Spokane’s Mayor Brown picks new police chief

Starbucks baristas in Prosser recommitted to unionization last week after the company challenged a September vote in which three-fourths of workers voted to join the national Starbucks Workers United union. 

In Thursday’s vote, baristas voted 12 to 8 to unionize at the city’s only Starbucks. The Prosser cafe had become just the third Starbucks in Eastern Washington to unionize in the nearly two years since local shops started organizing. 

Both parties agreed to set aside the previous results, according to National Labor Relations Board documents, after Starbucks filed an objection “alleging certain conduct by the Petitioner interfered with the employees’ exercise of a free and reasoned choice.” 

“The union engaged in misconduct immediately outside of the election location that essentially nullified [a] fair election environment,” wrote Rachel Wall, a director of communications for Starbucks.

Tony Warwick, 22, who helped lead the unionization effort at the lone Starbucks in Prosser, said the challenge was in response to baristas gathering on the store’s patio during the first vote. 

“Even with these weak claims and our 3-to-1 majority, we decided on a re-election to avoid the long legal process,” Warwick said. 

The Prosser Starbucks is the 27th location in the company’s home state to vote to join the union. 

The Starbucks Workers United union plans to hold a one-day strike this Thursday as the company rolls out Red Cup Day, an annual holiday promotion. Last year, thousands of workers walked out the day the company handed out the limited-edition holiday reusable cups.

A group of conservative Latino voters is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to get involved with lawsuits over Washington’s 2021 political redistricting process.

They want the justices to change the outcome of two U.S. District Court cases related to the 15th Legislative District, a Latino voter-majority district in Central Washington. 

In an August ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik sided with Latino voters who filed suit in January 2022 over the new boundaries of 15th District, saying it violated the federal Voting Rights Act. The plaintiffs of the case, Palmer vs. Hobbs, contend that while the district met the required percentage of voters to be a majority-Latino district, the bipartisan Washington State Redistricting Commission drew the district in a way that diluted their voting power. Lasnik set a January deadline for a new map to be drawn. 

Latino Republicans, who intervened in the Palmer case, believed the ruling was flawed and accused the federal district court of entertaining a “partisan charade.” The group also wants the U.S. Supreme Court to address a separate request to resurrect a related case, Garcia vs. Hobbs, deemed moot by Lasnik in his ruling on Palmer. 

The group, which includes State Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, filed an appeal to the U.S. Courts of Appeals Ninth Circuit but is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review Palmer v. Hobbs before judgment there. Reviewing a case directly from a lower court has been historically rare, but the U.S. Supreme Court has granted more of these petitions in recent years.  

The core argument is that the 15th District already has a majority-Latino voter population and elected a Latina — Republican Nikki Torres — to the state Senate in 2022, the only election held thus far under the current map. They say Palmer v. Hobbs aims to get Democrats elected in a conservative region.

“This litigation is a partisan’s playbook on how to use race as a proxy for political preference to persuade a court to redraw a district’s boundaries to favor one political party,” attorneys said in a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is switching from running for governor to running for U.S. Congress in the wake of Rep. Derek Kilmer’s announced retirement.

The moderate Democrat, first elected representative in 2012 from Washington’s 6th Congressional District, announced Thursday that he wouldn’t run for another term.

In a statement Friday through Franz’s campaign, Kilmer offered his endorsement.

“As lands and wildfire chief, Hilary Franz has proven herself to be a bold, strategic leader with a track record of bringing people together from across the state and from different backgrounds to find solutions to our shared problems,” Kilmer said in prepared remarks. Twice elected statewide as state commissioner of public lands, Franz has been running for governor in a crowded field that includes Democratic state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Dave Reichert, Republican and former member of Congress.

In her campaign statement, Franz touted her time serving in the district between 2008 and 2011 as a member of the Bainbridge Island City Council.

“Over the last few months, I’ve talked to voters in every corner of Washington and heard the same concerns – rising prices for necessities like housing pushing families out of the middle class, protecting reproductive freedom and women’s rights, safeguarding our democracy, supporting our veterans and military families, and the climate crisis bearing down on us,” said Hilary Franz. 

