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Oregon Sues Federal Agencies Over Protest Enforcement, Civil Rights Abuses As Clashes Continue

By NWPB News July 19, 2020

Federal officers deployed tear gas and fired less-lethal rounds into a crowd of protesters late Thursday, July 16, 2020. The actions came just hours after the head of the Department of Homeland Security called the protesters “violent anarchists.” CREDIT: Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP

The federal lawsuit names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protective Service, agencies that have had a role in stepped-up force used against protesters since early July. The state filed the lawsuit late Friday night.Read More

ICYMI: Benton & Franklin Counties Candidate Forum Night 2

By NWPB Vote 2020 July 18, 2020

ICYMI Benton and Franklin County candidate forum night 2

ICYMI: Stream night number two of NWPB's Benton and Franklin Counties candidate forum. Races include: 4th Congressional District, WA State Senate, 16th District and Superior Court Judge, Position 1. Read More

Federal Court Orders Trump Administration To Accept New DACA Applications

By NPR News July 18, 2020

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students celebrate on June 18 at the Supreme Court after the justices rejected President Trump's effort to end legal protections for young immigrants. CREDIT: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

As NPR reported earlier this week, the Trump administration has not been accepting new applicants even after the Supreme Court ruled last month that the administration didn't go about ending the program correctly. Read More

Democrat Chris Armitage Drops Out Of Washington’s 5th Congressional District Race

By NWPB News July 17, 2020

Washington Fifth District congressional candidate Chris Armitage drops out of the race, citing mental health concerns and an allegation related to a personal relationship. CREDIT: Chris Armitage campaign

Chris Armitage issued a statement Friday in which he said his mental health had declined during the last few months. “That trend continued until I reached a point where I knew that I could no longer be here for myself let alone our community.” He also said he recently learned about an allegation about a relationship he thought was consensual, but which the woman involved Read More

Breweries, Wineries In Tri-Cities And Yakima May Need To Close Under Clarified Reopening Guidance

By Courtney Flatt July 17, 2020

Old Schoolhouse Brewery owner Jacob Young serves food to his customers. He says when there's little smoke and fires are far away, he sees more patrons.CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT

Wineries and breweries in Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties must keep their doors closed for now, unless they serve food out of their own kitchens. That’s the updated guidance for the three counties, which are seeing some of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases in Washington. Read More

Unpublicized White House Report Has States Including Washington And Idaho In COVID ‘Red Zone’

By NWPB News July 17, 2020

Jess White, a registered nurse at UW Northwest, demonstrates to another nurse how to properly remove a mask on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at UW Medicine's drive-through testing clinic in Seattle. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW

A document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force but not publicized suggests more than a dozen states, including Idaho and Washington, should revert to more stringent protective measures, limiting social gatherings to 10 people or fewer, closing bars and gyms and asking residents to wear masks at all times.Read More

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets

By NWPB News July 16, 2020

In this July 8, 2020 photo, a worker washes graffiti off the sidewalk in front of the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in downtown Portland, as two agents with the U.S. Marshals Service emerge from the boarded-up main entrance to examine the damage. Protests and clashes with city, state, and, more recently, federal law enforcement have become a nightly occurrence in Oregon’s largest city. CREDIT: Gillian Flaccus/AP

Federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters since at least July 14. Personal accounts and multiple videos posted online show the officers driving up to people, detaining individuals with no explanation of why they are being arrested, and driving off.Read More

GOP Candidates For Washington Governor Visit Clark County For Public Forum Despite Health Orders

By NWPB News July 16, 2020

Washington gubernatorial candidate Anton Sakharov takes a selfie on July 9, 2020, at a forum held outside Camas.

