In the News

April might receive a new designation in Washington: International Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month would ensure students receive Holocaust and genocide education to foster a rich historical understanding in public schools. “We know that ignorance of history leads to repetition of history,” said Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline.

Sen. Jesse Salomon, a 32nd District Democrat, has introduced legislation to protect salmon populations from a toxic chemical found in car tires. Senate Bill 5931 would expedite Department of Ecology review and regulation of the toxic chemical 6ppd-quinone. Ecology would determine initial regulatory actions by June 2025 and adopt rules to implement those regulations by June 2026.

Bipartisan Washington State lawmakers prefiled a Senate bill last week that would allow nonprofits to provide psilocybin services to clients 21 and older so long as the organizations “have an explicit goal of promoting wellness for and assisting military veterans or first responders.” Sponsored by Sens. Jesse Salomon (D) and Ann Rivers (R), SB 5977 appears to build on the state’s limited psychedelics pilot program signed into law last year, which is also aimed at serving veterans and first ...

With light rail scheduled to arrive in fall 2024, City of Mountlake Terrace officials invited state lawmakers to walk around the Town Center Wednesday and envision what might be possible for future transit-oriented development. City Manager Jeff Niten — accompanied by city staff and some councilmembers — led the tour, which included members of the 32nd District delegation that represents Mountlake Terrace: State Sen. Jesse Salomon and State Reps. Lauren Davis and Cindy Ryu.

OLYMPIA — A day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and Democratic lawmakers responded with a call to chisel abortion rights protection into Washington’s state’s constitution. A constitutional amendment would become the centerpiece of a suite of legislative proposals to solidify the right to choice in Washington, buffering the state’s long-established access to reproductive care from political and legal attacks.

In recent years, DNA testing has been used to crack cold cases. What if it was used to shed light on international elephant poaching and ivory trafficking? University of Washington researchers are leading an effort to combat these crimes and dismantle the smuggling network. Their work found that genetic testing on elephant ivory tusks can be used to identify tusks from the same individual or its relatives, across dozens of different ivory seizures. “These methods are showing us that a handful of ...

Permits issued to develop farmland could be withdrawn if a planned project would violate the state Growth Management Act (GMA), under legislation sponsored by 32nd District Sen. Jesse Salomon. The 32nd District includes portions of Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace. Senate Bill 5042 would protect communities from having to provide costly infrastructure for unplanned development by closing a loophole in permitting. “The way it works now, once a permit is vested a developer has a right to develop a proposed project even ...