The statement also announced a slew of other endorsements for Franz, including from Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards; Kitsap County Commissioner Christine Rolfes, also a former state senator; and state Rep. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles.

Washington’s 6th Congressional District includes the Olympic Peninsula and stretches over Puget Sound to include parts of Tacoma.

Though she has been previously registered to vote in Seattle, Franz bought a home in the congressional district – in Grays Harbor County – in 2022, according to Franz spokesperson Jack Sorensen.

“Has had a home and spent much of her time there for a while,” Sorensen wrote in an email. “That’s her voting address, and she voted there in this election.”

“The house in Seattle you’re referring to has actually been rented out for a while,” he added.

In the hours after Kilmer announced, two state lawmakers have also said they were considering bids: Democratic Sen. Emily Randall of Bremerton and GOP Sen. Drew MacEwen of Union.

U.S. Democratic Rep. Derek Kilmer announced Thursday he won’t run next year for reelection, setting off what could be a scramble as a rare Washington congressional seat opens up.

Since 2012, Kilmer has been elected to Washington’s 6^th Congressional District, which includes the Olympic Peninsula and runs across Puget Sound into parts of Tacoma. Born in Port Angeles, Kilmer spent several years in the Washington Legislature before his election to Congress. He sits on the House Appropriations Committee.

In a statement shared on Twitter, Kilmer said that it was time to start a new chapter in life. He recounted writing letters to his children from Washington over the years.

And, “In a letter I recently shared with my kids, I told them what I am now telling the folks I represent: I will not seek re-election next year,” he wrote.

“I never intended for this chapter to be something I’d do for the rest of my life, and – as I shared with my kids – I’m excited to start a new chapter when my term is complete,” he added later.

Known as a moderate Democrat, Kilmer’s work has included sponsoring legislation to get better access to funding for Native American tribes for relocation and amid climate change and rising sea levels. His statement touted efforts to get a new veterans clinic built and protect Puget Sound, among other things.

An email seeking comment to Kilmer’s campaign wasn’t immediately returned.

Within hours of Kilmer's Thursday afternoon announcement, two state senators said they were considering jumping in.

State Rep. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, said she is “seriously considering” running for the seat.

“It is an opportunity that I cannot help but consider,” said Randall, adding that “It wasn’t in my plan.”

Kilmer called her about an hour before making his announcement, said Randall. She praised Kilmer’s work, particularly his efforts at constituent services, and she touted her own work at the Legislature to expand healthcare programs

“We’ve done good stuff here in Washington, and the opportunity to have an impact on a broader scale is definitely interesting,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Drew MacEwen, a Republican from the town of Union in Mason County, said he is also seriously considering a bid.

"I am giving serious consideration to running for the 6th congressional district," MacEwen said in a message on social media. "Will be discussing with family and supporters and making a decision very soon."

More than 36,000 homes, businesses and public facilities lost natural gas service Wednesday in southeast Washington and parts of Idaho following a rupture in a pipeline near Pullman. 

School districts, government offices and businesses throughout the region remained closed without heat Thursday as Avista Utilities announced they would have to go meter-by-meter to restore gas service once the pipeline is repaired. 

Williams Cos., which owns the pipeline servicing the area, wrote in a statement to Crosscut that a third party ruptured an underground line just north of Pullman on Wednesday. No injuries occurred. Williams stated it had a repair team on site and it expected to have the pipeline fixed by later today. 

Avista called the service shutdown the largest natural gas outage in its history. Crews worked to manually turn off lines at each individual meter as part of purging the line. Avista expected its crews would start going back to restore service at individual meters on Friday and it would likely take the next three to five days to get to all customers.

“We know this incident has caused hardship for you and your families,” Avista wrote in a statement to customers, “and we are grateful for your patience as we work to restore your service.”

