NWPB News, Author at Northwest Public Broadcasting

Pete Buttigieg Ends Presidential Campaign, Urges Unity Behind Democrats Left In Field

By NWPB News March 1, 2020

Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a speech to supporters on Sunday, March 1, 2020. Buttigieg, who rose from being the mayor to a barrier-breaking, top-tier candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, ended his campaign, thanking his supporters, his family, and his husband. CREDIT: Santiago Flores/South Bend Tribune via AP

“The truth is the path has narrowed to a close for our candidacy if not for our cause,” Buttigieg told supporters in South Bend, Indiana. “We must recognize that at this point in the race, the best way to keep faith with those goals and ideals is to step aside and help bring our party and country together.”Read More

Washington Lawmakers Ban ‘LGBTQ Panic’ Defense Based On Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation

By NWPB News February 26, 2020

Washington State Capitol CREDIT: BRIANHE / WIKIMEDIA

Washington has joined a growing coalition of states that are banning what are known as "LGBTQ panic" criminal defenses. Advocates say these defenses have resulted in reduced or shortened sentences in cases of violence against LGBTQ people. Now, both houses of the state Legislature have passed a bill that prohibits the use of those defenses. Read More

Idaho Attorney General Says Proposed Transgender Athlete Ban Could Be Unconstitutional

By NWPB News February 25, 2020

The Idaho state flags hangs in the rotunda of the statehouse in Boise

The Idaho Attorney General’s office says a bill that would ban transgender women from competing on sports teams that align with their gender identity could be “constitutionally problematic” and “likely vulnerable to a court challenge.”Read More

Head Of Seattle Catholic School Placed On Leave Amid Protests Following Ouster Of Gay Teachers

By NWPB News February 25, 2020

Nicolas Velasquez, 17, holds a rainbow flag during a walkout to protest the departure of two LGBT educators on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien. "I don't think that it's okay that this is happening now," Velasquez said. "I want to be the change that I want to see."

Kennedy Catholic High School President Mike Prato was placed on leave following the "forced" resignations of two teachers who were open with administrators about their same-sex engagements. The Archdiocese of Seattle sent out a memo Tuesday afternoon announcing Prato's leave.Read More

Scientists Gather To Study Risks Of Microplastic Pollution In Northwest Waters

By NWPB News February 24, 2020

Microplastic fibers, like this one from an Oregon river, are less than 5mm and often show up in vivid color under the microscope. CREDIT: TODD SONFLIETH / OPB

This week, a group of five-dozen microplastics researchers from major universities, government agencies, tribes, aquariums, environmental groups and even water sanitation districts across the U.S. West is gathering in Bremerton, Washington, to tackle the issue.Read More

Spokane Hospital Treating Out-Of-Area Coronavirus Patients In Specialized Unit

By NWPB News February 20, 2020

Up to four people who contracted the novel coronavirus are or will be recovering in an isolation unit at Sacred Heart.

The patients were transferred from Travis Air Force Base in California and are part of repatriation efforts, meaning they contracted the virus outside of the country. Bob Lutz, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District, says their arrival shouldn’t worry the city’s residents.Read More

Welcome To … Greater Idaho? Oregonians Could Be Asked To Join Proposal For Shifting State Lines

By NWPB News February 18, 2020

Proponents of the "Greater Idaho" proposal want to add eastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as northern California, to the existing boundaries of Idaho.

The “Greater Idaho Movement” is the latest separatist initiative to have some regions leave Oregon. If successful, the movement would rope in some parts of Northern California as well.Read More

Federal Land Managers Propose 11K Miles Of Fuel Breaks To Combat Wildfires In Western States

By NWPB News February 17, 2020

Ash blows off of rangeland that burned in the Martin Fire of 2018 — the largest in Nevada state history. CREDIT: ASHLEY AHEARN/NPR

The Bureau of Land Management announced a proposal Friday that would fund up to 11,000 miles of strategic fuel breaks in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah in an effort to better control wildfires.Read More

Pullman To Portland Via Spokane On Greyhound: Why A Libyan Comic Is Suing The Border Patrol

By NWPB News February 14, 2020

File photo. The Spokane Intermodal Center, owned by the city, houses a Greyhound bus station where comic Mohanad Elshieky says he was detained by Border Patrol agents in 2019. CREDIT: HIKKI NAGASAKI / PUBLIC DOMAIN

