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Idaho Lawmakers Get Back To Work After An 18-Day COVID-Caused Recess

By NWPB News April 7, 2021

Lawmakers convened for the first time in 18 days — after calling a sudden and historic recess in an attempt to slow a Statehouse coronavirus outbreak. The first sessions were brief: The House reconvened at about 12:05 p.m., and stayed on the floor for about 25 minutes. The Senate went into session at about 12:25 p.m., and was in session for just 10 minutes.Read More

Yes, There Are Mermaids In The Pacific Northwest. And They Now Have Their Own Museum

By Tom Banse April 7, 2021

From left, Mermaid Siren Ophelia of Seattle, Mermaid Asherah and Mermaid Merina both of Portland, at the opening of the new International Mermaid Museum near Aberdeen, Washington.

The Pacific Northwest might seem like an unlikely place for mermaids and mermaid culture to catch on given the cold water here. Yet, putting on an eye-catching tail and pretending to be a mythical sea being is a thing across the Northwest. There's even a brand new mermaid museum near Aberdeen, Washington.Read More

As President Biden Pushes Major Rail Investments, Amtrak’s Proposed 2035 Map Has People Talking

By NPR News April 6, 2021

When President Biden unveiled his major new infrastructure plan last week, the proposal included much more than fixing crumbling bridges. And for those who wish America had a more robust passenger train network, it gave them something new: hope.Read More

Idaho Lawmakers Advance Bill Seeking To Nullify Federal Actions, Expect Court Challenge If Passed

By NWPB News April 6, 2021

Idaho Republican state Rep. Sage Dixon addresses the House State Affairs Committee, April 6, 2021. The committee approved legislation intended to give Idaho lawmakers veto power over federal government actions and federal court decisions. CREDIT: Keith Ridler/AP

An Idaho House panel on Tuesday approved legislation intended to give lawmakers veto power over federal government actions and federal court decisions. The House State Affairs Committee on a voice vote sent the bill to the full House for possible amendments after the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Sage Dixon, said it needed several changes.Read More

Washington Legislature Approves Bill To Honor Billy Frank Jr., Replacing Marcus Whitman At Capitol

By NWPB News April 6, 2021

A statue of tribal rights activist Billy Frank, Jr., left, could someday replace pioneer missionary Marcus Whitman in the U.S. Capitol. CREDIT: NWIFC 2007/Glenn Drosendahl

A measure to honor the late Billy Frank Jr. with a statue at the U.S. Capitol cleared the Legislature Monday. On a 44-5 bipartisan vote, the Democratic-led Senate approved the bill that seeks to replace Washington’s Marcus Whitman statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection with a statue of Frank, a Nisqually tribal member who championed treaty rights.Read More

Paint A ‘Happy Little Tree’ Or Your Backyard Fence With Washington’s New Recycling Program

By Courtney Flatt April 5, 2021

Cans of paint are sorted before they are mixed together. Washington’s paint stewardship law will make it easier for people to recycle leftover paint. Courtesy of PaintCare

If you have half-used paint cans piling up in your garage and just don’t know how to get rid of them, you’re in luck. Washington has started a new paint recycling program. It follows a similar, decade-old program in Oregon. Read More

Family Attorney Questions Police Narrative In Shooting Of Antifa Supporter Near Olympia

By NWPB News April 5, 2021

Police officials work at a scene where Michael Reinoehl, suspected of fatally shooting a supporter of a right-wing group in Portland, Oregon, last week was killed as investigators moved in to arrest him in Lacey, Wash., on Sept. 3, 2020. CREDIT: Ted Warren/AP

Attorneys for the family of a self-proclaimed anti-fascist protester who was gunned down by a federal task force outside Olympia last fall say the facts of the case as put forth by investigators “absolutely strain credulity.”Read More

A 4th COVID-19 Surge May Be Starting. How Bad Could It Get?

By NPR News April 5, 2021

A sign requiring face masks and COVID-19 protocols is displayed at a restaurant in Plymouth, Mich., on March 21. Coronavirus cases in Michigan are skyrocketing after months of steep declines, one sign that a new surge may be starting. CREDIT: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In the past seven days, the U.S. reported slightly more than 65,000 new cases per day on average, a jump of 20% from two weeks earlier. Many states have seen even more dramatic growth, as high as 125% in Michigan, according to an NPR analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.Read More

30 States Are Considering Versions Of Idaho’s First-In-Nation Transgender Athletics Ban

By NWPB News April 5, 2021

Chris Mosier, the first known transgender person to qualify for an Olympic trial, joined protesters in Boise, Idaho, to push back against legislation targeting transgender residents. CREDIT: James Dawson/Boise State Public Radio

