Briefs

The Washington Legislature delivered a number of major headlines this past session, from new gun laws to protections for transgender youth and, of course, the state’s official dinosaur. Then there were the headlines for things that didn’t get done, including major housing legislation pushed hard by the governor and a drug-sentencing bill that is likely to get a second chance during a special session in the near future.

Lawmakers gave us a lot to discuss and explain, which is what the Crosscut Reports podcast is great at doing. For this year’s Crosscut Ideas Festival we have invited Crosscut politics reporter Joseph O’Sullivan and Axios Seattle reporter, and former Crosscutter, Melissa Santos to a live taping of the weekly podcast. Host Sara Bernard will be asking what these two longtime Olympia watchers saw at this year’s legislative session and how new laws are likely to impact the lives of Washingtonians and inform the national debate.

Here are five stories to help you get up to speed before the 11 a.m. session.

With assault weapons ban, Washington enters a new era of gun reform by Joseph O'Sullivan, Crosscut

WA Senate passes "missing middle" bill to increase housing density by Joseph O'Sullivan, Crosscut

Washington enacts abortion protections to counteract red state laws by Melissa Santos, Axios

WA transgender youth bill targeted in national culture war by Joseph O'Sulllivan

With Washington state set to decriminalize drugs, cities may step in by Melissa Santos, Axios

Hours before Rep. Adam Smith took the virtual stage at the Crosscut Ideas Festival to talk about foreign policy, reports of explosions at the Kremlin provided a reminder of the ever-evolving state of the conflict over Ukraine.

Smith, who for four years chaired the House Armed Services Committee and is currently the Democrats’ ranking member on the committee, spent the session discussing developments in the war in Ukraine, as well as ongoing tensions between China and the U.S.

Rep. Smith cast doubt on Russian claims that Ukraine was behind the attack, noting that he has not been fully briefed on the matter. “Things are not going well for Russia in Ukraine,” he said. “[Putin] needs something to get the Russian people to get behind him — the burning of the Reichstag, if you will."

Here are three other takeaways from the session:

1. Strategic ambiguity is necessary when it comes to Taiwan. Rep. Smith noted that some in Congress have responded to growing tensions between China and Taiwan by calling for the U.S. to state clearly its support for the island’s independence. Smith said that is the wrong tack. He voiced support for the continuation of the so-called “One China” policy, which recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the “sole government of China” while also allowing the U.S. to support Taiwan’s right to self-determination. Smith also called for greater military support for Taiwan, suggesting that the U.S. could help turn Taiwan into a “porcupine.”

2. Investment abroad does not equal disinvestment at home. The Congressman said he does not believe Ukraine has distracted Congress from the domestic issues he finds most pressing, such as income inequity, threats to democracy and climate change. He pointed to $7 trillion in additional spending, including the CHIPS and Science Act and infrastructure investments, as evidence that the federal government can get things done while also sinking resources into international affairs. “It’s not like if we weren’t engaged in Ukraine, everything would be fine here,” he said.

3. There is a path to a negotiated peace with Russia, soon. Rep. Smith pointed to a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive that he believes could push Russian forces back to near the February 2022 border and threaten Russia’s hold on the disputed Crimean peninsula. “That forces him to the table.” Smith suggested negotiations could happen as early as October and said he would like to see a “One Ukraine” policy in which Crimea is a part of Ukraine, "but we're not going to quibble about the details" in how that is done.

Watch a replay of the session here. Or subscribe to the Crosscut Talks podcast to hear this and other Crosscut Ideas Festival sessions in the coming weeks. New episodes will publish every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tech companies are struggling with middle age. Instead of being edgy and fun, people now think of them as being like any other “evil” big business. 

“When you start getting labeled big, that means people are worried about you or fear you. They don’t love you anymore,” said Will Oremus, technology news analysis writer for The Washington Post, on Wednesday at the Crosscut Ideas Festival.

