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Washington AG’s office joins forces with local police to intensify search for missing Indigenous teen
Teen’s disappearance — highlighted in recent InvestigateWest report — among the first cases taken by new state investigative unit. The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is working with local police to investigate the disappearance of Indigenous teen Kit Nelson-Mora, who went missing from north-central Washington over two years ago at age 16.
Secret recording shows how a right-wing Idaho lobbyist tried to keep a legislator in lockstep
Freedom Caucus Network power broker Maria Nate blasted controversial state Rep. Heather Scott for support of “moderate” House speaker. It was the middle of March in the Idaho Legislature and Maria Nate, one of the most powerful lobbyists in right-wing Idaho politics, sounded like she’d been stabbed in the back.
Idaho State Police warned InvestigateWest that publishing story about secret recording might violate Idaho law
More than a week before InvestigateWest published a story about a secret recording of a conversation between Idaho Rep. Heather Scott and lobbyist Maria Nate, we reached out to both women to request interviews. A copy of the recording had been provided to InvestigateWest by a third party who shared...
State Agency Met with Oil-by-Rail Firm in Private Ahead of Permit Application
A 2023 DeSmog investigation uncovered a “backroom deal” between Portland city officials and Zenith Energy. New documents show the state environmental regulator also met with the company. This story was published in partnership with DeSmog. Oregon state environmental regulators are deciding whether to issue an air permit for...
As ‘empowered’ cities ban them from public spaces, homeless people in WA scatter in search of refuge
Attorneys say bans could become more common following U.S. Supreme Court decision in June. John Parke, known as “Cowboy,” is always ready to pack up and move. He stacks his black and blue tent, foam sleeping pad, and flannel-lined sleeping bag on top of a wagon that he hauls away every day at 7 a.m. before police arrive and order him and the other unhoused people of “camp town” to leave.
Oregon Secretary of State probing staff complaints about racism, mismanagement at early learning department
Auditors are exploring issues revealed in InvestigateWest reporting as possible risks to the department “getting off to a strong and lasting start”. State auditors are looking into staff allegations of racism and dysfunction within the Department of Early Learning and Care as part of an ongoing audit of the department’s strengths and weaknesses, according to staffers contacted as part of the audit.
Staff at Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children sound alarm over shrinking space, families turned away
Oregon families of medically fragile children grapple with uncertain future of longtime Providence center. June Stracener’s bedroom would be like any other teenager’s — Taylor Swift playing, a cloud lamp overhead and colorful art on her wall — if not for the medical devices around her hospital bed that keep her alive and healthy.
Rachel Spacek joins InvestigateWest as equity and migrant labor reporter
Rachel Spacek, an award-winning bilingual journalist at Idaho’s largest newspaper, is joining InvestigateWest to cover migrant labor and other equity issues across the Pacific Northwest. For the past three years, Spacek has produced distinguished work for the Idaho Statesman, reporting on government, housing and the region’s growing Latino community....
For six years, UW has wrestled with whether to revoke the Ph.D. of one of the Northwest’s most infamous child molesters
Advocates and victims argue the university should do more to hold O’Donnell accountable. In part, it was his position — as a priest and doctoral student — that convinced so many children and parents at Seattle’s St. Paul School and Catholic parish to trust Patrick O’Donnell.
After governor’s push for reforms, a new report details harsh conditions at women’s prison
Spokespeople for Gov. Tina Kotek and the corrections agency declined to answer questions about the allegations of abuse and poor conditions at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville. At Oregon’s only women’s prison, female inmates have seen large black paper cutouts of rats along a hallway’s walls and heard a...
Idaho is losing OB-GYNs after strict abortion ban. But health exceptions unlikely this year.
Doctors, confused about how to practice medicine under Idaho’s abortion ban, pleaded with state legislators for a solution. Idaho, already in a doctor shortage, is losing doctors who specialize in obstetrics and gynecology. In a presentation at the Idaho State Capitol Building on Wednesday, Idaho medical leaders say the...
Idaho governor signs child health watchdog law, calls for broader government oversight role
New law to create independent agency for complaints follows InvestigateWest reporting on child abuse and neglect allegations. Idaho will have a watchdog state government agency to hear complaints about children’s services in foster care, residential treatment facilities and protective supervision. Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1380 into...
Inequity, mismanagement beleaguer Oregon’s early learning agency, employees say
Records allege “racist environment” and deep divisions over child care governance. In December 2022, Priscilla Lowells went over her bosses’ heads to alert the incoming Oregon governor of problems in her workplace. “With great courage I send this email in hopes that someone can hear my voice...
Inflation has turned Washington state’s property tax cap into a county budget-killer
Frustrated county officials say state leaders have shunted the state’s financial burden onto local governments. For two decades, Franklin County — an agricultural community of about 100,000 in south-central Washington — has been the fastest-growing county in the state. But lately, county leaders have been scrambling to...
New WA legislation prioritizes human trafficking prosecutions and support for child victims
Almost $700,000 was allocated to support child victims. Washington state lawmakers have passed a bill that takes steps to prosecute more human trafficking cases and fix the state’s “Safe Harbor” law meant to protect child sex trafficking victims. In early March, Washington legislators unanimously passed Senate Bill...
Idaho Legislature commissions investigation of youth treatment homes, passes bills to increase oversight and regulations
Lawmakers cite InvestigateWest series that revealed abuse, neglect at youth facilities. In response to InvestigateWest reporting that uncovered allegations of child abuse and neglect at state-licensed facilities, the Idaho Legislature has commissioned a state watchdog investigation that will examine oversight of Idaho’s youth treatment homes. Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho...
Three award-winning journalists join InvestigateWest
InvestigateWest is thrilled to welcome two full-time reporters and a veteran editor to the team as the nonprofit newsroom aims to fill widening gaps in local investigative reporting, especially in underserved communities across the Pacific Northwest. Whitney Bryen comes to the organization as an investigative reporter from Oklahoma Watch, where...
New report says an Oregon public defender’s poor performance affected 100 clients
The report was triggered by concerns from prosecutors in Jefferson County, who noticed the lawyer was not opening police reports and other evidence files. A public defender in Central Oregon failed to meaningfully represent roughly 100 clients in Crook and Jefferson counties between 2017 and 2020, according to a report released Thursday by the Oregon Justice Resource Center.
State begins rewriting landmark climate program derailed by gas lawsuit
During the next year, the Department of Environmental Quality will work on a new program to limit climate emissions and help vulnerable communities. State environmental regulators are working on rewriting a greenhouse gas reduction program stymied by a gas company lawsuit. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality announced Monday it...
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