While states across the U.S. have picked up a version of the bill this year, U.S. District Court Judge David Nye issued an injunction last summer putting Idaho’s law on hold while a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the law plays out. Read More

To The Bank! Gonzaga Beats UCLA In Buzzer Beater, Advances To Men’s NCAA Final

By NWPB News April 3, 2021

Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs (1) celebrates making the game winning basket against UCLA during overtime in a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Gonzaga won 93-90 in overtime. CREDIT: Michael Conroy/AP

Jalen Suggs took the inbounds pass and saw nothing but clear sailing. Three dribbles. Past the half-court line. A little stutter-step. And straight into history. The Gonzaga freshman banked in a shot at the buzzer from near the Final Four logo for a 93-90 overtime win over UCLA on Saturday night that vaulted the Bulldogs to within one win of an undefeated season and the Read More

While Oregon’s Legislature Feuds, Washington Lawmakers Find A Way To Work Together

By NWPB News April 3, 2021

Former Oregon Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli asked his staff in 2016 to come up with ways to waylay Democratic bills.

The two states are both led by strong Democratic majorities and face similar issues. Only one of them is successfully passing legislation.Read More

Washington State Names Its First Native American Poet Laureate

By NWPB News April 3, 2021

On the first day of National Poetry Month, Bellingham-based Rena Priest is named the new Washington State Poet Laureate. She'll be a statewide ambassador for poetry during a two-year term. CREDIT: Lila Childs / Courtesy of Humanities Washington

The author of two poetry books and a member of the Lhaq'temish (Lummi) Nation, Priest is the sixth poet and first Native person to be selected for the two-year term, a program of the Washington State Arts Commission and Humanities Washington.Read More

‘It’s Irreversible’: Goldendale Green Energy Project Highlights A History Of Native Dispossession

By Courtney Flatt April 2, 2021

Rattlesnake Mountain on the Hanford Reach National Monument has restricted and protected access. It's considered a sacred site by Northwest tribes, including the Yakama Nation and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. CREDIT ANNA KING/NW NEWS NETWORK

The Goldendale Energy Storage Project would be a solution to generate energy when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. But, to the Yakama Nation, the destruction of those sites would add another heartbreak to an ever-expanding list. Countless important cultural areas have faced destruction across the Northwest, largely because they’re not understood by Read More

Past As Prologue: A Seattle Police Bootlegging Racket Informs Lessons Of Modern Drug Cartels

By NWPB News April 2, 2021

Seattle Daily Times front page saying Olmsted was Jailed.

Prohibition did not limit the demand of alcohol, and many people did not support it, including the police. On an early morning in March 1920, Seattle Police Lieutenant Roy Olmstead and Sergeant T.J. Clark met a crew of bootleggers loading a shipment of Canadian whiskey from Vancouver, B.C. for Seattle. Olmstead and Clark were not there to arrest the criminals, but to watch Read More

A Road Across Mount St. Helens Blast Zone Threatens One-Of-A-Kind Research, Lawsuit Says

By NWPB News April 1, 2021

Mount St. Helens left an indellible mark on the Northwest landscape -- not just in the ecology and geology, but in how government officials respond and think about disaster preparedness.

Conservation groups and scientists are challenging a federal decision to build a road through the Mount St. Helens blast zone, saying it would damage more than two dozen decades worth of irreplaceable research plots.Read More

‘Breakthrough Cases’ Of COVID Emerge In Washington And Idaho, But That’s Not Surprising

By NWPB News April 1, 2021

A person gets a COVID-19 vaccine shot at mass clinic in Spokane. Health officials say "breakthrough cases," where those who had the vaccine later get infected with the disease against which they're inoculated, are rare, but can still happen with any vaccine. Courtesy of CHAS Health

A small percentage of people who’ve been vaccinated in Washington and Idaho have become infected with COVID-19. Health officials say that’s not a sign the vaccine doesn’t work, or that people should cast aside public health guidelines.Read More

Cody Easterday, Washington Rancher At Heart Of Alleged Cattle Fraud, Pleads Guilty In Federal Court

By Anna King March 31, 2021

The Easterday family is known for growing potatoes, onions and beef cattle as one of the largest agribusinesses in the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon.

