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

Washington Governor Unveils New Business Reopening Plan, Moving To More Regional Approach

By NWPB News
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 a new regional approach to economic reopening, getting away from the previous four-phase county-by-county approach from 2020. CREDIT: TVW
On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a phased reopening plan for restaurants and gyms, that is not set entirely by a county-by-county approach, as before. In Phase 2, restaurants and gyms can resume indoor dining/activities at 25% capacity. But in order to qualify to move there, four metrics will have to be trending downward including a 10% reduction in COVID case rates, Read More

Across The Northwest, Teachers, Grocery Workers, Older Adults May Be Next For COVID Vaccine

By Tom Banse
The first shipment of COVID vaccines arriving at the UW Medical Center in Seattle on December 14, 2020. CREDIT: Pool/Courtesy UW Medicine
Western state governors and state health officials are now reviewing a finalized recommendation from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for how to prioritize future vaccination phases. The initial deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines to Oregon, Washington state and Idaho are spoken for — at least well into next month. High-risk health care workers, Read More

Episode 4 – Voter Turnout Higher?

By Matt Loveless
episode 4 of podcast
As the final few ballots are counted following this month’s primary, it has become clear that this election was of major interest to voters in Washington. State primaries typically sees about 35% of registered voters cast their ballots. In 2020, that number has not topped 54%, the biggest number since the 1964 presidential primary. With more than 2.5M ballots counted, “How Read More

$165,000 A Week For COVID Analysis? That’s How Much Washington State Has Paid A Consulting Firm

By Austin Jenkins
McKinsey company logo - stock - courtesy of McKinsey & Company
The June agreement is one of three, six-figure-a-week, no-bid contracts the state of Washington has entered into with McKinsey – one of the largest consulting firms in the world -- in the midst of the pandemic, according to a review by the public media Northwest News Network and The Seattle Times. The nature and price of the contracts has raised questions about whether Read More

Episode 3 – What Is A Top-Two Primary?

By Matt Loveless
Listen to episode 3 of How We Ended Up Here
On or by August 4, Washington voters will cast their votes in the 2020 primary - one of three states to hold a “top-two” primary. What is that? In 2004, Initiative 872 approved a change to Washington’s primary voting system, selecting the two candidates for each position who have the most votes to go against each other in the November general election, regardless of party Read More
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