Mohanad Elshieky says Border Patrol agents racially profiled him and held him without cause. The comic, who was granted U.S. asylum in 2018, was on his way home to Portland after a gig in Pullman when the officers confronted him in Spokane.Read More

Interior Dept. Grant To Help States With Wildlife Migration. One Area In North Idaho Is A Chokepoint

By NWPB News February 14, 2020

A mule deer uses a wildlife crossing below Highway 97 in Oregon, the same major north-south route in north-central Washington's Okanogan County looking at similar measures. CREDIT: ODOT

A new federal grant aims to improve wildlife habitat and migration corridors in the Northwest. About $100,000 is going to a project related to a wildlife underpass that will be built under U.S. Highway 95 in North Idaho.Read More

Idaho Rep., A Former Basketball Player And Coach, Seeks To Bar Transgender Girls In School Sports

By NWPB News February 13, 2020

Rep. Barbara Ehardt outlines her “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” designed to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports. The House Education Committee introduced the bill Wednesday. CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho Education News

On Feb. 12, the Idaho House Education Committee gave its initial approval to a bill designed to keep transgender students from competing in girls’ sports. That means the bill could come back at a later date for a full hearing.Read More

Federal Government Sues King County Over Ban Of Deportation Flights From Boeing Field

By NWPB News February 10, 2020

A man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement waves back to activists from the Yakima Immigrant Response Network Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 as they wave signs and call out "no estas solo, you are not alone." CREDIT: ENRIQUE PÉREZ DE LA ROSA/NWPB

The United States Department of Justice is suing King County over its ban on deportation flights from Boeing Field. A King County executive order banned deportation flights from Boeing Field in April 2019. Since then, ICE has diverted detainees to and from Yakima airport by bus.Read More

Mitzi Montoya Left Job As WSU’s Provost After 2 Months. Newly Obtained Emails Shed Light

By NWPB News February 10, 2020

The French Administration building houses WSU's leadership office, including the president and provost. “I think the conclusion is that I am not a fit for what you need here,” former WSU provost Mitzi Montoya wrote to President Kirk Schulz in September 2019. CREDIT: Jacob Jones/Whitman County Watch

Newly released emails to and reporting from the Whitman County Watch news site show Washington State University’s former provost described receiving sexist performance assessments and other institutional pushback just days before she stepped down in September.Read More

Iowa Caucus Chaos Has Washington Democrats Feeling ‘Brilliant’ For Switching To Primary System

By NWPB News February 8, 2020

A man speaks in support of a candidate during Washington state's Democratic caucus in 2016 in Seattle. In 2019, the state Democratic party did away with the caucus system and going forward will use only primary elections to select which nominee to support for president. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

In 2020, Washington Democrats won't use neighborhood caucus meetings to help choose a presidential nominee. And they're glad they made the change.Read More

Areas Of The Northwest From Walla Walla To Umatilla To The Palouse Deal With Flooding, High Water

By NWPB News February 7, 2020

Mill Creek at Whitman College in Walla Walla was running high and brown with quick melt and agricultural runoff Friday, Feb. 2, 2020. CREDIT: Thomas Reese

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has issued an emergency proclamation for 20 counties as major flooding inundated Washington and Oregon.Read More

Ron Wells Helped Develop Spokane, Moscow, Lewiston. He’s Been Sentenced In Federal Fraud Scheme

By NWPB News February 5, 2020

The former Ridpath Hotel in downtown Spokane was vacant for several years before developer Ron Wells and other got involved to help restore and convert it into affordable apartment housing. ARCHSPOKANE CC BY-SA TINYURL.COM/Y45W6Z2M

Prominent Inland Northwest architect and developer Ron Wells was sentenced in federal court Wednesday for his role in staging a car crash to defraud insurance companies. He was sentenced to a year of home confinement and must pay $240,000.Read More

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Delivers Democratic Response To The State Of The Union

By NWPB News February 4, 2020

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered the Democratic response to President Trump's 2020 State of the Union address. CREDIT: PBS NewsHour/screen grab

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is using the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to appeal to working-class voters, saying her party is focusing on easing health care costs and addressing other pocket-book issues.Read More

Window Opens For Tribes To Seek Federal Licenses For Rural Broadband Access

By NWPB News February 3, 2020

Mariel Triggs, chief executive of MuralNet, tests broadband internet equipment in Fort Washakie on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. CREDIT: Patrick Lawson via AP

