First-in-the-nation program in WA state now providing long-term care benefits

Citizen-scientists photograph 50 years of melting glaciers

FOR 52 YEARS, CITIZEN-SCIENTISTS HAVE DOCUMENTED MT. SHASTA’S MELTING GLACIERS AS THE PLANET WARMS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE. THEY’VE TAKEN A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS OVER DECADES THAT SHOWS THESE GLACIERS SHRINKING.   THESE CITIZEN-SCIENTISTS SAY THEY’RE HOPING TO REDUCE “ENVIRONMENTAL AMNESIA” BY PRESENTING THIS VISUAL EVIDENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE.   WASHINGTON JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR OF “THE EARTH SAID REMEMBER ME,” JASON DOVE MARK, JOINS US TO DISCUSS HIS EXPERIENCE ON MT. SHASTA, AND ITS BROADER IMPLICATIONS.

First-in-the-nation program in WA state now providing long-term care benefits

AN ESTIMATED 56% OF PEOPLE TURNING 65 WILL NEED LONG-TERM CARE IN THEIR LIFETIME, ACCORDING TO THE AARP [https://ltsschoices.aarp.org/blog/americans-need-ltss-will-face-hardships]. ON AVERAGE, MUCH OF THE CARE IS DONE BY UNPAID CAREGIVERS AND FRIENDS HELPING WITH DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES. BUT A PROGRAM IN WASHINGTON IS DESIGNED TO HELP PROVIDE SENIORS TO GET THE CARE THEY NEED.   WA CARES FUND [https://wacaresfund.wa.gov/] IS THE FIRST STATE-RUN PROGRAM FOR LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE. IT IS FUNDED BY A MANDATORY SURCHARGE ON PAYROLL TAXES IN WASHINGTON STATE. AFTER CONTRIBUTING FOR 10 YEARS, WASHINGTON RESIDENTS QUALIFY FOR BENEFITS, WHICH COULD BE USED FOR VARIOUS SERVICES INCLUDING: HOME CARE, TRANSPORTATION, ADULT DAY PROGRAMS, HOME MODIFICATIONS AND COMPENSATION FOR FAMILY CARETAKERS.   PAULA SPAN WRITES THE NEW OLD AGE COLUMN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES AND KFF NEWS AND WROTE ABOUT [https://kffhealthnews.org/syndicate/long-term-care-costs-washington-state-payroll-option/] THIS PROGRAM, WHICH STARTED OFFERING BENEFITS THIS MONTH. SHE JOINS US TO SHARE MORE ON WHY THIS PROGRAM IS NEEDED AND THE IMPACT IT COULD HAVE.

UW study shows ‘roadless rule’ helps protect drinking water for 25 million people in US

FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS, THE ROADLESS AREA CONSERVATION RULE HAS HELPED PROTECT NEARLY 60 MILLION ACRES OF FEDERAL FOREST LANDS FROM LOGGING AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION. LAST YEAR, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCED IT WOULD END “THE ROADLESS RULE,” WHICH IT CLAIMS WOULD ALLOW FOR “MORE FLEXIBILITY” TO REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK AND FOR “RESPONSIBLE TIMBER PRODUCTION.” SENATE REPUBLICANS ATTACHED AN AMENDMENT [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/11/senate-republicans-rescind-roadless-rule-wildfire-bill/] TO THE WILDFIRE PREVENTION AC [https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/140]T LAST MONTH TO REPEAL THE ROADLESS RULE THAT PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE ON PARTY LINES.     BUT BUILDING NEW ROADS TO BOOST TIMBER LOGGING IN NATIONAL FOREST LANDS COULD IMPERIL THE QUALITY OF DRINKING WATER FOR AT LEAST 25 MILLION RESIDENTS ACROSS THE U.S., ACCORDING TO A NEW UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON STUDY [https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000538]. THAT INCLUDES RESIDENTS OF PORTLAND, HOOD RIVER AND OTHER COMMUNITIES WHO GET THEIR DRINKING WATER FROM WATERSHEDS IN THE MT. HOOD NATIONAL FOREST.   THE STUDY ALSO FOUND OTHER POTENTIAL HARMS FROM RESCINDING THE ROADLESS RULE, INCLUDING TO BIODIVERSITY AND HABITATS FOR SPECIES LIKE SALMON THAT SPAWN IN ALASKA’S TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST AND OTHER NATIONAL FORESTS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. HUNTING, FISHING AND OTHER RECREATION ACTIVITIES COULD ALSO BE AT RISK FROM DEVELOPMENT OF WILDERNESS AREAS CURRENTLY PROTECTED BY THE ROADLESS RULE.    MICHAEL DOMBECK IS A CO-AUTHOR OF THE STUDY AND A PROFESSOR EMERITUS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT. AS CHIEF OF THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE FROM 1997 TO 2001, DOMBECK HELPED CREATE THE ROADLESS RULE AND IMPLEMENT IT UNDER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON. HE JOINS US FOR MORE DETAILS.

Oregon wildfire season begins in earnest

ACCORDING TO THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, WILDFIRES HAVE BURNED MORE THAN 300,000 [https://geo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/portfolio/index.html?appid=22d04c007866419c91ccf00d097526c8] ACROSS THE STATE SO FAR. FIRE OFFICIALS SAY THAT LIGHTNING STRIKES LAST WEEK IGNITED DOZENS OF FIRES [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/17/oregon-wildfire-fire-dry-creek-hoag-evans-creek-salmon/] WHICH WERE FUELED BY DRY VEGETATION, HOT WEATHER AND WINDY CONDITIONS. AN ESTIMATED 1,500 OREGONIANS ARE UNDER LEVEL 3 — GO NOW! — EVACUATION ORDERS.   Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple joins us with an update on the status of the fires and how agencies are responding.

One Yakima Valley farmworker’s decision to return home amid immigration crackdown

Earlier this year, Flor Sánchez made the [https://www.rangemedia.co/yakima-valley-farmworker-self-deports/] agonizing decision to leave her husband and 6-year-old son behind, and self-deported to Sinaloa, Mexico amid the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown. As immigration enforcement activity spread earlier this year into Central Washington, where Sánchez worked in the fruit orchards, she made the choice to depart Sunnyside, Washington and leave the U.S. with her eldest son. Her story is part of a larger trend [https://www.opb.org/article/2025/06/30/woodburn-man-returns-mexico-immigration-crackdown/] of immigrant workers making the choice to leave the U.S. due to immigration enforcement.    Daisy Zavala Magaña and Hal Bernton covered Sánchez’s story for Range [https://www.rangemedia.co], and they join us to discuss their reporting.