A new U.S. Senate study quantifies the shockingly high cost of the opioid epidemic in our state. The Health, Labor, Education & Pensions Committee estimated a cost of $34 billion over four years in Washington State, with roughly $7 billion of those costs attributed to the economic impacts of deaths. (Seattle Times)

“Jay Inslee clearly wants to be president of the United States,” said KIRO 97.3 host Dori Monson, Inslee’s old basketball buddy, who clearly wasn’t impressed with Inslee’s recent appearance on Bill Maher. “He has decided he is going to come across as some liberal sage. And he is going to try to use flowery language to sound smart, but it’s not working.” (My Northwest)

After a successful court argument that it is unconstitutional to impound a truck a man lived in, the case is now about making Seattle acknowledge the truck/home should not be treated the same as other cars parked on the street. My Northwest reports that an estimated 2,000+ people live in vehicles and RVs in King County. (My Northwest)

The City of Seattle’s pathetic record of financial management just got a little worse. A review of 2015’s voter-approved “Move Seattle” transportation levy shows the city is “is falling behind on a number of its promised street and sidewalk improvements, and funding shortfalls will likely force some projects to be downsized or abandoned,” in part because SDOT “undersold the costs of the projects it was promising during the push for public approval in 2015”. (Seattle Times)

“This city was founded on water power. It’s a legacy that I think is akin to our national parks.” Larry Snider, a resident of Spokane, echoed similar statements regarding Avista Corp’s proposed $5.3 billion sale to Hydro One Ltd of Canada.  The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission heard from about 80 customers on Monday – many expressing concerns and doubts about the deal. (The Spokesman-Review)

A report released by the state Auditor’s Office says the financial supervisor of the Yakima County Clerk’s Office is responsible for a missing $3,599. The auditor’s office took up an investigation after the county’s financial services department discovered that bank deposits from a roughly three-month period didn’t include all cash collected. (Yakima Herald-Republic)

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