It’s difficult to be young and fun when facing new federal regulations, disdain from the general public and stagnant business growth. Oremus shared his perspectives with host Lizzy O’Leary on a live recording of Slate’s What Next: TBD podcast. 

Things have changed in recent years as tech companies have failed to follow through on their idealism. 

“I think we’re finding out ‘Big Tech’ can’t have it all,” Oremus said. “If they want to make a crap-ton of money – and we’re clearly seen that’s their number-one imperative – they’re going to make choices all the time where they’re not a force for good.” 

Oremus said he expects a messy process to reign in Big Tech, similar to the midlife experience of other industries – think pharmaceuticals, tobacco and automobiles. 

“In every case, it took a long time, it took a change in attitudes, it took regulation, it never changes quickly,” he said. 

Oremus and O’Leary also discussed AI, or artificial intelligence: training machines to mimic the functions of the human brain. The face of AI has been ChatGPT, a chatbot that can do everything from write essays to generate computer code – while generating controversy and amusement at the same time.

Even though big tech companies may be stagnating and not innovating as much, that doesn’t mean they can’t get their fingers into innovation. Microsoft, for example, is investing in OpenAI, the developers of ChatGPT. 

The ones who will benefit initially from AI’s success are the companies “who have giant clouds of computing power that the models have to be trained on and run on,” Oremus said. 

Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd has some advice for his Republican colleagues: Engage with the voters, take sensible and collaborative stands on the issues and tell your friends to vote in the primary.

He believes the Republican Party is primed and ready for a reset, as he wrote in his 2022 book American Reboot: An Idealist’s Guide to Getting Big Things Done and as he said at his appearance Tuesday at the Crosscut Ideas Festival.

He offered advice on how to re-engage with voters and move past former president and current candidate Donald Trump. One idea: Be more like our current president, Joe Biden, whom Hurd said does a good job of engaging in dialog and meaningful debate, unlike his predecessor.

The party isn’t going to engage younger voters, women in the suburbs and people of color, Hurd said, if Republicans aren’t open to talking about and developing meaningful stands on sometimes contentious issues like immigration, transgender rights and the environment.

He warned that meaningful engagement takes time and effort — as well as an open mind. And, he added, don’t be racist, don’t be a homophobe, don’t be misogynist, don’t be nasty.

People want to vote for people who are nice and have good ideas. “We should expect that from our elected officials,” he said.

And be part of choosing the candidates by voting in primaries, Hurd said. The best selection is in the primary, and most voters do not participate. He believes the Republican Party can get over Trump by voting in large numbers in primary elections. 

Day two of the Crosscut Ideas Festival is underway. The Crosscut Ideas Festival is a gathering for newsmakers, changemakers and innovators to come together and discuss current events and the issues of our time. Along with virtual sessions running all week, the Crosscut Ideas Festival will culminate in an all-day Saturday in-person event including art installations, workshops and keynote speakers.

Each day, we’ll offer a synopsis of what’s to come. Here are today’s virtual sessions: 

• Slate Live Podcast Taping: "What Next: TBD": Big Tech's Midlife Crisis: Is the tech industry all right? Lizzie O’Leary, host of Slate’s podcast What Next: TBD, sits down with The Washington Post’s tech industry analyst Will Oremus to discuss widespread layoffs, tumultuous profits and what lies ahead for the industry. The session starts at 9 a.m.
   
• Ukraine, China and the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy: The war in Ukraine has reshaped foreign policy in differing ways. The U.S. strengthened its relationship with NATO while also increasing tension with China over Taiwan, which the U.S. has vowed to defend. Congressman Adam Smith, who said the invasion is a “defining moment” for the world, discusses managing our economic reliance on a competing nation while keeping global order intact. Connie Lead, associate professor of political science at Seattle University, also joins the discussion. The session starts at 11 a.m. 
   
