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The WA Cares law is designed to give individuals access to a lifetime benefit amount that, should they need it, they can use on a wide range of long-term services and supports. (Washington State Department of Social and Health Services)

Opinion

Editorial: What good is that new payroll deduction?

Along with a modest benefit for long-term care needs, it should prompt family discussions and planning.

Phlebotomist Heather Evans preps JaNeen Aagaard a donation at Bloodworks NW Friday afternoon in Everett at July 3o, 2021. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Get back in (or start) your habit of giving blood

The pandemic’s effects and fewer younger donors too often leave blood supplies dangerously low.

Lummi Tribal members Ellie Kinley, left, and Raynell Morris, president and vice president of the non-profit Sacred Lands Conservancy known as Sacred Sea, lead a prayer for the repatriation of southern resident orca Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut — who has lived and performed at the Miami Seaquarium for over 50 years — to her home waters of the Salish Sea at a gathering Sunday, March 20, 2022, at the sacred site of Cherry Point in Whatcom County, Wash. The Bellingham Herald

Opinion

Editorial: What it will require to bring Tokitae home

Bringing home the last captive orca requires expanded efforts to restore the killer whales’ habitat.

A map of the I-5/SR 529 Interchange project on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Set your muscle memory for work zone speed cameras

Starting next summer, not slowing down in highway work zones can result in a $500 fine.

File - A teenager holds her phone as she sits for a portrait near her home in Illinois, on Friday, March 24, 2023. The U.S. Surgeon General is warning there is not enough evidence to show that social media is safe for young people — and is calling on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take "immediate action to protect kids now." (AP Photo Erin Hooley, File)

Opinion

Editorial: Warning label on social media not enough for kids

The U.S. surgeon general has outlined tasks for parents, officials and social media companies.

Anabelle Parsons, then 6, looks up to the sky with binoculars to watch the Vaux's swifts fly in during Swift's Night Out, Sept. 8, 2018 in Monroe. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Birders struggle with legacy, name of Audubon

Like other chapters, Pilchuck Audubon is weighing how to address the slaveholder’s legacy.

Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, left, and Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, right, embrace after a special session to figure out how much to punish drug possession on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Olympia, Wash. Without action, Washington's drug possession law will expire July 1, leaving no penalty in state law and leaving cities free to adopt a hodgepodge of local ordinances. (Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times via AP)

Opinion

Editorial: With law passed, make it work to address addiction

Local jurisdictions, treatment providers, community members and more have a part in the solutions.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signs bills at the Washington State Capitol, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in Olympia, Wash. One of those bills was Senate Bill 5599, which was designed to protect young people seeking reproductive health services or gender-affirming care. (AP Photo/Ed Komenda)

Opinion

Editorial: Ballot measure isn’t about parental rights

A measure to repeal a state law regarding homeless youths would work against kids and families.

Group Therapy Addiction Treatment Concept. Characters Counseling with Psychologist on Psychotherapist Session. Doctor Psychologist Counseling with Diseased Patients. Cartoon People Vector Illustration building bridges

Opinion

Editorial: Honing our skills on discourse and democracy

The second meeting of the Building Bridges Tour, Tuesday in Arlington, is a workshop in dialogue.

Kathy Kamel returns a volley as teammate George Jones backs her up during a pickleball game at the Everett YMCA on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 in Everett, Wash. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: In defense of pickleball, its birthplace and its ‘Pwock!’

A national writer mocks the state’s official sport as a dull and less-elegant imitation of tennis.

Murphy’s Lala speaks to a crowd at Arlington’s first-ever Pride celebration telling them to “pay them no mind” in response to the Pride protestors on Saturday, June 4, 2022. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Pride event should work with Arlington on safety

If background checks are required for the Pride event, that condition should be met for all events.

Vivian Dong, the founder of Safe Lynnwood, leads a group of protesters from the future site of a methadone clinic to the nearby Alderwood Boys & Girls Club on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Lawmakers can reach accord on drug possession law

A version of legislation passed out of the Senate should be the focus of a special session.

FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2013, file photo, Sergio Garcia empties a bag of just-picked golden delicious apples into a bin at a Valicoff Fruit Company orchard near Wapato, Wash. Harvesting the vast fruit orchards of Eastern Washington each year requires thousands of farmworkers, many of them working illegally in the United States. That system could eventually come to an end as at least two companies are rushing to get robotic fruit picking machines to market. (Gordon King/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP, File)

Opinion

Editorial: Ease path to hire farmworkers for state agriculture

State growers rely on visas for some 33,000 farm jobs. The U.S. immigration system needs reform.

FILE - Washington Gov. Jay Inslee arrives at the University of Washington's Hans Rosling Center for Population Health ahead of signing several bills aimed at protecting reproductive health and gender-affirming care in Washington, Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Seattle. On Monday, May 1, 2023, Inslee announced he does not plan to seek a fourth term. He was most recently re-elected in 2020, making him only the second Washington state governor to serve three consecutive terms. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

Opinion

Editorial: Only strong candidates need apply for governor

With Gov. Inslee deciding not to seek a fourth term, both parties should put forward their best.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee pauses as he holds House Bill 1240, which prohibits the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of semi-automatic assault-style weapons in the state, before signing it into law, Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Opinion

Editorial: Assault weapons ban can withstand legal challenge

Lawsuits filed against the state’s new law seem more focused on fundraising than on success.

Lawmakers meet on the Senate floor, Thursday, March 10, 2022, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Washington lawmakers were wrapping up their work Thursday with final votes on a supplemental state budget and a transportation revenue package before planning to adjourn the legislative session. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Opinion

Editorial: Drug bill’s failure leaves law to cities, counties

Rejection of a compromise may result in a confusing hodge-podge of local laws on drug possession.

Bioldiversity in danger, extinction, species: Angel Boligan

Opinion

Editorial: Make the most of Earth Day with meaningful action

Simple steps — planting a tree, reading a book, learning more — can bring a better world, now…

A man waits to board his flight at Paine Field on Monday, March 4, 2019 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Second look for major airport can skip Paine Field

Paine Field provides the state’s largest base for jobs and economic activity and cannot be displaced.

Builders work on the Four Corners Apartments on Beverly Lane near Evergreen and 79th Place SE on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. DevCo, the real estate company building the affordable housing, is receiving a $1 million grant from the city of Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Lawmakers’ focus on housing must bring efforts home

Legislation on density issues and funding sources must be resolved before the session’s end.

The Legislative Building is seen at dusk Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, following a session of the Legislature in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Opinion

Editorial: Four failed bills that merit second shot next year

If the state dinosaur can make it, so should bills on extremism, a per-mile fee, baby bonds and…