tidelands are closed to fishing at Minter Creek” for the season. The rules are subject to change. Anglers can check the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website or the Fish Washington mobile app for the latest updates. Continue reading at The News Tribune. (Ali Rizvi & Sohail Al-Jamea)

City of Olympia agrees to pay $600,000, require police training to settle suit in shooting death
The City of Olympia has settled a tort claim with the family of Timothy Green for $600,000 two years after he was shot and killed by an Olympia Police Department officer. According to an Aug. 26 news release from Leslie Cushman, who has been working with Green’s family, the city also agreed to take four actions. The city must require all patrol officers to take a 40-hour Criminal Justice Training Commission training on crisis intervention within the next two years. The city also must adopt a policy prohibiting employees from personalizing equipment. Continue reading at The Olympian. (The Olympian)

Western Washington tribe could get back 72 acres of old-growth forest under congressional bill
The Quinault Indian Nation could soon help manage one of the last old growth forests in Washington state, which was once part of its reservation — before the land was sold to non-Native townspeople, then later held by the federal government. Tribal representatives say they hope to use the land to educate others on historical preservation, hunting, canoe carving, and other traditional ecological knowledge. They also say they wouldn’t harvest the old-growth cedar forest for commercial use, but would harvest around the edges of the potential preserve. Continue reading at KUOW. (Quinault Indian Nation)

Print

Associated Press
Apparent cyberattack leaves Seattle airport facing major internet outages
Kroger and Albertsons defend merger plan in federal court against US regulators’ objections
Conflicting federal policies may cost residents more on flood insurance, and leave them at risk

Capital Press
Judge halts H-2A union rule in Idaho, 16 other states
Farm employers out to toss Biden and Trump H-2A rules
Port of Portland plans to double container shipping volume
Feds: Tidegate protecting farmland jeopardizes salmon, killer whales
Wildfires increase mercury in Pacific Northwest headwater streams, study shows

Columbian
Nurse-Family Partnership program supports low-income Clark County moms
Energy demand from data centers growing faster than West can supply, experts say
“Horses are the masters of mindfulness”: Lifeline Connections adds animal-assisted therapy to offerings

The Daily News
New filing in Longview council lawsuit outlines months of alleged OPMA violations
Albertsons executives deleted texts about Kroger merger to destroy evidence, FTC says
Longview meets the national standard for fluoride. 2 councilmembers want to lower that.

Everett Herald
Second Marysville school board member resigns
‘Big Shaker’ quake simulator coming to Marysville
Ecology: Edmonds school needs to find source of PFAS
Whidbey volunteers monitor bull kelp, a key ‘ecosystem engineer’
Under climate change, North Cascades could see much hotter temperatures
Comment: Homes will be affordable again; just not anytime soon

High Country News
Northwest coastal tribes are drowning in paperwork trying to escape sea-level rise

Indian Country Today
Report lays bare stark disparities in health care outcomes for Native people

International Examiner
Seattle city officials say Downtown Activation Plan nearly complete one year later

Kitsap Sun
Release of draft plans for new PSNS dry dock postponed to early 2025

News Tribune
Fishing for salmon in Pierce County this season? Keep these new state rules in mind
Possible Sea-Tac cyberattack still impacting Seattle airport travel. Here’s what to know

New York Times
Judge Blocks E.P.A. From Using Civil Rights Law in Pollution Case
With Dams Removed, Salmon Will Have the Run of a Western River

Olympian
City of Olympia agrees to pay $600,000, require police training to settle suit in shooting death

Oregonian
‘Thin blue line’ patches no longer allowed in this NW police department under settlement

Peninsula Daily News
Clallam commissioners consider $2 million for housing project

Puget Sound Business Journal
The National Observer: Noncompete ban blocked
Unions rally ahead of Kroger-Albertsons FTC hearing
Ultra-high-paying jobs are seeing a hybrid-work comeback
Business owners get squeezed as banks tighten lending standards