• CRISPR and the Future of Genetic Engineering: Jennifer Doudna is a co-founder of CRISPR, the highly contested gene-editing tool. The discovery offers opportunities to treat or cure diseases, increase crop resistance and raise livestock that are more efficient at producing meat and milk. The tool has also faced backlash, including ethical concerns that it could lead to a new class of “designer babies.” Doudna will be joined by New York Times columnist and science author Carl Zimmer. The session starts at 2 p.m. 

Interested in attending? Tickets are still on sale for virtual events and Saturday’s in-person sessions at the Amazon Meeting Center, 2031 Seventh Ave. Find a full list of speakers, sessions and ticket prices at crosscut.com/festival. 

A new journalism fellowship to increase local news coverage in Washington will be established with money from the state budget. 

The Washington Legislature allocated $2.4 million over two years for the new fellowship program. Under the program, which could start as early as 2024, eight recent college graduates will be sent to news outlets statewide each year for two-year reporting stints. 

Local news coverage nationwide has been dwindling in recent years. Nearly 2,000 newspapers closed nationwide between 2004 and 2018, according to data from the University of North Carolina,

Several news outlets in Washington have closed or scaled back operations over the past two decades. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer became an online outlet after closing its print operation in 2009. Recently, leadership at the Seattle Chinese Post announced it would cease publication after more than four decades. 

“I know what it means for the press corps to hold elected officials’ feet to the fire, and it’s an important part of our democratic process that we can’t let slip away in towns around our state,” said Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, in a news release from Washington Senate Democrats. 

Keiser, a graduate of the University of California Berkeley who worked as a broadcast journalist in Denver, Portland and Seattle, led the effort to fund the program with Sen. Marko Liias, D-Everett. 

The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University will operate the program, modeled after the California Local News Fellowship operated by the University of California Berkeley. Half of the participants selected will be WSU graduates, and all who complete the fellowship will receive a certificate in digital media innovation from the university. 

The Crosscut Ideas Festival is back, with sessions running today through Saturday. The annual festival is a gathering for newsmakers, changemakers and innovators to come together and discuss current events and the issues of our time. Along with virtual sessions running all week, the Crosscut Ideas Festival will culminate in an all-day Saturday in-person event including art installations, workshops and keynote speakers.

Each day, we’ll offer a synopsis of what’s to come. Here are today’s virtual sessions: 

• What Washington Thinks of the Supreme Court: Crosscut reporter Mai Hoang and pollster H. Stuart Elway discuss the surprising results of the recent Crosscut | Elway poll regarding the U.S. Supreme Court. Registered voters throughout the state gave their thoughts on this year’s docket, including affirmative action, trans rights and their overall opinions on the Court. The session starts at 9 a.m. 
   
• Will the Metaverse Kill Reality?: Tech companies such as Meta have placed big bets on the metaverse, but the technology comes with its own obstacles. Consumers have been slow to adopt, high prices remain a barrier and the quality of the content is in question. Video-game enthusiast and author Steven L. Kent moderates a panel with Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games, and Michael Pachter, equity research analyst. The session starts at 11 a.m. 
   
• A Republican Reset: Will Hurd, former U.S. Representative from Texas and Republican party member, discusses the future of the party with unDivided podcast host Brandi Kruse. Hurd’s book, American Reboot, argues for moving beyond the partisan gridlock that characterizes American politics. But can the Republican party move past its own gridlock? The session starts at 2 p.m. 

Interested in attending? Tickets are still on sale for virtual events and Saturday’s in-person sessions at the Amazon Meeting Center, 2031 Seventh Ave. Find a full list of speakers, sessions and ticket prices at crosscut.com/festival. 

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision that altered the landscape of reproductive rights when it overturned Roe v. Wade. Now the Court is posed to reshape other aspects of American life with what seems like a record number of far-reaching cases, many of which will have implications for Washington state.

Crosscut readers have been learning about these cases and the implications for our communities in our stories about affirmative action, the adoption of Native American children and our recent Crosscut/Elway poll. In the coming weeks, other Court-related coverage will focus on topics including immigration and religious accommodations for workers.