Among the people gathered were Tim Eyman, Anton Sakharov, Loren Culp and Phil Fortunato, all seeking the Republican nomination for governor. Two local candidates for the state Senate, Rey Reynolds and John Ley, also attended. The Clark County Republican Women hosted the two-hour forum. President Liz Pike estimated 150 people attended. Read More

Jay Inslee Announces Restrictions On Social Gatherings For Some Counties As COVID-19 Cases Grow

By Scott Leadingham July 16, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced a 10-person limit on social gatherings in current Phase 3 counties during a July 16 press briefing. CREDIT: TVW

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says there is a concerning rise in the rate of coronavirus infections in the state. On Thursday he announced one measure to address it as counties wait in limbo for further reopening. Beginning Monday, July 20, social gatherings in current Phase 3 counties will be limited to 10 or fewer people.Read More

In Northwestern Washington, A Free-Flowing Middle Fork Nooksack River Is Just Months Away

By Bellamy Pailthorp July 16, 2020

A view of the dam on the Middle Fork Nooksack River on Monday, July 13, 2020. CREDIT: American Rivers

A dam removal that has been 20 years in the making reached an important milestone this week. Explosives ripped through the concrete on the Middle Fork Nooksack, east of Bellingham. Read More

Idaho Asks U.S. Supreme Court To Block Signature Gathering For Education Funding Ballot Initiative

By NWPB News July 15, 2020

In-person signature gathering efforts from Reclaim Idaho were put on ice during the coronavirus pandemic. CREDIT: Reclaim Idaho via Facebook

Idaho Gov. Brad Little wants the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Reclaim Idaho from gathering signatures online, as the group tries to get its education funding initiative on November’s ballot.Read More

A Dog Days Of Summer Primary And A Ton Of Candidates: Guide To Washington’s Statewide Races

By Austin Jenkins July 15, 2020

Washington's August 4 primary ballot is chock full of candidates even though traditional campaigning has, in many cases, been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. CREDIT: Washington Secretary of State's Office

Washington’s typically sleepy August primary will test the endurance of voters as they navigate a larger-than-usual crop of candidates. The robust turnout of would-be officeholders may be, at least partially, the result of the state making it easier to qualify for the ballot in light of the coronavirus pandemic.Read More

Coronavirus Sparks New Interest In Using Ultraviolet Light To Disinfect Indoor Air

By NPR News July 15, 2020

A quartz UV germicidal lamp is used to disinfect a train at the Sviblovo station of the Moscow Metro transit system. CREDIT: Sergei Karpukhin/Tass via Getty Images

Germicidal ultraviolet light technology has a proven track record against indoor transmission of tuberculosis and other airborne viruses. It's now being used in some restaurants and on subways. Read More

Official COVID-19 Fatalities May Undercount Pandemic’s Death Toll By Hundreds In Northwest

By Tom Banse July 15, 2020

Suburban Seattle resident Helen Molina died of COVID-19 in April, a few weeks after this picture was taken. Her passing is emblematic of the vulnerability of people with Alzheimers and dementia during the pandemic. Courtesy of Susan Weber

The carefully followed death toll from COVID-19 may not fully capture the loss of life during the pandemic. Analysis of state and federal statistics for deaths from all causes shows hundreds of additional deaths above normal levels this spring in the Pacific Northwest. Some or many of those may actually be missed COVID deaths.Read More

Washington Will Continue Pause On County Reopening, Could See Rollback As COVID-19 Cases Rise

By Austin Jenkins July 14, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday, July 14 that the state will pause further reopenings until at least July 28. CREDIT: TVW

This week Oregon and California took steps to slow or rollback their re-openings, and Washington could be next, Gov. Jay Inslee said. Dramatic growth in COVID cases over the past month has pushed the state over its previous peak in April.Read More

Coronavirus Cases Rise Sharply In Yakima County Jail

By NWPB News July 14, 2020

The Yakima County Jail is facing a rising COVID-19 case count as of July 2020. CREDIT: Google Maps

The first person in the Yakima County jail tested positive for coronavirus in May — an inmate who transferred to the Yakima County jail from the city jail in Sunnyside, 35 miles southeast of Yakima. On July 6, the jail reported that 83 inmates had caught the virus, and this number continues to grow.Read More

Conspiracy Theories Aside, Here’s What Contact Tracers Really Do To Help End The Pandemic

By NPR News July 14, 2020

Contact tracing for the coronavirus is the subject of colorful conspiracy theories. In fact, contact tracing is a straightforward process of notifying people if they've been exposed to someone who is sick. CREDIT: Hannah Norman/KHN

