Northwest News

Assault Survivor Groups Denounce Former State Senator On Washington Redistricting Commission

By NWPB News
Senate Republican floor leader Joe Fain, R-Auburn. CREDIT: TED WARREN
Groups representing women and sexual assault survivors are denouncing the appointment of former state Sen. Joe Fain to the state redistricting commission, a body that will shape Washington state politics for the next decade. Fain, 40, narrowly lost his reelection bid in November 2018, after being accused of raping a woman years earlier. The former Republican state senator Read More

Washington State’s Vaccine Rollout Highlights Difficulty Of Enforcing Eligibility And Line-Jumping

By Eilís O'Neill
Workers and patients at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site near downtown Seattle in January. "The vast majority who are coming in do appear to be meeting the eligibility criteria," says Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County's public health officer. Grant Hindsley/AFP via Getty Images
The Washington state Department of Health told us they aren't keeping track of who's eligible and who's not among those vaccinated, but anecdotal evidence suggests ineligible people are getting vaccines at many clinics across the state. This happens because each provider must come up with its own process for checking eligibility, and most rely on the honor system.Read More

Western Members Of Congress Call For Investigation Into Slashed Spotted Owl Protections By Interior

By Monica Samayoa
A northern spotted owl. CREDIT: Todd Sonflieth/OPB
Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer joined with colleagues from Washington, California and Arizona Tuesday in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Interior. In it, they requested an immediate federal review into the previous administration’s decision to remove 3.4 million acres of the Northern spotted owl’s critical habitat in Read More

Child Psychiatrists Warn That The Pandemic May Be Driving Up Kids’ Suicide Risk

By NPR News
Las Vegas school class of 2020 in chalk in parking lot
In recent months, many suicidal children have been showing up in hospital emergency departments, and more kids are needing in-patient care after serious suicide attempts. "Across the country, we're hearing that there are increased numbers of serious suicidal attempts and suicidal deaths," says Dr. Susan Duffy, a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Brown University.Read More

Tax A Billionaire, Raise Some Cash? It’s An Idea Washington State Democrats Are Floating

By Austin Jenkins
Forbes tracks the world's billionaires in almost real time. Now, a group of Washington House Democrats want to impose a wealth tax on Washington's billionaires.
Washington billionaires would pay a “wealth tax” under a proposal in the state House that will get a public hearing on Tuesday. The bill is sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Noel Frame, who chairs the House Finance Committee, and would impose a one percent tax on intangible financial property, such as stocks and bonds, futures contracts and publicly traded options. A Read More

‘This Is War’: Inside The Secret Chat Where Extremists Devised Their Plans After U.S. Capitol Attack

By NWPB News
Protesters gesture to U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber inside the Capitol on Wednesday. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
When the FBI arrested Edward “Jake” Lang on Jan. 16 for his alleged role in the U.S. Capitol attack, court documents show agents had followed a seemingly straightforward trail from his public social media to collect evidence. “THIS IS ME,” Lang wrote over one video. The chats also make clear that at least some of those involved in the Capitol insurrection, despite a Read More

Cattle Wars: Amid Lawsuit, Washington’s Easterday Ranches Sells Feed Property To Tyson Competitor

By Anna King
The Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Wallula, Washington, near Pasco. CREDIT: Anna King/N3
As the public media Northwest News Network reported Wednesday, Tyson recently filed a suit against Washington-based Easterday Ranches seeking to get a neutral third party to take over the business until accounts could be settled. It came after Easterday allegedly made up hundreds of thousands of cattle on paper and fictitiously fed them, costing Tyson more than $225 Read More

Undocumented Workers, Disproportionately Hit By Pandemic, May Get More Help In Washington

By NWPB News
Ramón Núñez is currently driving for food delivery services to make money after switching from driving for Uber in order to lessen his exposure to COVID-19. He is photographed in Issaquah on Jan. 27, 2021. He is one of about 60,000 undocumented immigrants to get funds from the state during the pandemic. CREDIT: Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut
If approved next month, the additional $70 million would make Washington state a nationwide leader in help offered to the undocumented community, which has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, Latino and Black people in particular. Last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an unprecedented $125 million in aid for undocumented workers. Washington state Read More
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