Washington legislators are considering a bill to speed up investigations into cases of suspected impaired driving.

LEDE: A statue to honor Native American fishing rights leader Billy Frank Jr. is being poured at a Seattle-area foundry. N-W-P-B’s senior correspondent Anna King has this update.

Billy Frank Jr. was a member of Washington state’s Nisqually [NISS-qual-ee] Tribe. He was also a well-known fishing rights advocate. Frank fought Washington state for years – and was arrested more than 50 times for the right to fish.

Now, a statue to honor him is being poured and constructed at the Classic Foundry in Seattle.

Mike Sweney [SWEE-nee] is a manager with the Washington State Arts Commission. That organization is managing the statue project.

West Central Abbey was the second church in Washington to receive a grant from the National Trust of Sacred Places. The grant is a matching grant. So three writers who have been inspired in some way by the old church will host a reading.

The Abbey serves its neighborhood well, except for one basic function. That is on its way to being addressed, thanks to a grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places. But first, the Abbey has to raise its own funds to match it.

Not a lede. Seattle's newly elected city attorney says she's ready to file a legal challenge if the Trump administration follows through with threats to withhold federal funding from "sanctuary" jurisdictions.

[NOTE FOR SPACING: This is also airing on NPR and there's a similar Booming cutdown]

Amazon announced today [WEDNESDAY] that it’s laying off 16,000 employees as part two of a 30,000-person layoff plan that began in October. It’s the largest reduction in the company’s history.

KUOW's Monica Nickelsburg reports.

Washington State University researchers are developing a robotic arm they say could help with labor shortages in the apple industry.

As Northwest orchards grapple with a lack of workers, Washington State University researchers are developing a robotic arm designed to pick fruit.

[date note- a council vote on whether to make her the permanent chief is scheduled for Feb 3rd. This is in the story, but wanted to flag higher up for planning purposes]

The Tacoma City Council is signaling it's prepared to promote the city's interim police chief to the role ... permanently.