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3 days ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
In a few years, with the help of technology, prolific speeders in Washington won’t be able to drive as fast as they want. Gov. Bob Ferguson on Monday signed House Bill 1596 into law, requiring a new speed-limiting device as a condition to getting a restricted driver’s license after getting it suspended for reckless driving or excessive speeding. Judges can also require the speed limiters as a condition of pre-trial release or post-conviction probation.
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3 days ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
Problems with overcrowding have enveloped the Green Hill School juvenile detention center in Chehalis for nearly two years, leading to unsafe conditions for the minors incarcerated there and the staff tasked with overseeing them. But Washington state lawmakers left Olympia last month without making substantial changes to address the crisis. The lack of progress was frustrating for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
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6 days ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
Washington and 14 other states are suing the Trump administration over the president’s declaration of an “energy emergency” to speed up permitting for fossil fuel projects. Issued the day of his inauguration, President Donald Trump’s executive order says inadequate domestic energy development and an unreliable grid warrant the national emergency. The order argues these issues are most pronounced in the Northeast and on the West Coast.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the state’s ban on the sale of gun ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The law, passed in 2022, faced a challenge from a Kelso gun shop that argued the ban on selling the magazines violates the state constitution, which protects “the right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state.” Gator’s Custom Guns also said the law ran afoul of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
Gov. Bob Ferguson said Wednesday he trusts those arrested for the occupation of a building at the University of Washington “will be held accountable for the harm they caused.”Ferguson’s comments to reporters after a bill-signing were his first public remarks on the pro-Palestinian protest that ended with about 30 arrests and has drawn national attention.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
Washington’s U.S. senators are demanding the Trump administration reverse the cancellation of more than $50 million in grants for local public safety efforts. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice clawed back hundreds of federal grants reportedly totaling over $810 million nationwide. Washington was getting six of those grants, worth $55 million in total, according to Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
For a second year in a row, Washington police accountability advocates have seen their priorities fall flat in Olympia. They entered this year’s session wanting to grant the attorney general stronger oversight of local police departments. They also wanted to create an independent prosecutor to handle cases when police use deadly force; restrict when officers can pull drivers over; block law enforcement from lying during interrogations; and set new standards for police chiefs and sheriffs.
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1 week ago | 
yahoo.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
Heavy rain eroded part of Upper Hoh Road, closing it in December. (Photo courtesy of Jefferson County)With the help of over $600,000 in state money, the sole access road to Olympic National Park’s popular Hoh Rain Forest will reopen this week after a monthslong closure. Access on the Upper Hoh Road will be restored midday Thursday, announced Gov. Bob Ferguson. The road was washed out by the bomb cyclone that hit the region last year and has been closed since December.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
Construction is ramping up at a new state psychiatric hospital as Washington works to meet continued demand for treatment of people accused of crimes. The state broke ground in October on the new 350-bed facility at Western State Hospital in Pierce County. Work began in December, but picked up last month and passersby will start to see the building develop in June, said state Department of Social and Health Services spokesperson Jessica Nelson.
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2 weeks ago | 
washingtonstatestandard.com | Jake Goldstein-Street
Western Washington’s ports are bracing for a deep slump later this month, as the president’s standoff with China over tariffs is expected to stifle the flow of goods. Port of Seattle Commissioner Ryan Calkins predicts a 40% reduction in cargo, as President Donald Trump continues his tariff crusade with 145% levies on China, which has responded with retaliatory measures. That lost business means a similar drop in work for local longshoremen, truckers and warehouse workers.
