Washington State Standard

11/26/2024

A 5,000-member public employee union in Washington that overwhelmingly rejected a new two-year contract in September is accusing the governor’s office and several community colleges of bad-faith bargaining.

The Washington Public Employees Association filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging the state Office of Financial Management engaged in unfair labor practices by refusing to resume bargaining on a full, two-year deal. Gov. Jay Inslee, in his official capacity, and 11 community colleges are also named as defendants. The contract now in place expires next June.

The suit reveals the contention between the union and the state since association members voted down the contract offer, largely because they considered the state’s proposed 5% pay hike inadequate to keep pace with rising costs of food, housing and health care.

A Washington state workers union that rejected a contract in September is accusing the governor’s office of bad-faith bargaining on a new one.

11/25/2024

With overcrowding at Washington’s two juvenile detention centers, the Department of Children, Youth and Families is asking state lawmakers for money to open a new facility.

The department wants to add a smaller, minimum and medium security site to help alleviate pressure on the other two centers, which had to pause admissions earlier this year because they were over capacity. The goal is for the new facility to also help with providing a more rehabilitative environment and mental health services for young people convicted of crimes.

“This is critical for the safety of our staff,” said Allison Krutsinger, spokesperson for the department. “It’s critical for the safety of the young people that reside there.”

Green Hill School, located in Chehalis, currently houses about 240 people. Its safe operational capacity is 180. The overcrowding is unsustainable, according to the department’s budget request, and young people are not able to get the range of programming and support they need.

“Green Hill is unsafe,” Krutsinger said.

With overcrowding at Washington’s two juvenile detention centers, a state agency is asking for money to open a new facility.

11/21/2024

A state revenue forecast released Wednesday shows a drop in tax collections, sobering news for Washington state lawmakers and Gov. Jay Inslee, who were already weighing options for spending cuts and raising new revenue to erase a projected $12 billion budget shortfall.

The report presented to the bipartisan Economic and Revenue Forecast Council projects tax collections will be $66.4 billion for the two-year budget that runs through June 30, 2025, a decrease of $89 million from what chief economist David Reich predicted in September.

Looking ahead, Reich estimated the state will take in $310 million less in the next two bienniums which is when Inslee has warned the multi-billion dollar deficit must be dealt with.

Wednesday’s forecast is one of the last pieces of information the outgoing governor will use to write a proposed 2025-27 budget that he will release in mid-December. That spending plan will serve as a template for lawmakers and Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson when they write budgets in the 2025 session.

A state revenue forecast released Wednesday had sobering news for Washington lawmakers facing a projected $12 billion budget shortfall.

11/20/2024

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, said Tuesday that his party’s brand is “broken” and that criticizing President-elect Donald Trump would not be enough to get it onto a more successful track.

The harsh assessment is notable coming from Smith, who has served in Congress since 1997 and is the party’s top member on the House Armed Services Committee.

“The Democratic Party brand is broken, and we desperately need to fix it if the party is ever going to have any hope of appealing to a majority of people in this country. Economic policy and messaging is the worst part of that, but certainly not the only part,” Smith said in a video he shared via his account on the social media platform X.

The harsh assessment is notable coming from Smith, who has served in Congress since 1997 and holds a committee leadership post.

11/19/2024

More than half a colony of Caspian terns on a small island near Port Townsend died last year amid an outbreak of bird flu, underscoring the harsh effects the disease can have on wildlife.

Researchers say they directly counted 1,101 dead adult terns and 520 dead chicks and that at least 53-56% of the adult birds in a colony on Rat Island, in northern Puget Sound, were wiped out. After factoring in Caspian tern deaths in other parts of the region, the researchers estimated about 10-14% of the birds in the Pacific flyway were lost last year to bird flu.

The researchers also studied harbor seals that died from the virus on or around Rat Island during the same timeframe and found that the disease had attacked the animals differently than it did birds, causing severe inflammation in their brains.

A team that included staff from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington State University published the findings in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. Researchers from about a half-dozen other organizations and universities also worked on the study.

