Federal appeals court hears birthright citizenship case
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is considering Washington State’s challenge to President Trump’s order banning birthright citizenship.
A three-judge panel convened in Seattle yesterday to hear oral arguments.
Trump administration attorney Eric McArthur told the court that framers of the Fourteenth Amendment did not intend for “birthright citizenship” to be universal.
McArthur said Washington State’s challenge to Trump’s order is not supported by law.
“It compels us to grant citizenship to people who have no meaningful connection or allegiance to this country, like the children of birth tourists, and it forces our immigration law to be at war with itself, prohibiting illegal immigration with one hand while inducing and rewarding it with the other," he said.
President Trump’s order denies automatic citizenship to children whose parents are in the U.S. temporarily or unlawfully.
Washington State Solicitor General Noah Purcell said denying citizenship to children whose parents are in the U.S. temporarily or unlawfully – will cause chaos for states.
“There’s no way for them to do that without us having to rework our systems to check," he said.
Justice Bumatay: “We don’t know because the government was never given a chance to implement any of this," responded Judge Patrick Bumatay.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision by the end of this month on whether the injunction should apply nationwide or just in states that sued.
Cantwell, meteorologists express concern about Weather Service layoffs
Washington U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell has criticized plans by the federal government to re-hire about 125 employees of the National Weather Service.
The Trump administration laid off more than 500 Weather Service employees in February. Now, with the start of hurricane and wildfire seasons, it’s aiming to bring people back and assign them to areas that are understaffed.
Cantwell is calling on the administration to rehire everyone who lost their jobs, calling the administration's announcement "a flimsy band-aid."
“Every former director of the National Weather Service, representing both Republican and Democrat administrations, wrote a letter saying, quote, ‘The worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be a needless loss of life.’ End quote," she said.
Cantwell held a press briefing yesterday and invited several meteorologists to offer opinions, including Alan Gerard, a Weather Service employee who works at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma.
“For the first time in 35 years, I have real concerns due to the staffing situation and the very fact that some offices aren’t able to operate 24/7 and that the administration has authorized these hires during a hiring freeze tells you that there is recognition there is serious shortages," Gerard said.
Cantwell says the agency layoffs came just in time for the start of hurricane and wildfire seasons.
This week the National Interagency Fire Center and National Hurricane Center released their respective summer outlooks. The Inland Northwest and intermountain West are expected to have an above normal chance of an active fire season. The Atlantic and Gulf Coasts can expect a more-active-than-usual hurricane season.
Salmon advocates criticize proposed Endangered Species Act changes
A biennial report shows the majority of salmon and steelhead runs in Washington are still in crisis or not keeping pace with their recovery.
Tribal environmentalists say a proposed rule change by the Trump administration would only make that recovery more difficult.
The U.S. Department of the Interior is considering changing the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act. Right now, “harm” includes habitat modification or destruction.
But under the new rule, Tulalip Tribal Restoration Ecologist Brett Shattuck says endangered species would only be protected from attempts to hurt or capture them.
“That's like saying, ‘Okay, harm is only meaning you can't physically kill a person, but if you take away their house and you take away their food and you take away all of the things that they need to survive, that would no longer be considered harm,'" he said.
The administration also cut funding for a major source of salmon recovery dollars in its recent budget proposal, furthering worries over the species’ future.
Washington GOP backs vote-in-person initiative
The Washington Republican Party says it is giving its support to an initiative that would abolish the state’s vote-by-mail system. The measure would re-establish one Election Day for in-person voting, requiring people to show identification and proof of citizenship before they cast ballots.
Party chairman Jim Walsh says he wants Washington to join a regional movement that began in Oregon. He says the state’s attorney general and Secretary of State, both Democrats, both refuse to ensure the state’s elections are secure.
Democratic leaders counter by saying the initiative seeks to make it harder for Washingtonians to vote. Chair Shasti Conrad says the mail-in system is a proven safe and secure system that provides voters with convenience.
Former servicemen charged with stealing military gear from western Washington base
Federal authorities have filed a variety of charges against two former service members accused of stealing supplies from a western Washington military facility.
The Washington State Standard reports two masked men used their military ID to enter a U.S. Army Ranger facility on Sunday night.
They were caught by another person who tried to stop them. Authorities say the pair attacked him with a hammer then took off with government property.
The Standard reports Army investigators learned the identify of the two men, then searched a home they shared, finding a few dozen weapons, other military gear and Nazi paraphernalia.
Both are in the Thurston County jail awaiting a first court appearance.
Housing developer's program helps renters become home buyers
A single mother with two boys is the owner of a new home on Spokane’s Five Mile Prairie, thanks to a program created by an Oregon-based developer.
First Story is a non-profit lender developed by Hayden Homes to prepare people who are unable to buy a home without some help. Yesterday, the company held a wall-raising ceremony to celebrate the start of construction for Amanda Cole’s new home.
First Story executive director Claire Duncan says the organization has helped more than 120 people in the four Northwest states to buy homes in Hayden Homes developments. Amanda Cole is the 13th person in Spokane to qualify.
“We live in a duplex right now and they keep upping our rent and they’re not updating anything and I feel like this home, here in this community, is not only affordable for us, but it’s in a safe area," Cole said.
Cole and her sons are scheduled to move into their new house later this fall.
Reporting contributed by Amy Radil, Doug Nadvornick, Owen Henderson and Jake Goldstein-Street.