In The News

By Sydney Brown / For The Chronicle

Early childhood care and education in the state would see sweeping reform through the expansion of affordable child health and learning services, if a bill in the state Legislature wins approval.

“This is a gamechanger for kids and families across our state,” said Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, the bill’s sponsor.

Senate Bill 5237 would fund ...

Senate Bill 5237, which would expand accessible, affordable childcare and early childhood development programs, had its first hearing in the House Committee on Children, Youth and Families on Thursday. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Claire Wilson (D – Federal Way), passed out of the Senate on March 6 with a vote of 28 in favor and 21 against the bill.

Specifically ...

Most days, the massive unfairness of the world cannot crush Ollie Reeves. Most days, the 76-year-old calls on her faith in God and family to help her raise her two grandchildren, Montrey, 14, and Destiny, 10, amid a pandemic. Most days, the retiree plunges into her savings, accumulated as a Boeing shuttle driver, to pay for food, clothes and medical bills. But occasionally, ...

A bipartisan bill cosponsored by two lawmakers from Clark County would require schools to provide their students with free menstrual products, following the example of states like California, Illinois, New Hampshire and New York. Senate Bill 5070 would mandate that all public, private, charter and tribal schools teaching students between sixth and 12th grade stock their bathrooms with free tampons or ...

OLYMPIA – Herra Bower started providing child care out of her home more than a decade ago, and she learned firsthand how difficult it was to be a provider. With a business model that many say doesn’t work, low subsidy rates make for high costs for staffing and little access to health care and other benefits. The burnout rate for employees leads ...

by Chase Burns

A long-ish list of progressive electeds (and some regular-ass Democrats!) have signed an open letter to Mayor Jenny Durkan and SPD Chief Carmen Best in response to the "emotional trauma and extraordinary racial aggression" that they argue has been recently "inflicted" on the community by the Seattle Police Department. "End the damage that SPD has caused by overreaction ...

In nearly seven hours of floor speeches in the House and Senate this session, a vocal minority argued vociferously against legislation to require comprehensive sexual health education in all public schools. Though the speakers claimed to address the curriculum, many of their comments were so outlandish that we feel obliged to set the record straight on this important new law.