The Capitol Buzz is a daily summary of online news clips from across the state, discussing policies and politics affecting Washington state.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Bezos endorses higher corporate taxes for infrastructure (AP/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
- Boeing puts up for sale its Commercial Airplanes headquarters campus outside Seattle (The Seattle Times)
- Boeing 737 Max supplier files for bankruptcy, seeks sale of Everett plant (Puget Sound Business Journal)
CAPITAL BUDGET
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
- King County’s Zahilay on preventing gun violence and stopping hate (KNKX Radio)
- EDITORIAL: Yes, Tacoma’s historic churches can be rescued. Let’s celebrate this success story (The News Tribune)
CONGRESS
CORONAVIRUS
- Study: Washington among the top states when it comes to COVID-19 restrictions (Seattle P-I)
- ‘Hope in action’: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff visits Central Washington communities hardest hit by COVID-19 (The Spokesman-Review)
- Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff points to vaccine efforts in Yakima, Yakama Nation as an example (Yakima Herald-Republic)
- EU agency: Rare clots possibly linked to AstraZeneca shot (AP/The Seattle Times)
- New COVID-19 case numbers in Snohomish County triggers concerns of rollback to Phase 2 (KCPQ TV)
- Spokane County ‘very close’ to surpassing Phase 3 reopening metrics, health officer warns (KREM TV)
- Social gatherings drive rise in Cowlitz County COVID-19 cases (The Daily News)
- COLUMN: Herd immunity? Parts of Washington state appear in no mood to join this herd (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)
CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Washington Senate OKs restrictions on police tactics, gear (AP/MyNorthwest)
- State Senate passes bill that bans chokeholds, sets standards for police tactics (The News Tribune)
- Audit of King County jails finds racial disparities in discipline, says ‘double-bunking’ leads to violence (The Seattle Times)
- Audit demands changes to curb violence, racial disparities at King County jails (KNKX Radio)
- Pierce County names investigator to examine sheriff’s confrontation with newspaper carrier (The News Tribune)
EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY
- When will Tacoma schools move to 3 feet social distancing in the classroom? (The News Tribune)
- Senate passes bill regarding student fees (Columbia Basin Herald)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
- Settlement would raise average PSE electricity bill 2.9%. Here’s how you can weigh in (The News Tribune)
- OPINION: BPA should lead Northwest modernization and investment (Terry Oliver, worked for the Bonneville Power Administration for 30 years, and Marc Sullivan, was director of energy management services at Seattle City Light/The Seattle Times)
ENVIRONMENT
- Inslee still hopeful climate change bills will pass (KPQ Radio)
- King County’s 30-year forest plan eyes growth of the canopy with nods toward climate change, timber industry (The Seattle Times)
- A tall task: Finding common ground in region’s floodplains (The Everett Herald)
- OPINION: Carbon pricing plans should reduce emissions – not eliminate jobs (Greg Pallesen is the president of the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Union. Chris McCabe is the executive director of the Northwest Pulp & Paper Association/Tri-City Herald)
- EDITORIAL: Latest state green bill needs more thought (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
GUN RIGHTS
HEALTH CARE
- Cancer patients nationwide send their blood cells to Bothell (The Everett Herald)
- OPINION: Health care organizations need to plan for the post-COVID reality now (Jaja Okigwe, president and CEO, First Choice Health/Puget Sound Business Journal)
HIGHER EDUCATION
HOMELESSNESS
- Clean-up effort to begin at sprawling homeless camp in Olympia (KOMO TV)
- Growing homeless encampments near Seattle schools worrying parents, educators (KOMO TV)
HOUSING
- Regional Housing Action Plan offers 52 ideas to ease Thurston’s housing crisis (The Olympian)
- Apartment plans rile Northeast Hazel Dell (The Columbian)
- Vancouver OKs $6.22M for housing, shelter projects (The Columbian)
LEGISLATURE
- Lawmakers move to outlaw fake ballot collection containers (The Everett Herald)
- Bills and budgets still making the rounds during legislative session’s homestretch (KOHO Radio)
- State may create public bank (Lens)
- BLOG: Budget talks gain speed; COVID may shift state into reverse (Jerry Cornfield/The Everett Herald)
- COLUMN: State Rep. Chris Corry has a legislative update (Dave Ettl/KIT Radio)
- Seattle senator appears to break multiple laws during live committee hearing (MyNorthwest)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Pierce County Council wants to hire former U.S. attorney to investigate Sheriff Ed Troyer (The Seattle Times)
- Washington city temporarily suspends needle exchange program (AP/Seattle P-I)
- COLUMN: Is it time for Seattle to decriminalize shrooms and psychedelics? (Katie Wilson/Crosscut)
MARIJUANA
MEDIA
OPERATING BUDGET
OTHER STATES
- In bipartisan effort, Oregon House committee passes package of police reform bills (The Oregonian)
- Bill to reinstate foreclosure moratorium moves on to Oregon Senate after gaining approval in House (The Oregonian)
- Racial justice advocates want to dismantle long-established Oregon system for distributing housing assistance dollars (The Oregonian)
- Idaho lawmakers get back to work after an 18-day COVID-caused recess (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
PARKS
SPORTS
TRANSPORTATION
- Delayed repairs threaten Washington state bridges and highways. Will lawmakers act this year? (The Seattle Times)
- Initial Forward Washington package unveiled (Lens)
- U.S. forecasts highest summer fuel prices since 2018 (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)
- Work on 107 bridge nearly complete (The Daily World)
- Puget Sound region receives $97M for transit projects (Puget Sound Business Journal)
TRIBAL ISSUES
- The Chinook Indian Nation’s 120-year fight for sovereignty (Crosscut)
- Upper Skagit Indian Tribe: Seattle’s Skagit River dams put treaty rights at risk (KING TV)
- Decision strikes key parts of Native American adoptions law (AP/Yakima Herald-Republic)
WOLVES
