Governor-elect visits Spokane school
Washington Governor-elect Bob Ferguson is already campaigning for legislation he supports, even before he takes his oath of office.
On Friday, Ferguson came to Spokane to stump for a bill that would provide free breakfast and lunch to all public school children, regardless of family income levels.
The legislation has been a priority of Spokane Senator-elect Marcus Riccelli for several years.
"It is difficult to focus on your education if you're hungry, and I don't think you have to be an expert in nutrition or an expert in kids to understand that pretty basic, fundamental fact," Ferguson said during a ceremony at Whitman Elementary School. "Right now we have too many kids who are not able to access that."
He also said that he realizes money will be tight in Olympia this year but emphasized that this issue is of top importance to him and deserves to be funded.
The legislature convenes Monday, Jan. 13, and Ferguson will be sworn in as governor on Wednesday.
WA to safeguard access to emergency abortions
The Washington State Department of Health has begun the process of rule-making to codify access to emergency health services for pregnant patients.
"The rule must prohibit hospitals from withholding care because a person is pregnant, and from prioritizing the continuation of a pregnancy or the health of an embryo or fetus over the health or safety of the pregnant person without their informed consent," Outgoing Governor Jay Inslee Inslee wrote in a directive to the Health Department on Friday.
In his directive, Inslee said that events following the overturning of Roe v. Wade necessitate Washington's "further strengthening the bulwark guarding reproductive freedom and pregnant people’s right to receive treatment in a medical emergency in our state."
The governor called for the department to adopt the rules quickly, on an emergency basis, because he said increased probability of "imminent changes to federal abortion policy that would interfere with access to emergency abortion care and imperil the health of pregnant persons in Washington state" would necessitate immediate adoption.
WA lawmakers seek unemployment benefits for workers on strike
The legislation is one of the priorities for the Washington State Labor Council. April Sims, the council’s president, said lower paid workers usually don’t have the resources to go on strike. And employers use that against them.
“Without a doubt when it comes to negotiating a contract, the employer has all the leverage,” Sims said.
Unemployment insurance for striking workers is one tool to give workers more power, Sims said.
If approved, the law would allow workers to begin accessing unemployment benefits the second Sunday that happens after a strike begins.
Pearl Johnson was among 400 workers that walked off the job last fall at two hotels in SeaTac. Hilton wouldn’t budge on the union’s demands for a better contract.
Johnson told Northwest Public Broadcasting losing more than a week of wages during the strikes was really hard.
“I had to use food banks to feed my family, you know?” she said. “We almost lost our house.”
Because of that stress of not making any money, Johnson said some of her co-workers crossed the picket to go back to work. Johnson said if the current proposal becomes law, it would take away that stress.
Lawmakers hope the bill will encourage better collective bargaining and prevent strikes.
WSU study: Climate change hurting apple crops
A new study by Washington State University looks at how climate change is impacting apple growing regions nationwide, including the Yakima area in Washington.
Researchers examined six metrics that affect apple growth, including extreme heat days, days with cold temperatures and the number of days above a certain temperature when apples can grow.
Climate scientist Deepti Sinh said, looking at the last 40 years, several of those conditions have changed and are negatively impacting the state’s apple growing region.
“We’re seeing an increase in heat days that can cause heat damage, sunburn damage, and potentially necrosis,” Sinh told SPR News. “We’re seeing in increase in fall night time temperatures, so warmer night time temperatures can adversely affect color development.”
Tree fruit growers in Washington are already taking steps to deal with changing climate. They’re using netting and evaporative cooling to shield the fruit and keep them cool. Researchers have received a $6 million grant to help reduce the effects of extreme climate events on apples and pears.
Bundy before ID high court today
Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy is scheduled to appear before the Idaho Supreme Court this morning. He’s appealing two criminal trespassing convictions from 2020 and 2021.
State police first removed Bundy from the Idaho Capitol in 2020 in a swivel chair after he refused to leave a committee hearing room.
The state department of administration, which oversees the capital grounds, banned him from the property for one year. He returned in April 2021 and was arrested twice that day for violating the ban.
Bundy was credited with time served in jail for the first case and sentenced to probation in the second, according to the Associated Press.
In his appeal, Bundy argues Idaho’s trespassing statute is unconstitutionally vague. Justices will begin the hearing at 7:50 Pacific Time this morning.
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Reporting was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Owen Henderson, Lauren Gallup, Steve Jackson and James Dawson.