Washington rancher Cody Easterday pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal district court to defrauding Tyson Foods Inc. and another unnamed company out of more than $244 million. Easterday admitted charging the companies for the costs of purchasing and feeding hundreds of thousands of fictitious cattle.Read More

Washington State Bumps Up Vaccine Eligibility To April 15 For All Residents Age 16 And Older

By NWPB News March 31, 2021

Kristin May, an EMT with the Seattle Fire Dept., gives the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a City of Seattle community COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinic in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood in February 2021. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP

Washington state is opening up COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all residents age 16 and older starting on April 15, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday. The federal government had directed states to make all adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccination by May 1, but most states had earlier plans, with more than a dozen opening eligibility to all adults this week.Read More

Women’s History Month: 4 Influential Women From The Pacific Northwest

By Mia Hunt March 31, 2021

Women have shaped so much of how we live in Washington. As Women’s History Month comes to an end, meet prominent figures in the state’s history who have worked in community activism, environmental preservation and more.Read More

Flu And Colds Are Down. Should We Continue Wearing Masks Beyond The Pandemic?

By NPR News March 31, 2021

Nicole Grayson is a fourth-grade teacher at a private Christian school in Franklin, Tenn. She and her colleagues have noticed that students and teachers, who have been meeting mostly in person but wearing masks, haven't had the usual seasonal illnesses this year. Blake Farmer/WPLN News

A study released this month in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, led by researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, found that across 44 children's hospitals, the number of pediatric patients hospitalized for respiratory illnesses is down 62%. Deaths have dropped dramatically too, compared with the last 10 years: The number of flu deaths among children is Read More

Interest In Hydrogen Fuel Grows Across The Northwest – And Tax Dollars Follow

By Tom Banse March 31, 2021

A hydrogen fuel cell electric bus on loan from SunLine Transit in Palm Springs was displayed at the Intercity Transit bus barn in Olympia on March 25, 2021. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

More folks from Northwest government and industry are jumping on the hydrogen bandwagon to test if the alternative fuel could be a viable and green replacement for diesel and gasoline in some situations. The potential converts include more than half a dozen transit agencies from Everett to Eugene, state legislators and Boeing's drone subsidiary in the Columbia River Gorge.Read More

Cut And Fried: Northwest Spud Farmers Take A Deep Hit On Their Contracts

By Anna King March 30, 2021

Farmers in the Columbia Basin are fretting over a lower price for their big contracts with potato processing giants in the Northwest.

Farmers say they’ve already taken a hit from the pandemic and higher fertilizer costs. Now they are going to get 3% less for their potatoes from Lamb Weston, McCain Foods and J.R. Simplot Company. Read More

Hazardous Waste Landfill Near Columbia River Seeks To Expand

By NWPB News March 30, 2021

An undated file photo shows leachate evaporation ponds at the CWM hazardous waste landfill in Arlington, Ore.

Military cleanups, federal Superfund sites, firefighter training facilities — all are among reasons cited by Chemical Waste Management, or CWM, to expand its hazardous waste operation outside the Columbia River town of Arlington.Read More

Federal Report Says Radioactive Cleanup Work At Idaho Nuclear Site Is Working

By NWPB News March 30, 2021

Radioactive waste shipped to Idaho from a Midwestern nuclear weapons facility during the Cold War has been compacted and sent out of state for permanent disposal. A U.S. Department of Energy contractor on Wednesday said nearly 26,000 cubic yards of waste contaminated with plutonium-238 has been sent to a storage facility in New Mexico. CREDIT: KEITH RIDLER/AP

Ongoing Superfund cleanup work of radioactive and other contamination at the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho has been successful at protecting humans and the environment, U.S. and state officials say. The five-year review by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality also said that Read More

Washington Supreme Court Legalized Drug Possession. Now State Lawmakers Are Scrambling

By NWPB News March 29, 2021

Washington State’s Supreme Court Building, also known as the Temple of Justice, photographed on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, in Olympia, Wash. CREDIT: Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut

Lawmakers in Olympia are scrambling to respond to a Washington Supreme Court decision that declared the state’s law criminalizing drug possession unconstitutional because it did not require prosecutors to prove intent.Read More

Whitman County Warns Residents To Reconsider Activity As COVID-19 Case Rates Climb

By Scott Leadingham March 29, 2021

outside shot of Pullman Regional Hospital

COVID-19 cases are going up in Whitman County. And that’s concerning for the public health department. Late Friday afternoon, Whitman County Public Health released a statement warning residents to reconsider social and other activities outside their homes that could increase their risk of exposure to COVID-19.Read More

Analysis: Idaho’s Unprecedented Legislative Session Will Come To An Unpredictable End

By NWPB News March 29, 2021

No one seems to know what will happen starting April 6, when legislators return to the Statehouse after an 18-day pandemic recess. Fitting, isn’t it? Shouldn’t an unprecedented session culminate in an unpredictable finish?Read More

