Washington Attorney General Nick Brown is co-leading yet another multistate lawsuit, this time with California and 13 states, which was filed in federal court for the Western District of Washington last week. The lawsuit challenges President Donald Trump's Jan. 20 executive order declaring a "national energy emergency." It claims that, thanks to the executive order, the government is unlawfully using emergency permitting procedures to bypass critical reviews under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act for energy projects. In a press release, Brown said the executive order wouldn't result in lower prices or increased energy supply. "The president's attempt to bypass important environmental protections is illegal and would cause immense harm to Washingtonians," Brown said. "We're back in court to hold him accountable." The lawsuit states such emergency procedures have only previously been used for natural disasters like hurricanes or catastrophic oil spills, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. is already the world's largest oil and natural gas producer. (VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ)
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Two months ago, Gabriel Fensler died from a fentanyl overdose the day after his 24th birthday. He had been discharged from addiction treatment, but completed an extensive process to apply for housing through a local nonprofit — which called him back the day after he died. Gabriel's death was painful proof to his mother, Kitara Johnson-Jones, that the disconnect between services and people is deadly. In response, she created Gabriel's Challenge, a citywide movement focused on education and connection, which kicked off on Mother's Day and will end on Father's Day. If you missed the kickoff, there are still plenty of ways to participate during the 36-day effort — spend time reading resources on the dangers of fentanyl, "adopt a block" and walk through your neighborhood to chat with housed and unhoused neighbors and let them know they're seen, or attend a meeting every Tuesday night with harm reduction experts at City Hall. Visit gabrielschallenge.org for more information. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)
MATERNAL HEALTH
Earlier this week, the Washington Department of Health announced four recipients of its 2025 Maternal Health Innovation grants, which are meant to improve maternal health in Native American and rural communities throughout the state. The Washington State University College of Nursing, based in Spokane, received one of these grants to fund a rural health program meant to help communities in Pend Oreille, Stevens and Klickitat counties. The grant will provide the school with up to $100,000 each of the next three years to partner with hospitals to train its students in maternal and obstetric care while they live in their home communities. "These awards are a key step to improving maternal health and reducing health inequities in tribal and rural communities, where access to maternity care can be limited," says Lacy Fehrenbach, chief of prevention, safety and health at the Department of Health. (COLTON RASANEN) ♦
