Opponents of natural gas initiative plan to sue
This month, Washington voters approved an initiative that sought to block state and local governments from discouraging natural gas use in homes and buildings. The measure, called Initiative 2066, passed by a small margin. But opponents plan to test its legality in court.
The anti-2066 campaign said the initiative is unconstitutional and unfair to voters because it violates a rule in the Washington constitution that a ballot measure must pertain to a single subject.
Leah Missik, a policy director with the group Climate Solutions, was on the executive committee for the no campaign.
“Previous initiatives have been struck down by the courts because they have, for example, combined a very specific, immediate action with a very broad and general future requirement. And you see that in this initiative very clearly,” Missik told KNKX public radio.
The measure, Missik said, specifically requires certain utilities and local governments to provide natural gas, while also repealing and amending a broad assortment of regulations on emissions and clean energy.
I-2066’s backers said they carefully crafted the measure to survive legal challenges and that it does cover only a single subject: consumer energy choice.
Opponents plan to file suit in state court in early December, after election results are certified.
Brown, Billig named to Ferguson’s gubernatorial transition team
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said Thursday she was honored to be part of Democratic Governor-elect Bob Ferguson’s transition team.
Brown is among 53 civic, tribal, union and policy leaders that will aid Ferguson as he takes the governor’s office in January. They will work with Ferguson on policy priorities and ways for state government to better help Washingtonians, Ferguson’s office said.
The transition team also include recently-retired former state Sen. Andy Billig and one of Ferguson’s rivals in the gubernatorial primary, moderate Democrat Mark Mullet.
The transition team is set to hold its first meeting a week from today.
WA economic climate slides down in overall rankings
The overall condition of Washington’s economic climate has dropped from seventh in the nation to eleventh.
That’s according to a report this week from the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The report is a snapshot of Washington’s economic performance and ranking both compared to other states and to its own history.
The ranking is based on four major categories: Innovation Drivers, Business Performance, Economic Growth and Competitiveness, and Quality of Life. In two of those — Innovation Drivers and Business Performance — the state’s ranking declined. But the scores improved from last year in Quality of Life and Economic Growth and Competitiveness.
The state’s ranking has declined overall since peaks at number one in 2018 and 2008.
This is the first time Washington has dropped out of the top ten in the last twenty years.
Boeing layoffs begin
Boeing workers are learning this week whether they are out of a job.
The company says it plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce, about 17,000 workers.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the layoffs are meant to reset the workforce to the company's financial realities.
Washington’s chief labor economist, Anneliese Vance-Sherman, is watching for the ripple effects of the layoffs.
“We know that there are other aerospace manufacturers that connect with Boeing. And we know that there are other machine shops across Washington State that connect with Boeing,” she told KUOW public radio. “We also know that there are going to be some industries that we don't think about, you know, offices of lawyers, for example, that focus on manufacturing.”
The layoffs come as Boeing machinists return to work after a nearly eight-week long strike that dealt a blow to Boeing’s operations and bottom line.
Boeing said that most laid off employees will leave the company January 17th.
ADHD symptoms may fluctuate according to situations
Researchers at the University of Washington say attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms can fluctuate over a person's lifetime.
A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry said the disorder changes in response to environmental factors.
The study’s lead author, Maggie Sibley, works at UW and Seattle Children's Hospital.
“The good news that this string of studies has given us is that if you have ADHD, you can expect periods of relative calm. You can expect that there will be years where things can go really well for you,” she told KUOW public radio.
Sibley studied ADHD in patients over a 16-year period and found that symptoms commonly receded for people during periods of high demand.
She said that could mean high stakes draw out high performance.
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Reporting was contributed by Bellamy Pailthorp, Brandon Hollingsworth, Owen Henderson, Monica Nickelsburg and Libby Denkman.