Why Nearly All Mass Shooters Are Men

By NPR News March 28, 2021

A memorial with flowers for victims of the Boulder King Sooper shooting

A staggering 98% of these crimes have been committed by men, according to The Violence Project, a nonpartisan research group that tracks U.S. mass shooting data dating back to 1966.Read More

How To File Your Taxes For Free, Get Help And Avoid Traps Trying To Get You To Pay

By NWPB News March 28, 2021

Employers are supposed to stop withholding the payroll tax on Sept. 1. But companies need guidance from the IRS on exactly who is eligible to have their taxes suspended and how to keep track so those taxes can eventually be repaid. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

Most Americans are eligible for free tax-preparation services, but the truly free options can be hard to find. If you’re not careful, you could end up using a service that says it’s free but demands payment after you’ve spent time entering your information.Read More

Small Ship Cruising Getting Ready To Resume In Pacific Northwest And Alaska

By Tom Banse March 27, 2021

The paddlewheeler American Empress is one of several scheduled to resume Columbia River sailings in spring 2021. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

Small ship cruise lines are pressing ahead with plans to restart overnight cruises on the Columbia and Snake rivers, around Puget Sound and in Alaska. They aim to cast off in April and May while the big cruise ships remain laid up by a red light from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Read More

Washington Legislature Passes Bill Granting Voting Rights To Felony Parolees

By NWPB News March 26, 2021

File photo, Dec. 2020. State Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, holds blank voter registration forms as she poses for a photo at her home in Bremerton, Wash. Simmons was incarcerated herself before being released and becoming a lawyer, and then winning a state House seat in 2020. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP

Washington state lawmakers have voted to automatically restore voting rights to people who have been released from prison after committing felonies, even if they’re still on parole. With the support of majority Democrats, the state Senate passed the measure 27-22 Wednesday night, following earlier approval by the House. It now heads to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who is Read More

Once Imperiled, America’s Bald Eagle Populations Are Soaring

By NPR News March 25, 2021

U.S. bald eagle populations have more than quadrupled in the lower 48 states since 2009, according to a new survey from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. CREDIT: Prisma Bildagentur/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A new survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found there are more than 70,000 breeding pairs of the iconic raptor in the contiguous U.S. In the late 1960s, there were fewer than 500.Read More

Washington State Senate Democrats Unveil Budget Proposal: Big Boost In Spending, Capital Gains Tax

By Austin Jenkins March 25, 2021

A new state capital gains tax. An expanded and fully funded tax credit for lower-income families. Fresh investments in disaster preparation and foundational public health. And significant new spending in early learning and child care. Those are among the elements of a proposed $59.2 billion, two-year budget Washington Senate Democrats unveiled on Thursday.Read More

‘Blue Tides’ Of Sailor Jellies On Northwest Coast Correlate With Warmer Seas In Winter

By Tom Banse March 25, 2021

A mass stranding of Velella velella at Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon, in 2015.

New research out of the University of Washington finds a correlation between warmer ocean waters and mass strandings of By-the-wind sailor jellyfish over the past two decades. The brief, widespread beachings of "gazillions" of purplish-blue jellies along the Pacific Northwest coast create a memorable sight for those who chance to be in the right place at the right time.Read More

Spring Release: If You’re Headed To Northwest Wine Country, You May Need An Appointment

By Anna King March 24, 2021

People toasting the sunset with wine glasses outside in Washington state

When wineries release their new vintages to the public it’s often called “Spring release.” Those bottlings have been cooped up all winter aging. So have winter-weary patrons. Those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are stepping out to wineries and meeting in small groups both outdoors and in. Read More

Timber Wars Continued: Conservationists Sue To Save Spotted Owl Logging Protections

By NWPB News March 24, 2021

In this May 8, 2003, a northern spotted owl sits on a tree branch in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore. CREDIT: Don Ryan/AP

Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to preserve protections for 3.4 million acres of northern spotted owl habitat from the US-Canada border to northern California, the latest salvo in a legal battle over logging in federal old-growth forests that are key nesting grounds for the imperiled species.Read More

Could The Worst Of The Pandemic Be Over For The U.S.?