Restaurants throughout the area abruptly started closing their doors Wednesday evening when they lost natural gas for heating and cooking. Several school districts canceled classes and government agencies closed offices. The University of Idaho in Moscow canceled classes and non-essential services through Friday. Washington State University in Pullman announced it had switched to an alternative heat source and would operate as normal. 

The Washington Department of Ecology is seeking public comment on proposed new rules aimed at reducing landfill methane emissions.

The new rules will require municipal solid-waste landfills to do more to prevent methane from escaping into the atmosphere, as well as to track emissions and make reports to the state. The state also plans to make $15 million in grants available to landfill owners and operators to cover the costs associated with the proposed new regulations.

These proposed new rules would put Washington on par with California, Oregon and Maryland in setting standards for decreasing methane emissions that occur when food and yard waste decompose in landfills.

“Methane gas emissions from landfills are a significant contributor to the climate crisis, and this new program will help us take measures to reduce them,” said Laura Watson, Ecology’s director, in a news release. “Cutting landfill methane emissions is an important step toward meeting our statewide commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95% by 2050.”

Public comments on the proposal will be accepted online, by mail or at a public hearing on Dec. 6. 

Washington wants to link its carbon pricing program with California and the Canadian province of Quebec in hopes of trimming economic ripple effects, the Ecology Department announced Thursday.

“Connecting the market here in Washington to similar programs elsewhere … would incentivize wise long-term strategies to reduce emissions,” Ecology Department Director Laura Watson wrote in a blog post. 

A recent Ecology Department preliminary analysis concluded the proposed coalition would likely improve the cap-and-invest program’s economic durability, longevity and efficacy. “In a larger, more liquid market with a greater number of participants, allowance prices would likely be lower and change more predictably. Predictable prices can foster greater investments in decarbonization,” the report said.

Participants in Washington’s cap-and-invest program would be able to improve their long-range planning, and perhaps more readily pursue carbon reduction measures, the report said. 

Washington’s carbon pricing market is slightly bigger than Quebec’s, but smaller than California’s. 

Joel Creswell, Washington Ecology Department climate pollution reduction program manager, recently briefed the state House Energy & Environment Committee about this proposed move. He said a three-government cap-and-trade collation would likely shrink Washington’s final bid prices in its quarterly cap-and-invest auctions. 

Washington’s final “settlement” prices were $48.50 per allowance (roughly one metric ton of carbon) for the first quarter of 2023; $56.01 per allowance for the second quarter; and $63.03 per allowance for the third quarter.

Watson said a final decision will depend on talks with the California-Quebec coalition. The earliest that the two markets could link is 2025.

Critics of cap-and-invest are blaming the program’s high final bid prices for increasing gasoline prices at the pump. However, program supporters blame the increasing gasoline prices on oil companies’ greed. Washington’s Democratic legislators plan to introduce an oil industry financial transparency bill in the 2024 session.  

"California has the highest gas prices in the country and the third highest retail electricity rates in the country. ...  Everything California policymakers touch related to energy markets ends in disaster for consumers," State Rep. Mary Dye, ranking Republican on the House Energy & Environment Committee, said in a news release. 

A Crosscut analysis showed numerous independent factors are in play — increasing crude oil prices, high real estate costs, oil transportation costs, different states having different margins between wholesale and retail prices, what is happening elsewhere globally and several other reasons.

Washington’s health insurance exchange, which launched its open enrollment period Wednesday, is expanding access to health and dental plans to every state resident regardless of citizenship or immigration status, the Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced.

Federal subsidies such as sliding scale tax credits continue to be available solely to U.S. citizens or immigrants with legal documentation, according to the agency. However, people without immigration documentation with modest incomes could be eligible for the state subsidy program. The program, Cascade Care Savings, will be available to anyone in Washington who meets the income eligibility limits, regardless of immigration status.

About one out of four of the remaining uninsured in Washington are people who are undocumented, according ot the state. 

“Disparities exist and access to insurance coverage can often be the difference between life and death,” Wynne McHale, chief of staff at the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, told Crosscut. “We are glad to be opening our doors to everybody.”

