Austin Jenkins
Olympia CorrespondentSince January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.
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Washington’s COVID-19 state of emergency is approaching its two-year anniversary. Under current law, the governor has broad emergency powers. But the Legislature is considering new restrictions on that authority.
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Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday signed into law a bill that delays the start of a controversial long-term care benefit program known as WA Cares for 18 months. A second measure signed by Inslee will allow certain workers to opt out of the first-in-the-nation program.
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Washington State Patrol, criticized for lack of diversity, removes psychologist from hiring decisionThe Washington State Patrol has permanently stripped its staff psychologist of his role conducting hiring evaluations. A Seattle Times and NW News Network investigation revealed that the psychological exam disproportionately rejected candidates of color.
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A proposal in the Washington Legislature would make it a crime to use or sell a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. The sponsor says he wants to deter people from even considering the ruse, but he also wants to send a signal to prosecutors to prioritize these cases as a matter of protecting public health.
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Following widespread criticisms and voter pushback, Democrats in the Washington state House on Wednesday voted to delay the collection of a new payroll tax to fund a state-run, long-term care insurance program called WA Cares.
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Following the lead of Oregon and other states, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that he will deploy 100 members of the National Guard to assist hospitals struggling to respond to a spike in COVID-19 patients due to the highly-contagious omicron variant.
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A pair of proposals in the Washington Legislature would ban weapons, including firearms, at school board meetings and election facilities, and bar the open carry of firearms at local government meetings. Backers say the new restrictions are needed to address "armed intimidation" and the threat of violence. Opponents call the bills an attack law-abiding gun owners and their constitutional rights.
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The Washington Legislature convenes on Monday for a short, 60-day session. Top issues include delaying and making fixes to the state's long-term care insurance program, clarifying some of last year's police reforms and deciding how to spend $1.3 billion in leftover federal COVID-19 relief money the state received.
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In a surprise announcement Thursday, the anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that he's drafting legislation to make it a crime for elected officials and candidates for public office to make false statements about election outcomes with the goal of inciting lawlessness. Inslee said such a law could withstand free speech challenges and is necessary to guard against ongoing attacks on democracy.
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Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says the state is racing to expand access to testing, masks and vaccines, but has no immediate plans to impose new rollbacks, mandates or restrictions in the face of an unprecedented wave of new COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant.