The Washington State Supreme Court issued an interim rule on Monday to lower by more than two-thirds the number of felony cases that public defenders can have assigned to them each year, while also granting flexibilities for cities and counties to implement the new standards. 

Under the new standards, public defenders’ caseloads will be limited to 47 felony cases or 120 misdemeanor cases a year — down from a previous limit of 150 felony cases and a few hundred misdemeanor cases. Jurisdictions need to implement the new standards as soon as “reasonably possible,” according to the order, with a review after three years. 

The court announced it had decided to issue an interim rule to give local jurisdictions clarity while they set their budgets. During a public comment period, local officials throughout the state expressed concerns about paying for public defense if the court mandated reduced caseloads. Officials and advocates said they expected costs for felony representation could triple for cities and counties. 

Jurisdictions have 10 years – from Jan. 1, 2026 – to fully implement the standards, as long as they reduce caseloads by a minimum of 10% per year, the order states.

Similarly, the court ruled that local jurisdictions may utilize “case weighting” to comply with the new limits. In a case-weighting system, cases are given higher or lower weight depending on how much time the case takes. The court encouraged the use of case weighting, per the order, but refrained from mandating it.

“The reality is that many aspects of indigent criminal defense services vary by structure and location, so the Court is adopting an approach which accommodates that diversity while fostering real and meaningful reductions in caseloads as soon as possible, where necessary,” the order reads. 

New standards come during a time of crisis for public defense, according to many public officials and advocates, and aim to create more manageable workloads for attorneys and better representation for their clients.  Washington is among the bottom states in terms of the state’s share of public defense funding. 

The court largely adopted the standards proposed by the Council of Public Defense – part of the Washington State Bar Association – based on a national study released last year that called for similar levels of caseloads. A final rule will be adopted once the court finishes its review in the “near future.” 

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly calculated the reduction needed in the first year and that reference has been removed.

Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino, a farmworker and union organizer whose March arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement drew national outcry, will remain in detention after a judge announced Friday that she lacked jurisdiction to release him on bond.

Juarez’s case falls in line with what immigration lawyers have argued is a unique pattern of denying bonds over jurisdiction at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, a Seattle-based immigrant rights group, filed a class-action lawsuit in March to challenge those practices.

“It’s kind of a very complex legal argument, essentially, I don’t think that there’s merit to it,” Juarez’s attorney Larkin VanDerhoef said. “I think it’s very clear. And in fact, the Department of Homeland Security lawyer in the courtroom today also said they agreed there is jurisdiction here. And they’ve been saying that … since the beginning.”

Juarez helped found Familias Unidas por la Justicia, a Burlington-based union representing Indigenous and migrant farmworkers across the state. ICE arrested Juarez in Sedro-Woolley on his way to drop off his partner at work, and later took him to the NWIPC.

Inside the court on Thursday, an attorney for ICE contended Juarez would be a “flight risk.” 

VanDerhoef countered that Juarez has extensive support from community members and elected officials who could testify to his strong community involvement and political advocacy. He has no criminal charges on his record.

Activists called his arrest an act of retaliation for his labor organizing. Familias Unidas political director Edgar Franks said Juarez’s immigration hearing had been set for November until Thursday’s hearing  “sprung out of nowhere.”

Franks said he visited Juarez at the NWIPC a few weeks ago, an experience he described as “stressful” due to concerns he had about Juarez’s mental and physical well-being in ICE detention.

“Lelo still had a good spirit, we were joking around,” he said. “He’s a very caring person, doesn’t yell. … I don’t think I’ve ever even seen him swear.”

Juarez’s hearing also drew a crowd outside of the NWIPC’s gates of supporters and activists from Community to Community Development.

“Alfredo Juarez Zeferino is fearless,” C2C founder Rosalinda Guillen said. “He wouldn’t hide from anything, never have and he never will. So I think that’s the nature of this kind of repression … putting a characteristic to a person based on their color and the work that they do in this community is just blatantly wrong.”

VanDerhoef told Cascade PBS he plans to appeal the decision. 

Mayor Bruce Harrell signed an executive order on Tuesday, April 22, for Seattle to revise its 2013 Climate Action Plan and take new steps to reduce citywide carbon emissions. 

The updated climate plan will include strategies to reach a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, largely focused on transportation, energy use in buildings and waste. 

The executive order also mandates numerous near- and medium-term changes to cut down on Seattle’s transportation emissions.