Misinformation and conspiracy theories abound, from tales that people who talk to contact tracers will be sent to nonexistent "FEMA camps" — a rumor so prevalent that health officials in Washington state had to put out a statement in May debunking it — to elaborate theories that the efforts are somehow part of a plot by global elites.Read More

How Absentee Landowners Keep Farmers From Protecting Water And Soil

By NPR News July 14, 2020

Prairie strips in fields of corn or soybeans can protect the soil and allow wildlife to flourish. This strip was established in a field near Traer, Iowa, in 2015. Omar de Kok-Mercado, Iowa State University

Cover crops are a vegetation that farmers can plant in the off-season to protect and enrich the soil. It's great for the environment — and in the long run, for crops, too — but it costs money upfront. Farmers who rent land, and who may not have access to that land in the long run, are reluctant to spend that money.Read More

3 Things The U.S. Can Do Right Now To Slow Coronavirus Spread

By PBS Newshour July 13, 2020

The Care19 mobile app, which the governors of North Dakota and South Dakota have asked residents to download to assist in contact tracing during the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen on a phone in April 24, 2020. CREDIT: Paresh Dave/Reuters

Seven months since cases of the coronavirus were first reported, some countries have effectively combatted the virus and brought the spread under control. The United States is not one of them. But experts say it’s not too late.Read More

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Suit Alleges Latinx Voters Disenfranchised By Yakima County Election System

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa July 13, 2020

Dulce Gutierrez, right, Assistant Mayor of Yakima, speaks Jan. 5, 2018, during a news conference at the Capitol in Olympia about the need to address voter access in the state.

Yakima County is being sued over how it runs elections. In a lawsuit filed Monday, plaintiffs argue the current at-large voting system dilutes Latinx votes. That would violate the Washington State Voting Rights Act. A 2012 lawsuit against the city of Yakima claimed a similar disenfranchising voting system. Federal courts agreed in that case.Read More

Forest Service Considers Rule Change That Prevented Logging Of Some Northwest Old-Growth Trees

By Courtney Flatt July 13, 2020

OSU scientists detect a tagged hermit warbler in the canopy of an old growth grove in the Oregon Cascades. Learning how the small song birds travel over the course of a day could provide insight into why bird populations are doing well in old growth forests while declining in other warming landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. CREDIT: GREG DAVIS

The land management plans, known as the “Eastside Screens,” came about in 1995 to protect old growth trees east of the Cascades. The rules were meant to be temporary. The Forest Service wants to amend a section of the policy called the “21-inch rule,” which prohibits harvesting trees that are greater than 21-inches in diameter.Read More

Coronavirus FAQ: How Do I Protect Myself If The Coronavirus Can Linger In The Air?

By NPR News July 11, 2020

For background, aerosols are tiny microdroplets containing the virus that can be expelled when we talk or breathe and can stay aloft and travel on air currents. It's still unclear how much of a role they play in spreading the virus, but recently more than 200 scientists wrote an open letter asking the World Health Organization to pay more attention to them.Read More

Washington Supreme Court Reverses Itself In Century-Old Case, Affirms Yakama Nation Treaty Rights

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa July 10, 2020

File photo. The reservation of the Yakama Nation in south-central Washington covers over 2,000 square miles, with areas patrolled by tribal, city and county law enforcement.

The Washington State Supreme Court reversed a century-old ruling Friday against a Yakama Nation tribal member for fishing outside the reservation. The 1916 ruling mandated criminal charges against Alec Towessnute for fishing outside the Yakama reservation on traditional fishing grounds – a right assured by the Yakama’s Treaty of 1855 with the federal government. Read More

Take Your Horse (And Bike) To The Old Moscow-Pullman Town Road To See The Changes

By Nicholas Deshais July 10, 2020

Pullman's downtown one-way traffic was previously three lanes. A recent test added angle parking and a protected bike lane to study traffic flow and pedestrian use. CREDIT: WSDOT

