InvestigateWest is a nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom located in Seattle, WA. Environment, Government, Watchdog, Public Health. Award-winning investigative and explanatory journalism that uncovers society’s shortcomings and provides a road map for changes to public policy and practice in the Northwest.
Operating as usual
A center on gun violence is in the making in Oregon.
A Portland-based researcher recently obtained a grant to create a Gun Violence Prevention Research Center to step up research on gun deaths and injuries, their causes, and strategies for prevention. https://bit.ly/3wZ2sfQ
By Lynne Terry / Oregon Capital Chronicle / May 31, 2022 A center on gun...
An Oregon Capital Chronicle investigation reveals that Oregon’s chief environmental agency knowingly let the Port of Morrow pollute year after year, contributing to drinking water contamination for thousands. https://bit.ly/3amRuZL
SPECIAL REPORT: State officials rarely intervened and never stopped the port as it dumped hundreds...
Minidoka survivors and their descendants say a proposed wind farm’s 400 turbines would disrespect a sacred memorial. Grist.org https://bit.ly/3LXCmis
Friends of Minidoka say the Lava Ridge wind farm’s 400 turbines would disrespect a sacred...
We're thrilled to announce the addition of Diana Huynh and Joshua Trujillo to InvestigateWest's board of directors! They bring a wealth of experience in journalism, storytelling, community engagement and volunteerism to our nonprofit newsroom.
InvestigateWest is pleased to announce the addition of two board members who bring a wealth...
Washington state hopes to secure up to $2 billion in federal funding to produce hydrogen fuel as a substitute for petroleum-based gasoline. @Crosscut https://bit.ly/3N01Mxx
The state hopes to secure up to $2 billion in federal funding to produce hydrogen...
Tenant advocates argue that Washington’s law doesn’t adequately protect tenants from being billed with unreasonable damage charges that can saddle tenants in debt and stymie their effort to find a new place to live. They tried in the last legislative session to change state law to better clarify what landlords can charge for, but were unsuccessful. https://bit.ly/3atmKXa
As a single mother of four kids, losing their apartment was hard enough for Natasha...
A new project from InvestigateWest examines WA's housing laws, which advocates say don't adequately protect tenants from unreasonable damage charges that saddle them with debt and stymie their efforts to find a new place to live.
Featured in today's Seattle Times:
Tenant advocates argue Washington’s law doesn’t adequately protect tenants from being billed for unreasonable damage charges.
It's not just candidates on primary ballots.
Oregon voters are about to weigh in on state boundaries, fluoride in water, tobacco, guns and marijuana farms. Oregon Capital Chronicle
https://bit.ly/3Ng78Ek
By Julia Shumway / Oregon Capital Chronicle / May 16, 2022 Voters in three more...
New rules going into effect in Oregon in June and July are expected to protect tens of thousands of workers from illness and death when temperatures soar past 80 or when the air becomes clogged with wildfire smoke. @Oregon Capital Chronicle https://bit.ly/3FOOCRi
By Lynne Terry / Oregon Capital Chronicle / May 11, 2022 New rules going into...
Oregon has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to addiction services and promised to improve treatment but most of that money has yet to be spent and planned programs have yet to be rolled out while the state’s drug addiction problem is growing – and becoming deadlier. https://bit.ly/37tVlmK
By Lynne Terry / Oregon Capital Chronicle / May 3, 2022 At least once a...
As climate change elevates rainfall intensity in some regions, sewage treatment plants are increasingly at risk of going over-capacity, which can lead to spills of untreated wastewater into surrounding water bodies.
What are cities doing to prevent sewer spills and protect the Puget Sound? https://bit.ly/3w5rcUh
What cities are doing to stop sewer spills and protect the Puget Sound It was...
According to the most recent data from the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. recycled about 8.7 percent of its plastic refuse in 2018.
But a new report finds that the U.S.’s plastic recycling rate is now significantly lower, with just 5 or 6 percent of the country’s plastic waste converted into new products in 2021. https://bit.ly/3yrqdPR
By Joseph Winters / Grist “This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its...
Podcast: InvestigateWest's Wilson Criscione talks with RANGE about his "Justice by Geography" series, which examines how the justice system in Washington differs in life-altering ways across the state.
In Washington, whether or not you get access to pretrial services, which often requires home monitoring, drug testing and other costly things, largely depends on the jurisdiction you’re in.
Two proposed hydropower projects in southern Oregon, and a third just across the Columbia River near Goldendale, Wash., have so far generated no electricity, but plenty of controversy. https://bit.ly/3P4lVDT
As electricity markets evolve, a noted economist says several proposed renewable-energy projects could cost more...
Listen up: Samantha Wohlfeil, who's writing InvestigateWest's "Problem of Plastic" series, went on OPB to talk about how states are trying to hold plastic manufacturers accountable.
Oregon lawmakers passed a bill in 2021 to upgrade the state’s recycling system — and get manufacturers of packaged goods to pay for a lot of the improvements. Lawmakers in Washington recently tried to do something similar.
