Washington state Archives

Chinook Tribe Still Fighting Government Erasure

January 6, 2020January 7, 2020 KARINA BROWN

Native Americans, tribal issues, Washington state

Bronze-cast carvings depicting the heroes of Chinook Indian mythology will soon greet visitors entering Seattle’s Burke Museum, their exploits having been passed through oral history for millennia. But the federal government claims the tellers of those stories – people who ran the major trade hub where the mouth of the Columbia River spills into the Pacific Ocean and who received Lewis & Clark at the end of their journey – do not qualify for federal recognition as a legitimate Indian nation.

Appeals Law

Turn Signals

December 27, 2019December 30, 2019 BRIEF

automotive, dbrief3, DUI, Washington state

The phrase “when required” in a state law compels drivers to use turn signals every time they turn or change lanes, the Washington Supreme Court ruled. A defendant in a DUI case challenged his traffic stop but he violated the law because he did not “signal continuously” as he turned left through an intersection.

Appeals Government Law

Public Records

December 20, 2019December 23, 2019 BRIEF

dbrief1, public records, Washington state

Offices of individual legislators are “agencies” under Washington’s Public Records Act and subject to its general disclosure mandate, the state’s Supreme Court ruled. However, the state’s Senate, House of Representatives and Legislature are not “agencies” and are subject to a narrower disclosure mandate.

Government

Ethics Panel Rebukes Rep. McMorris Rodgers for Misused Funds

December 20, 2019December 20, 2019 ASSOCIATED PRESS

campaign finance, ethics, Pol4, politician, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Treasury Department, Washington state

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.

Criminal Government Law

Investigation Finds Washington State Rep. Involved in Domestic Terrorism

December 19, 2019December 20, 2019 JON PARTON

politician, Terrorism, Washington state, wildlife refuges

A Washington state representative has been asked to step down after the release of an investigation that found he engaged in domestic terrorism against the U.S., including the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016.

Appeals Government Media

Washington High Court Rules Legislators Subject to Open Records Law

December 19, 2019December 19, 2019 KARINA BROWN

public records, Washington state

Washington state lawmakers must share their personal correspondence, drafts of bills and schedules under the state’s Public Records Act, the Evergreen State’s high court justices ruled Thursday.

Civil Rights Courts Government Law

Courthouse Arrests

December 18, 2019December 19, 2019 BRIEF

arrests, Brief3, courthouse, immigration, Washington state

Washington state sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court for its “unlawful, unconstitutional, and deeply harmful policy of co-opting Washington state courts to carry out federal civil immigration arrests.”

Environment National Religion

After 20 Years, Washington Tribe Hopes to Hunt Whales Again

November 15, 2019 ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hunting, Native Americans, Washington state, whales

For decades, the only American Indians with a treaty right to hunt whales have been awaiting government permission to hunt again as their people historically did. The next step is a weeklong administrative hearing that began Thursday in Seattle.

Government

Immigration Detention

November 14, 2019November 15, 2019 BRIEF

construction, dbrief4, immigration detention, ordinance, Washington state

A federal court in Washington ruled that a Tacoma, Washington, city ordinance preventing an immigration detention facility from expanding or modifying its facilities does not conflict with the company’s federal contract.

Environment Government National

Trump Administration Won’t List Spotted Owl as Endangered

November 7, 2019November 8, 2019 MATTHEW RENDA

birds, California, endangered species, Env3, Oregon, timber, Trump administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington state

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday it will not list the California spotted owl as an endangered species.

Environment Government

Grizzly Bear Reintroduction Plans Eyed for Northern Cascades

October 24, 2019October 25, 2019 KARINA BROWN

bears, forests, Interior Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington state, wildlife

Grizzly bears could soon roam the North Cascade mountains in Washington state and revitalize the alpine forest, but not everyone welcomes the prospect of the keystone predator’s return.

Environment Government

Conservationists Target Feds’ Slaughter of Washington State Wildlife

October 22, 2019October 23, 2019 KARINA BROWN

Center for Biological Diversity, Env3, Washington state, wildlife

The federal government agency Wildlife Services needlessly slaughters bears, bobcats, wolves, coyotes and other animals in a “mass extermination program,” according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Business Government Health Regional

Flavored Vape Ban

October 21, 2019October 22, 2019 BRIEF

Brief5, regulation, Vaping, Washington state

An e-cigarette trade group and smoke shop joined forces to sue Washington state Monday over a recently enacted temporary ban on flavored vaping they say is “threatening to destroy an entire industry and the livelihoods of Washington citizens.”

Government Media Religion

Washington State Lawmaker Espouses Hatred of Muslims in Video

October 11, 2019October 11, 2019 KARINA BROWN

Christianity, politician, soviet, Washington state

Washington state Rep. Matt Shea said in a video posted Thursday that the media’s exposure of his extremist ideas such as Christian dominion — which calls for Christians to control society by taking over political and cultural institutions — is a “Soviet tactic” to persecute him.

Civil Rights Employment Law

Bad Behavior

October 10, 2019October 11, 2019 BRIEF

Brief7, discrimination, prosecutors, Sexual harassment, Washington state

A former deputy prosecuting attorney sued Snohomish County, Washington, claiming her former boss, Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe, harassed and discriminated, calling women “bitches” and “cunts,” calling men “faggots” and “homos,” and other vile behavior in the office, in King County Court.

Civil Rights Courts Criminal Government Law

Washington State Lawsuit Against Private Prison Allowed to Move Forward

October 9, 2019October 10, 2019 JUNE WILLIAMS

prisons, wages, Washington state

Washington state can continue to pursue claims against a for-profit prison and detention facility operator for failing to pay federal immigration detainees minimum wage, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, reversing his previous decision to dismiss the case.

Environment Health Science

Monster Alaska Quake of 1964 the Likely Culprit Behind Fungal Disease

October 1, 2019October 2, 2019 JON PARTON

Alaska, British Columbia, diseases, Earthquake, Research, Washington state

Scientists who have taken on the role of detectives to determine the origin of a deadly fungal disease affecting people and wildlife in the Pacific Northwest announced Tuesday they may have finally found the answer.

Government Health Regional

Emergency Ban on Vaping Products Ordered in Washington State

September 27, 2019September 30, 2019 JUNE WILLIAMS

diseases, Sci1, Tobacco, Vaping, Washington state

Washington state enacted an emergency ban on all flavored vaping products Friday over concerns about an outbreak of lung illnesses throughout the country linked to the products.

Criminal Law

Justices Will Examine Teenage Murderers’ Sentences

September 23, 2019September 23, 2019 ASSOCIATED PRESS

cruel and unusual punishment, sentencing, teens, Terrorism, U.S. Supreme Court, Washington state

Lee Boyd Malvo, who terrorized the Washington region in 2002 as one-half of a sniper team, is at the center of a case the Supreme Court will hear this fall. But the justices’ eventual ruling probably will mean less for him than for a dozen other inmates who, like the now-34-year-old Malvo, were sentenced to life without parole for murders they committed as teens.

Appeals Business Employment

Show Us the Money

September 3, 2019September 4, 2019 BRIEF

Brief6, immigration detention, Labor, Ninth Circuit, public access, Washington state

A Ninth Circuit panel denied for-profit immigration prison operator Geo Group’s request for relief from a federal judge’s order compelling production of its financial records in a labor dispute with Washington state, given the state’s promise to keep sensitive information from becoming public.

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