In the News

Fires at waste and recycling facilities continued to be a problem in 2022, with at least 390 incidents reported by the media in the United States and Canada, according to data from Fire Rover, a fire suppression system company. During a recent webinar hosted by the National Waste & Recycling Association, Ryan Fogelman, a partner at Fire Rover, said that number ...

A Washington State House committee advanced legislation on Tuesday that would protect job applicants in the state from being discriminated against for using marijuana. The bill, which already passed the full Senate last month, would forbid most employers from rejecting applicants simply for testing positive for cannabis on pre-employment drug tests. Workers could still be fired for a positive marijuana test ...

WASHINGTON — A bill that stops many employers in Washington state from discriminating against job applicants for using cannabis outside of work has passed the Senate. If it passes the house and is signed into law, many employers in the state won’t be able to drug test job applicants for cannabis.

Batteries power all kinds of consumer goods, and their use is rapidly expanding. Seattle plans to ban gas-powered leaf blowers in favor of clean fuel devices. By 2035, all new cars sold in Washington will be electric.

Washington lawmakers are considering a brand-new type of cannabis market: resale of the plant waste. Cannabis growers must currently dispose of any spent stalks and stems, or flowers that didn't pass testing. By state law, it has to be disposed of as dangerous waste, due to the material's possibly intoxicating effects. But a bill in the Legislature would allow growers to sell ...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Fair Repair Act (HB 1392) passed through a House Committee in Olympia Wednesday, with a seven to six vote. The act would require consumer electronics companies to share the instructions and tools to fix their products with the public.

The Washington State 2023 legislative session began Jan. 9 and is scheduled to end April 23. State lawmakers have priorities for which bills they consider most essential, so we asked local legislators about their legislative priorities for the current session. Here are their responses:

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington residents are going to have a chance to speak out on whether they should have choices on how to repair their own electronics.

The issue is called “right to repair,” and some bills offering those rights will have public hearings this week.

EDMONDS—Business owner Shubert Ho fears that another stroke of bad luck for the Puget Sound region’s restaurant industry would be the knockout blow. The first devastating setback came last spring, when the economic shutdown forced his restaurant group to lay off 95% of the more than 200 employees who staff the company’s six Edmonds establishments, including Salt & Iron and Bar ...