More than half a colony of Caspian terns on a small island near Port Townsend died last year amid an outbreak of the disease.

11/18/2024

The natural gas initiative Washington voters approved calls for erasing some of the state’s building codes but that might not happen when the measure takes effect next month.

Sponsors of Initiative 2066 contend that upon certification of the election results on Dec. 5, changes made to the energy code earlier this year will be unenforceable. Those changes offer builders permitting incentives for choosing electric heat pumps – which provide both heating and cooling in the same unit – instead of natural gas furnaces.

On Friday, the Building Industry Association of Washington pressed the state Building Code Council to avoid a legal challenge by making clear it would immediately ditch the rules and begin rewriting them. But the panel declined to do what the association asked as council members voiced concern about the consequences of moving too fast.

Washington voters passed a measure to erase building codes intended to phase out natural gas. That might not happen.

11/15/2024

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is warning of a budget deficit in excess of $10 billion and calling on state agencies to pare spending now to deal with it.

A Nov. 8 memo from Inslee’s budget director cited rising costs, increasing demand for public services and lower-than-expected tax collections for a projected operating budget shortfall between $10 billion and $12 billion over the next four years.

Cuts are needed to balance the spending plan Inslee will release next month for the 2025-27 biennium.

“The Governor’s operating budget will prioritize continuing essential programs and addressing caseload increases, while not expanding existing programs and services,” Pat Sullivan, director of the Office of Financial Management, wrote in the memo.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is warning of a budget deficit in excess of $10 billion and calling on state agencies to pare spending now to deal with it. A Nov. 8 memo from Inslee’s budget director cited rising costs, increasing demand for public services and lower-than-expected tax collections for a...

11/14/2024

In the runup to Election Day, Donald Trump had kind words for Washington state.

“I have so many friends in the great state of Washington or Washington state. Any way you want to say it? We say it lots of different ways. But it’s the same great place. It’s an incredible place,” he said during a call to build support for now-defeated Republican congressional candidate Jerrod Sessler.

He also suggested that Washington is “getting a little more conservative every year,” adding: “They’ve had some problems out there that they wouldn’t have with more conservative values.”

Now that he’s president-elect, Trump and his Republican allies are staking out a platform that would move the country in a sharply different direction, one that would be at odds with many of the priorities of the Democratic-controlled state government here in Washington.

Trump and his Republican allies are staking out a platform that would move the country in a sharply different direction.

11/12/2024

Legions of soccer fans will descend on the Pacific Northwest in peak summer 2026 for the men’s FIFA World Cup. It seems like a long time away, but not if you’re a transportation or travel planner.

The Pacific Northwest will host 13 World Cup matches — split between Seattle and Vancouver. The potential for monumental backups at the U.S.-Canada border as superfans ping-pong between the host cities is one factor causing a range of local figures to raise yellow flags. Event organizers have already passed the ball to the Washington Legislature and Congress with requests for assistance totaling millions of dollars.

“What are we, 597 days out? Not that we’re counting,” said April Putney, barely missing a beat to recall numbers during a late October interview. Putney is the chief strategy officer with the Seattle 2026 World Cup Local Organizing Committee.

The host committee estimates that up to 750,000 visitors will come to the Seattle area to take in the spectacle during the four-week span of games in Cascadia. About half of the crowd could be fans from abroad, based on past World Cups. Putney also noted that only about 50% of the expected influx will have secured tickets to the matches.

The Pacific Northwest will host 13 World Cup matches — split between Seattle and Vancouver, raising the possibility of major border delays.

11/11/2024

Rural maternity wards are almost always financially difficult for hospitals to operate, a reality that has forced several in Washington to close in recent years, including one in Toppen*sh last year and at Naval Hospital Bremerton, which stopped delivering babies in 2022.

It’s something lawmakers are trying to solve, both on the state and federal level. Washington lawmakers approved $1.6 million for low-volume birthing hospitals during the 2024 legislative session, which has kept some wards from closing, said Beth Zborowski of the Washington State Hospital Association — but rural hospitals say they still need more help.