Washington is one of the few states to offer access and state subsidies for health insurance through its exchange to all residents regardless of immigration status. Generally, the federal Affordable Care Act prohibits undocumented immigrants from purchasing health care through state exchanges. Washington received an innovation waiver from the federal government last year that allows the state to expand its enrollment to “work towards its goals of improving health equity and reducing racial disparities by expanding access to coverage for the uninsured population” without raising costs. The waiver is effective from 2024 to 2028.

A similar expansion of Washington Apple Health, the state’s Medicaid plan, is scheduled to launch in July 2024.

Five states – California, Illinois, Oregon, New York and Colorado – and the District of Columbia currently offer state-funded coverage or subsidies to all residents, according to health policy nonprofit KFF. Minnesota has plans to do so as well by 2025.

Enrollment through the Washington State Healthplanfinder is open through Jan. 15. People who enroll by Dec. 15 can sign up for a plan that starts Jan. 1. People who enroll between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15 can sign up for a plan that will start Feb. 1.

Washington’s backlog of about 10,000 sexual-assault test kits has been cleared, eight years after the state began targeted efforts to analyze old evidence that had been collected but never processed, Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office announced this week.

As a result of testing thousands of kits and uploading the data to a national DNA database known as CODIS, defendants have been charged in 21 cases, all dating from 2015 to 2022, Ferguson’s office announced. 

Prior to a 2015 law that set clear deadlines for handling and processing rape test kits, some law enforcement agencies didn’t have a consistent system for processing them, in some cases storing untested evidence for more than a decade. According to Ferguson’s office, some kits found during efforts to clear the backlog dated back to the 1980s.

About 1,000 tested kits still need to be processed and uploaded to CODIS, a process that should be completed by the end of the year, according to Ferguson’s office.

Other steps that the state has taken to clear the cases include a tracking system for the test kits, funding for testing in private labs and the completion of a new Washington State Patrol crime lab in Vancouver.

Sexual-assault kits contain tools used by medical professionals to collect and preserve physical evidence for later DNA testing during the investigation. The evidence could be blood, semen, saliva or other biological traces. The kit also includes procedures for packaging the evidence and preserving the chain of custody as it gets processed.

Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board has suspended the certification of an Olympia cannabis testing laboratory.

The True Northwest lab received an emergency suspension of its state certification on Tuesday and has 180 days to appeal that decision to the Cannabis Board.

The agency’s staff determined that the lab failed to meet several accreditation requirements, including not having a lab director and not having its scales properly calibrated. The lab provided incorrect results to its customers, the Board said in a news release.

In September, the Cannabis Board received documents that suggested the lab was producing inaccurate test results. On Sept. 19, an independent lab certification firm, RJ Lee, confirmed that True Northwest had failed proficiency tests on June 16, 2022 and May 23, 2023.

On Oct. 9, the Board and RJ Lee audited True Northwest and found five major deficiencies. Board spokeswoman Julie Graham said the deficiencies included the lack of a lab director, improperly labeled chemicals, improperly calibrated balances and scales, calibration curves for residual solvents being noncompliant with regulations, and the inability to complete the lab’s data review process.

On Oct. 11, the Board ordered True Northwest not to accept new samples or proceed with tests. After Tuesday’s suspension, Washington has seven remaining marijuana quality-assurance labs. 

The lab tested marijuana samples for THC levels (the potency of the substance that gets you high) and CBD levels (the substance that helps medical patients deal with pain and nausea), as well as moisture and bacteria content. The THC results are sent to the state marijuana testing database and to growers. Those numbers would then be put on the labels for the pot to be sold.

At least one other marijuana quality-assurance lab — Praxis Laboratory in Centralia — has had its certification suspended. Inspections determined in 2021 that Praxis sent inflated THC figures to its grower clients, tricking them into thinking their cannabis was more potent than it really was. Praxis did not contest the suspensions after the 180-day waiting period, and lost its certification.