Update: I resigned from Cascade PBS today, as my mother needs more treatment for pancreatic cancer before they can try surgery.

I don’t think I’ll be back to WA before the august primaries.

But I will return to Olympia when the cosmos permit.

Big honor for an important public service. Congrats Cascade PBS Newsroom and McClatchy !

Congratulations Joseph O'Sullivan and Shauna Sowersby for this award and your impressive and important work on behalf of the people of Washington who have a right to know what their elected government representatives are up to.

My thanks to Shauna Sowersby for all her great work & dedication to shining a light on WA state gov’t.

And our thanks to Dusti Demarest & my editor, Donna Blankinship, whose time management & editing skills made our coverage possible. #waleg

It’s easy to treat the media as a punching bag. But look to the nation’s local newsrooms. For little money or recognition, reporters in 2023 stood up to power brokers who tried to bully them into silence, exposed corrupt officials and even saved lives. Proof, from every state:

Families of former psychiatric patients who died at Northern State Hospital are using newly released records to find their graves.

seattletimes.com/seattle-news/t…

Embezzlement of Oregon weekly newspaper’s funds forces it to lay off entire staff and halt print apnews.com/article/eugene…

The 2024 race for the White House will take up a lot of time, attention and money over the next 11 months. But other votes at the state level could significantly influence the presidential campaign and our daily lives.

Lisa Desjardins speaks to Reid Wilson for more.

'Meet the CARE Team, Seattle’s new mental health crisis responders' - Nimra Ahmad & Genna Martin went for a ride along with the city's new 'dual dispatch' 911 response pilot program to see how it works and what it might do if it expands crosscut.com/news/2023/12/m…

Conservative measure against WA Cares Fund could hit 2024 ballot-

A group Thursday handed in signatures for I-2124, which could effectively dismantle WA Cares, the state’s social insurance program for long-term care: crosscut.com/briefs/2023/12… #waelex #waleg

Lisa Brown is sworn in as the new mayor of Spokane, reports Mai P. Hoang (Also at: maiphoang.bsky.social):

crosscut.com/briefs/2023/12…

Seattle removes Black Lives Matter garden from Cal Anderson Park-

City cited “public health and public safety issues” including vandalism of the park’s public bathrooms. City crews also removed tent encampments, reports venice buhain:
crosscut.com/briefs/2023/12…

ICYMI: High copy fees curtail #PublicAccess to #GovernmentInfo and concerns over #secrecy grow across the country as #StateOfficials shield #PublicRecords . The Brechner Report: bit.ly/48iUqPU

Meet the CARE Team, Seattle’s new mental health crisis responders-

The group is dispatched w/ police officers to 911 calls as part of a pilot program that avoids using force.
(via Nimra Ahmad)

crosscut.com/news/2023/12/m…

Mountain Pass Updates
US 2/Stevens: Traction tires advised. Overcast, slush in places, 33°.
US 97/Blewett: No restrictions. Fog, bare & wet, 32°.
I-90/Snoqualmie: No restrictions. Overcast, bare & wet, 34°.
US 12/White: No restrictions. Light snow, 28°.

The Skagit valley’s white winter birds bring beauty — and conflict-

Birders, hunters & farmers clash over the lesser snow geese and trumpeter and tundra swans that flock to the land in the colder months. (via life)
crosscut.com/environment/20…

WA bridges still in poor condition, despite $630M in federal aid-

State transportation agency has allocated about 13% of early funding for repairs, but more is needed to address the backlog of projects, reports Lizz Giordano:
crosscut.com/investigations… #waleg