On April 2, the governor signed into law a bill that will establish the Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention under the Department of Commerce, tasked with collecting and sharing gun violence data in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and researchers to promote strategies to reduce gun violence in Washington.
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From The Stranger On Saturday Republican leadership in the statehouse—particularly Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler— blocked the extension of an emergency proclamation regarding protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The proclamation, set to expire May 11, allows victims to file no-contact orders online. It also allows law enforcement to serve those orders electronically or telephonically, and to remove any ...
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From The Daily UW
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with Washington state’s unemployment claims rivaling the number seen in the 2008/2009 recession, every cent counts at the grocery store. Now, about half of the state population can rest a bit easier when it comes to their next round of errands.
We’re talking about menstrual products — tampons, pads, cups, and ...
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From the Seattle Times and Tacoma News Tribune A controversial bill to require Washington’s 295 school districts to teach comprehensive sexual health education in grades K-12 is on its way to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature. By a 27-21 vote on Saturday, the state Senate agreed with House amendments to SB 5395. The roll call followed a moving floor speech ...
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From Q13 Fox A measure that makes K-12 sex education mandatory in Washington public schools is headed to the governor's desk for his signature. The proposal, requested by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, would require all public schools in Washington state to teach age-appropriate comprehensive sex ed. to 6th-12th graders starting in the 2021-2022 school year, then expand ...
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From The Seattle Times In recent years, Washington, like many other states, has been overwhelmed with a backlog of untested rape kits. The state has invested millions of dollars to reduce the number of untested kits — which reached nearly 10,000 in 2015 — and hopes to eliminate the backlog by December 2021. But even as the number shrinks, lawmakers are realizing ...
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From the Kent Reporter The Washington State Senate last Friday honored Washington’s Sikh community with a resolution sponsored by Sen. Mona Das, D-Kent, and co-sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond. Joined by Gov. Jay Inslee and Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib, more than 50 Sikh community members were present at the State Capitol in Olympia for an official reading of the ...
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