Seattle Medium
Seattle Awardrd $5.5 Million Grant To Combat Extreme Heat, Wildfires
Washington State Launches Zero-Interest Loan Program To Combat Racist Housing Covenants

Seattle Times
Little known about cyberattack that has disrupted Sea-Tac Airport
Ballot recounting by hand begins in tightest WA primary in history
Former city official accused of stealing $937K from tiny Morton, WA

Skagit Valley Herald
Burlington sets tax for road projects

Spokesman Review
City of Spokane to spend $9 million to create or rehab 67 affordable housing units
Avista’s Vermillion stepping down; Rosentrater to become first woman to lead company as CEO
Spokane County Sheriff’s sergeant to be charged with assault, falsifying police report over violent 2023 arrest
FDA approves Neffy, a nasal spray alternative to an EpiPen that does not need a needle to stop an allergic reaction
Opinion: Congress should act now to help vulnerable seniors live longer

Tri-City Herald
Opinion: Does WA state energy council have the courage to stand up to Gov. Inslee?

Washington Post
Cellphone bans spread in schools amid growing mental health worries
Judge halts Biden program offering legal status to undocumented spouses
Chinese government hackers have penetrated U.S. internet providers to spy on users

WA State Standard
Former small-town official accused of stealing $937K from Washington city
250 soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord join Idaho wildfire-fighting effort
Settlement with family of man killed by Olympia police will mandate de-escalation training

Broadcast

KING 5 TV (NBC)
No timeline for when SEA Airport system will be back online after cyberattack
City of Olympia reaches $600,000 settlement with family of man killed by police
Audit links former Morton city employee to more than $930,000 in ‘misappropriated’ funds
New petition calls for harsher penalties for teen offenders after 13-year-old killed in Alderwood Mall shooting

KNKX Public Radio
The U.S. national park system gets a $100 million grant, the largest in its history

KUOW Public Radio
Middle school-aged kids increasingly face felony charges in King County
Western Washington tribe could get back 72 acres of old-growth forest under congressional bill

NW Public Radio
Federal trial over grocery chain merger begins in Oregon

Web

Cascadia Daily News
City of Bellingham reaches tentative agreement with Local 1937

Crosscut
Link light-rail extension to Lynnwood opens August 30
Seattle opened 1,750 subsidized, affordable apartments in 2023

MyNorthwest
Washington joins lawsuit claiming there’s a price-fixing scheme hurting local renters

The Urbanist
Seattle Inches Down Path to Design Review Overhaul with New Report
Proposal for Future Transit Corridor Upzones Draws Sharp Opposition in Kirkland

Monday, August 26

Shooting settlement will ban Olympia police from decorating equipment
In a settlement reached with the family of a 37-year-old Black man shot and killed by Olympia police in 2022, the city will pay $600,000 and has agreed to ban officers from the “personalization” of their equipment, effectively bringing to an end the display of polarizing symbols like the “thin blue line” flag. Details of the unusual settlement of a wrongful death tort claim filed by the family of Timothy Green were announced by lawyers on Monday. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Leslie Cushman)

Getting There: State program will boost electric car chargers in northeastern Washington
The small but growing number of electric car owners in northeastern Washington will soon get a boost from a state program. The Washington State Department of Commerce has approved funds for several new charging stations in northeastern rural counties, and around the state, as registered electric vehicles continue to increase. The projects are funded through the Climate Commitment Act to different counties around the state. Continue reading at The Spokesman Review. (Monica Carrillo-Casas)

Black, Native people face higher rates of charges in Washington courts
The number of Black people with charges filed against them in Washington’s courts last year was about 2.5 times greater than their share of the state’s population – largely due to misdemeanor charges, which are considered less serious crimes. That’s according to a new online data dashboard released this month by the Washington State Center for Court Research. The dashboard also shows that the number of Native Americans with charges filed against them in Washington’s courts last year was about two times greater than their share of the state’s population. Continue reading at The WA State Standard. (HT Ganzo)