By NPR News March 24, 2021

With precautions such as mask-wearing in place, experts predict travel is among the activities that may become safer by this summer. CREDIT: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A year after the pandemic shut down the country, a growing number of infectious disease experts, epidemiologists, public health officials and others have started to entertain a notion that has long seemed out of reach: The worst of the pandemic may be over for the United States.Read More

Former Washington State Auditor Faces Prison Time After U.S. Supreme Court Denies Review

By Austin Jenkins March 23, 2021

Former WA State Auditor Troy Kelley leaves the federal courthouse in Tacoma in 2016. Kelley's attorney says he plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review Kelley's conviction. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

Former Washington state Auditor Troy Kelley has exhausted his appeals and now faces the prospect of having to report to a federal prison to serve a 366-day prison sentence after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for review of his case.Read More

Central Washington Ramps Up As Agricultural Workers Eligible For Vaccine; FEMA To Help In Yakima

By NWPB News March 23, 2021

After an hours-long wait, drivers pull up under a vaccination tent to get their first dose of the Moderna COVID vaccine on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

Yakima County will soon get a boost to its existing vaccine distribution at an existing site set up at county fairgrounds. But unlike other sites around the state managed directly through the state, including in the Tri-Cities, Wenatchee and Spokane, the Yakima site will have the support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Read More

Jay Inslee Decries ‘Horrendous Surge’ Of Violence Against Asian Americans

By NWPB News March 22, 2021

Noriko Nasu, a high school teacher who was attacked earlier in the year while walking through Seattle's Chinatown-International District, speaks about the possible hate crime Monday, March 22, 2021, at a news conference at Renton City Hall in Renton, Wash., south of Seattle. Nasu joined Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and other leaders Monday to denounce recent acts of violence and harassment targeted at Asians and Asian communities. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was joined Monday by community leaders to decry what he called a “horrendous surge” of violence against Asian-Americans.Read More

Idaho’s Coronavirus Trendline: Legislature Shuts Down As Parts Of State Lead Nation In New Cases

By NWPB News March 22, 2021

On Friday morning, the Idaho Legislature recessed until April 6, following a week in which at least six House members tested positive for coronavirus. “We need to emphasize that none of the things will be left undone, it just presses pause,” House Speaker Scott Bedke said Friday morning, minutes after the House voted to go on recess.Read More

Spring Forecast: An Already Bad Drought Worsens Across The West

By NWPB News March 22, 2021

U.S. Drought Monitor map of the U.S. West showing drought conditions for much of the southwest, with the best conditions in the Northwest

With nearly two-thirds of the United States abnormally dry or worse, the government’s spring forecast offers little hope for relief, especially in the West where a devastating megadrought has taken root and worsened.Read More

After Dan Newhouse Voted To Impeach Trump, Conservatism In Central Washington Is Being Redefined

By NWPB News March 21, 2021

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., speaks as the House of Representatives debates the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019. CREDIT: House TV-AP

When Rep. Dan Newhouse broke with his party to vote to impeach President Trump, critics started to question his Conservative credentials. The state GOP condemned the impeachment vote, and Republican Party chairs in Grant, Benton, Franklin, Yakima, Adams, and Douglas counties demanded his resignation.Read More

For Nez Perce Tribe, And Across The West, Deb Haaland Faces A Long To-Do List At Interior

By NPR News March 21, 2021

The Nez Perce tribe's vice chairman Casey Mitchell proudly wears a bead necklace sewn by his mother as a college graduation present that depicts Chief Joseph. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

Deb Haaland, the former Democratic congresswoman, made history Monday by becoming the first indigenous interior secretary. She's promising to begin repairing a legacy of broken treaties and abuses committed by the federal government toward tribes. It's one pillar of a long and ambitious to-do list of reforms the administration is planning at the sprawling agency that is Read More

For Asian American Women, Misogyny And Racism Are Inseparable, Sociologist Says

By NPR News March 20, 2021

Activists demonstrate outside Gold Spa in Atlanta where a mass shooter killed three women on Tuesday night in a rampage that left eight people dead, including six Asian women. CREDIT: Megan Varner/Getty Images

Although authorities have said it's too early to declare the attack a hate crime, they said the gunman's actions — relying on the suspect's own words — were not racially motivated, but driven by a sex addiction. He confessed to officers that in committing the acts he wanted to "eliminate" a "temptation."Read More

March Madness Remains Off Limits For Sports Betting In The Northwest, But Maybe Not Much Longer

By Tom Banse March 19, 2021

Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs in a game 2021 game against Santa Clara University. CREDIT Chiana McInelly/Courtesy of Gonzaga University

With March Madness getting into full swing this weekend, it's a safe bet that some area fans want to wager on their favored teams in the NCAA basketball tournament. Placing a legal bet on college basketball is virtually impossible in the Pacific Northwest for the time being, though there are changes afoot.Read More

Some Washington School Districts Are Depending On Federal Relief Money To Pay For Reopening

By NWPB News March 19, 2021

Without emergency hires, the Moses Lake School District would not have the staffing necessary to comply with the Washington State Department of Health’s reopening guidelines, according to district Superintendent Dr. Joshua Meek. They are essential to the district's reopening, he said.Read More