Transportation accounts for 58% of Seattle’s total emissions. Harrell’s order outlines several strategies to decrease that number, including installing more electric vehicle charging stations, supporting more pedestrian-focused spaces, and developing three low-pollution neighborhoods by 2028.

“We’re proud that Seattle has been a national and global leader on sustainability and climate action for decades,” Harrell said at an Earth Day press conference announcing the order. “Updating our climate plan at this critical moment gives us a chance to take stock of the progress that we’ve made and to roll up our sleeves and do more.”

The order also aims for 80% of attendees at the 2026 FIFA World Cup to arrive without the use of personal vehicles. 

“We will do this by working with local partners to expand shared micromobility, improving transit options, and creating welcoming, walkable streets near Seattle Center, Pike Place Market, the Chinatown/International District and Pioneer Square,” said interim director of the Seattle Department of Transportation Adiam Emery. 

While, according to a 2022 report, total emissions have declined 12% since 2008, leaders said a more aggressive approach is needed to meet their 2050 goal.

“We don’t need another plan that sits on a shelf,” said Seattle City Council member Alexis Mercedes Rinck. “We need bold action that matches the scale of the crisis ahead of us.”

This latest move comes amid the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to climate programs nationwide, including an attempt to cancel $14 billion in climate grants approved by the Biden administration. 

“Despite the Trump administration’s disinvestments in and opposition to climate action, Seattle will not back away from the work that needs to be done to protect our environment and adapt our city to the changing climate,” Harrell said.

The executive order requires the Office of Sustainability and Environment to implement the new climate action plan by 2026.

The article originally was published by The Spokesman-Review.

After decades of delays, the federal government will begin enforcing REAL ID requirements to fly domestically starting May 7 – for real this time.

“Our offices are busier than usual because of the deadline,” said Thomas Charlson, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Licensing. “We recommend that people get an appointment if they’re coming to visit us.”

Although Washington state is issuing “Enhanced Driver’s Licenses,” Charlson said it’s the same as the REAL ID. He said it confirms your identity and U.S. citizenship, and will be required to board domestic flights.

“You can use this to board domestic flights, you can use it to enter certain federal facilities, and then one of the perks of having an Enhanced Driver’s License is that you can also use it to cross the borders of Canada and Mexico by land or sea,” Charlson said.

To obtain an Enhanced Driver’s License, Charlson said the person must bring the following documents with them – proof of U.S. citizenship, proof of identity, proof of Washington residency and your Social Security number. Documents that show some of that information include a birth certificate, W2 form, vehicle registration and more. A full list of acceptable documents is available at fortress.wa.gov/dol/extdriveses/esp/NoLogon/_/.

The enhanced license total cost is $116 for five years if you are getting your first Enhanced Driver’s License. Or if you are upgrading your current Washington driver’s license to the enhanced version, you can pay $7 per year for the time remaining on your current license.

If travelers do not have a REAL ID or any other TSA-acceptable ID, they will face delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being allowed into the security checkpoint, according to the Transportation Security Administration’s website.

If you don’t get an Enhanced Driver’s License, or aren’t eligible for one, other ID accepted options can be used for travel, Charlson said. These include a U.S. passport, a Permanent Resident card, a green card and an Employment Authorization Card.

He said the Washington State Department of Licensing also has an Enhanced Driver’s License checklist in both English and Spanish for travelers to know if they are eligible and what other documents they may need to obtain this enhanced identification.

“Make sure that you plan ahead,” Charlson said.

This article originally appeared in the Kitsap Sun.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health has entered a “strategic affiliation” with Seattle Children’s Hospital, the company announced Tuesday, hoping to bring services from the renowned pediatric hospital directly to patients on the Kitsap Peninsula and other areas around Puget Sound. 

Virginia Mason Franciscan operates 10 Puget Sound hospitals, including two on the Kitsap Peninsula. 

Through the affiliation, access to perinatal, neonatal and related specialty services will expand across VMFH Birth Centers, the company says.

Right now, Virginia Mason Franciscan–owned hospitals — which deliver 10% of Washington's births — send 25 vulnerable newborns per day to Seattle Children’s Hospital. Many of these families travel to their North Seattle campus or to a clinic in Federal Way. Embedding Seattle Children’s physicians across the Virginia Mason Network is expected to reduce those barriers. 

