Today's headlines:
- Manufactured Housing Communities of Washington is suing the state over rent control. It filed its suit in Spokane Superior Court.
- Washington Democrats are trying to make it harder to put signature-backed initiatives on the ballot. The Secretary of State is siding with conservatives.
- Spokane native Colleen Melody is Washington's newest Supreme Court justice.
- Idaho's chief justice warns state lawmakers on the future of mental health courts.
Comic and actor Anjelah Johnson-Reyes shot to fame thanks in part to her stint on MadTV.
She’s on tour, heading to Spokane, and coming up, SPR’s Eliza Billingham will chat with her about mental health, gratitude, and getting her start as an NFL cheerleader.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting contributed by Eliza Billingham, Owen Henderson, Doug Nadvornick and James Dawson.
The show is hosted and produced by Owen Henderson.
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TRANSCRIPT
[THEME MUSIC]
OWEN HENDERSON: From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Owen Henderson. It’s January 22, 2026.
On today’s show, a group representing manufactured housing park owners is suing Washington state over its new rent control law.
And as a conservative group aims to change Washington law through citizen initiatives, some Democrats in Olympia are eyeing a bill to make putting a measure on the ballot harder.
Plus, comic and actor Anjelah Johnson-Reyes shot to fame thanks in part to her stint on MadTV.
She’s on tour, heading to Spokane, and we’ll hear from her about mental health, gratitude, and getting her start as an NFL cheerleader.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
[FADE OUT THEME]
A group that represents manufactured housing park owners filed suit yesterday against the state of Washington over rent control.
SPR’s Eliza Billingham reports.
ELIZA BILLINGHAM: Manufactured Housing Communities of Washington says that the state’s new rent control law, which passed last year, is already forcing their parks to shut down.
Though most people own their manufactured homes, they typically rent the land underneath them. The law now caps lot rent increases to 5% per year.
The organization says this is making it unfeasible for park owners, especially since there’s no “hardship exemption”—that is, no appeal process if owners have to pay for, say, major infrastructure upgrades.
The statewide association filed its suit in Spokane County Superior Court since many affected parties are in Eastern Washington.
It is represented by previous Washington Supreme Court justice Philip Talmadge. The state has 20 days to respond.
I’m Eliza Billingham, reporting.
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OH: Conservative group Let’s Go Washington is aiming to put more citizen initiatives in front of voters this year.
Some Democrats in Olympia are trying to make that process harder.
But conservatives may have some unlikely allies.
To get an initiative on the ballot, sponsors have to collect signatures, and they can pay people based on how many signatures they get.
Seattle Democrat Javier Valdez’s bill would change that, requiring signature gatherers to be paid by the hour.
JAVIER VALDEZ: “Our state's current pay-per-signature practice incentivizes paid signature gatherers to use aggressive, misleading tactics. It also enables wealthy interests to buy their way on the ballots.”
OH: Valdez also wants to require a thousand signatures before sponsors even file with the Secretary of State.
But current Democratic Secretary Steve Hobbs testified against the bill, as did former Secretary Sam Reed.
SAM REED: “Pardon, Mr. Chair, for saying it, but it's a voter suppression bill. It is an attempt to make it even more difficult for citizens to participate in their government process.”
OH: Washington passed a similar bill in the 1990s but a federal court struck it down as an unconstitutional limit on political speech.
The Senate Elections Committee is expected to vote on the measure tomorrow.
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Spokane native Colleen Melody is officially Washington’s newest Supreme Court justice.
COLLEEN MELODY: “Washingtonians deserve judges who will serve with integrity and humility and a deep respect for Washington’s independent role as a sovereign state in our constitutional system.”
Melody has been on the job for three weeks and already participated in hearings.
Governor Bob Ferguson and former colleagues yesterday praised her during her installation ceremony in the Temple of Justice in Olympia.
Melody grew up in Spokane and graduated from the University of Washington’s law school.
Most recently, she worked in the civil rights division in the state attorney general’s office.
Melody replaces former Justice Mary Yu.
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Idaho’s mental health courts face an uncertain future according to the state’s chief justice.
As James Dawson reports, that’s because state officials stopped funding a key part of the treatment process.
People with severe mental illness who’ve been convicted of certain felonies can qualify for their case to be transferred to mental health courts. They’re placed on probation while getting treated and hopefully rehabilitated.
RICHARD BEVAN: “Treatment courts play a proven role in helping individuals become productive members of communities and preserving that work matters.”
JD: That’s Idaho Chief Justice Richard Bevan during his state of the judiciary speech at the legislature Wednesday.
Late last year, state officials cut funding for peer support specialists who help program participants navigate their treatment.
Bevan says courts have found funding to keep those positions filled through the end of June. But he warned lawmakers mental health courts may not be as effective without those positions.