Print

Axios
Seattle’s back-to-school cooling demand is way up

Columbian
State enacts emergency rules to combat wasting disease
Washington farmers want their promised carbon-pricing exemptions
Can Housing First work in the face of Clark county’s fentanyl crisis? Residents say apartments are rife with drug use and crime

Everett Herald
‘Butch the Cougar’ immortalized at WSU Everett campus
Everett behavioral health urgent care looks to help more patients
Banks tighten lending standards, increasing pressure on small-business owners
Comment: Overdose awareness efforts key to saving lives around us
Comment: Patients of color shouldn’t face unexpected in childbirth
Comment: Washington a model for striving for climate resilience

Kent Reporter
Kent youth residential behavioral health facility gets $6M state grant

Kitsap Sun
Lawsuit filed in Bremerton over records related to superintendent’s leave

News Tribune
Rules of the Road: At what point does speeding officially become ‘reckless?’
Here’s what the average Puyallup family will pay for the city’s new police station
Pierce County election workers start hand recount in historically tight statewide race
Molten rock into insulation? See how a WA plant will make the forbidden cotton candy
Demand for gravel leads to conflict in Pierce County city where mine expansion proposed

Puget Sound Business Journal
Employers are gaining more leverage on pay — and they’re using it
Comment: Don’t overlook importance of Washington’s aerospace industry

Seattle Times
Family of man who died in Seattle jail sues county for $25 million
Shooting settlement will ban Olympia police from decorating equipment

Spokesman Review
Getting There: State program will boost electric car chargers in northeastern Washington
Strike averted as Cheney School District, union reach tentative agreement on new teacher contract

Washington Post
When does a glacier die?
New coronavirus vaccines are now approved. Here’s what to know.
‘Barely surviving’: Some flight attendants are facing homelessness and hunger

WA State Standard
Black, Native people face higher rates of charges in Washington courts
Students with disabilities struggle after high school. One WA district is trying to change that.

Broadcast

KING 5 TV (NBC)
SEA Airport travelers dealing with long lines due to cyber attack
Hand recount in primary race for commissioner of public lands to begin Monday

KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
Goodwill closes 2 Seattle locations over rising costs and safety concerns
Green Lake smash and grab, 14 cars damaged, police searching for suspects
SEA Airport still reeling, a day after suspected cyberattack on Port of Seattle
Alaska Airlines flight forced to return to Sea-Tac after Boeing 737′s engine shuts down
Kroger and Albertsons hope to merge but must face a skeptical US government in court first

KNKX Public Radio
Research shows that what you call climate change doesn’t matter much
Seattle, School District to invest $14M in school safety following gun violence incidents

KUOW Public Radio
As King County moves to reopen Kent hotel for the unhoused, asylum-seekers hope they won’t be forgotten

KXLY (ABC)
Spokane transitional shelter seeing great success in helping fight opioid crisis
Spokane mayor says current model for regional 911 services doesn’t work for the city, city could go it alone

Web

Cascadia Daily News
Lummi Chairman: Our focus is on health care, sovereignty, water rights and next generation

MyNorthwest
How Washington residents can get $200 toward their electric bills

The Urbanist
Seattle Officials Tout Safety, Mental Health Interventions for New School Year
First Look at Montlake’s Highway Lid and Pedestrian Bridge, Opening This Fall

Friday, August 23

WA joins antitrust suit against rent-setting software firm RealPage
Washington is joining the Department of Justice and a handful of other states in suing a software company that scores of landlords use to help set rents in Seattle and across the country. The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in North Carolina, accuses the firm of violating federal antitrust law. The company, RealPage, offers landlords a platform to enter information about the apartments they have for rent, and the software uses an algorithm based on details from other local rentals to suggest a monthly rent price. Tenants have also sued the company in recent years, claiming the software allows landlords to trade otherwise private information to effectively fix rents. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Ken Lambert)

