The Dept. of Fish and Wildlife has discovered extensive poaching in Washington as well as Oregon – revealing documents that detail 50+ poaching expeditions that may lead to charges in both states for the illegal hunting of bears, cougars, bobcats, deer and elk.

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole claims the Seattle Police Department has shown, “real, measurable success,” in meeting the standards they were required to meet after a federal decision was passed down to address excessive force and biased policing. O’Toole included a 47-page memorandum outlining her defense of the department. A federal monitor’s report recently claimed the exact opposite. A decision will be soon made by the U.S. District Judge James Robart.

Seattle Uber and Lyft drivers are not able to unionize after a federal appeals court blocked the law passed in Seattle that would have allowed unionization of ride-share drivers until an official decision has been handed down by the courts. “The Court will now have the time to hear from all parties and carefully consider the unique questions raised by the City’s ordinance,” said the general manager for Uber in the Pacific Northwest, Brooke Steger.

Bellevue might be jumping on the bike-share train. The city announced they are, “exploring the public’s interest in potential bike share services as part of the Pedestrian & Bicycle Implementation Initiative,” on their website, after being approached by companies interested in expanding to the Bellevue area.

Airport rental car companies made to give employees $2 million in back pay after the Washington State Dept. of Labor and Industries deemed the companies Hertz and Thrifty failed to pay 157 employees proper wages following the minimum wage increase.

Seattle is selling the lot across from City Hall to Bosa Development. The company bought the lot for $16 million and intends to build a residential high-rise as well as a plaza that will be available to the public. Seattle’s socialist councilmember Kshama Sawant voted against the decision, saying, “this is corporate welfare and I will not support it.”

Walla Walla City Council will be holding a meeting on election changes tonight at 7pm where residents can give input on whether or not the city should keep their at-large, citywide votes for the councilmember positions or adopt districts within the city for electing officials from specific regions.

Meetings to discuss the re-introduction of chinook salmon to the Columbia River begin this week at the Davenport Hotel between the Spokane and Colville tribes as well as state agencies – including the Dept. of Ecology.

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.