One of the items on Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s 2019 to do list: Go after ghost guns, or untraceable firearms ordered through the mail or made with a 3D printer. “This is common sense,” Ferguson told KIRO Radio. ”Ghost guns are a real threat  because –they’re made out of plastic, they can go through security at your Seahawks game or at your airport.” His legislation would ban the production and distribution of ghost guns and ban the dissemination of information on how to print one at home. (My Northwest)

Taking a page from the Aussies’ playbook, Seattle is looking to address youth homelessness before it begins. A few schools in Australia screen students for their risk of becoming homeless or not finishing school. They then connect those high-risk students to public and nonprofit agencies for assistance. The “Geelong Project” has reduced the number of youth entering the homeless system there by 40 percent (Seattle Times)

Cities aren’t looking to Seattle as a roadmap for success because of “the idea that Seattle surrenders to its problems,” writes David Boze. He was responding to a New York Times editorial titled “Happy New Year! May your city never become San Francisco, New York, or Seattle.” Boze points to the city’s inability to adequately deal with the homeless encampments sprawled around town as a prime example of Seattle’s surrender. (My Northwest)

The federal Dept. of Energy awarded a Hanford contract, estimated to be worth up to $152 million, to a Kennewick company. HPM Corp., the occupational medical contractor for the Hanford nuclear reservation, won the Hanford Occupational Medical Services Contract. Chief executive Scott Brodeur said HPM is “highly familiar with the Hanford Site working environment and any potential for impacts to work health and well being.” (Tri-City Herald)