The federal government created “in-lieu” & “treaty fishing access sites” along the Columbia River after dam construction on the river flooded tribal villages and fishing sites, & displaced citizens of the four Columbia River treaty tribes.
Now, after the four treaty tribes have fought for years to be compensated for the loss of the land, the federal government says it’s serious about finally addressing the sites’ infrastructure deficiencies. https://bit.ly/3MWGlNp
Bryan Newland, the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, says the money will help begin...
Bryan Newland, the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, says the money will help begin tackling a lengthy list of longstanding problems at in-lieu and treaty fishing access sites.
Bryan Newland, the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, says the money will help begin...
Justice Alito’s leaked opinion cites Sir Matthew Hale, a 17th-century jurist who conceived the notion that husbands can’t be prosecuted for raping their wives, who sentenced women to death as “witches,” and whose misogyny stood out even in his time.
via ProPublica:
Justice Alito’s leaked opinion cites Sir Matthew Hale, a 17th-century jurist who conceived the notion...
Abortion rights are codified in Oregon law by the Reproductive Health Equity Act of 2017, which expanded abortion care coverage to everyone – regardless of their status – and made them free. But there are still Oregonians who can’t afford to pay for child care, travel, food or lodging to get an abortion, officials say.
By Lynne Terry / Oregon Capital Chronicle / May 3, 2022 The leaders of Planned...
Concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, raise hundreds of thousands of animals at a time in large facilities indoors. Opponents call them factory farms.
A coalition of Oregon-based advocacy groups is calling on the state to ban CAFOs on fertile farmland. https://bit.ly/3EVGrSx
By Lynne Terry / Oregon Capital Chronicle / April 26, 2022 Environmentalists, small farm advocates...
Citing InvestigateWest's recent reporting, the Spokesman-Review's Shawn Vestal examines pretrial services, writing, "Sitting in jail only because you can’t afford bail means you’re being incarcerated for poverty, pure and simple."
One of the persistently baffling elements of our criminal justice discourse is the large number of people, including public officials, who seem lightly committed to the presumption of innocence.
In contrast to nonprofits that operate their own thrift stores, such as Salvation Army or Goodwill, Value Village is a private equity company, and, unlike those nonprofits, it does not disclose its revenue or the share of its profits benefiting charity. https://bit.ly/38xzfzK
The state says the for-profit thrift store chain wrapped itself in ‘a charitable veneer’ and...
Washington state says the for-profit thrift store chain wrapped itself in "a charitable veneer" and violated consumer protection laws. The company says it’s done nothing wrong.
The state says the for-profit thrift store chain wrapped itself in ‘a charitable veneer’ and...
In today's InvestigateWest newsletter: "Justice for... all? Plus, the problem of plastic."
Read more: https://mailchi.mp/invw/green-energy-hidden-costs-spark-opposition-1151451?e=6b1a34d96a
Sign up to receive future newsletters here: https://mailchi.mp/invw/weekly-update-signup-form-website
Environmentalists, small farm advocates and local residents are pursuing a new tactic in their opposition to two industrial chicken plants planned for an area southeast of Salem.
via Oregon Capital Chronicle:
By Lynne Terry / Oregon Capital Chronicle / April 26, 2022 Environmentalists, small farm advocates...
“If you’re arrested in the city and you’re low-income, you have a fighting chance. If you’re picked up by the county, they don’t offer any help. What ends up happening is folks end up staying in jail because they don’t have the money.”
Read 'Justice by Geography," a new reporting project by InvestigateWest: https://www.invw.org/2022/04/23/where-you-live-in-washington-may-determine-whether-you-get-stuck-in-jail-before-trial/
'Justice by Geography': This is the first story in a new series by InvestigateWest exposing how the justice system in Washington differs in life-altering ways across the state.
Ten years ago, while driving to her nephew’s birthday party, Amber Letchworth was pulled over...
Though most pandemic restrictions in Oregon are gone, several dozen businesses cited by state safety officials for violating Covid mandates still owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines to the state.
By Lynne Terry / Oregon Capital Chronicle / April 19, 2022 Though most pandemic restrictions...
In 2019, the Spokane tribe completed a project that put solar power on 23 homes for elders as well as nine public buildings, including the longhouse, the main administrative building and a fish hatchery. But the tribe is just getting started.
Read more about how tribes are seeking to harness energy from sun, wind and water: https://www.invw.org/2022/04/06/tribes-look-to-renewable-energy-to-power-jobs-of-the-future/
After a judge dismissed charges of shellfish trafficking on treaty grounds, tribes and treaty rights organizations say the case exemplifies how Washington officials are working to undermine treaty fishing rights and agreements, which the state denies.
After a judge dismissed charges of shellfish trafficking on treaty grounds, tribes and treaty rights...
Since January 1, 2021, when new new rules were supposed to begin clamping down on countries that ship their plastic refuse abroad, the U.S., Canada, and the European Union have offloaded hundreds of millions of tons of plastic to other countries, where much of it may be landfilled, burned, or littered into the environment.
via Grist: https://www.invw.org/2022/04/18/rich-countries-are-illegally-exporting-plastic-trash-to-poor-countries-data-suggests/
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