“Our goal is to keep every mother and baby together in their home community whenever possible, and any kid with a specialty need that otherwise would have to drive up to Seattle home, by bringing Seattle Children's doctors down physically or using technology into VMFH sites of care,” said Mark Salierno, Children’s senior vice president and chief strategy and business development officer.

The specifics of how physicians will be deployed at VMFH sites and how many staff could be hired are still being worked out, Salierno said. A strategic oversight committee, with representatives from both organizations, will guide the affiliation.  

Tom Kruse, chief strategy officer for Virginia Mason Franciscan who served as chief strategy officer for old Harrison Hospital in Bremerton from 2007 to 2011, said the peninsula has been dealing with limited medical care for a long time, and the partnership will bring needed services to the community.

 “All of this is to help improve the overall health of the community by intervening sooner and bringing a truly world-class children’s hospital to all the members of the peninsula who’ve never had that caliber before,” he said. “It should be a game changer.” 

The Kitsap Sun published a longer version of this article on April 30, 2025. Conor Wilson is a Murrow News fellow, reporting for the Kitsap Sun and Gig Harbor Now, a nonprofit newsroom based in Gig Harbor, through a program managed by Washington State University.

The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival returns May 31, with a lineup featuring Jake Tapper, Amanda Knox, and a slate of local and nationally recognized journalists, podcasters and lawmakers deconstructing the day’s most pressing issues. The full lineup of speakers was released today.

This year’s festival will include live podcast and television recordings from outlets like CNN, NPR and The Atlantic alongside a mix of community events in downtown Seattle. More information is available here.

Seattle voters will be asked in August if they want to continue paying for the city’s democracy voucher program — a first-of-its-kind public campaign-financing system that gives voters money to donate to political candidates. 

Seattle voters created the program in 2015, along with a 10-year property tax levy to fund it. The voucher program aims to make election financing more diverse and equitable by giving voters four $25 coupons they can give to city of Seattle candidates during elections. 

Ten years after it was created, city officials say the program has been a success. On Monday, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to send a property tax levy renewal to the August ballot that would fund the program for another decade. 

If passed, the levy would cost the median homeowner about $13 a year and raise about $45 million over 10 years. The figure is about $15 million higher than the expiring levy to account for inflation and increased candidate participation in the program. 

City Council members praised the program across the board, with several saying they’d seen the positive impact firsthand during their own runs for office. 

“For me, this specifically meant that I didn’t need to take campaign donations that I felt might have implicit strings attached,” said Councilmember Dan Strauss. “This allowed me to be more independent, and it meant that I actively chose to knock on everyday Seattleites’ doors rather than spending time on the phone, calling political donors.” 

Many Councilmembers said the program is especially important in light of threats to democracy at the national level and the growing influence of wealth in politics. 

“Our democracy is at risk,” said Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck. “We must take every step here in Seattle to protect it, because in a healthy democracy, billionaires can’t buy elections.” 

Most democracy vouchers go unused. A study by researchers at Stony Brook and Georgetown University found that participation among the voting-age population declined from 7.59% in the 2021 election to 4.72% in 2023. 

City Council member Cathy Moore noted that there remains a need to educate people about the program, particularly in communities where English is not the primary language. 

Candidates in the races for Seattle mayor, city attorney and three Council seats are eligible for democracy vouchers this year.

Note: This story was updated on 4/22/25 to correct the difference between the previous property tax levy and the new proposal. 

The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday nullified a 2023 Spokane ballot initiative that expanded the city’s camping ban, reversing decisions from trial and appeal courts.

The majority for Jewels Helping Hands and Ben Stuckart v. Brian Hansen, et al., in an opinion written by Justice Gordon McCloud, stated that Proposition 1 was beyond the scope allowed by local initiative power because it “administer[ed] the details” of the city’s existing anti-camping policy rather than create a new law or policy.

“I hope this decision paves the way for less discrimination against our homeless neighbors,” said Julie Garcia, founder and executive director of Jewels Helping Hands, one of the plaintiffs in the case who sought to block the initiative.

The initiative, sponsored by Spokane resident Brian Hansen, prohibits camping within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and day care centers. It was a response to concerns over rising criminal activity near Camp Hope, an encampment that operated for 18 months in the East Central neighborhood and once contained several hundred unhoused residents. The encampment closed in June 2023.

Advocates for the unhoused, who brought the lawsuit, opposed the initiative, noting that it greatly expanded the area where camping is not allowed. However, Spokane voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 1 in 2023 with nearly 75% of the vote.

