Capitol  Buzz

HOUSE AND SENATE REPUBLICAN MEDIA AVAILABILITY

• March 21, 2023 (YouTube/TVW)

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• House passes bill extending tax breaks for agricultural producers in Washington state (KGMI Radio)
• Bill proposes public funding to promote Washington farm goods (Capital Press)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Remote work continues to thrive among Seattle commuters (KUOW Radio)
• Amazon cuts another 9,000 jobs signaling new era for the company (KUOW Radio)

CAPITAL BUDGET

• WA senators propose $7.9 billion for construction projects. Here’s what’s in the budget (Tri-City Herald)
• Senate’s proposed $7.9B capital budget includes record $400M for Housing Trust Fund (The Center Square)

CONGRESS

• Representative Dr. Kim Schrier visits Cle Elum to speak with FISH, a manufacturer and local business owners (KNDO/KNDU)
• EDITORIAL: Farm Bill exposes divisions in Congress (The Columbian)

COURTS (STATE)

• Facts contested in Jenoah Donald’s wrongful death lawsuit (The Reflector)

CRIME

• OPINION: Want to cut crime in WA and hire more cops? There’s a way — but it won’t be easy (Chris Vance, former state representative, King County Council member, and Republican state party chairman/The News Tribune)

EDUCATION

• Battle Ground middle schoolers meet with state lawmakers (The Reflector)
• Guards in Vancouver, WA public schools used illegal restraint (Crosscut)
• Sequim School District settles lawsuit with former employee for $1.5M (KONP Radio)
• OPINION: Thurston County superintendents say state must step up to fund special education (Thurston County School Superintendents/The Olympian)

EMERGENCY POWERS

• OPINION: WA state legislature again does nothing to rein in governor’s emergency powers (Jason Mercier, Government Reform director for Washington Policy Center/Tri-City Herald)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Federal grant brings biodiesel to Pasco (KNDO/KNDU)

ENVIRONMENT

• Port commissioner not ready to take a position on Capitol Lake, seeks postponement (The Olympian)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Biden issues first veto, taking on new Republican House (AP)

GUN RIGHTS

• Lawmakers on gun legislation want to hear from you (KONA Radio)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Thousands in WA could soon lose Apple Health coverage; here’s how to keep it (The Seattle Times)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Hundreds of WSU students could be forced to move midsemester over issues with rental company (The Spokesman-Review)

HOMELESSNESS

• Burien groups call on King County to address homeless crisis (KOMO TV)
• Large tent encampment cleared from South Park following reports of violence (KUOW Radio)

HOUSING

• WA Gov. Jay Inslee’s $4B housing proposal faces hurdles in Legislature (The Seattle Times)
• Bank turmoil triggers uncertainty in Seattle housing market (The Seattle Times)
• Olympia and Thurston County officials want your thoughts on plans to improve housing access (The Olympian)
• Chelan, Douglas County will need building boom to handle growth (KPQ Radio)
• OPINION: A fiscally responsible way to tackle WA’s affordable housing crisis (Sen. Mark Mullet/The Seattle Times)

INVASIVE SPECIES

• Online open house Tuesday to address Japanese beetle efforts in Grandview (Yakima Herald-Republic)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• King County detective in critical condition after getting shot while serving eviction notice (FOX 13)
• A deputy was shot in Ballard and one person found dead: What we know (The Seattle Times)
• A look at law enforcement serving eviction notices: What happened on Monday (FOX 13)

LEGISLATURE

• What’s alive and dead in Washington’s Legislature (Axios – Seattle)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle City Council moves to give gig workers paid sick leave (Crosscut)
• Lakewood passes ordinance criminalizing use of ‘dangerous drugs’ in public (KING TV)
• Longtime Kitsap County Commissioner Rob Gelder to resign (Kitsap Sun)
• COLUMN: King County official defended terrorists, tweets anti-Semitic smears (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

MEDIA

• Tracci Dial departing NonStop Local Tri-Cities/Yakima after 11 years (KAPP/KVEW)

OPERATING BUDGET

• How WA’s cloudy economic forecast could impact state spending (Crosscut)
• New forecast show state revenues won’t be quite as robust as expected (The Everett Herald)
• WA state revenue forecast is down, reflecting expected slowdown in economy (The News Tribune)
• Washington’s revenue projections are slowing thanks to inflation and an uncertain economy, new forecast says (The Spokesman-Review)
• Washington state revenue forecast drops by more than $1B over next two biennia (The Center Square)
• Drop in state revenue forecast highlights need for cautious approach in new state budget (KLCK Radio)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon bill on abortion, gender-affirming care sparks debate (AP)
• Deadline kills controversial Oregon water law proposals (Capital Press)
• Hate-crime victims could break leases without penalty to move away from attackers, Oregon bill proposes (The Oregonian)
• Lawmakers considering bill to require fentanyl education by fall 2024. Advocates say schools shouldn’t wait. (The Oregonian)
• Bill to let Oregon drivers pump their own gas passes House (The Oregonian)

POLITICS

NATIONAL

• OPINION: Violent extremists are living among us (C. Mark Smith, Columbia Basin Badger Club/Tri-City Herald)

SPORTS

• Drive to build new AquaSox ballpark gets $7.4M boost from state (The Everett Herald)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Bill would increase support, cash for Washington inmates before being released (KING TV)
• EDITORIAL: Use state forestlands to ‘farm’ carbon credits (The Everett Herald)

TAXES

• Oregonians moving to Clark County in droves; experts cite income tax (The Columbian)

TECHNOLOGY

• OPINION: Time to enhance wireless connectivity throughout Washington (Rachel Smith, Seattle Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, and Michael Schutzler, CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association/Puget Sound Business Journal)

TRANSPORTATION

• Washington residents see one penny of pump price relief; a first for 2023 (The Center Square)
• 100+ mile Hood Canal Bridge detour will mess with summer weekends (MyNorthwest)
• Cameras caught drivers illegally using bus lanes 110,000 times (Axios – Seattle)
• Oil train derailed to avoid plunging into Puget Sound, tribal leader says (KUOW Radio)
• WSDOT suspends search for missing aircraft (The Daily World)
• EDITORIAL: Enforce transit fares, but fairly, without bias or intimidation (The Seattle Times)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• $25 million to help reduce wildfire risks in Washington (KNDO/KNDU)

WILDLIFE

• Southern resident orcas are too inbred; will the population survive? (The Seattle Times)