Potential human cases of bird flu found in Franklin County
Health officials are waiting for confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control about four people who, it is believed, tested positive for avian influenza.
If those tests are confirmed, they would be the first people in Washington state to be infected with bird flu.
Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah said over the weekend the four had been exposed to infected chickens at a commercial egg farm in Franklin County.
"The good news is that the symptoms have not required hospitalization so that is good news thus far and we want to keep it that," he said. "And that is why we are going everything we can to support our colleagues on the ground."
Shah says so far there is no sign of any human-to-human spread of the disease.
Health officials continue to test workers at the farm, where about 800,000 birds had to be euthanized because of the virus.
Bird flu has been detected in humans in four other states. Although it is deadly to birds, the CDC considers the risk to people to be low.
If these infections are confirmed, Washington will be the sixth state to identify a human infection of H5N1. The virus has caused ongoing multistate outbreaks in poultry, dairy cattle, and wildlife.
Navy identifies missing aviators, declares them deceased
This story was updated at 11:40 a.m.
The U.S. Navy has named the two aviators who went missing and are now declared deceased.
Lieutenant Commander Lyndsay Evans and Lieutenant Serena Wileman were from California. They were in the Growler jet that went down during a routine training mission east of Mount Rainier last Tuesday.
Yesterday, the Navy declared the pilots dead and notified their families, but military officials have not confirmed whether their bodies have been found.
The wreckage of the jet was located in rugged terrain about thirty miles west of Yakima a day after the crash.
Efforts have shifted from search and rescue to recovery operations.
According to the Navy, the crashed jet came from its Whidbey Island station.
WA to choose new leader of OIC
For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, Washington’s insurance commissioner position is open. The longtime Democratic incumbent, Mike Kreidler, is retiring.
The two candidates who hope to be the state’s next top insurance regulator are veteran state lawmakers, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Democrat Patty Kuderer and Republican Phil Fortunato disagree on the role of the insurance commissioner’s office and specific policies.
One fault line is who should furnish health coverage. In a conversation with the TVW program Inside Olympia, Kuderer said she supports a single-payer system over employer-provided coverage.
"If you look at what happened during COVID," Kuderer said. "And the thousands — millions — of people who lost their coverage because they were suddenly without a job. That is not acceptable."
Fortunato claimed a single-payer model would ultimately be more expensive and create delays when seeking care.
"I can’t wait to have the DMV run my health care. That’s what you’re talking about when you’re talking about government health care," he said. "And I jokingly say, if Washington went to a single payer system, where would the Canadians go for health care?"
There was at least one point of concord: Kuderer and Fortunato say the Insurance Commissioner has an important role to play in consumer protection, and advocacy for consumers in disputes with insurance companies.
Spending accelerates in ID's battle over primaries
With just two weeks until Election Day, it’s officially political ad season. And for Proposition 1 in Idaho, spending has blown up in the past month.
Idahoans for Open Primaries sponsors Prop 1, which would get rid of partisan primaries and introduce ranked choice voting. It has spent more than $350,000 on ads, including one featuring former Republican state lawmaker Marv Hagedorn.
"Proposition 1 respects veterans like me by opening Idaho’s primaries ensuring every Idaho taxpayer has the right to vote," Hagedorn said.
Current House Speaker Mike Moyle is one of the primary opponents of the initiative. His PAC, Idaho Rising, has spent $240,000 on ads so far — and he’s starred in at least one himself.
"This is not good for Idaho. This is not an Idaho issue," he said in the ad. "It’s one being forced upon you and if it does pass, it will not help Idaho. It will make Idaho worse."
A handful of other groups, including one backed by Idaho’s richest man, Frank Vandersloot, have also spent tens of thousands of dollars opposing Prop 1.
As of Thursday, Idahoans for Open Primaries has raised more than $3 million, according to state records — two-thirds of it from out of state.
I-2117 is all about carbon auctions, but how do they work?
Initiative 2117 on the upcoming ballot would outlaw carbon auctions in Washington State.
These auctions are a key tool in the state’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint 95% by 2050.
So what is a carbon auction?
Four times a year, the state’s biggest polluters bid on carbon allowances, in a state-run auction. Each allowance lets them put a limited amount of carbon into the atmosphere.
Joel Creswell with the Department of Ecology, which runs the auction, says every year the number of allowances goes down.
Eventually, many companies will decide: Polluting is too expensive.
"That's the point at which a company will decide 'I'm going to buy an allowance or I'm going to invest in reductions, whichever is cheaper for me'," Creswell told KUOW public radio.
Critics of the program say this is forcing companies, including oil companies, to reduce their carbon emissions too quickly.
The critics also say this drives up the cost of gasoline. They’re hoping Initiative 2117 will eliminate carbon auctions forever.
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Reporting contributed by Deb Wang, Owen Henderson, Brandon Hollingsworth, James Dawson and Joshua McNichols.