The coronavirus pandemic has brought many changes to how our lives are lived, from working at home to the now-ubiquitous masks. Now roads are changing, too.Read More

Idaho Group Wins Permission To Collect Online Signatures For School Funding Initiative

By Doug Nadvornick July 10, 2020

The Moscow School District decided earlier in March to close schools after its spring break, after Idaho Gov. Brad Little declined a statewide closure. CREDIT: Architect21c at the English Wikipedia / GFDL gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html

Reclaim Idaho hopes to put its initiative on the November ballot. It would require the state to raise state income taxes for corporations and people who make more than $250,000 a year. The money would be routed to public schools.Read More

ICYMI: Benton & Franklin Counties Candidate Forum Night 1

By NWPB Vote 2020 July 10, 2020

in case you missed the BF counties candidate forum

Full Episode Benton County Commissioner, District 1 Benton County Commissioner, District 3 Franklin County Commissioner, District 1 Franklin County Commissioner, District 2 Franklin County PUD CommissionerRead More

‘Hogwash’: Jay Inslee Responds To President Trump On Pressure To Reopen Schools For Fall Term

By Austin Jenkins July 9, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks at a news conference at Columbia Basin College in Pasco June 30, 2020. Hecklers yelling at him, some with signs and flags for Trump 2020 and Republican gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp, caused the event to be moved inside. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is responding to President Donald Trump’s threat to penalize states that don’t reopen schools this fall. At a news conference Thursday, Inslee pushed back hard on the president and said the state won’t be bullied.Read More

State Education Board Joins Governor Brad Little In Pushing For Idaho Schools To Reopen

By NWPB News July 9, 2020

Gov. Brad Little adjusts his mask during a July 9 press conference at the Statehouse.

With the first day of school less than six weeks away, the Idaho State Board of Education on Thursday unanimously adopted school reopening guidelines that set expectations for students to return to school in the fall.Read More

Elevated Voices: Listening To Calls For Racial Justice In The Mountain West

By NWPB News July 9, 2020

Black Lives Matter outside Colorado Statehouse. CREDIT: Mountain West News Bureau

With protesters taking to the streets nationwide to demand justice for George Floyd and confront police brutality and systemic racism, Mountain West News Bureau reporters are gathering perspectives of people of color from around the Mountain West region.Read More

Effective Anti-Racist Education Requires More Diverse Teachers, More Training

By NPR News July 9, 2020

Black Students Matter demonstrators march en route to a rally at the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on June 19. CREDIT: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Travis Bristol, an assistant professor of education at the University of California at Berkeley, explains how teacher training and the presence of Black teachers can help reshape education.Read More

How A Coronavirus Vaccine Will Get To Market

By PBS Newshour July 8, 2020

A doctor at Novavax labs in Gaithersburg, Maryland on March 20, 2020, works on developing a vaccine for the coronavirus. CREDIT: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP

There are lots of different ways to formulate a vaccine, and all of them are now being considered for coronavirus. Some vaccines use common methods to confer immunity, while others are entirely experimental — they’ve never before been approved for use.Read More

Saddle Mountain Fire Is Test For COVID Plans, And In A Sensitive Wildlife Area

By Courtney Flatt July 8, 2020

The Saddle Mountain Fire began the afternoon of July 6, 2020, burning in a sensitive area of central Washington at a wildlife refuge, part of the Hanford Reach National Monument. Courtesy of SE WA Interagency Incident Management Team

Firefighters are wrapping up after three days at this season’s first big wildfire in eastern Washington. As crews began heading home, the Saddle Mountain Fire had burned about 10,000 as of Wednesday, July 8, in steep terrain on part of the Saddle Mountain Wildlife Refuge.Read More

Four Tribes In Talks To Introduce Legal Sports Betting To Washington In Their Casinos

By Tom Banse July 8, 2020

The Kalispel Tribe's Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights could be among the first places in Washington state to offer legal sports betting. CREDIT: Northern Quest/Kalispel Tribe

Four Washington state tribes have opened negotiations with the state government to introduce sports betting. Earlier this year, the legislature authorized wagering on sports, but only at tribal casinos -- unlike the broader legalization in Oregon.Read More

Republic Police Chief, Candidate For Governor Responds To Suit Over Handling Of Abuse Investigation

By Nicholas Deshais July 7, 2020

Republic, Washington police chief Loren Culp is running for governor. But before that, he made headlines and national media appearances in 2018 for his stance against stricter gun safety measures passed by state voters.

