Airway Hts. Police get state grant for gun violence support program
A support program for gun violence victims on Spokane County’s West Plains will benefit from a $545,464 state grant.
The grant, announced by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office Thursday, is headed to the Airway Heights Police Department. Theirs is the largest slice of a $2 million pool being awarded to law enforcement agencies in nine counties. Of the 12 projects Ferguson’s office announced, Airway Heights and Walla Walla are the only two in the eastern third of the state.
The one-time money comes from the proceeds of a lawsuit Ferguson filed against a western Washington gun dealer. A King County judge ruled the store’s sale of high-capacity magazines violated state law. The store’s owners paid $3 million to settle the suit, and Ferguson decided to use two-thirds of the money to fund local and tribal gun violence prevention, firearm safety and support programs.
Ferguson’s office said the settlement money will fund gun buybacks, youth outreach and education, locking safes and other gun storage equipment.
Murray warns Ed. Dept. cuts would affect financial aid
While celebrating newly simplified federal student aid forms, Washington’s senior senator Patty Murray warned about potential new obstacles to financial assistance.
On a call with reporters Thursday, she warned that President-elect Trump’s rhetoric about eliminating the Department of Education, which oversees federal student aid, is a serious threat to families that depend on things like Pell Grants.
"The Department of Education is staffed with people who help people get their access to federal student loans, to Title I funding for our schools," she said. "If there's not the people there, if there's not the department there, that's how these funds dry up."
After the debacle with last year’s rollout of federal student aid forms, Murray says families should complete the newly simplified FAFSA as soon as possible.
Murray pointed to the state’s low application completion rate.
"A lot of people are not taking advantage of the federal aid that they qualify for," she said. "In fact, last year, in 2023, Washington State left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table because no one applied for them."
For students and families feeling anxious about a complicated and incomprehensible application, Murray said this year’s FAFSA is just 18 questions — instead of more than 100 — and should only take about 15 minutes to complete.
According to the national FAFSA tracker, about 38% of graduating seniors in Washington have filled out the application for next school year, making the state number 42 out of 51 in the U.S. for completion rates.
Students in Washington state who don’t qualify for federal aid because of their immigration status can apply for the Washington Application for State Financial Aid, which opens later this month.
You can find the open application and more information about deadlines at studentaid.gov.
Colville woman receives presidential pardon
In a record-setting act of clemency, President Joe Biden commuted 1,499 prison sentences and granted 39 pardons to nonviolent offenders Thursday morning who, according to the White House, have led exemplary lives after incarceration.
One of the pardons went to Rosetta Jean Davis, a 60-year old woman from Colville.
“After successfully serving her sentence, Ms. Davis has maintained steady employment, including by working as a peer supporter for those struggling with substance abuse,” The White House stated in their press release.
“Colleagues, family, friends, and neighbors all speak highly of her, citing her hard work, dependability, and willingness to serve as an example of rehabilitation to those with criminal records or who are battling addiction.”
According to court documents, Davis, along with four others, was charged in April 2003 with three drug-related offenses: two counts of methamphetamine distribution and one count of conspiracy to distribute over 50 grams.
Entering a plea agreement, she was sentenced to two years of probation.
Davis did not immediately respond for comment.
Two other Washington residents also received pardons. Among them are 36-year-old Terence Jackson of Seattle, who pleaded guilty to a non-violent drug offense committed at age 23, and 74-year-old Russell Thomas Portner of Toutle, a Vietnam War veteran and Bronze Star recipient who was honorably discharged after earning multiple military decorations.
WA state and local officials happy with administration of November election
Despite high numbers of same-day registrations, election day in Washington went smoothly.
That’s according to the elections officials who briefed a state senate committee Thursday.
State election director Stuart Holmes says more than 56,000 people visited voting centers on Election Day to register or update their registrations and then cast ballots.
Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer said that was an unusually large number and led to people to waiting in line to vote.
"Our line in Pierce County stretched to four hours at one point and I want to tell you the mood was good," Farmer told the committee. "People were happy. They were excited — not excited that they had to stand in line for four whole hours, but they understood that they had let it go until the last minute."
There were lines in other counties as well.
Kitsap County Auditor Paul Andrews said some of his colleagues wish they had opened another visitor center to handle the crowds.
But he said auditors are often tightly staffed and have to make difficult decisions how to deploy their people.
In all, 79% of the state’s five million registered voters cast ballots.
People in their seventies were most likely to vote; 85% of them voted.
Younger voters showed up less often. Only 45% of people ages 18-to-34 cast votes.
Idaho authorities reach goal for training sexual assault nurses
In 2017, Idaho State Police leaders announced they wanted to train 250 nurses to perform forensic exams to better serve the victims of sexual assault. Recently, they announced they met their goal.
The goal of the program is to reduce barriers for people who’ve been assaulted and encourage them to provide evidence to authorities so that cases can prosecuted.
"We now have two nurses that are direct reports in law enforcement that are training nurses statewide, traveling the state 12, 14 weeks a year, giving training in rural areas, rural hospitals, rural clinics, to be able to do this collection," said Matthew Gamette, the laboratory system director for the Idaho State Police.
"We're proud to report now that we have over 35 clinics, hospitals, where this collection is now happening with trained nurses in Idaho [up from three before the training began].”
He says the state police plan to expand their training so nurses can also collect evidence in assault cases involving children.
Idaho currently has 21 people certified to teach all of these skills. Washington has 32.
To close that gap, Idaho officials are hoping more nurses will take the next step and train to become instructors in this area.
Hear more of Doug Nadvornick's interview with Matthew Gamette on the most recent Inland Journal program.
Reporting provided by Brandon Hollingsworth, Owen Henderson, Monica Carrillo-Casas and Doug Nadvornick.