The city did not enforce Proposition 1 until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last summer that states can criminalize homeless encampments regardless of shelter space availability, reversing a previous court decision.

In a written statement, Mayor Lisa Brown wrote that the city’s ordinance prohibiting camping in public areas remains in effect and that the Spokane Police Department is enforcing the law. However, Brown emphasized support for a much more comprehensive approach to addressing the city’s unhoused population, stating that “enforcement alone is not going to solve homelessness.”

Justice C.J. Stephens wrote a dissenting opinion, stating that the majority’s interpretation of what is deemed administrative was too broad and effectively eliminated local initiative power. Stephens felt the proponents of Proposition 1 believed it was a “different policy direction” from the city’s camping policy, and so the initiative was within the scope of what is allowed under the law.

Following backlash from members, REI Co-op is retracting its endorsement of Doug Burgum, a Trump administration appointee who has been criticized by environmental advocates over his support for fossil fuel drilling on public lands and loosening environmental regulations.

REI was one of more than 30 outdoor recreation companies that signed onto a January letter of support for the nomination of Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota. The move was met with widespread criticism from members of the Issaquah-headquartered outdoor retail co-op, which has long marketed itself as a company dedicated to environmental stewardship. The REI Union described the endorsement as “shocking” and part of a trend of REI “abandoning the values that make our Co-op special.” 

In a video statement posted Wednesday, newly appointed REI CEO Mary Beth Laughton apologized to REI members and said the company will lead the creation of a new business coalition dedicated to protecting public lands.

“Let me be clear: Signing that letter was a mistake,” Laughton said. “The actions that the administration has taken on public lands are completely at odds with the longstanding values of REI.”

Laughton, a former executive at Nike and Athleta, took over as REI’s CEO on March 31 following the retirement of Eric Artz. She noted that the letter had been signed before she took over, and said the company had signed off on it in an effort to “have a seat at the table and continue our outdoor recreation advocacy.”

“Many of you shared your disappointment and your frustration with that decision, and I hear you,” Laughton said. 

Laughton said REI is taking a leadership role in a new organization called Brands for Public Lands, a coalition of over 60 businesses that will lobby Congress and the US Department of the Interior to protect public lands. 

“Our public lands are under attack, from the gutting of national park staff to expanded threats of drilling or even selling off of our public lands," Laughton said. “The future of life outdoors has never felt so uncertain.” 

REI has in recent years grappled with financial challenges and a contentious unionization effort. In March, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against REI after finding that the company illegally withheld benefits packages from workers at unionized stores, a claim the company denies. Unionized employees are calling on REI members to withhold their votes in this year’s board elections after the company excluded two union-backed candidates from appearing on the board election ballot.

The REI Union said in a post on X that the retraction is a “huge step back on the right path for our co-op” and a sign that REI’s new CEO is listening to members.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced last week its intention to cancel a disaster relief program that had promised more than $80 million to build a levee in flood-prone Grays Harbor County.

Without the federal money, local officials told The Daily World that the project is dead in the water.

“And just like that … years of due diligence and hard work to move the North Shore Levee flood protection projects forward — now down the drain,” Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines said. “This is devastating to Grays Harbor County.”

The cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam – which lie at the confluence of multiple rivers into Grays Harbor – have suffered annual floods in recent years and faced more than a dozen floods since the 1960s that qualified as federal disasters, Cascade PBS previously reported. Canceling the federal grant would wipe out close to half of the more than $180 million needed for a long-proposed system of levees to protect downtown areas along the waterfront. 

FEMA officials last week called the grant program “wasteful and ineffective,” but did not provide evidence. A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled on Friday that the move violated an earlier injunction against the Trump administration’s attempts to freeze funds already allocated by Congress. 

Local leaders in the economically struggling former logging towns have spent years bolstering support for the levee, which they see as the only way to protect against increasingly dangerous storms and give the communities a chance at rebounding. Punishing flood insurance premiums and strict building codes are further choking what scant investment the towns attract, as Cascade PBS detailed in a 2023 investigation.

Hoquiam city administrator Brian Shay told Cascade PBS that he has been reaching out to federal officials and senators and remains hopeful that FEMA will conduct a case-by-case review and see the value of the project, which was on the verge of beginning construction. Awarded the funds four years ago, the region has spent millions and just recently achieved a key federal environmental review.

“West Levy was ready to go to bid on construction this fall, it’s that close,” Shay said. “We’re hoping there’s a path forward.”