Rebates on the way for farmers who paid fuel surcharges under WA climate law
Farmers who believe they paid unfair fuel surcharges under the state’s cap-and-trade program can soon apply for a rebate from the state. The Legislature set aside $30 million this year for farm fuel users and haulers of agricultural goods to receive rebates. The funding comes from revenue the state received in its quarterly pollution allowance auctions under the Climate Commitment Act. Continue reading at The WA State Standard. (Bill Lucia)

WSDOT Head Millar Wants $150 Million Annually to Fix Washington’s ‘Stroads’
Washington transportation secretary Roger Millar is pushing the state legislature to find a way to fund urgently needed improvements to the hundreds of miles of state highways that run through the state’s population centers. The request comes as the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is preparing for the upcoming legislative session, and lawmakers get to work on the state’s budget. Continue reading at The Urbanist. (WSDOT)

Print

Axios
The future of the noncompete ban isn’t totally bleak
Washington’s fall could be wetter than normal, NOAA predicts
Fed’s Powell at Jackson Hole: “The time has come” for rate cuts

Capital Press
Feds claim constitutional exception for union ‘walkaround’ rule
Feds: Tidegate protecting farmland jeopardizes salmon, killer whales

Columbian
Clark County Juvenile Court uses community service rather than punishment, with good results

Everett Herald
Everett to Marysville HOV lane opens to mixed reviews
Everett will have its own Chamber of Commerce once again

Kitsap Sun
Bremerton’s Warren Ave Bridge will cost city more after WSDOT decision to withdraw

News Tribune
Road closures, up to 20K people expected for this Tacoma festival. Here are details
This Pierce County mayor is so bullish on electric vehicles he’s hosting an EV festival
Tacoma names a city park after ‘community icon.’ Here’s who and why it’s important
Does WA have an age limit or any restrictions for seniors to get a license? What DOL says
Editorial: Tacoma’s grease-trap policy is like using a sledgehammer to swat a mosquito. Do better.
Opinion: I spent a week walking 70 miles across Tacoma. I learned a lot about our city’s needs

New York Times
U.S. Accuses Software Maker RealPage of Enabling Collusion on Rents

Olympian
‘Strong and resilient:’ Squaxin Island Tribe celebrates waters, culture with healing ceremony
Olympia announces plan to address Percival Creek homeless encampment. Here are the details

Peninsula Daily News
Port Townsend to use federal grant for trails design
Fire officials make progress on small fires within national park, forest

Puget Sound Business Journal
Washington courts hand corporations ‘nuclear verdicts’ at high rates

Seattle Times
WA Supreme Court disbars former state auditor Troy Kelley
Kent asylum-seeker camp grows as calls for help go unanswered
WA joins antitrust suit against rent-setting software firm RealPage

Spokesman Review
Cheney school board passes resolution suspending rules for striking teachers
Man violently arrested by Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy a year ago files federal lawsuit
In farewell to McMorris Rodgers, Fairchild summit showcases progress, pitfalls for military families

Washington Post
Fed chair Powell: ‘The time has come’ for interest rate cuts
Federal labor regulator says delivery drivers are Amazon employees
Justice Dept. and states accuse software firm of helping landlords collude on rent

WA State Standard
Seattle City Light and federal fisheries agency still at loggerheads over fish
Rebates on the way for farmers who paid fuel surcharges under WA climate law
Most workers make about the same as before the pandemic — except in these states

Broadcast

KING 5 TV (NBC)
Seattle mayor, police and school district outline investments in mental health supports

KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
FAA awards ZeroAvia in Everett $4.2M for ‘clean aviation’ project
Plan announced to support Seattle school safety and student mental health
Middle school teacher arrested in California on accusations of rape of a child in Centralia

KUOW Public Radio
No resource officers, more counselors: How Seattle hopes to improve school safety

