You heard it on KUOW | Tuesday, Feb. 5
The latest from our KUOW newscasters: Katherine Banwell, Angela King and Kim Malcolm.
Snow Consequences
State lawmakers are considering a new bill that would ban studded tires by the year 2025.
It may not be the news some drivers want to hear, especially after dealing these icy, snow-covered roads.
It also calls for imposing a $100 dollar fee on the purchase of any new studded tires — markedly more than the current $5, according to the Spokesman-Review newspaper.
But the paper also said the raised amount still wouldn't cover the estimated damage caused to state roads by the tires.
King County managers will be monitoring Richmond Beach in Shoreline today following a large wastewater spill Monday.
More than 19,000 gallons flowed right into the Puget Sound during a power outage at the Richmond Beach Pump Station yesterday. It continued for about 20 minutes before the pump station started operating normally again.
More from our reporters:
- No, Seattle, not every street will get snowplowed
- As freezing cold continues, Seattle opens emergency shelters
Seattle Squeeze
Now that Seattle's new downtown tunnel is open, traffic may feel a little lighter.
But the so-called Seattle Squeeze will last for at least two more years.
Heather Marx at SDOT said they don't expect traffic to ease until light-rail stations open north and east of Seattle.
The next big change comes in March, when the city stops allowing buses in the downtown transit tunnel. Those buses, up to 80 of them an hour, will be pushed to downtown streets.
This summer another problem could arise: When tolling starts on the Highway 99 tunnel, drivers may flee to surface streets to avoid paying.
Out of Olympia
A proposed new Washington state law would tell commercial whale watchers to back off.
They'd be forced to stay more than six football fields away from any Southern resident orca through 2023.
"We should be able to hammer out a compromise that keeps that whale watching industry healthy," said Rep. Brian Blake (D-Aberdeen), who is co-sponsoring the bill.
Several judges, lawmakers, and even the governor will be getting a pay raise soon.
The Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials signed off on the salary bumps yesterday: $3,000 pay raise for this year and next.
So in 2020, rank-and-file lawmakers will earn nearly $57,000 a year - up from their current salary of nearly $49,000.
In addition to raising base salaries by varying amounts, the commission approved cost-of-living adjustments for all those positions of 2 percent in 2019 and another 2 percent in 2020.
And Gov. Jay Inslee, will get about $187,000 dollars by 2020.
Governor Jay Inslee has signed off on a revised version of I-940.
Under the voter-approved measure dealing with deadly police shootings officers in question will now be judged on the basis of whether other officers — acting reasonably in the same situation — would have believed deadly force was necessary.
Outbreak And Overdoses
There are now 51 confirmed measles cases in the Pacific Northwest.
That includes 49 in the southwest part of the state and one each in the Portland and Seattle areas. There are also seven suspected cases.
In Clark County, Washington, 42 of the patients were not vaccinated against the highly contagious virus and the vaccination history of six people wasn't clear.
But the good news - The virus hasn't shown up in any new places.
More overdose deaths are likely coming nationwide. What about in Washington state?
Produced for the web by Kara McDermott.
