Sound Transit will finally be investigated for possibly misleading legislators and voters. A Senate committee will be holding a work session to whether the agency, “may have engaged in a systematic effort to confuse and misrepresent the impact and cost of the ST3 authorization.”

Washington governments and agencies will now be permitted to charge a small fee to hand out electronic public-records requests, after a report from last August discovered that our state spent more than $60 million in one year to comply with requests.

Gov. Inslee signed a measure to bring Washington State driver’s licenses and ID cards into compliance under the federal REAL ID Act. The security enhancements required under the act were put into place following 9/11. “This will help to ease problems at border crossings, airports, federal courthouses, and military bases where REAL ID compliant documents are required,” Inslee said. Beginning July 2018, people with regular instead of enhanced drivers’ licenses will have their licenses marked as not REAL ID compliant and will need additional documentation for things like flying, even on domestic flights, and border crossings.

Holding your phone while driving, even at a stoplight, will be prohibited in Washington starting mid-July. It is currently illegal to text and drive or to hold your phone to your ear, but mid-July will see a crack-down with a new measure that will prohibit you from checking your texts or Facebook or emails while sitting behind the wheel – no matter what.

The Dept. of L&I has issued a citation to King County Metro because the dim lighting for the two bases puts workers at risk. The East Base and South Base, northeast of downtown Bellevue and Tukwila, do not meet average brightness requirements. “Inadequate lighting can result in accidents and injuries to the employees walking in the yard,” and needs to be improved by May 22.

Seattle will be removing the homeless encampments beneath I-5 and I-90 this week. City officials ordered clearing of the highly visible homeless camps in Sodo and the Central District due to safety concerns after seizing pistols and rifles following a drug warrant in the camps. They have been spending two weeks helping people find alternative places to live, but only six of the 93 people have accepted help.

Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission will not allow Mayor Ed Murray or his supporters to solicit money through a legal fund. “Given our current ethics code or what we care about, I just don’t see a path in our current structure for a legal-defense fund,” commission chair Eileen Norton said – including a fund run independent from the state.

Puget Sound Energy is being sued by a Seattle firefighter, due to the injuries – including memory and hearing loss as well as severe headaches among other issues – he sustained after the natural-gas explosion took out two buildings in Seattle last year. The explosion was due to improper handling of gas lines and PSE has already faced a preliminary settlement with the state worth $1.5 million for their negligence.

The Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against the Spokane County Democrat Party for failing to report over $100,000 in contributions on time. The lawsuit comes down on the party for accepting more money from the Spokane Firefighters Union PAC than allowed according to state campaign finance laws.

Spokane Firefighters Union president, John Goodman, has stepped down, and the group is looking for a new chief for the city. Goodman cited “personal reasons,” and acting president of the union, Randy Marler, explained, “He said he was comfortable leaving the business because of the union in good hands.”

“Airway Heights water customers are advised to not drink city water nor use city water for cooking until the water system,” is no longer contaminated, Airway Heights and the Air Force said in a joint statement. Contaminated water was discovered in various wells near the Fairchild Air Force base, but tap water was still reported as safe to be used for bathing and laundry.

Do you like The Morning Briefing? Forward this to a friend! It helps us grow our community and serve you better.

If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected].

If you don’t want to receive this email each morning, click here to opt-out of The Morning Briefing.