That’s why they’re supporting a bill, co-sponsored by Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, to increase Medicaid reimbursements for rural hospitals and provide other support.

Rural maternity wards are almost always financial black holes, a reality that has forced several in Washington to close in recent years.

11/04/2024

Election Day is, thankfully, almost here.

As the nation picks a president, Washington voters will be choosing a new governor, filling a seat on the state Supreme Court and deciding the fate of a quartet of ballot measures.

There are also contests for Congress, statewide executive posts, roughly three-fourths of seats in the state Legislature, a myriad of city and county offices and a barge of local propositions.

To say it’s a big one in Washington state is an understatement.

Ballot counting will begin at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Some outcomes will be known Tuesday night, others won’t be determined for a few days.

Here are five things we’re watching.

Washington state voters will decide the future of two U.S. House members and four ballot measures in Tuesday's election.

11/01/2024

The Washington state Legislature will get a personnel makeover in next week’s election as a result of retirements, departures and redistricting. Nine state senators and 11 representatives aren’t returning. Seven House members are running for seats in the Senate. And all three legislative positions will be filled in the redrawn 14th Legislative District in the Yakima Valley region. Here are seven contests where seats might flip.

Here are seven Washington legislative contests where seats could flip parties in this 2024 election cycle.

10/30/2024

Donations of a few bucks to several grand continue to flow into candidate and political committee coffers ahead of next Tuesday’s election.

Candidates for city, county and state offices and judgeships across Washington will have spent an estimated $61 million on their campaigns, as of Tuesday, Oct. 29. For the entire 2020 election cycle, candidates spent about $65.7 million on their campaigns.

Another $48 million this year poured into efforts to sway opinions on four statewide ballot measures.

Here is a selective sample of the costlier contests and biggest donors this cycle.

Contributions small and large continue to flow into candidate and political committee coffers in Washington ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

10/29/2024

Washington’s Department of Corrections has outlined new plans to spend $1.3 million collected from incarcerated people for phone calls and other fees — money that they’ve been criticized for sitting on, as the dollars are meant to go to improving prisoner welfare.

But the spending would still represent only a fraction of the $12 million the state has piled up in its Incarcerated Individual Betterment Fund. And prisoners’ families are dissatisfied with how the department wants to use the money.

But the money only represents a fraction of the $12 million collected from incarcerated people the state has been sitting on.

10/29/2024

The FBI and local police are investigating a deliberately set fire on Monday at a ballot drop box in southwest Washington that destroyed hundreds of ballots and they say a similar incident in Portland, Oregon is likely connected.

State and federal authorities are investigating a deliberately set fire that destroyed ballots inside a drop box in southwest Washington.

10/28/2024

The amount of money spent on special education students in Washington varies widely by district.

That’s according to a new analysis of state data from July 2022 to June 2023 of Washington districts where there are over 2,500 students. According to the data, the amount each district spends per special education student ranges from $8,708 in Goldendale School District to $33,056 in Bellevue School District.

“Historically, our tendency is to look the other way on special education spending,” said Marguerite Roza, director of Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, which created the analysis. “It hasn’t gotten the same kind of scrutiny that other elements in the school district budget have.”

There are big differences between districts — but more special education spending doesn’t correlate to better outcomes for students.

10/28/2024

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10/25/2024

Federal health authorities have confirmed at least two people in Washington have contracted bird flu after working around poultry with the virus at a commercial egg farm in Franklin County.

State and local health officials on Sunday revealed four people in Washington were “presumptively” positive for the illness, based on initial testing at a state lab. Since then, the number of presumptive positive cases climbed to seven.

On Thursday, the state health department said that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed two of the positive tests announced over the weekend. Confirmation of other positive test results is still pending.

Staff from the CDC has been on site in Franklin County, in southeast Washington, since Wednesday. The federal agency, along with the state health department and the local health district for Benton and Franklin counties were working together on testing and other response efforts.

Health officials say there are still no signs the disease is spreading person-to-person and that nobody who’s ill has been hospitalized.