Members of our community can join a live conversation about the 2023 season of the Supreme Court at the Crosscut Ideas Festival during two virtual sessions. On Tuesday at 9 a.m., pollster Stuart Elway and Crosscut reporter Mai Hoang will talk about our April poll on the Supreme Court. On Friday at 9 a.m. Crosscut reporter Megan Burbank will interview Judith Arcana, former member of an abortion underground, about reproductive health before Roe. And on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in person, Dahlia Lithwick will do a live taping of the Amicus podcast focused on the Supreme Court.

Tickets to virtual and in-person sessions at the Crosscut Ideas Fest are available on Crosscut.com.

Eastern Washington cities are historically hotter and drier than their Western peers, but this year, some Eastern cities have been getting hotter sooner. 

On Sunday, Spokane tied its hottest April 30 on record: 82 degrees Fahrenheit at Spokane International Airport, tied with that date in 1981. (Records have been kept in the Spokane area since 1881.)

The Spokane forecast surprised local forecasters like Jeremy Wolf of the National Weather Service in Spokane. It’s uncommon to see such high temperatures in Spokane after such a cool spring, Wolf says. 

Spokane had seen its first day at or above 70 degrees only a few days earlier, April 26, when temperatures reached 71. The Inland Northwest experienced a colder-than-normal April, with temperatures 2 to 6 degrees cooler than average. The weather this past weekend was 15-20 degrees hotter than average.

“The temperatures themselves weren’t abnormally hot by summer standards, where we often are in the 90s every day, or for several days. But yes, this was still pretty warm for early in the season,” Wolf says. 

The National Weather Service temperature outlook for May, June and July suggests hotter-than-average temperatures across the state, including Western Washington. The Service is also expecting temperatures in the 70s in the Seattle area on Tuesday and Wednesday. The average spring temperature for early May in Seattle is 63 to 64 degrees. 

The National Weather Service issued some safety warnings for recreationists who spend time near water or melting snow. Water rushing into rivers causes them to run faster and higher; hiking or skiing in melting snow comes with a greater avalanche risk; and lakes and streams are still cool enough to cause hypothermia. Wolf says rivers have been steadily rising since the warm temperatures began, and forecasters are watching for floods this week in nearby Idaho.

A bell rang 94 times, once for each worker in Washington state who died on the job last year, as their name was read aloud Thursday at the 2023 Worker Memorial Day ceremony in Tumwater.

Officials reported the most dangerous industry continues to be construction, which in 2022 accounted for about a third of the state’s workplace fatalities. Three of those workers died when the trench they were in collapsed. The second highest number of deaths, 26, resulted from exposure to toxic chemicals.

Thursday's event also honored 35 workers who died before 2022, but had not received recognition in previous ceremonies.

“As we hear each name read, it’s important to remember these are not just names. These are not just statistics. They’re our neighbors. They’re our friends. They’re our co-workers. They’re families. They’re our community,” said Joel Sacks, director of the state’s Department of Labor & Industries

On-the-job homicides also increased last year, rising from four deaths in 2021 to 11 in 2022 – all but two by gunfire. These deaths included Justin Krumbah, an Instacart shopper shot at a Fred Meyer in Richland.

In both 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 proved the leading cause of work-related fatalities, claiming 24 and 26 lives respectively. In 2022 that number dropped to 13.

Gov. Jay Inslee told attendees that a recently passed bill is intended to increase the safety of state highway workers by authorizing the use of speed safety cameras in work zones. 

“We got the legislature to do something to increase safety for that one group of employees, and we’re always looking for things like that, to try to allow people to come home safely,” he said.

The state’s fatality rate ranks third-lowest in the country with 2.1 deaths per 100,000 workers, according to the AFL-CIO’s 2023 Death on the Job report released this week – below the national average of 3.6 deaths per 100,000 workers.