Elizabeth Whitman

Freelance Contributor at Freelance

writer and farmer. stories of water, climate, & environment @phoenixnewtimes, @nature, @harpers, & elsewhere.

Articles

WA spent $45M to boost electric vehicle use - with mixed results

1 week ago | cascadepbs.org | Elizabeth Whitman

Brian Hedengren needed a new car. Minor issues bugged his 2008 Hyundai Sonata, and he did not want to wait for them to become serious. Last fall, as he researched his options, including electric cars, a dealer told him about a state program offering rebates of up to $9,000 to qualified Washingtonians to buy or lease an electric vehicle. “ I was already interested in an EV,” Hedengren said.
How Investment Promoters Can Avoid Violating Securities Law

1 month ago | openlegalblogarchive.org | Elizabeth Whitman

Musicians are increasingly lending their names to endorse products in exchange for financial compensation, sometimes related to music and sometimes not. Soprano Renee Fleming has collaborated with beauty companies. Lang Lang has lent his name to a limited edition Steinway piano. Taylor Swift has partnered with Diet Coke, while Beyonce has endorsed Pepsi. Travis Scott has lent his name to a McDonald’s meal, while Megan Thee Stallion has lent her name to a hot sauce at Popeye’s.
Finding forever homes for the Pacific Northwest’s wild mustangs

2 months ago | cascadepbs.org | Elizabeth Whitman

For 15 years, Mustang Yearlings Washington Youth has been training wild horses and placing them with private owners to help prevent overpopulation. Marjie Hicks leads Casino into the arena to perform in the MYWY mustang challenge in Enumclaw, Washington. (M. Scott Brauer for High Country News) This article first appeared in High Country News. Woolly rumps swayed in unison as two stock trailers rumbled into the Ellensburg, Washington, rodeo grounds.
Meet the people who train wild horses

2 months ago | hcn.org | Elizabeth Whitman

Woolly rumps swayed in unison as two stock trailers rumbled into the Ellensburg, Washington, rodeo grounds. The passengers took in their surroundings, ears flicking and nostrils flaring in the 39-degree air. After a full day of bumping over local roads from Bureau of Land Management corrals in Oregon, the mustangs had finally arrived. Marjie Hicks, 64, watched the horses roll in.
Washington youth homelessness organizations face upheaval

Jan 27, 2025 | columbian.com | Elizabeth Whitman

Interconnected efforts to address youth homelessness in Washington over the past decade experienced major upheaval in recent months as high-profile initiatives closed suddenly or saw significant leadership change. Kim Justice, who had led the state’s Office of Homeless Youth since its establishment in 2015, announced in early September that she would depart in mid-October, leaving operations under interim direction going into the new year.
Washington youth homelessness organizations face upheaval

Jan 20, 2025 | cascadepbs.org | Elizabeth Whitman

Kim Justice, who had led the state’s Office of Homeless Youth since its establishment in 2015, announced in early September that she would depart in mid-October, leaving operations under interim direction going into the new year. The state Department of Commerce, which oversees the office, expected to hire a new director in February.
WA homeless youth program closes after contractor ‘misspent’ $330k

Apr 16, 2024 | crosscut.com | Elizabeth Whitman

Officials ordered a lobbying firm to pay back money meant for a state-funded Lifeline pilot hotline that connects at-risk young people to services. A new state-funded program aimed at connecting at-risk youth with social services abruptly suspended operations. Now the state has ordered the program contractor, lobbying firm SDM Consulting and CEO Samuel D.
Introducing the Youth Today News Podcast

Apr 8, 2024 | northwestreports.podbean.com | Sam Leeds |Sara Bernard |Elizabeth Whitman

The third episode of the investigative series co-produced with Crosscut focuses on one woman's experience with foster care and homelessness in WA. A few months ago, Crosscut collaborated with the nonprofit organization Youth Today to produce a three-part multimedia series on youth homelessness. Reporter Elizabeth Whitman and producer Sam Leeds investigated several pilot programs designed to support young people who’ve been involved in state systems such as foster care or juvenile justice.
foster care and homelessness

Jan 3, 2024 | seattleschild.com | Elizabeth Whitman |Sam Leeds |Cheryl Murfin

One day in second grade, Janell Braxton’s teacher told her, unexpectedly, that her mom had come to pick her up for a dentist appointment. Janell, thrilled to avoid reading time, trotted off to the school office. But she did not see her mother. Instead, a social worker told Janell that the adults had lied about the dentist. She would move into foster care, which Janell’s young mind imagined as a form of jail. Why had this happened? she wondered. Because she hadn’t eaten her vegetables?
‘Home was never a place’: One woman’s life in WA foster care

Nov 27, 2023 | columbian.com | Elizabeth Whitman |Sam Leeds

One day in second grade, Janell Braxton’s teacher told her, unexpectedly, that her mom had come to pick her up for a dentist appointment. Janell, thrilled to avoid reading time, trotted off to the school office. But she did not see her mother. Instead, a social worker told Janell that the adults had lied about the dentist. She would move into foster care, which Janell’s young mind imagined as a form of jail. Why had this happened? she wondered. Because she hadn’t eaten her vegetables?