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New Democratic presidential primary calendar keeps Washington’s primary in March

President Joe Biden’s plan to change the Democratic presidential primary calendar could soon become a reality, but it likely won’t mean much for Washington.

The Democratic National Committee last week approved changes to the 2024 Democratic presidential primary calendar, switching which states get the first few primary dates. Under the new plan, South Carolina will hold the first primary on Feb. 3, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on Feb. 6. Georgia would hold theirs next on Feb. 13, followed by Michigan on Feb. 27.

The proposal pushes Iowa, which for decades has been the first stop for Democrats, out of the first few spots, in an effort to better reflect the diversity of the party. Four of the five states are also considered battleground states.

Though the new calendar won’t affect Washington’s date, newly elected state Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad, the first woman of color to chair the state Democratic party, said she was proud of the changes made at a national level.

Cornell Clayton.
Clayton

This isn’t the first time the calendar has been changed and it certainly won’t be the last, said Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University. Almost every cycle there are changes as most individual states still have a say in when they can hold their primaries.

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Spokesman-Review

More Kids Vape Weed in States Where Medical Marijuana Is Legal

It’s not clear why, but youths in U.S. states where medical marijuana is legal report more vaping of cannabis than their peers in states where weed is legal for all adults or it is completely illegal.

New research found that about 27% of 12th graders in medical marijuana states reported vaping cannabis compared to 19% in states that bar the drug or allow it for adult use.

Christian Maynard.
Maynard

“More than a quarter of our youth in medical states were vaping cannabis. That’s a lot,” said first author Christian Maynard, a doctoral student in sociology at Washington State University.

“We were expecting medical and adult use states would be more similar. Instead, we didn’t find any statistical difference between prohibited and adult use states,” he said in a university news release.

Jennifer Schwartz.
Schwartz

For the study, Maynard and his university adviser, sociologist Jennifer Schwartz, analyzed responses from 3,770 high school seniors in the 2020 Monitoring the Future survey. It has surveyed U.S. youth since 1975.

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KUOW
Globe Gazette
UC San Diego Health
WSU Insider

WSU partners with conservation groups to preserve shoreline

A significant portion of Puget Sound shoreline will be permanently conserved, providing environmental research and education opportunities to the entire region, thanks to a new cooperative effort by Capitol Land Trust (CLT), Washington State University and affiliated groups, including the Squaxin Island Tribe.

As part of that effort, the land trust has purchased a permanent conservation easement on nearly 95 acres of land, known as Meyer’s Point Environmental Field Station, owned by WSU on the western shore of Henderson Inlet. The majority of the $1.6 million paid for the easement comes from grants from the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program and the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

The easement allows for the maintenance of WSU’s existing facilities, plus the development of up to 20 upland acres for teaching, research and outreach. The university is investing the revenue from the sale of the easement in an endowment to permanently support the research and teaching that occurs there.

Development of the rest of the property is limited by the conservation easement to maintain the wildlife habitat values.

Stephen Bollens.
Bollens

“This new partnership will provide additional resources to further advance WSU’s vision of a teaching, research and outreach facility at the Meyer’s Point Environmental Field Station, where students and scientists can incorporate the extensive nearshore, wetland and upland forested habitats into outdoor learning and research projects,” said Stephen Bollens, director of the field station and WSU professor of biological and environmental sciences.

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Capital Land Trust
WSU Insider

Healing still needed in Native American communities

Theresa Sheldon wore a skirt Thursday that represents the four generations she came from. It had four colored sections: orange for her great-grandmother, black for her grandmother, purple for her mom and light purple for her.

Although she didn’t talk about her story within the color of her skirt, the others had stories of abuse and trauma that connect to the United States’ boarding schools policy of the 1800s and early 1900s.

Sheldon, director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the American Boarding School Healing Coalition, spoke Thursday afternoon in Pullman as part of Washington State University’s Foley Institute Lecture Series, with more than 20 students and faculty in attendance. Sheldon is a citizen of the Tulalip Tribes of western Washington.

Sheldon talked about the intergenerational trauma Native Americans endured because of boarding school policies, including her own family’s experiences. She also advocates for passage of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act, which has been introduced in the U.S. Congress.

“Interestingly enough, very early on in the 1800s, it was very organized, this level of assimilation, colonization, and they actually had a scale that would go from savage to civilized,” Sheldon said. “The levels of treatment varied — and by 1816, they had a road map of who deserved to be abused the most.”

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Yahoo! News

AAPI college students celebrated with a public mural

On Jan. 17, in a bustling hallway on the main floor of the Washington State University (WSU) Compton Union Building–known by students as the “CUB”–some people had stopped to stare. In between the crimson pillars was a long panel half-painted in earthen shades, periwinkles and soft warm tones. Off to the side, the accompanying sign read: “AAPI Mural.”

The AAPI Mural was one of the events taking place on the Pullman campus in celebration the National Day of Racial Healing, which encourages conversations and healing around race.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., mural designer Jeimei Lin worked in collaboration with Fine Arts graduate student Reika Pratt, Fine Arts undergraduate student Kau’i Marley Samio and Pullman High School junior Heidi Lee. WSU junior and double-major in Fine Arts and Mathematics Roslyn Djang also joined in after seeing the mural while on her way to get lunch.

Joe Hedges.
Hedges

Associate professor of Painting/Inter-Media and mural facilitator Joe Hedges expressed how the mural provided public visibility to AAPI students’ identities and challenges they may face.

He said it was inspiring to see artists from different parts of the AAPI community coming together to celebrate their identities and helping with the mural.

“It’s those little things whether it’s painting a mural or stopping to share a moment of real solidarity,” he said. “It’s those little things that add up and move the needle and make things a little better for the next generation.”

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AsAmNews