The Federal Communications Commission opened a window Monday for federally recognized tribes to apply for licenses that could help establish or expand internet access on their lands. The FCC estimates that about one-third of people living on tribal lands don’t have access to high-speed internet, but others say the figure is twice as high.Read More

FCC Proposes $13M Fine For Idaho White Supremacist Over Racist Robocalls

By NWPB News January 31, 2020

File photo. A 2018 poster for then-missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts hangs in the window of a local business in Brooklyn, Iowa. Regulators are proposing a nearly $13 million fine against Scott Rhodes, who they say illegally hid the origin of automated phone calls that used the slaying of Tibbetts, and election campaigns in other states to promote white nationalist and anti-Semitic messages. CREDIT: Charlie Neibergall / AP

The Federal Communications Commission said in a news release Thursday that Scott Rhodes violated the Truth in Caller ID Act that bars the manipulation of caller ID information so calls appear to come from local numbers — a technique called “neighbor spoofing.Read More

Idaho Schools Superintendent Emphasizes Importance Of Improved Outcomes For English Learners

By NWPB News January 31, 2020

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra. CREDIT: Idaho Education News

Idaho’s schools have some 16,000 English language learners, and the majority speak Spanish as a primary language. Yet English language learners make up only 25 percent of Idaho’s Hispanic students, the vast majority of whom speak English.Read More

University Of Idaho President Says Staff And Program Cuts Are Inevitable

By NWPB News January 21, 2020

University of Idaho President C. Scott Green presents budgetary outlook before the Idaho Legislature on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. Courtesy of Idaho Education News

The University of Idaho will have to cut employees and cut programs in order to erase tens of millions of dollars in budget shortfalls, President C. Scott Green said Monday. Green didn't go into details about where the cuts might come — but he said he is committed to getting the university’s budget back in line by 2022.Read More

Washington Supreme Court Deals Partial Blow To Jay Inslee’s Carbon Emissions Plan

By NWPB News January 17, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee talks to news media Jan. 16, 2020, after a state Supreme Court ruling that reinstated a severely limited version of his plan to cap carbon pollution in the state. He said the ruling just strengthens his commitment to get climate change-related bills through the Legislature this year. CREDIT: Rachel La Corte/AP

The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated a severely limited version of Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan to cap carbon pollution in the state, a decision the Democrat described as a “clarion call” that lawmakers must act on climate change.Read More

Ex-NFL Player, WSU Standout And Spokane Native Steve Gleason Honored By Congress For ALS Work

By NWPB News January 16, 2020

A Congressional Gold Medal is presented to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) advocate and former National Football League (NFL) player, Steve Gleason, in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill, Jan. 15, 2020. Holding the medal is his wife Michel Gleason. CREDIT: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Former NFL player Steve Gleason has received the Congressional Gold Medal — the highest civilan honor bestowed by Congress — for his work as an advocate for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.Read More

Power Struggle Within Idaho’s GOP-Led Legislature Means Delayed Retirement For Obscure Employee

By NWPB News January 13, 2020

Idaho Administrative Rules Coordinator Dennis Stevenson in his office in Boise. A power struggle between the Republican-dominated Idaho House and Senate has had big ramifications for Stevenson, who for three decades has toiled in an agency most people didn't know existed. CREDIT: Keith Ridler/AP

A power struggle between the Republican-dominated Idaho House and Senate turned out to have big ramifications for a relatively unknown state employee who has toiled for three decades in an agency most people didn’t know existed.Read More

3rd Deceased Victim Identified In North Idaho Avalanche At Silver Mountain Resort

By NWPB News January 9, 2020

Search and rescue team members search for victims Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho. Courtesy of Hank Lunsford via Spokane Public Radio

Searchers have located the body of a third person killed in an avalanche Tuesday at Silver Mountain Ski Resort in Kellogg, Idaho. Six people were found in the initial search Tuesday, two of whom died.Read More

At Least 2 People Killed At Silver Mountain Ski Resort In Idaho, Search Continues For At Least 1 More

By NWPB News January 8, 2020

The avalanche occurred on an area of the mountain called Wardner Peak. It’s a popular spot for expert-level skiers that can only be accessed by traversing from the top of a nearby chair-lift. It’s significant because the area is relatively easy to access and is considered in-bounds for the ski area, meaning it’s patrolled and has avalanche control done on it.Read More

