(The Center Square) – Washington State University saw a systemwide 6.5% increase in new first-year students this fall, the largest cohort growth since the pre-pandemic fall quarter of 2019. Like other colleges and universities across the state, WSU is striving to recover from closures and the gradual return to in-person classes following the height of the COVID-19 outbreak that started in March 2020. Prior to the pandemic, enrollments in 2018...

(The Center Square) – The Governor’s Office has “ascertained a few very preliminary, tentative findings” regarding a former state economist who says he had to resign after suffering retaliation for his analysis that Washington’s cap-and-trade policy would significantly increase gas prices. Under the Climate Commitment Act of 2021, emitters are required to obtain “emissions allowances” equal to their covered greenhouse gas emissions at quarterly auctions hosted by the Department of Ecology. ...

(The Center Square) – Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien is calling out the city council for failing to consult with the community over a recently approved pallet shelter near the school. On Nov. 27, the Burien City Council approved $1 million from King County to construct and operate 35 pallet shelters. The pallet shelters will operate for up to one year, or whenever the $1 million from King County...

(The Center Square) - Members of the Iowa Board of Regents, the Council on Health and Human Services, and the Board of Education could receive a $10,000 annual stipend if lawmakers approve a new configuration of the state's boards and commissions. On Monday, members of the State Government Efficiency Review Committee heard an overview of the recommendations published by the Boards and Commissions Review Committee in September. According to the...

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker is calling on the Biden administration to waive a fee on employment-based visas and other immigration programs in an effort to get more migrants to work. The state has seen over 24,000 arrive over the last 15 months, which has led to...

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker is calling on the Biden administration to waive a fee on employment-based visas and other immigration programs in an effort to get more migrants to work. The state has seen over 24,000 arrive over the last 15 months, which has led to the city and state spending nearly $1 billion for shelter, care and other services. A significant number of arrivals are being...

(The Center Square) – The Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced on Friday the planned closure of a coal-fired power plant in eastern Arizona. The utility said in a document dated Dec. 1 that it will seek to replace the base-level power provided by Springerville's Station Unit 3 with 1,250 megawatts of renewable energy once it shuts down in 2031. The company is seeking federal revenue from a provision of...

(The Center Square) – San Francisco mayor London Breed announced reports of car break-ins have declined by 50% since September due to what she describes as expanded enforcement operations and prosecution. Due to California law, car break-ins are difficult for authorities to prosecute, as under current law, prosecutors must prove a vehicle was locked to convict a suspect of auto burglary, and a window being broken is not sufficient evidence. Newly proposed legislation from state Democrats would reform California law to allow forcible entry to be sufficient evidence for a conviction. ...

(The Center Square) – A California mother who lost her daughter to suicide after transitioning and was removed from her custody for not supporting her gender identity filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case from another mother in Indiana facing the loss of custody for not supporting her daughter's gender transition. Abigail Martinez is a Salvadoran immigrant who raised four children in California, one of whom began questioning her sexuality amid a struggle with depression in high school. School...

(The Center Square) – A Republican representative and Democratic senator both filed bills to assist older Missouri taxpayers and disabled individuals with property tax relief. Rep. Mark Matthiesen, R-O’Fallon, and Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-St. Louis, both filed their legislation on the first day to file bills for the 2024 legislative session. The Missouri Budget Project, a nonprofit public policy organization, praised both attempts to update a tax law created in 1973 and unchanged since 2008. ...

(The Center Square) – Candidate filing opened in North Carolina on Monday, a two-week run that started with a number of the bigger names getting paperwork out of the way. Early poll favorites to file included Republican U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx for District 5 and Richard Hudson for District 9, and Democratic incumbent Elaine Marshall for secretary of state. Marshall, who defeated Richard Petty in 1996 to win her first term and is trying to land her eighth, could potentially serve alongside a sixth different...

Two SIU students killed in head-on crash Two Southern Illinois University students were killed in a head-on crash in Carbondale on Monday morning. The Jackson County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as 19-year-old Wolfgang Gustaveson, of Park Ridge, and 18-year-old Francis Martinez, of Des Plaines. Police said they both attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and were living on campus. The sole occupant of the southbound vehicle suffered serious injuries, and was taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. ...

(The Center Square) – Two federal grants have been awarded to support the initiation and expansion of Full-Service Community Schools in Illinois. The United States Department of Education announced that the Afterschool for Children and Teens Now Coalition (ACT Now), an organization that supports after-school programs and community schools statewide, was awarded a five-year grant with an annual award for each grant of up to $9.4 million. This will total $94,204,000 for Illinois schools over five years. ...

(The Center Square) – Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse and eight Democratic members from Washington state’s congressional delegation voted with the House majority Friday to expel U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress. Newhouse, from the Yakima Valley, is one of two Republicans from eastern Washington serving in the House. The other, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane, did not participate in Friday’s vote. A spokesperson for her office said she had a family obligation. ...

(The Center Square) – Midway through the 2023 holiday shopping season, a high percentage of Illinois small businesses continue to struggle. The small business network Allignable's latest survey shows 47% of small businesses in Illinois couldn't pay their rent in full or on time in November, a slight improvement from October, but still the 4th highest in the country. Only New York (51%), Ohio (50%) and Arizona (50%) were higher. ...

(The Center Square) — Georgia officials want to "accelerate" the decrease in the state’s individual income tax rate. During the legislative session that starts in January, state Republicans plan to amend House Bill 1437, a measure passed in 2022 that gradually lowers the state’s income tax rate until it reaches 4.99% for the tax year starting "on or after" Jan. 1, 2029. With the acceleration, should lawmakers approve the reduction,...

(The Center Square) — Despite opposition from the incoming administration, as well as many lawmakers, parents and the state superintendent, some members of the State Board of Education are forging ahead with a controversial graduation policy. Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Holly Boffy held a news conference on Monday alongside several public school teachers, administrators, and students to announce she plans to implement a controversial graduation appeals process on Dec. 20. ...

(The Center Square) – A $9.7 billion federal government program will enable a nonprofit wholesale electric cooperative to close a unit at a coal-powered plant in Colorado. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a network of 42 electric distribution cooperatives and public power districts in four states, announced the closure of Colorado’s Craig Station Unit 3 by Jan. 1, 2028. Tri-State also announced closure of a unit at the Springerville Station in Arizona on Sept. 15, 2031. ...

(The Center Square) - Humphrey to fill legislation to keep terrorist supporters out of public office An Oklahoma lawmaker said there is no room for anyone who backs terrorism in public office. Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, is filing legislation that would expel office holders known to support terrorist activity from office, he said Monday. ...

(The Center Square) - A Portland, Oregon, man faces federal charges for distributing counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl that caused the overdose death of a Portland teenager. Nasir Overton, 20, has been charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, resulting in death, and distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, resulting in death, according to the U.S. Attorney of the District of Oregon's office. ...