The Capitol Buzz is a daily summary of online news clips from across the state, discussing policies and politics affecting Washington state.
AGRICULTURE & WATER
- Washington State University to play large roll in effort to combat bacterial disease in onions (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)
- Anacortes company fined for water pollution (Skagit Valley Herald)
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Boeing abandons its failed fuselage robots on the 777X, handing the job back to machinists (The Seattle Times)
- Leader of pilots’ union blasts Boeing’s ‘arrogance and greed’ (The Everett Herald)
- P-8 Poseidon subhunter spy plane is a success amid turbulence for Boeing (Puget Sound Business Journal)
- Washington residents duped into Office Depot computer fixes can qualify for refunds (The News Tribune)
- Washington unemployment rate for October was 4.5 percent (AP/The Bellingham Herald)
- COLUMN: Can Amazon shake its suburban mindset and become a responsible urban citizen? (Knute Berger/Crosscut)
CONGRESS & FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Gov. Inslee stops in Yakima to discuss gun violence, gangs (Yakima Herald)
- Ex-sheriff’s deputy sick of ‘temper tantrums’ targets Benton commissioner after turbulent jail takeover (Tri-City Herald)
- Sheriff’s office proposes ordinance cracking down on 911 misuse (The Chronicle)
- Olympia’s police chief will retire next month after nine years leading the department (The Olympian)
- Treasurer of local children’s nonprofit allegedly steals more than $29,000 since 2012 (The Bellingham Herald)
- Pastor pleads guilty to stealing money for Oso survivors (AP/The Bellingham Herald)
DAMS
EARLY LEARNING
EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY
- Teacher arrested, accused of threatening to shoot students (KCPQ TV)
- Pasco students without shots not allowed at school (KEPR TV)
- Puyallup teacher arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot and kill students (The News Tribune)
- Longview school bus driver accused of DUI granted deferred prosecution (The Daily News)
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
- Report shows staffing, planning shortcomings at Skagit 911 (Skagit Valley Herald)
- Thousands could die if tsunami hits Washington coast, state wants to build a solution (KOMO TV)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & PARKS
- Scientists discover microplastics in Northwest oysters and clams (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
- Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest Supervisor tells Chelan County that she’s here for the long haul (The Wenatchee World)
FISH
- Congressman recognized for salmon protection efforts (The Daily World)
- Salmon fishing closes in Willapa Bay and its tributaries (The Daily World)
- WDFW announces Willapa, South Puget Sound salmon seasons shuttered (The Chronicle)
GUN RIGHTS
- Tacoma gunshop owners, city council at odds over economic impact of gun tax (KING TV)
- Tacoma City Council approves tax on firearms, ammunition after hours of emotional testimony (KNKX Radio)
- Edmonds City Council votes to appeal gun storage law ruling (The Everett Herald)
- COLUMN: Tacoma took a little step toward gun sanity Tuesday night. Let’s hope others follow (Matt Driscoll/The News Tribune)
- EDITORIAL: Sandy Hook ruling, Tacoma gun tax are rays of hope in America’s gun epidemic (The Seattle Times)
HANFORD
- 12 years and counting: Effort to lock Hanford’s radioactive waste in glass faces more delays (Crosscut)
- Thousands of Hanford workers lack whistleblower protections (KING TV)
- Richland business wins nearly $5 million contract for Hanford work (Tri-City Herald)
- OPINION: No need to wait decades to move Hanford’s low activity waste (Gary Petersen, retired vice president of federal programs for the Tri-City Development Council/Tri-City Herald)
HEALTH CARE
- With mold persisting, Seattle Children’s hospital faces lawsuit and closes operating rooms (The Seattle Times)
- State investigating Seattle Children’s Hospital for mold in air (KUOW Radio)
- 53 patients, 107 staff members exposed to tuberculosis at Auburn hospital (KCPQ TV)
- Patients, workers warned after Auburn Medical Center employee tests positive for TB (The News Tribune)
- Astria Health requests more time to submit reorganization plan, says it may sell assets (Yakima Herald)
- Sacred Heart nurses do not yet have timeline for strike amid negotiations (KREM TV)
- Molina gifts equipment, supplies to free clinic (The Columbian)
- EDITORIAL: Nursing home closures a threat to state’s elderly (The Everett Herald)
HIGHER EDUCATION
- WSU students ask for stricter alcohol rules following fraternity member’s death (KREM TV)
- Events leading up to WSU fraternity member’s death, the family’s statement (KLEW TV)
HOMELESSNESS
HOUSING
- Low supply spurs more competition among Western Washington homebuyers (The Chronicle)
- Builder of Tacoma public housing project ordered to pay nearly $93,000 in back wages (The News Tribune)
- Federal funding for Skamania and Klickitat counties’ housing (KIHR Radio)
- Federal Way just-cause eviction initiative could pave the way for statewide protections (KNKX Radio)
- Housing authority receives federal funds to house disabled people (The Daily News)
IMMIGRATION
- Seattle, immigrant rights groups sue Trump administration over new citizenship barriers (KNKX Radio)
- EDITORIAL: New Americans at JBLM make Pierce County proud. Sadly, this brave path to U.S. citizenship is at risk (The News Tribune)
LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS
- Rise in property values slowed in 2019 (Skagit Valley Herald)
- Hearing examiner decision on BHP potash facility permit expected mid-December (The Daily World)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Chris Gregoire works to tackle big challenges for the Seattle region (Puget Sound Business Journal)
- Moses Lake Council axes 3 seats from planning commission (Columbia Basin Herald)
- Sawant hopes to make good on promise to tax Amazon (KUOW Radio)
- Return of the head tax? Five things to expect with new Seattle City Council (KUOW Radio)
MILITARY & VETERANS
POLITICS
BALLOT MEASURES
- Eyman’s car-tab initiative violates state Constitution, says complaint by Seattle, King County and others (The Seattle Times)
- State governments, agencies sue to stop $30 car tab measure (KCPQ TV)
- Government agencies call I-976 ‘poorly drafted hodge-podge’ in lawsuit (KING TV)
- COLUMN: State Sen. O’Ban: AG Bob Ferguson can’t be trusted to defend I-976 in court (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
LOCAL
- Seattle PACs spent $4 million on the election. Who got paid? (Crosscut)
- Seattle could be second city to limit Super PAC spending in elections (KUOW Radio)
STATE SUPREME COURT
STATE GOVERNMENT
- ‘Nonbinary genders are valid’: Washington state begins issuing licenses with gender marker ‘X’ (Crosscut)
- He died by suicide in solitary confinement. Now the state will pay $500,000 in settlement (NW News Network)
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
- COLUMN: We only look through the lens of what’s best for the heroin addict (Dori Monson/MyNorthwest)
TAXES
TRANSPORTATION
- Rail advocates push for high-speed bullet train through Pacific Northwest (The Seattle Times)
- Is there a place for a high speed rail in Washington after I-976? (MyNorthwest)
- Investing in the future in the wake of I-976: How to fund ultra-high-speed rail (Puget Sound Business Journal)
- Another multimillion dollar jury verdict against Amtrak stemming from 2017 derailment (NW News Network)
- I-5 Bridge panel hears report on why other concepts were rejected (The Columbian)
- Sea-Tac Airport launches first phase of $156M airfield repair project (Puget Sound Business Journal)
- Port of Woodland pledges $100K to solve city transportation woes (The Columbian)
TRIBAL ISSUES
WILDLIFE
- Multiple wanton waste investigations ongoing into illegally killed bull elk (Daily Record)
- Wildlife officials warn public about moose sightings in north Wenatchee (iFiberOne TV)
WOLVES
