In the News

KOMO: Washington Congressional leaders demand answers to postal delays

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The complaint line for mail delivery problems is getting a lot of calls these days. Those calls go to the post office, our office at KOMO News, and congressional offices. A handful of viewers called KOMO all in one day, complaining about slow or no mail delivery, so KOMO News went to check it out. One woman who's 88 told KOMO she gets all of her medications in the mail, but Lee Wallott…

KING 5: US representatives call on Postal Service to fix 'mail failures' in western Washington

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U.S. Representatives Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene sent a letter to the head of the United States Postal Service saying efforts to increase staffing are insufficient. Recently, people in many areas of western Washington have had issues with the United States Postal Service. Those issues include long lines and mail delays in many counties such as Whatcom, King, and Snohomish. Now,…

Redmond Reporter: U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene urges Postmaster General to reconsider closing Eastside mail facility

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On Jan. 26, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash) issued a letter to the U.S Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, strongly urging him to “reconsider” the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to move mail operations out of the Seattle East DDC in Redmond. On Jan. 5, DelBene toured the East DDC facility and met with postal worker union members about their concerns regarding the changing work…

NYTimes: Cash Aid to Poor Mothers Increases Brain Activity in Babies, Study Finds

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A study that provided poor mothers with cash stipends for the first year of their children’s lives appears to have changed the babies’ brain activity in ways associated with stronger cognitive development, a finding with potential implications for safety net policy. The differences were modest — researchers likened them in statistical magnitude to moving to the 75th position in a line of…

Bellingham Herald: The Canadian border is open, but packages are still stacked up in Blaine

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There wasn’t a deluge of Canadian visitors on the first day of border restrictions being lifted, but Blaine business owners and government officials are happy to start welcoming them back. Downtown Blaine was quiet on Monday afternoon, Nov. 8, hours after the U.S. government eased restrictions on nonessential travelers coming across the border. While Monday wasn’t typically a busy day…

Seattle Times: Northwest farmers who lost crops to extreme heat eligible for federal disaster relief

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Pacific Northwest food producers stung by extreme heat will be eligible for disaster relief in a $10 billion package included in legislation now signed into law. The record-setting temperatures in late June caused losses across a broad swath of the state from oyster aquaculture operations in the Puget Sound region to fruit orchards in the Yakima Valley and potato growers in the Columbia…

AP: Quarreling Dems must put aside differences, Schumer warns

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned fellow Democrats on Thursday they “must put aside our differences” as the party struggles to coalesce around President Joe Biden’s huge but now-scaled-back package of social services and climate change strategies. Schumer’s letter to colleagues comes as progressive leaders in Congress are steering them away from what the…

Bellingham Herald: Though U.S.-Canada border will reopen soon, area lawmakers insist work isn’t finished

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While many area lawmakers hailed news Tuesday, Oct. 12, that the U.S. plans to loosen its border restrictions and allow vaccinated Canadians to cross at land points of entry, they say their work to support communities most impacted by the 19-month-long closure to non-essential travel is not done. “For nineteen long months, our border communities have lived in a state of hardship and…

Bellingham Herald: Washington lawmakers ‘extremely frustrated’ by U.S. continuing Canadian border closure

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The White House continued to refuse expanding on the reasoning behind its decision not to allow vaccinated Canadians to cross the border by land into the U.S., despite Americans being allowed to head north, and that is frustrating Washington lawmakers. “I remain extremely frustrated that the White House has failed to sufficiently explain its position on our northern border,” Rep.…