A lawsuit filed in 2017 claims that Loren Culp and two other law enforcement officers didn’t properly investigate the claims of a 17-year-old girl, who said she’d been molested by a relative since she was five.Read More

Where To Get Masks And Testing In Yakima County As Coronavirus Cases Near 8K

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa July 7, 2020

A COVID-19 test kit. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has instructed state health officials to test all nursing home staff and residents in the coming weeks, according to a state doctor.

The county’s emergency management office has handed out more than 3 million pieces of protective equipment since March. That includes 770,000 masks to businesses, municipalities, and food banks and an additional 220,000 masks distributed to low-income residents. Read More

Interior Secretary: Grizzlies Will Not Be Brought Back To Washington’s North Cascades

By Courtney Flatt July 7, 2020

A grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. (Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Conservation groups have said they are “weighing options” about what to do next. Ranching and cattle groups applauded the decision, saying more predators present challenges for their members.Read More

Aerosols, Droplets, Fomites: What We Know About Transmission Of COVID-19

By NPR News July 7, 2020

A sneeze can carry the coronavirus pathogen in droplets and in aerosols — and they could land on a surface, making it a fomite. CREDIT: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

An open letter signed by 239 researchers addressed to the World Health Organization, published Monday in Clinical Infectious Diseases, calls for attention and guidance around a third route of transmission: tiny respiratory particles that float in the air and are called aerosols. They could be responsible for infecting someone who comes along and breathes them in.Read More

‘He Played With People’s Minds’: Former Yakima Priest Moves To California, Bringing Abuse Allegations

By NWPB News July 6, 2020

After being removed from the Catholic and Anglican churches, Father Antonio Castañeda preaches at his new church, Iglesia del Espíritu Santo, or Holy Spirit Church. Castañeda has been charged with 22 counts of battery, sexual battery, attempted sexual battery and attempt to prevent a witness/victim from prosecuting.

An investigation by KQED shows that Jesús Antonio Castañeda Serna, a former Catholic priest in the Diocese of Yakima, had been accused before and has moved from the Catholic Church to the Anglican Church and then to another religious group without undergoing complete background checks — or any at all.Read More

Up To Eight Thought Dead, Three Bodies Recovered, In Lake Coeur d’Alene Plane Collision

By Doug Nadvornick July 6, 2020

Boaters flag down authorities to a crashed seaplane near Powderhorn Bay on Lake Coeur d'Alene on Sunday, July 5, 2020. One downed plane can be seen in the right side of the image. CREDIT: Stephanie Hammett/The Spokesman-Review via AP

Lieutenant Ryan Higgins from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office told reporters today that three bodies out of eight are now recovered. He says crews have discovered the locations of two others on the bottom of the lake. Three others are believed to be down there too.Read More

Supreme Court Upholds Laws Punishing ‘Faithless Electors’ In Case Involving Washington Voter

By NPR News July 6, 2020

The federal Supreme Court will decide whether Electoral College delegates are required to support the presidential candidate who wins their state.

Monday's decision brought a sigh of relief from election experts, who worried that if Electoral College delegates were free to vote as they chose, the 2020 election would have turned into a free-for-all, with no rules to prevent corruption and manipulation, with delegates offered gifts and even cash for their votes, and blackmail also a possibility.Read More

New Laws Restricting Transgender Rights Take Effect In Idaho

By NWPB News July 6, 2020

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

Two new laws went into effect in Idaho recently that target transgender residents. The enactment comes on the heels of a major U.S. Supreme Court decision in June, which greatly expanded LGBTQ rights.Read More

1 Protester Killed, 1 Seriously Injured On Seattle Freeway By Hit-And-Run Driver

By NWPB News July 5, 2020

Summer Taylor, 24, died after being struck by a car on I-5 in Seattle early Saturday, July 4, 2020 driven by a suspect who was later arrested. Courtesy of Becky Gilliam/GoFundMe