KXLY (ABC)
Spokane deputy stabbed in chest in Deer Park
Spokane ordinance to help homeless deferred, facing uncertain future vote
‘Systemic failures’; Man beaten up during arrest sues sheriff’s office, Spokane County
Fiance of man killed by Spokane Police says shooting was ‘ambush’, files federal lawsuit

NW Public Radio
On Mount St. Helens, students dig into potential geology careers
Decision upheld to remove a portion of Electron Dam on the Puyallup River
Lake Wenatchee has a beach wheelchair available for visitors with limited mobility

Web

Cascadia Daily News
Report lays bare stark disparities in health care outcomes for Native Americans in Washington

Crosscut
Washington farmers want their promised carbon-pricing exemptions
WA Public Lands race comes down to 51 votes, prompts hand recount

MyNorthwest
Mayor Harrell, SPS to increase security, school counselors on campus

The Urbanist
WSDOT Head Millar Wants $150 Million Annually to Fix Washington’s ‘Stroads’

Thursday, August 22

Inside the plan to build a new dam and reservoir in WA
The state is plunging deeper into yet another drought, a phenomenon hydrologists expect in perhaps 40% of the years ahead, and communities across the American West are watching their water reserves sink lower and lower. The antidote to these water woes — for one unlikely alliance in Washington — is to build a new reservoir, the state’s first in generations. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Erika Schultz)

Assaults on staff rise sharply at state-run behavioral health hospital for children
Washington’s only behavioral health hospital for children is seeing a dramatic rise in assaults on staff this year. That’s according to early 2024 data from the Department of Social and Health Services. The figures show the rate of assaults has more than doubled compared to all of 2023. The report highlights a number of projects to improve safety at all three behavioral health hospitals, including building additional “seclusion rooms,” new staff training and expanding use of evidence-based behavior therapy. Continue reading at The Washington State Standard. (DSHS)

Coalition calls for federal investigation into Tacoma Police Department
A group of Black-led organizations and individuals in Pierce County are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Tacoma Police Department for excessive force and discriminatory policing. The coalition includes the Collective, the NAACP, the Urban League, Tacoma Ceasefire, and more, including several individuals. More than 100 people and organizations have signed on to a letter supporting the request. In January, the U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation into Washington state’s case against the three Tacoma officers who killed Manuel Ellis. The DOJ is reviewing the case to determine whether any of the officers violated federal law. Continue reading at KNKX. (Mayowa Aina)

Print

Aberdeen Daily World
City of Aberdeen powers up Fry Creek Pump Station (Tharinger)

Axios
First case of “zombie” deer disease found in WA

Capital Press
Vegetable sales value surges since 2017
West Coast dominates U.S. fruit, tree nut production
Opinion: A wolf idea we like

Columbian
Invasive mussels found in Washington wholesale store could cost state millions
City proposes 150-bed bridge shelter at site of former Naydenov building in central Vancouver
Inland Power says sparks that caused Gray fire were not predictable, denies liability in response to lawsuit

Everett Herald
North Cascades Highway still buried under thick debris in spots
FAA awards ZeroAvia in Everett $4.2M toward sustainable flight goals

The Inlander
NEWS BRIEFS: Washington is keeping more families together
Spokane City Council pumps brakes on homeless anti-discrimination law after pushback from business interests and Mayor Brown
Comment: We’re spending billions fighting fires, leaving too little to fund forest restoration projects in the Pacific Northwest

International Examiner
Healing hate: A community mourns the theft of Seattle’s Sadako peace statue

Kent Reporter
Sound Transit to make light rail a flat fee of $3 for adults

News Tribune
Why has the executive promised to veto bill allowing temporary shelters in Pierce County?

