Today's headlines:
- Opponents turn in signatures to challenge Washington's millionaires' tax in November.
- WA's AI task force publishes final recommendations.
- Cantwell urges new citizens to exercise right to vote, regardless of restrictions supported by Trump.
- Spokane County's auditor and candidates to replace her say return to in-person voting would be very difficult.
- USFS says tourists can pay at WA sites with new app.
- NWS issues Fire Weather Watch for central, eastern WA tomorrow.
- New ‘fish bubbler’ could help migrating salmon survive hot summer water.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting was contributed by Sarah Mizes-Tan, Owen Henderson, Lisa Brooks, Doug Nadvornick and Courtney Flatt.
Owen Henderson hosts and produces the show.
TRANSCRIPT
[THEME MUSIC]
OWEN HENDERSON: From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Owen Henderson. It’s Monday, July 6, 2026.
On today’s show, Washington state’s new tax on millionaires will likely see a ballot challenge this fall, now that opponents of the levy have submitted their signed petitions to put an initiative in front of voters.
And the national debate about voting continues—both over ID requirements and voting by mail.
Plus, salmon need cold water during their migrations. We’ll hear about one tool being added near dams in the Northwest to cool off areas of rapidly warming rivers and help fish make it to their spawning grounds.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
[FADE OUT THEME]
Workers in the Washington Secretary of State’s office are counting boxes and boxes of signatures.
The petitions are part of an effort to challenge a new tax on the rich.
State Government reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan has more
SARAH MIZES-TAN: Hedge fund manager Brian Heywood is trying to overturn the state’s income tax on high earners.
BRIAN HEYWOOD: “It’s an income tax, but it’s not really an income tax: it’s accumulation of all the regulation and taxation that’s made this state less and less affordable.”
SMT: He's addressing a crowd in Tumwater on Thursday. Behind him are piles of boxes.
They're full of signatures—from half a million people who want to overturn the tax. It takes a cut of earnings from the top 1% of households.
Washington’s budget is in the red by billions of dollars, and supporters say taxing the rich could plug that hole.
Once the Secretary of State has verified all the signatures, Heywood’s measure heads to voters in November.
In Olympia, I’m Sarah Mizes-Tan.
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OH: Washington’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force has issued its final recommendations for state policymakers.
The group created two years ago put out a list of 11 total policy ideas over the course of three reports.
The Washington legislature already passed several of the suggestions this year.
Those include regulating AI chatbots and making the prosecution of fake child sex abuse material easier.
Other recommendations include establishing a grant program for AI innovation, developing guidelines for AI in the workplace and investing in K-12 education on AI.
Task Force members also considered recommendations for data centers and generative AI adoption and use but ultimately failed to agree on those policy suggestions.
— — —
Two hundred fifty-two people from 55 different countries became new American citizens in Washington on Independence Day.
It was part of the annual 4th of July Naturalization ceremony held at Seattle Center.
Washington U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell welcomed everyone who passed the citizenship test and took the oath.
Then, she gave them their marching orders.
MARIA CANTWELL: “We not only want you to register, but we want you to vote. And if you have to stick it in a ballot box instead of the postmaster general, counting on him: Do it.”
OH: She’s referencing the Save America Act, which is currently stalled in the U.S. Senate.
It aims to implement strict voter ID rules.
The debate over that bill and last week’s Supreme Court ruling on counting late mail-in ballots have left some elections officials wondering if Washington state will return to in-person voting.
Republicans in Olympia have introduced bills to do that the last two legislative sessions, but those efforts haven’t gone anywhere.
Outgoing Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton is a Democrat.
She doubts Washington will return to in-person voting as the norm, saying it would be hard to find enough poll sites.
VICKY DALTON: “We can't use schools. School buildings are very difficult to get into during the day, and that's where most poll sites were. Trying to obtain that kind of a labor force for a few days out of the year is extremely difficult anymore.”
OH: People with disabilities can cast ballots at Spokane County’s two voter service centers on machines called “accessible voting units.”
Republican auditor candidate Michael Cathcart says in-person voting should be an option—but not the only one.
Democratic candidate Callie Gee says the current system works well and there’s no compelling reason to return to poll site voting.
GOP candidate Dale Whitaker hasn’t returned SPR’s request for comment.
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Some U.S. Forest Service sites in Washington will now allow visitors to pay through the Recreation.gov mobile app.
Payment methods differ from one national forest to another.
Victoria Wilkins works at Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, which now only accepts cashless payment.
VICTORIA WILKINS: “So you download the app. You set up your account. You add your payment information and then if you arrive at a trailhead or a campground, there’s a QR code that you scan from within the app.”
OH: She says doing that gives you a confirmation code to write on your payment slip.
Wilkins says tourists can use the app to pay entry fees, find and reserve campsites, and plan road trips—even from areas without cell service.
VW: “Once you’ve got it set up and once you’ve gotten through it, it’s very simple to use. It’s been working very well for us and it provides folks another method to pay since a lot of folks don’t carry cash or checks anymore.”
OH: She suggests travelers who plan to visit national forests and parks check the agencies’ websites to see which areas require payment and verify what options are available.
— — —
Much of central and eastern Washington will likely see conditions ripe for quickly spreading fires tomorrow.
The National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch for the Spokane Area, Palouse, Columbia Basin, Central Cascades Foothills and Waterville Plateau.
Low humidity and breezy winds mean any new or ongoing blazes—like the Chelan Hills Fire in Douglas County—will likely grow and spread rapidly.
All Level 3 evacuation orders remain in place as of this morning in Lake Chelan Hills, as that fire grows to nearly 10,000 acres.
Fire officials report the blaze is still uncontained as of last night.
There’s an evacuation shelter open at the Chelan School of Innovation.
— — —
This summer, a “cool” new technology is helping hot salmon as they make their way to their spawning grounds.
Northwest PB’s Courtney Flatt tells us about fish bubblers.
COURTNEY FLATT: When water gets too hot for salmon to swim up fish ladders, the fish will try to wait it out. The hot water stresses fish out—and can lead to die-offs.
Now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is installing “bubblers” near some of its fish ladders.
They look a little something like a coiled-up drip sprinkler for your garden. They’re about seven feet underwater, where the water is much cooler.
Ryan Laughery is an engineer with the Corps. He says air blown through the piping creates bubbles.
RYAN LAUGHERY: “Those bubbles have drag, and they pull that cold water up towards the surface and then mix with that warmer water at the top.” (0:06)
CF: This technology has previously been used in freshwater fish farms. But they say it’s a first for fish ladders and dams.
The Corps plans to study these bubblers at four dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers this summer.
I'm Courtney Flatt reporting.
[SHORT MUSIC BED]
OH: SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Sarah Mizes-Tan, Lisa Brooks, Doug Nadvornick, Courtney Flatt and me, Owen Henderson.
I’m also your host and producer.
Thanks for listening.
It’s SPR.
