Among the best-written stories I’ve read this year.

Little update: I just wrapped up my first day as an intern on the @washingtonpost metro desk. I’ll put everything I have into doing this job right. Please send tips! My DMs are open!

We're looking for another editor! This is a great opportunity to join a growing team of journalists doing ambitious work in the PNW

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen also in attendance.

https://t.co/dqnfil1SUO

And Rep. Rashida Tlaib is now trying to make her way in as well.

A federal employee in the crowd outside says the Department of Homeland Security officer has guarded the door at multiple recent protests outside the headquarters of federal agencies.

In 2019, there were widespread calls for change in response to @investigatewest finding that the Washington State Patrol searched Native American drivers at a rate 5x higher than whites. But little has changed since then, our new analysis shows. https://t.co/WIBbbmSj2M

The smelt fight wound up being pretty consequential in shaping California water politics over the past decade, and the notion that the state is wasting water to protect the fish at the cost of fighting wildfires has been around for a while — including from pres-elect Trump.

But the opposition to the smelt protections morphed into open hostility to the fish itself.

The smelt became a familiar culture war talking point for prominent conservative commentators — most notably Sean Hannity, but even Ben Shapiro wrote a novel in 2014 about a Bundy-like uprising against the feds in response to the smelt protections.

Though the restrictions came into effect during the Bush administration, a flurry of opinion pieces appeared in national and California outlets bashing the protections as federal overreach during the Obama administration.

Those pumping restrictions prompted farmers in the Central Valley — particularly the Westlands Water District farmers, who are lower down the priority list for water allocation — to launch a PR campaign against the new federal rules.

Why smelt? Because the delta is their only habitat, and because they are an indicator species for the health of the ecosystem.

In 2007, environmental groups interested in preservation of delta fish species (including salmon) secured a federal injunction against pumping water from the delta during smelt spawning season.

The smelt is on the verge of extinction in the wild. A decade ago, California Fish & Wildlife found only a single smelt in their annual count. For now, the species lives on in hatcheries.

New: Baltimore's City Council has the ability to write laws governing its police department for the first time since the Civil War. Its first ripple effect: an oversight board founded in 1999 is shutting down, and some police reform advocates aren't happy. https://t.co/8QmPjWLikl

Worth a read! The chair of Baltimore’s PAB brought up this concern with me at the beginning of this year, and evidently the situation hasn’t improved - it’s referenced in this piece:

This truly is a remarkable public service. You should also read this related reporting by Whitney:

I stepped away from Twitter for a few days at precisely the wrong time, but it isn’t too late to boost this reporting on the many ways to look at Klickitat County’s growing (and sometimes armed) volunteer posse. Shout out to the terrific editors at @investigatewest, of course!