A regional initiative to use hydrogen energy suffered another setback, with a billion-dollar project canceled in Oregon. Energy companies are wary of an initiative that has drawn criticism from the Trump administration.
With classroom behavior notably worse than it was prior to the pandemic, a number of states are increasing penalties to address aggression and disruption.
The state has paid out more than $500 million to settle lawsuits during this fiscal year, mostly in foster care cases – a sixfold increase since 2018.
The office, established just six months ago, had asked for a 40 percent funding increase but came away with its budget cut by 20 percent.
Washington State joins Virginia, D.C. and Georgia in requiring the installation of speed-limiting devices on cars belonging to drivers convicted of excessive speeding.
There are active secession movements in western states where Republicans feel underrepresented. A form of semi-independent home rule within existing states might work better.
Rent increases will be limited to 10 percent per year, with an exemption for newly built units for a dozen years.
Legislators have agreed to a plan to lift the cap and want to spend $870 million more on special education programs.
Shortages are so bad in some counties that defendants have had to be released because they can’t be tried in a timely manner.
Despite spending $31 million, the project has yet to roll out any new technology and is at least $240 million and nine years from completion.
The Washington state district didn’t just make students put phones away. They increased field trips and extracurricular activities, bringing chronic absenteeism down among participants by 13 percent.
The state faces a severe shortfall, but a proposed package would raise or shift $1 billion in taxes to secure funding for various projects.
A new forecast anticipates the state seeing nearly $1 billion less in revenue than projected as recently as November, bringing the expected four-year shortfall to $15 billion.
Trust in local government has declined in recent years. Liberty Lake, Wash., has found ways to assure residents their voices will be heard.
A 2022 law gave staff the ability to unionize. Their new contract will provide a raise of 3 percent in July and additional workplace protections.
When Democrat Jay Inslee took office in 2013, the state’s two-year budget was $38.4 billion. Now, as he prepares to leave, he’s released a $78.8 billion spending plan.
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