Unemployment Pushes More Men Into Jobs Fields Dominated By Women

By NWPB News January 7, 2020

Men make more money in women-dominated fields, such as teaching. CREDIT: Getty Images/File

In the last few decades, many high-paying jobs that are mostly done by men – like manufacturing – have contracted or disappeared. At the same time, many jobs in fields dominated by women – like education and health care – have significantly increased.Read More

A Father-Daughter Journey To Northwest Caves In Search Of Creepy Crawlers

By NWPB News January 3, 2020

An Oregon conservation group is exploring a cave to discover new spider species.Read More

Backlog Of Toxic Superfund Cleanup Sites Grows Under Trump Administration

By NWPB News January 3, 2020

The Newtown Creek is seen in the Queens Borough of New York. Newtown Creek is a waterway approximately 3.5 miles long between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The Superfund designation will allow the Environmental Protection Agency to go after the polluters of the waterway forcing them to pay an estimated $500 million for the cleanup. CREDIT: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The Trump administration has built up the biggest backlog of unfunded toxic Superfund clean-up projects in at least 15 years, nearly triple the number that were stalled for lack of money in the Obama era, according to 2019 figures quietly released by the Environmental Protection Agency over the winter holidays.Read More

All-Day Kindergarten Takes Off In Idaho. Is Pre-K Next?

By NWPB News January 2, 2020

Pre-K students at Boise’s Garfield Elementary School work on writing their names. CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho Education News

While schools struggle to find ways to fund and maintain pre-K, advocates face another challenge: selling a skeptical Legislature on the value of early education. Pre-K is a values debate and a policy debate. Critics say the state should focus on K-12 spending, assert that young children are best taught at home, and dismiss research on the lasting value of pre-K.Read More

Seattle Shelter Steps In To Address Needs Of Native Peoples Experiencing Homelessness

By NWPB News December 30, 2019

Eagle Village resident Jolene Neiss says it's important to make each room feel like the resident's home with decorations, knickknacks and family photos. CREDIT: Casey Martin/KUOW

A new homeless shelter in Seattle is exclusively serving Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders. It's one of the first facilities of its kind in the country helping to house the more than 1,000 Native people in the city experiencing homelessness.Read More

West Coast Scores Rare Conservation ‘Home Run’ As Fishery Rebounds From The Brink

By NWPB News December 28, 2019

Kevin Dunn, who fishes off the coasts of Oregon and Washington, holds a rockfish at a processing facility in Warrenton, Oregon. A rare environmental success story is unfolding in waters off the U.S. West Coast as regulators in January 2020 are scheduled to reopen a large area off the coasts of Oregon and California to groundfish bottom trawling fishing less than two decades after authorities closed huge stretches of the Pacific Ocean due to the species' depletion. CREDIT: Gillian Flaccus/AP

After years of fear and uncertainty, bottom trawler fishermen — those who use nets to scoop up rockfish, bocaccio, sole, Pacific Ocean perch and other deep-dwelling fish — are making a comeback here, reinventing themselves as a sustainable industry less than two decades after authorities closed huge stretches of the Pacific Ocean because of the species’ depletion.Read More

You Now Have To Be 21 To Buy Tobacco And Vaping Products In The U.S.

By NWPB News December 27, 2019

With a new law enacted in December 2019, anyone under 21 can no longer legally buy cigarettes, cigars or any other tobacco products in the U.S. It also applies to electronic cigarettes and vaping products that heat a liquid containing nicotine. CREDIT: Mark Lennihan/AP

Anyone under 21 can no longer legally buy cigarettes, cigars or any other tobacco products in the U.S. The new law enacted last week by Congress also applies to electronic cigarettes and vaping products that heat a liquid containing nicotine.Read More

How Advertising Through The Ages Has Shaped Christmas

By NWPB News December 24, 2019

Father Christmas in 1879, with holly crown and wassail bowl used for the delivery of children’s presents. 'Fun' (London, England), Issue 763, p 256.

