Tom Banse
Stories
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What if voting were not just a right, but a legally required duty?
Numerous Democrats in the Washington Legislature are backing a new proposal to make voting in elections compulsory. Citizens are required by law to cast ballots in about 25 counties, but in no other U.S. states. Republicans in Olympia described the idea as "un-American."
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Foam dock floats, laundry filters, hotel shampoo amongst newest bids to reduce plastic pollution
Everywhere they look, Pacific Northwest scientists find teeny-tiny plastic pollution. Broken down particles are in our water, falling out of the air, in salmon, shellfish and in our own bodies. Scientists, environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers in Olympia and Salem have seen enough to make them seek more regulations.
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Gov. Inslee leans into housing and homelessness in 2023 State of the State address
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee emphasized housing construction and homelessness response during his 2023 State of the State address on Tuesday. The issue is a bipartisan priority for the state legislature, but approaches differ among the lawmakers who convened in Olympia this week.
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6 issues atop the agenda for the 2023 Washington Legislature
Washington state voters and lawmakers appear to be in close alignment on their top priorities for the incoming Washington Legislature. The 2023 session gavels to order at noon on Monday, January 9.
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Pacific NW 'hydrogen hub' pitch to federal government treated as top secret
The states of Washington and Oregon have submitted a joint bid to the U.S. Department of Energy to get a share of $8 billion that Congress set aside to launch "Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs" around the nation. But good luck trying to learn what exactly the bi-state bid entails, other than the safe presumption that at least one industrial hydrogen production facility would be subsidized.
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Lighting the way for 150 years: Yaquina Head Lighthouse prepares for sesquicentennial
The stewards of Oregon's tallest lighthouse are sprucing up the popular landmark on Oregon's central coast for its 150th anniversary in 2023.
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Lots of whales spotted around offshore wind farm zones along West Coast
The federal government has commissioned Oregon State University to look into the possible impacts of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife. In the first year of this four-year project, the researchers spotted sizable numbers of seabirds and whales – including the largest animal on Earth – in the Oregon and Northern California areas that could one day host floating wind farms.
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Swelling school of seaweed farmers looking to anchor in somewhat choppy Northwest waters
Prospective kelp growers who want to join the handful of existing commercial seaweed farms in the Pacific Northwest are having to contend with a lengthy permitting process. It's gotten contentious in a few cases, but even so, at least a couple of new seaweed farms stand on the cusp of approval. Their harvests could be sold for human food, animal feed or fertilizer.
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Captains of big ships eased up on the throttle during trial slowdown to help endangered orcas
The majority of captains of big commercial ships entering and leaving Puget Sound are cooperating with a request to slow down temporarily to reduce underwater noise impacts to the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered killer whales. The duration of the experimental slowdown – modeled on a similar project in British Columbia – will be extended into the new year, organizers announced during a status report and celebration on the Seattle waterfront Friday.
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Slow down, people! Surge in traffic deaths continues in West Coast states
While many of the disruptions of the pandemic have eased this year, the surge in traffic fatalities is showing few signs of abating. Policymakers are trying a number of tactics to respond.