Week in Review: Crime, redistricting, and malls

Bill Radke reviews the week's news with NPR's Martin Kaste, Crosscut's Mai Hoang, and Seattle Times Jonathan Martin.

As armed robbers hit Washington marijuana shops, owners say there’s a simple solution. Why is this happening? What's a solution? Speaking of Seattle crime, how is hotspot patrolling going? Why has the city postponed treating all of downtown 3rd avenue as a giant bus stop. There has been a rise of community bail funds since 2020, and they’ve increased the number of people they bail out and earned some pushback from those who say they should be more careful about which people they get freed. How do community bail funds work? What are their pros and cons?

A second lawsuit has been filed over the redrawn 15th Legislative District in Central Washington. But where the first lawsuit contends that the commission and the state violated voting rights laws by weakening Latino voter strength, this lawsuit, filed by potential Congressional candidate Ben Garcia in Sunnyside, contends the redrawn district is an example of "racial gerrymandering” and that there isn't sufficient justification for a Latino-majority district. What does this new lawsuit claim? Reporting on the redistricting process reveals the further secrecy that the Commission engaged in and that legislators were heavily involved in the process. What are the rules about how legislative staffers can participate?

A Seattle Starbucks store has voted to unionize, becoming the first on the West Coast to do so. The vote was unanimous, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Starbucks has had unions before. What happened to them?

A Yakima area mall reached 50 years in operation. A notable milestone given the recent struggles of malls and shopping centers as of late. Why are malls not dead?

Governor Inslee signed multiple gun bills, and there are likely more residents in the state who these laws will affect than ever before. What are the new laws and what impact will they have?