New York Times
Labor dispute halts rail freight in Canada, raising supply chain concerns

Olympian
Bye bye, GA building. It’s time to free up Capitol Campus site for a grander purpose

Peninsula Daily News
Rural Community Leadership Program to be conducted this fall

Seattle Times
Inside the plan to build a new dam and reservoir in WA
With $260 million gap, Seattle City Hall prepares for tense budget talks

Skagit Valley Herald
County commissioners reject Housing Authority plan

Spokesman Review
Agency receives grant for in-patient behavioral health stabilization facility in Colville
Idaho doesn’t produce energy like it used to. How drought, renewables are changing our landscape.
Spokane County Commissioners move to regulate wind, solar farms as interest grows in Eastern Washington

Tri-City Herald
1,100 Kadlec workers on strike. They say the hospital escorted them off the job early
Eastern WA site may become largest trucking services complex for hundreds of miles
350 acres burn near massive Hanford nuclear waste plant in Eastern WA, diverting workers

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber
Vashon, Fauntleroy ferry leaders call for improvements at West Seattle dock

Washington Post
Tech companies rally behind FTC’s crackdown on fake reviews
Markets and households eagerly await Powell’s hints about Fed rate cut

WA State Standard
Keeping the flames at bay when there’s just one way out in a wildfire
Seattle City Light and federal fisheries agency still at loggerheads over fish
Assaults on staff rise sharply at state-run behavioral health hospital for children
Patient underwent one surgery but was billed for two. Even after being sued, she refused to pay.

Broadcast

KING 5 TV (NBC)
Seattle’s Downtown Activation Plan is a ‘roaring success’ one year later, city leaders say

KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
Tacoma police host community meeting on ‘shotspotter’ tech
Lawsuit: Burien church says city’s homeless encampment rules violate religious rights
King County awards $400,000 to Washington State VA to train veteran service providers

KNKX Public Radio
Coalition calls for federal investigation into Tacoma Police Department

KUOW Public Radio
Seattle ticks through to-do list to revive downtown
Five more Seattle libraries to become extreme-heat refuges

KXLY (ABC)
Cheney parents prepare for teacher strike to possibly delay first day of school
Central Washington school district asks lawmakers to review regulations about transgender athletes

Web

Cascadia Daily News
Skagit County breaks ground on crisis center expansion

MyNorthwest
Edmonds looks to the future with growth, housing, land management
Youth crime, gun violence urgent topics for Lynnwood community meeting tonight

The Urbanist
Shoreline North Station Sees New Urban Connection Form

Wednesday, August 21

New tool shows King County’s housing affordability crisis in real time
King County has a deficit of over 100,000 apartment units affordable to lower-income households. The shortage is greater — over 340,500 — for middle-income households. This is one takeaway from the new Housing Availability Dashboard launched Aug. 15 by the King County Department of Assessments. The dashboard provides information segmented by income levels and housing costs, and contrasts demand with supply to reveal surpluses or shortages by income and affordability levels. Data can be broken down by ZIP code. Continue reading at Puget Sound Business Journal. (King County Assessor’s Office)

A look at how federal plans could make the costs of housing more affordable
As renters and would-be homeowners struggle with the high cost of housing, the Biden administration has announced policies to address this strain on household budgets. That includes $100 million in funding for a program to incentivize affordable housing production and streamlining loan application processes to expedite building more housing. Some of those proposals – such as a cap on rent increases from corporate landlords – call for Congressional action, while others are rules and grants that can be done without legislative approval. Continue reading at The WA State Standard. (Spencer Platt)

Homeless face arrest as Lakewood camping ban goes into effect
A new camping ban went into effect last Friday in Lakewood. It allows for the arrest of people camping in public spaces who refuse to leave. The ordinance empowers police to give campers 24 hours’ notice to leave or face arrest. But, the Lakewood Police Department (LPD) said making arrests is not the goal, instead, they want to educate, inform and offer services. Those who refuse to leave can be cited or arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing. However, if they are arrested and have no criminal history, they can be released without bail. Continue reading at KIRO 7. (James Lynch)