School leaders received numerous reports that former high school English teacher Curtis Johnston was “dating” a student but failed to intervene, complaint says
The proposal would expand the definition of illegal sexual contact between prison staff and an inmate to include kissing, groping
Washington is one of 12 states without enforceable state standards or oversight — that won’t change in 2026
The U.S. Geological Survey released the results to a study yesterday that found mercury contamination in every fish tested in nearly 300 streams across the nation -- one quarter of which exceeded safe mercury levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, reported The Seattle Times, among others.
The study, considered one of the most comprehensive to date, pinned atmospheric mercury as the culprit in most streams. While the EPA says that coal-fired power plants are the largest polluter of toxic mercury, some of the most elevated levels were found in Western states, who still bear the toxic scars of decades of mercury and gold mining.
This study comes at an interesting time. Alaska's Kensington gold mine just recently received the final go-ahead as it prepares to dump mercury and various other mine waste into the nearby Lower Slate Lake. And Matthew Preusch of the Oregonian reports that Oregon is pairing up with one of the nation's most notorious airborne mercury polluter, Ash Grove Cement Co. While Oregon's top environmental agency is trying to cut the cement plant's mercury pollution by 75 percent -- they also are asking that the plant be exempt from the EPA's new, more stringent limits on mercury emissions.
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Advocates say boosting insurance pay would help expand programs for vulnerable pregnant people
School leaders received numerous reports that former high school English teacher Curtis Johnston was “dating” a student but failed to intervene, complaint says
The proposal would expand the definition of illegal sexual contact between prison staff and an inmate to include kissing, groping
Washington is one of 12 states without enforceable state standards or oversight — that won’t change in 2026
If you cover criminal justice in the Pacific Northwest — or want to — we’re hosting a free virtual training that may be useful to you and your newsroom
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