In the News

Crosscut: The high school students behind the bill to end WA's 'pink tax'

Crosscut: The high school students behind the bill to end WA's 'pink tax'

A group of Kirkland high school students say it’s time for Washington to join New York and California in making gender based pricing illegal. Gender-based pricing costs women approximately $2,300 per year on average. According to a New York Consumer Affairs study, hygiene and personal care products such as ...

Read More
Everett Herald Editorial: Slow roll on changes to state’s police pursuit law

Everett Herald Editorial: Slow roll on changes to state’s police pursuit law

For months before the start of the state legislative session, a oft-stated priority for law enforcement agencies and local public officials have been changes to a 2021 law — among a slate of policing reforms adopted that year — that limits when and how police can engage in pursuits of ...

Read More
Stranger: Cops Want to Endanger Innocent Lives by Making Car Chases Easier

Stranger: Cops Want to Endanger Innocent Lives by Making Car Chases Easier

If you watch TV news or consume any local social media about crime in Washington, chances are you’ve seen a video like this, where the cops blame a 2021 law restricting their authority to chase down suspects for a rise in crime. With the State Legislature in session, they’re now ...

Read More
CNN: Washington state bill would make period-tracking apps follow privacy laws in reflection of post-Roe fears

CNN: Washington state bill would make period-tracking apps follow privacy laws in reflection of post-Roe fears

A bill introduced by Democrats in Washington’s state legislature would prevent private health data that is collected by apps – particularly those that track menstrual cycles – from being shared without consumers’ consent.

Read More
KUOW: Period tracking apps would have to follow new WA health privacy laws if this bill passes

KUOW: Period tracking apps would have to follow new WA health privacy laws if this bill passes

Social media lit up with an ominous warning last year, after the Supreme Court rescinded the constitutional right to an abortion: Stop using period tracking apps. That’s because health information people provide to period tracking apps and other health sites are not protected by federal privacy laws like HIPAA.

Read More
King 5: Survivor, Washington lawmaker working together to reduce forced labor

King 5: Survivor, Washington lawmaker working together to reduce forced labor

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Born into poverty in southern India, Rani Hong was 7 years old when she was sold into slavery.
“They did not see me as a seven-year-old child. They saw me as a piece of property to be able to exploit,” said Hong ...

Read More
The Chronicle: Attorney General Bob Ferguson Partners With Lawmakers to Propose Legislation Targeting Native American Cold Cases

The Chronicle: Attorney General Bob Ferguson Partners With Lawmakers to Propose Legislation Targeting Native American Cold Cases

In a statement released on Friday, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced he has partnered state Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, and state Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Anacortes, to propose legislation creating a Cold Case Investigations Unit focused on solving cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people.

Read More
Crosscut: In 2023, WA lawmakers will decide the legal future of drug possession

Crosscut: In 2023, WA lawmakers will decide the legal future of drug possession

Should the legal system treat drug possession as a crime? How can society compel people with serious substance-use disorders to get treatment? And how do elected officials handle those questions? It’s been nearly two years since the state Supreme Court’s February 2021 ruling, known as the Blake decision, struck down Washington’s felony drug possession ...

Read More
Seattle Times: 3 lessons Washington can learn from how Arizona helps people in mental health crisis

Seattle Times: 3 lessons Washington can learn from how Arizona helps people in mental health crisis

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — Arizona is renowned for its red, desert terrain, the striking beauty of the Grand Canyon and — perhaps less well known — one of the best mental health crisis response systems in the country. For more than 20 years, the state has been building an integrated crisis ...

Read More
State of Reform: Q&A: Sen. Manka Dhingra discusses possible improvements to Washington State’s crisis response methods following Arizona visit

State of Reform: Q&A: Sen. Manka Dhingra discusses possible improvements to Washington State’s crisis response methods following Arizona visit

Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) represents Washington State’s 45th Legislative District. She’s a member of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee and has helped pass legislation to transform the state’s behavioral health system—reorienting it around prevention rather than crisis response—during her time in the Senate. Dhingra traveled to Arizona this month to learn ...

Read More
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15