AG Brown sues landlords and software company for conspiracy, price-fixing
Washington state has filed its own lawsuit against a software company and several landlords for allegedly colluding to raise rents after the state withdrew from a similar federal case.
"We withdrew from that federal case last month because we saw a bigger problem: We saw a conspiracy, and we saw a greater path to help more renters," Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said during a press conference Thursday. "We filed this case in state court because we believe that state law protects a greater number of Washingtonians and tenants than the federal case had."
In the suit, the attorney general’s office alleges that the company RealPage organized a conspiracy of landlords through its user groups for each pricing software product it offers.
Brown's suit claims landlords voted on changes to the pricing software and built anti-competitive strategies around their use of RealPage’s products.
According to the attorney general’s office, about 800,000 tenants were affected by rents priced through RealPage between 2017 and 2024.
"I hope that it helps put landlords in Washington on notice that they have to treat renters fairly, that they have to follow Washington state law, that they cannot illegally collude," Brown said.
Though many of the affected tenants are in the Puget Sound region, several of the landlords named in the suit hold properties in Spokane and other parts of eastern Washington.
Idaho legislature votes to make ivermectin available without a prescription
State lawmakers want Idahoans to be able to buy the anti-parasitic drug, ivermectin, over the counter without a prescription and without consultation from a doctor.
Pharmacists could choose whether or not to dispense the medication under the proposal.
Senate Bill 1211 would require the drug to be offered in doses appropriate for humans. Ivermectin is commonly used to treat parasites in horses, along with other diseases in foreign countries.
Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld (R-Twin Falls) said she’s taken the drug for years ever since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I still, to this day, if I get a cold I take ivermectin,” Zuiderveld said.
COVID-19 skeptics often cited the drug as both a treatment and preventative medication for the virus during the pandemic.
The vast consensus of medical doctors is that there’s no evidence ivermectin is effective at treating COVID-19.
Opponents point to the fact the drug has not received approval from the FDA for such treatments.
“By doing what we’re about to do without data, facts or science that support what we’re about to do if we pass this bill, we’re going to put people at risk who don’t realize they’re being put at risk,” said Assistant Senate Democratic Leader James Ruchti (D-Pocatello).
Poison control centers and hospital emergency departments saw an uptick in calls and visits from people who took too much of the drug during the pandemic.
“The reason why we had over dosage was totalitarian portions of governments throughout the Republic restricted human ivermectin and pulled that away from the population,” said Sen. Joshua Kohl (R-Twin Falls), noting that wouldn’t happen with over the counter drugs.
Despite the potential issues, Sen. Carl Bjerke (R-Coeur d’Alene) said the decision to take the drug should be up to individuals.
“I’m willing to throw caution to the wind, so to speak – give myself an opportunity and the constituents I serve the opportunity to look after their own health,” Bjerke said.
The House passed the bill nearly unanimously Wednesday afternoon.
Assistant Democratic Leader Steve Berch (D-Boise) was the lone no vote.
Berch said the decision to allow a drug to be dispensed over the counter should be made by professionals, not a legislature where none of its members are physicians or pharmacists.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a similar bill into law late last month, with several other state legislatures considering the same idea.
Gov. Brad Little will have five days from when it reaches his desk to sign, veto or let the bill pass into law without his signature.
WA GOP finds strange political bedfellow in Ferguson
At a time of increasing political polarization, there’s something unusual going on in Olympia: Republican legislators are optimistic about their relations with new Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson
Since his inaugural speech in January, Republicans have had kind words for the new governor. He used that address to express his support for several Republican initiatives, like one from Cheney Republican Jeff Holy.
“Sen. Holy, thank you for your legislation proposing $100 million dollar grant program to help local law enforcement agencies hire more well-trained officers to improve public safety," Ferguson said. "That idea was the cornerstone of my campaign for governor. Any budget I sign must include this funding. Thank you, Sen. Holy."
And now Republicans are praising Ferguson for this week’s pronouncement that he won’t sign a budget that includes new taxes on the financial assets of wealthy people.
Rep. Mike Volz (R-Cheney) told SPR News the governor has a willingness to listen and apply common sense.
"There’s a lot of stuff I don’t agree with him on and that’s fine," Volz said. "He was very reasonable on stuff he was talking about that we thought were very moderate, reasonable approaches to solving some of the problems."
But Republicans have also said they’ll want to see whether Ferguson's actions match his words when it comes to the budget that he will ultimately sign into law.
WA judge calls for cool-down in rhetoric against judiciary
A federal judge in Washington is calling on President Trump and his supporters to tone down hostile rhetoric towards the courts.
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said calling judges names and threatening to impeach them has resulted in an unprecedented number of threats. Those get forwarded to the U.S. Marshalls Service for investigation.
"Never have we been under the kind of volume of threats and need for [U.S.] Marshalls to really research where is this threat coming form, is it from this country or out of the country, is it credible or not credible," Lasnik said.
Judges understand that their decisions striking down Trump’s executive orders may be criticized, he said, but judges appointed by various presidents are reaching similar conclusions in the law.
Lasnik said judges were heartened when Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement last month saying “impeaching judges” is not an appropriate response to unfavorable rulings.
Future of Spokane Head Start programs uncertain amid federal cuts and firings
The chancellor of Spokane Colleges is worried about the future of his school’s Head Start programs.
Kevin Brockbank says the closing of the Seattle regional office that administers the Head Start program is bringing uncertainty.
That’s because 80%, or $16 million, of the institution’s Head Start budget comes from the federal government.
Head Start provides child care and other services to children younger than five in low-income families.
"What that does is it allows those families to have daycare that allows them to go potentially attend our college, raise their skill level, pursue a career, advance themselves," he told SPR News. "We always want and are always looking as a nation about how do we help our folks raise themselves up."
Brockbank said Spokane Colleges’ Head Start program serves about 700 parents and children and employs nearly 300 people at 11 sites in Spokane County.
"This is one of those programs that not only raises up the kids, but raises up parents as well, gives them the opportunity to advance themselves," he said. "And so if you take that program out of this community, you're going to not just damage the people who directly benefit from it, but countless other areas that are going to have ripple effects."
He said his team hopes to continue to serve those families, but right now, that’s not certain.
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Reporting by Owen Henderson, James Dawson, Doug Nadvornick and Amy Radil.