Residents can now add supplements to state long-term care insurance
Washington legislators this year tweaked the state’s first-in-the-nation long-term care program, WA Cares.
The most significant change allows people to also buy supplementary private insurance — similar to Medicare supplements — to cover some of their long-term care expenses.
Initially, the state required people to choose one or the other.
Many opted out of WA Cares to avoid the mandatory payroll deduction.
But WA Cares program director Ben Veghte said those private sector policies can be pricey.
"We've heard from 6,000 people who said, contacted us through our contact center saying they would love to rescind their exemption and participate in WA Cares," Veghte said. "Those people can now do so."
He told SPR News that WA Cares has also been changed so that people can collect benefits even after they move.
"If you leave the state to work somewhere else or to retire somewhere else, to be near your grandkids, you can claim WA Cares anywhere else in the country," Veghte said. "And we're even working towards making that possible internationally as well."
The Employment Security Department said it will contact workers who bought private long-term care insurance to tell them about the changes and about their options.
WA aims for more zero-emission semi trucks on the road
The Washington Department of Ecology wants to update the rules that govern the sale of zero emission semi-trucks.
State law mandates that a certain percentage of vehicles sold in Washington be zero emission vehicles. That number is to increase every year until 2035, when all vehicles must meet that requirement.
About 20% of all vehicles sold in Washington last year emit no carbon into the air. But sales of zero emission semi trucks has lagged behind, said Ecology Department Director Casey Sixkiller.
"What we’ve proposed to do is provide a little more flexibility for the semi-truck category to meet those sales requirements," he told SPR News. "Right now, look at the requirements for ‘25 and those sales are about halfway there."
Updates proposed to the state’s Advanced Clean Truck rule would allow manufacturers to increase their zero emissions sales or buy credits from other manufacturers who exceed the required number of vehicles sold.
It also eases semi-truck sales requirements next year and gives manufacturers three years to make up any shortfalls.
Sixkiller said this year, lawmakers approved 126 million dollars for the Department of Transportation to subsidize zero emission trucks and create more electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Early snowmelt causes concern as wildfire season approaches
Washington state has already declared some areas in drought.
There’s not enough snowpack in many areas, and much of it is melting out faster than expected.
Usually, May does see some snowmelt. But this year, some areas of snow are melting out two weeks to more than a month earlier than normal, said Caroline Mellor, Washington State Ecology’s statewide drought lead.
"There’s the possibility that based on these conditions, and with our state’s drought declaration process, that we may expand the existing drought emergency declaration for additional areas in the state," she told NWPB.
That process triggers emergency relief tools for entities including: tribes, local governments, cities and irrigation districts.
The state provides things like funding or temporary permits to transfer water.
Immigration officials to meet with commissioners over detentions at Sea-Tac
Port of Seattle Commissioners say U.S. Customs and Border Protection has agreed to meet over concerns about how long the agency is holding people at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy states detainees should generally not be held for more than 3 days in holding facilities.
The Port of Seattle doesn't have jurisdiction over immigration enforcement. But, in a joint statement, the five commissioners say they expect the federal agency to operate under the law and within its own policies.
Recently, an Olympia resident, who had moved from the Philippines to the U.S. decades ago, had been detained at the airport for more than four days.
The Seattle Port commissioners say prolonged detention without appropriate process raises serious concerns and undermines public trust.
In an emailed statement, a CBP spokesperson told KUOW public radio in rare instances it can take longer than 72 hours in order to do an appropriate background check on an individual.
The spokesperson says they treat all travelers professionally and with respect.
A date for the meeting between port commissioners and customs and border protection officials has yet to be scheduled.
INW students vie for spelling bee crown
Five spellers from Washington and Idaho are competing in the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee this week.
Three are from the Inland Northwest: 14-year-old Andrew Ford of Sandpoint, 11-year-old Gabriel Aguirre of Spokane Valley, and 14-year-old Navtaj Singh of Pullman.
Ford placed first at North Idaho College’s Inland Northwest Spelling Bee in early February, while Aguirre came second.
This is Singh’s fourth appearance at the National Bee. He’s competed in Washington, D.C., every year since 2022, tying for 12th place in 2023.
The preliminary rounds are already underway, having started Tuesday morning.
On Wednesday, spellers who advance will compete in the quarter- and semifinals, and a winner will be crowned during the finals on Thursday.
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Reporting by Doug Nadvornick, Steve Jackson, Anna King, Gustavo Sagrero and Owen Henderson.