Ferguson OKs divisive rent cap bill
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law a controversial bill that limits rent increases and extends other new protections to renters.
The new law prohibits landlords from raising rents by more than seven percent plus inflation, or 10 percent, whichever is lesser, during any one-year period.
It also bans rent increases during the first year that a tenant occupies a housing unit.
The final bill passed on mostly party line margins. It was one of several housing-related bills Ferguson signed during a ceremony yesterday.
"From my personal experience, the number of times I would have someone come up to me and for example, say, ‘Hey, I’m a renter. I work in downtown Seattle. I clean buildings in downtown Seattle. I used to live relatively close to the city. Then I had to move a little further away and a little further away and a little further away as the rent went up each time,'" Ferguson said. "Some version of that story I've heard many, many times over the course of traveling across the state.”
Opponents say the proposal will drive developers away from Washington and exacerbate the state’s housing shortage.
The caps on rent increases expire in 2040.
NIOSH Spokane tells unionized employees they're being laid off
Workers at a federal office in Spokane that studies and develops workplace safety measures are learning more about when their tenure with the agency will end.
Last Friday, unionized employees working for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health received official layoff notices.
Their non-unionized colleagues had gotten similar messages early in April.
Federal officials say the agency will be consolidated into a new Administration for a Healthy America.
"What we're hoping is that they'll come to their senses and reverse course because this has a lot of value for America," said Tristan Victoroff, a Spokane NIOSH epidemiologist and union steward.
He told SPR News he learned that his employment will end July 2, the date the facility will be shuttered.
"If you think about it, we're not being more efficient by cutting NIOSH," he said. "We're not saving money. NIOSH saves money — easily, hands down."
Victoroff said he still has access to the building where he works, but projects and travel have been discontinued.
He said now he and his colleagues are trying to archive some of their work in case there’s need for it later.
Mellon grant gives Humanities Washington some breathing room
Humanities Washington is anticipating receiving a $250,000 grant from a private foundation based in New York.
It comes as the Trump Administration slashed funding to the organization last month.
Humanities Washington partners with libraries and school districts to host speakers and workshops. It had initially furloughed employees one day a week when its federal funding was canceled.
"I don’t anticipate needing to furlough staff further, especially after this Mellon Foundation gift," said Julie Ziegler, executive director of the nonprofit.
The money comes from the Mellon Foundation, and Ziegler says it pencils out to about a fifth of what Humanities Washington receives annually from the federal government.
"Most importantly, it buys us a month or two to plan, which, given the chaos of the last few weeks, seems like a luxury," she said.
Most states have a Humanities Council, and the Mellon Foundation calls these organizations "the backbone of American cultural life."
Access to maternal health care in WA varies by race, age, says new report
A new report from Washington’s Health Care Research Center shows disparities in access to maternal health care by age, race and insurance coverage.
For example, Pacific Islander women in Washington are among the least likely to have a doctor’s visit after giving birth, and they’re less likely to get prenatal care in their first trimester.
Senior research scientist and the report’s author, Swee May Cripe, says measuring access to care is more difficult than looking at one factor.
"It is complex because it is an interplay of not only the individuals that need care, the place that provides care, the practitioners that provide care," Cripe said. "All these dimensions come together to interact with one another."
Dr. Robin Narruhn, an associate professor of nursing at Seattle University and a Marshallese woman, said one of the barriers to care for Pacific Islander women can be providers' lack of knowledge of culture norms.
That can make patients not feel safe in the exam room.
"For Pacific women and for many women, health care has to be based on relationality," she said. "That's something very difficult for health care providers to do when they have maybe seven minutes allotted for a prenatal care appointment, and so the system is making barriers to establishing a rapport."
When it comes to improving access to care, Nahrrun said providers can take steps right now to make healthcare more accessible by being open to patients of various backgrounds.
"We can't know every single culture that might come to us. But what we can do as providers is be culturally safe by asking our women or clients, 'What is it that you hope for in this? What is it that you need?'" she told SPR News.
The report also highlights disparities in care for older women, Black women, Indigenous women, and teen mothers.
Advocates plan rally to support special refugee designation as Trump administration revokes status
Organizers across Spokane County are coming together for a vigil this afternoon to support people with Temporary Protected Status.
They hope the event will serve as a moment of hope and unity for immigrant communities.
Morella Perez-Suelz, from the group Venezuelans for Spokane, said the vigil is not political but a stance in solidarity for immigrant communities impacted by federal immigration changes.
Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS, is relief granted by the federal government to nationals of certain countries who cannot stay in their own countries because of unsafe conditions.
According to the National Immigration Forum, there are more than 9,000 TPS holders in Washington state, although it is unclear how many live in eastern Washington.
Venezuelan community members in Spokane will gather at 3 p.m. Thursday at the U.S. Federal Building.
Perez-Suelz told SPR News the vigil will include brief remarks, testimonies and a collective moment of silence. She also said attendees are encouraged to take candles and signs of support.
UW protest arrestees face campus ban, suspension
The University of Washington has banned and suspended 21 students who were arrested at a protest at the Seattle campus Monday night.
The students were allegedly part of a group that blocked exits to UW's new engineering building and smashed lab equipment inside.
They caused a very early estimate of $1 million in damage, UW's spokesperson Victor Balta wrote in an email.
The university has also barred non-students who participated from campus. All told, 34 protesters have had charges referred to the King County prosecutor, Balta told SPR partner station KUOW.
The Trump administration has made it clear they're watching UW's actions very closely, in a statement announcing a "review" of the incident Tuesday.
Balta said UW will cooperate and that the university values its longstanding partnership with the federal government.
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Reporting contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Freddy Monares, Owen Henderson, Monica Carrillo-Casas and Scott Greenstone.