Critics of the cuts, including the Idaho Sheriff’s Association, say lawmakers have been overly aggressive at lowering taxes, leading to self-inflicted budget problems that will lead to less safe communities.
James Dawson, Boise State Public Radio News.
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OH: You might know Anjelah Johnson-Reyes as Bon Qui Qui, MadTV’s no-filter fast food employee who calls security on people with complicated orders.
Or you might know her as the host of Funjelah: the podcast she hosts featuring honest—but funny—conversations on mental health struggles and the power of gratitude.
Regardless, Johnson-Reyes has earned a spot in hearts across the world with free YouTube specials and her endless love for TJ Maxx.
SPR’s Eliza Billingham chatted with the stand up comedian about femininity, friends, and toxic positivity ahead of Johnson-Reyes’ tour stop in Spokane.
EB: At the start of your career, one of your first performance things was as an NFL cheerleader.
And I wonder, did you have ideas or definitions of femininity then, and has that changed at all over your performance career?
ANJELAH JOHNSON-REYES: I was a tomboy growing up, and that's part of the reason I almost didn't try out for the Raiderettes, because I was like, ‘That's not really my jam, I'm more tomboy-ish.’
But I'm so glad I did. I ended up going and I tried out because I wanted to be an actress, is what it was.
And I just used it as my sign.
I said, ‘OK, if I make the squad, I'm going to do it for one year, and then I'm going to move to L.A. and pursue my dreams to be an actress.’ And so that's kind of why I did it.
And I think definitely through that process, I embraced more of my feminine side, for sure. You kind of have to at that point.
It definitely served me well. I moved to L.A., and I danced in music videos and MTV movie awards and stuff like that.
That’s kinda how I started there. And I started as an extra on "Friends." And yeah, it definitely helped me for sure.
EB: But you started stand up at, like, a church thing?
AJR: I did. I was at a church and every Tuesday night they would have a creative arts night where it would be like a dance class, an acting class.
And there's a stand up comedy class. And that's where I first started to learn to tell jokes.
EB: Does that seem ironic to you? Does comedy seem kind of antithetical to religion in your world?
AJR: I mean, not necessarily these days, there's so many Christian comedians out there, even though I don't consider myself a Christian comedian.
I just started at a church. But these days there's a comedian for every type.
You want a super political one, a religious one, any kind that you would want there. We're out there.
EB: Yeah. And then, in one of your previous specials, you talked about a best friend and her kid coming to move in with you.
And San Jose is where you're from, right? Did you just come off a couple of home shows?
AJR: I did. I had some hometown shows.
It was great to see people from my old high school, from my neighborhood that I grew up in. It was very, very cool.
EB: Wow. Is community an important part of your life? Do you feel like you cultivate it or does it just come naturally to you?
AJR: Yes, it's very important to me. And community does come naturally. But you also have to cultivate the community that you want.
You have to think about the type of relationships you want, what's important to you.
And you do the work to make sure that you're surrounding yourself with the people that you want to surround yourself with.
EB: So much of your podcast is focused on gratitude. Do you ever try to distinguish between toxic positivity and gratitude?
AJR: Well, what do you mean by toxic positivity?
EB: I think the idea that you're kind of denying how you feel to just always be positive.
AJR: Oh, I see what you're saying.
OK, then, yeah, for sure, because the way I operate in gratitude, gratitude is one of my tools in my mental health belt when I'm struggling with my mental health.
And so if I'm feeling anxiety or any kind of stress, I'll pause and I'll shift into gratitude and I'll think about things that I'm grateful for.
And not just like surface level, but like actually really, really deep.
And even if it is, I'm grateful for my health.
It's really imagining and seeing and knowing someone who's struggling with their health and just being grateful that I'm not in that situation.
And I immediately start changing my perspective into gratitude and it helps shift my mood, shift my energy, my vibration and all of that.
EB: Does gratitude affect your comedy at all?
AJR: I think so. I mean, I approach my comedy with a sense of gratitude when I'm writing, for sure.
I don't typically have a cynical point of view. I can definitely complain about stuff for sure, but it's usually more a relatable relationship type complaint.
EB: Do you see comedy as a distraction from real life or do you see it as a way to lean into things that you want to think about?
AJR: I hope that when people come to my shows that it is a time away from their life, their problems, their struggles, their things that they're dealing with.
I hope that this hour and a half that you come and stand at my show is a break from reality where you can just come and laugh and let the endorphins in your body move, let all the energy move and come and just participate in this session of laughter and gratitude—and let that be a medicine in your body.
OH: That was Eliza Billingham speaking with stand-up comedian Anjelah Johnson-Reyes.
Johnson-Reyes’ “Family Reunion” tour comes to the Fox Theater in Spokane this Saturday.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Eliza Billingham, Doug Nadvornick, James Dawson and me, Owen Henderson. I’m also the host and producer.
Thanks for listening.
It’s SPR.