Summer Taylor, 24, spent the last six weeks “tirelessly standing up for others while working full time and supporting everyone around them,” wrote Urban Animal on Instagram, the veterinarian clinic where Taylor worked in Portland, Oregon.Read More

On The Brink: Rural Hospitals Brace Staff And Finances For Potential New COVID-19 Surge

By NPR News July 5, 2020

A hallway leads to a makeshift isolation ward for COVID-19 patients at Syringa Hospital in Grangeville, Idaho. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

Rural "critical access" hospitals, often some of the largest employers in small towns, have been operating on razor-thin margins throughout the coronavirus pandemic.Read More

WATCH: Frederick Douglass’ Descendants Deliver His ‘Fourth Of July’ Speech

By NPR News July 4, 2020

Descendants of Frederick Douglass give his July 4 speech

In this short film, five young descendants of Frederick Douglass read and respond to excerpts of his famous speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" which asks all of us to consider America's long history of denying equal rights to Black Americans.Read More

A Presidential Year Without A Statewide Ballot Initiative: A First Since 1928 In Washington

By Austin Jenkins July 3, 2020

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 review of Washington’s initiative history reveals that not since 1928 has the November ballot been bereft of an initiative to the people in a year when voters were electing a president. Read More

Planning To Celebrate The 4th? What To Know About The Risks Of Parties And Bars

By NPR News July 3, 2020

With new coronavirus infections climbing in most states, infectious disease experts are discouraging group get-togethers, especially those that involve drinking. In this photo patrons enjoy a beer outside the Central Market in Los Angeles, this week. CREDIT: Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Alcohol makes people lose inhibitions. And maybe take off their masks, and get up close and personal. Here's why you may want to reconsider going out this weekend. Or how to stay safe if you do. Read More

Yakima, Tri-Cities Eye Modified Phase 1, But ‘We Have To Remain Vigilant’ With Mask Use, Officials Say

By NWPB News July 2, 2020

Farmworkers in Yakima’s fruit-packing industry walked off production lines in May and went on strike, demanding more protections against the coronavirus pandemic. Above, Emmanuel Anguiano-Mendoza (left) and Agustin López hold posters featuring David Cruz, a worker who died on May 30. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

County officials in eastern Washington rushed applications to the state Thursday evening to reopen their economies. It came the same day Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state would approve their plans to reopen and put others on pause for two weeks. Read More

Washington Governor Puts 2-Week Pause On Further County Reopening, Strengthens Mask Order

By Tom Banse July 2, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced a two week pause in further reopening via video conference on July 2, 2020. CREDIT: Washington Governor's Office

Washington Governor Jay Inslee and the state Health Secretary are hitting the pause button on the county-by-county reopening process in response to the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Inslee announced that for at least the next two weeks all counties in Washington state will stay in whatever reopening phase they are currently in -- with a couple of exceptions.Read More

‘The Disease Does Not Give A Damn’: Moscow, Idaho Mayor Looks Beyond Politics To Require Masks

By Nicholas Deshais July 2, 2020

Idaho Gov. Brad Little is encouraging, though not requiring, Idaho residents wear facial coverings and masks in public settings with the hashtag campaign #MaskUpIdaho CREDIT: Idaho Governor's Office/Twitter

“Well, none of us like to wear masks. I don’t particularly like to wear a mask,” Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert says. “But I have for the past two months, and I will in the future because I think it’s an easy thing for us to do.” Read More

A User’s Guide To Masks: What’s Best At Protecting Others (And Yourself)

By NPR News July 2, 2020

Left to right: a neck gaiter (aka a buff) that slips over the head; a KN95 respirator, a version of the N95 respirator used in U.S. hospitals; a pleated surgical mask (below the KN95); a cloth mask. Photo illustration by Max Posner/NPR

They're made of cotton. Or polyester. Or paper. Or polypropylene. Here's what researchers say about the effectiveness of the different types of face masks during this pandemic.Read More