Midwinter has been a period of festivities for millenia, but Christmas as we know it today has its origins in Victorian Britain. It was in Victorian times that the idea of Christmas as a family holiday, with gift giving, a tree, and an intimate dinner became central to this celebration.Read More

U.S. House Ethics Committee Rebukes Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers For Misused Funds

By NWPB News December 20, 2019

Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers listens as former White House national security aide Fiona Hill, and David Holmes, a U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill, Nov. 21, 2019. CREDIT: Andrew Harnik/AP

The House Ethics Committee has rebuked Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state for misusing taxpayer money and ordered her to reimburse more than $7,500 to the U.S. Treasury.Read More

After Impeachment, U.S. House Gives President A Victory In New U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal

By NWPB News December 19, 2019

Trucks pass along a border wall as they get into position to cross into the United States at the border in Tijuana, Mexico, on Friday. Companies had been rushing to ship as many goods as possible out of Mexico to get ahead of possible tariffs threatened by President Trump. Hans-Maximo Musielik/APv

One day after its historic impeachment votes, the Democratic-led House gave President Donald Trump an overwhelming bipartisan victory Thursday on a renegotiated trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. By a 385-41 vote, the House approved a bill that puts in place terms of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.Read More

Across The West, Communities And Landowners Prepare For Their Own Paradise Wildfire Scenario

By NWPB News December 15, 2019

Towns living among forests have taken notice after recent deadly wildfires in Northern California, particularly after Paradise. But for the rural community of Foots Creek in Southern Oregon, wildfire has long been on their radar. CREDIT: April Ehrlich/JPR News

It’s been a little over a year since the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, which impacted thousands of lives in Northern California. The disaster also alarmed people across the West, who are now asking themselves: Could a fire like that happen here?Read More

Idaho’s Four-Year Schools Agree On ‘Momentous’ Tuition Freeze

By NWPB News December 12, 2019

Idaho’s four college and university presidents — Idaho State University President Kevin Satterlee, University of Idaho President C. Scott Green, Boise State University President Marlene Tromp and Lewis-Clark State College President Cynthia Pemberton — had discussed a possible tuition freeze since spring. Sami Edge/Idaho Education News.

For the first time in at least four decades, Idaho is freezing college and university tuition. The one-year freeze will go into effect next school year — and it covers in-state undergraduate students at Idaho’s four-year institutions.Read More

If You’re A Salaried Worker In Washington, You May Soon Be Eligible For Overtime With New Rules

By NWPB News December 11, 2019

Victor Duran, a co-manager of a sports apparel store at the Southcenter mall, south of Seattle. Duran is one employee who could benefit from new overtime rules in Washington, which will allow hundreds of thousands of workers who have been exempt to begin collecting when they work more than 40 hours per week. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

The Department of Labor and Industries finalized the rules Wednesday and will phase them in by 2028. By that time, salaried workers making up to about $83,400 a year will be entitled to time-and-a-half pay if they work more than 40 hours per week.Read More

FBI Says It Presumes Pensacola Naval Base Shooting Was Terrorism

By NWPB News December 8, 2019

The main gate at Naval Air Station Pensacola is seen on Navy Boulevard in Pensacola, Florida, U.S. March 16, 2016. Photo courtesy: U.S. Navy/Patrick Nichols/Handout

The Saudi gunman who killed three people at the Pensacola naval base had apparently gone on Twitter shortly before the shooting to blast U.S. support of Israel and accuse America of being anti-Muslim, a U.S. official said Sunday as the FBI confirmed it is operating on the assumption the attack was an act of terrorism.Read More

Sesame Street Puppeteer Caroll Spinney Of Big Bird And Oscar The Grouch Renown Dies At 85

By NWPB News December 8, 2019

Puppeteer Caroll Spinney (L-R), Sesame Street co-founder and TV producer Joan Ganz Cooney, and Sesame Street cast members pose under a ‘123 Sesame Street’ sign at the ‘Sesame Street’ on Nov. 9, 2009 in New York City. Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Caroll Spinney, who gave Big Bird his warmth and Oscar the Grouch his growl for nearly 50 years on “Sesame Street,” died Sunday at the age of 85 at his home in Connecticut, according to the Sesame Workshop.Read More

Idaho Community Mourns 9 Members Of Extended Family Killed In South Dakota Plane Crash

By NWPB News December 2, 2019

In this Dec. 2, 2019, photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, an NTSB investigator begins the examination of the wreckage of the Pilatus PC-12 that crashed in Chamberlain, S.D., on Nov. 30 shortly after departure from Chamberlain Municipal Airport. CREDIT: NTSB via AP

