775 kids have been suspended from elementary schools in the new year, which is double the number for middle and high school kids. As it stands, suspensions can last up to two weeks for these children. SB 5155 proposes to keep kids in kindergarten-through-second-grade in school by limiting suspension to a day and a half for them and requiring a plan of action for the student to return to class. Last year, there were 8,800 students of the same age statewide who were suspended.

The State Senate passed a bill to help clear sex trafficking victims of their prostitution convictions regardless of other offenses on their criminal record. Currently, victims with any other convictions on their criminal records are not able to clean their record of the charges. As many victims are forced to commit other crimes during their time enslaved, it can be difficult to pass a background check for a job once they are free. This bill works to allow prostitution to be stricken from their record regardless of any other crime on it.

University of Washington’s women’s crew team lied about roster size in what could have been an attempt to stay in compliance with Title IX rules. An investigation by The Seattle Times revealed that many women counted on rosters in previous years did not actually participate in rowing events or races. Under Title IX, men and women must have equal opportunities in collegiate athletics or they risk losing their funding.

Tacoma is paying $50,000 in fines for violating a Public Records Act after they refused to release a nondisclosure agreement to the Center for Open Policing following a request made in 2014. The City of Tacoma had signed an NDA to obtain Stingray, which is cellphone surveillance equipment, and claim they redacted portions of the document released through the Public Records Act at the request of the FBI.

Lacey City Council candidate Matthew Staples surprisingly doesn’t actually live in Lacey. Living in the unincorporated peninsula outside of Lacey disqualifies Staples for running, but he says he won’t give up. “I will find a way,” Staples has declared, as he lives 500 feet outside of the city limits.

Lakewood police officers are being trained to draw blood from potential DUI offenders in what Police Chief Mike Zaro says is a move to eliminate “the need to bring the arrested drivers to the hospital, thereby eliminating the drain on hospital resources, eliminating potential delays and eliminating the involvement of non-police personnel in the arrest process.”

Buckley Police Department has been providing police services to Wilkeson and Carbonado, close to Mount Rainier, to save money. A contract between the cities ensures that Buckley is still paid for outsourcing their services. “If there are things that we can do together and be more efficient, I’m all for it,” former Fife Mayor Winston Marsh has said. Fife has joined the aforementioned cities in contracts like this to help with efficiency in public services.

Willapa Bay oyster plant fined for 12 years of false pollution data and a former manager has been handed a year of probation. Rather than performing monthly tests of wastewater that would be let out into the bay, they took samples from a diluted source and even went as far as doctoring results to show lower levels of fecal coliform being released from the oyster plant. Their acts are in direct violation of the Clean Water Act.

Kennewick may be allowed to limit duration, size and other factors of church-sponsored homeless encampments. Dayspring Ministries, a nondenominational church, opened up a homeless shelter in the parking lot of a church-owned building. When the city shut the shelter down because of building code violations, they continued to allow camping in the parking lot. The city cites safety issues as motivation behind increased regulation.

Four liberals are facing the possibility of fines for refusing to cast their vote for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. Rather than voting for Clinton, the four rogue members of the Washington electoral college cast their votes for third party candidates, a right which they claim the 12th amendment protects. However, a 1976 law imposes a fine for people who vote against the candidate nominated by the voters in the state. The final ruling has yet to be handed down.

Senators Murray and Cantwell decided to finally support the 10th amendment when they wrote letters to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to advocate for upholding the legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington. Seems like they can’t remember that they don’t support states’ rights…

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