Last year a state Corrections employee told me she was troubled by prison officials’ failure to request autopsies after people died in custody. I looked into it for @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

When people die in WA prisons, many don’t get an autopsy

Autopsies offer the best chance at flagging whether mistreatment contributed to an incarcerated person’s death. But state officials often skip them.

seattletimes.com

Flock exec threatening WA's public records act indicates this could be a major ruling. Cities now waking up to the abuse potential of mass surveillance software. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

WA cities reconsider license plate cameras after judge's ruling

Police in Washington are backpedaling on using Flock Safety cameras after a tattoo artist filed lawsuits asserting their databases are public record.

seattletimes.com

I talked with @kuow.org yesterday about the story of Alex Kuhnhausen, a 25-year-old WA prisoner who died last year from an infection that prison medical staff failed to treat and corrections officials kept hidden from his wife. www.kuow.org/stories/help...

Alex Kuhnhausen developed a bacterial infection while in solitary confinement. The repeated failures that followed offer a rare look at how decisions made by prison officials can turn treatable ailments deadly, @brandonblock.bsky.social reports. www.investigatewest.org/how-a-wa-pri...

From youth labor violations to housing abuses to pandemic aid fraud, Cascade PBS investigative reporters cast light into undercovered corners of Washington. Our final Impact Report and a thread of some of the team's best work: www.cascadepbs.org/impact-repor...

Investigations team caps four years with state law, policy reforms

From youth labor violations to housing abuses to pandemic aid fraud, Cascade PBS investigative reporters cast light into undercovered corners of WA in 2025.

cascadepbs.org

Really good reporting from @ashleyhiruko.bsky.social on shelter beds being paid for but left unfilled, seemingly in part over a deputy mayor's personal dislike of a prominent Seattle homelessness services provider.

KUOW Public Radio@kuow.org · 10mo ago

By December, Seattle taxpayers were paying a hefty $4,200 a month per empty room — at a time when thousands of Seattleites were without a roof over their heads.

I was on @kuow.org yesterday talking about why Thurston County leaders never pursued a property management company that Auditors suspected of running a $940,000 pandemic aid fraud scheme. www.kuow.org/stories/what...

What happened to nearly $1 million of pandemic assistance in Thurston County?

A case of fraud put a stop to emergency aid in Thurston County for months, but county leaders never pressed charges against the alleged perpetrator or demanded the money back.

kuow.org

Whatcom County Council has now introduced legislation to increase oversight of lawsuit payouts in continued fallout from my reporting on the favorable treatment of a former public works director accused of sexual harassment.

Cascadia Daily News@cascadiadaily.com · 10mo ago

Whatcom County Council introduced an amendment on Tuesday night to close a legal loop hole that left them in the dark about a $225,000 payout in 2022 to an employee who accused her manager of sexual harassment and retaliation.

actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...

New investigation: Auditors flagged dozens of payments to Lance Benson’s property management company as suspected fraud. But county leaders chose to go after the nonprofit aid distributor instead. www.cascadepbs.org/investigatio...

Olympia ‘Diaper Guy’ named in $940K rent aid fraud investigation

Auditors flagged dozens of payments to Lance Benson’s property management company as suspected fraud. But county leaders chose to go after the nonprofit aid distributor instead.

cascadepbs.org

Five years after a wildfire started by its power lines torched the town of Malden, Avista utilities has settled lawsuits with hundreds of victims for $27 million — but done little to prevent future fires. www.cascadepbs.org/investigatio...

WA families struggle to rebuild after utility-sparked wildfires

Five years after its power lines started a devastating fire in Malden, Avista has settled lawsuits for $27M — but fallen behind on disaster prevention.

cascadepbs.org

Self-styled green energy leaders OR and WA lag far behind in adding renewables. I interviewed OPB reporters Tony Schick and Monica Samayoa who report the region’s maxed out transmission grid is stalling growth. www.cascadepbs.org/podcasts/nor...

It’s (Still) Not Easy Going Green: Bonus Episode

Despite ambitious goals toward combating climate change, Oregon and Washington lag far behind other states when it comes to adding renewable energy.

cascadepbs.org

New docs show that jail guards failed to respond to requests for medical help in the hours before David McGrath and Kevin Wiley died at the Issaquah City Jail. www.cascadepbs.org/investigatio...

Issaquah pays $5.5M to settle jail deaths as costs mount statewide

Two men died after requesting medical help they never received. WA’s nation-leading jail death rates have led to millions in payouts, and local reforms.

cascadepbs.org

WA Democrats opted to extend child support garnishments as part of their plan to balance the state's budget deficit, just one year after voting to end the practice. www.cascadepbs.org/investigatio...

WA lawmakers walk back agreement to end child support garnishment

Legislators voted last year to stop intercepting payments meant for low-income families. Now with a budget deficit, they plan collections through 2029.

cascadepbs.org

NEW: Oregon and Washington ranked near or at the bottom of the country for adding renewable energy during the past decade, despite pledges to eliminate fossil fuels from power generation. With @opb.org

How the Pacific Northwest’s Dream of Green Energy Fell Apart

The Northwest states passed aggressive goals to decarbonize the power supply but left it to the Bonneville Power Administration to build the transmission lines needed for wind and solar. The agency…

propublica.org

Kurt Beckett consulted for multiple wind and solar companies seeking development permits. Now he leads the agency tasked with permitting his ex-clients’ projects. www.cascadepbs.org/investigatio...

New Washington energy chair’s industry ties raise ethics questions

Former energy consultant Kurt Beckett now heads the agency tasked with permitting his ex-clients’ wind and solar plants.

cascadepbs.org

WA's workplace safety agency taking unprecedented enforcement action after @lizzgiordano.bsky.social investigation found a teen lost his legs doing prohibited work for construction company Rotschy

Lizz Giordano@lizzgiordano.bsky.social · last yr.

"They should have reasonably known the requirements." WA agency seeks first ever felony for violating youth labor law after teen loses both legs doing prohibited construction work. bit.ly/3Yfycf1 @cascadepbsnewsroom.bsky.social

We were out picketing today to let @cascadepbsnewsroom.bsky.social know we want a fair contract now!

Cascade PBS Union@cascadepbsunion.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨Unfair labor practice alert🚨 Over the weekend the union filed a ULP complaint against @cascadepbs.bsky.social for preventing us from passing out union literature in non-work spaces, which is a protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act. (1/4)

The @cascadepbsunion.bsky.social is back on the march holding another lunch time info picket. And today we’re joined by 9 community members (not to mention all the honks in solidarity) who know Real News costs Real Money! We’re gonna keep fighting til we get the fair contract we deserve.

When Seattle pioneered the $15 minimum wage a decade ago, supporters and opponents made equally dramatic predictions about its impact. Both were wrong, @sanfordnate.bsky.social reports. www.cascadepbs.org/politics/202...

How Seattle’s record-high minimum wage has — and hasn’t — paid off

Though the cost of living remains above the $20-plus pay floor, activists say raising wages has been a success and are pushing other cities to follow suit.

cascadepbs.org

🧵introducing "It's Not Easy Going Green," a new Cascade PBS podcast from @maleeha-syed.bsky.social and I about Washington's clean energy transition and its discontents (Kermit graphic by @jcohenwrites.bsky.social). www.cascadepbs.org/its-not-easy... (1/4)