An Idaho community is in mourning after nine members of one extended family were killed in a Thanksgiving weekend plane crash. Jim Hansen Sr. was killed in the crash that also killed his son, grandchildren and other relatives. Three generations of his clan ran a petroleum business called Conrad & Bischoff. They were returning from a pheasant-hunting trip in South Dakota Read More

Washington’s $30 Car Tabs On Hold As Judge Puts Injunction On I-976 As Legal Challenge Unfolds

By NWPB News November 27, 2019

Professional initiative sponsor Tim Eyman, right, holds a photo from his first successful $30 car tabs initiative in 1999. Eyman says he has collected almost enough signatures to qualify a 2019 car tabs rollback initiative to the 2019 Legislature. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3

A King County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that opponents had adequately argued that the measure's ballot title was misleading, and he issued an injunction. The challenge could eventually make its way to the state Supreme Court.Read More

Garfield County Is Washington’s Least Populous. It’s Joining A Suit To Stop I-976’s $30 Car Tabs

By NWPB News November 25, 2019

Garfield County Transportation Authority driver Gene Smith helps 96-year-old resident Louise Munday board a commuter bus on Nov. 15, 2019. Munday uses local transit five days a week and, with her limited mobility, the service to her door is necessary. CREDIT: Emily McCarty/Crosscut

As expected, the initiative’s passage prompted legal action, led by Seattle-area governments and public transit supporters protesting a projected $4.2 billion cut in revenue for transportation and transit projects over the next six years. But there has been an unexpected addition to that Puget Sound-centric group: the Garfield County Transportation Authority.Read More

After 20 Years, Washington’s Makah Tribe Hopes To Hunt Whales Again

By NWPB News November 14, 2019

The tribe’s plans have been tied up in legal fights and layers of scientific review. The next step is a week-long administrative hearing that began Thursday in Seattle. Whatever the result, it’s likely to be stuck in further court challenges, as animal rights activists have vowed to block the practice they call unnecessary and barbaric.Read More

Seattle And King County Will Sue To Block Initiative 976, The $30 Car Tab Measure

By NWPB News November 8, 2019

Sound Transit light rail train and tunnel in Seattle

If fully implemented, Initiative 976 would force the city to cut more than 100,000 bus hours and would hamper her program to provide free bus access for high school students and low-income residents, Seattle's mayor said in a news conference. She also emphasized that voters in King County, which is home to Seattle, firmly voted against the measure sponsored by Tim Eyman.Read More

Debra Stephens Elected As New Chief Justice Of Washington Supreme Court

By NWPB News November 7, 2019

Justice Debra Stephens speaks from the bench during a Washington Supreme Court hearing in Olympia, Wash. On Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, Stephens was elected by her fellow members of the state Supreme Court to be the new chief justice. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP

Stephens, 54, will replace current Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst, who announced last month she will retire from the high court in January to focus on her health as she fights a third bout of cancer.Read More

I-976, Washington’s $30 Car Tabs Measure From Tim Eyman, Passing As Of Tuesday Night

By NWPB News November 5, 2019

Sponsored by Tim Eyman, the measure would cap most taxes paid through annual vehicle registration at $30 and largely revoke the authority of state and local governments to add new taxes and fees without voter approval.Read More

Farm Bankruptcies On The Rise Nationally, Most Pronounced For Northwest Families

By NWPB News November 5, 2019

A tractor plows soil where a failed wheat crop once stood on Matt Isgar's ranch and farm in Hesperus, Colo. Isgar is hoping the soil will get enough moisture in coming months so he can plant pinto beans next season. CREDIT: Kami Engstrom/Courtesy of Matt Isgar

The number of family farms seeking bankruptcy protection grew 24% over the last year, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation analysis of recent federal court data. The analysis found family farm bankruptcies are rising fastest in the Northwest.Read More

Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Idaho Initiative Process

By NWPB News October 31, 2019

Amy Pratt personally collected more than 1,000 signatures to help get Proposition 2 on the ballot. It's the first time she's been politically active and she has no plans of stopping. CREDIT: JAMES DAWSON / BSPR

A federal lawsuit challenging Idaho's ballot initiative process as unconstitutional because it requires signatures from multiple legislative districts has been dismissed.Read More

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