Capitol  Buzz

ABORTION

• Abortion Roundtable in Kirkland as Texas abortion ruling nears (KNWN Radio)

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Farming still crucial to Basin employment (Columbia Basin Herald)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• How much of King County isn’t wealthy? Less and less (The Seattle Times)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• WA state lawmakers speak out against ‘whites only’ group in Centralia (The Olympian)

CORONAVIRUS

• Confluence vaccination lawsuit tossed from Douglas County court (NCW Life Channel)
• State audit finds deficiencies in federally funded COVID-19 programs in Walla Walla County (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Seattle landlords can ask about criminal records, court rules (The Seattle Times)
• Federal court rules Seattle landlords can ask about criminal history (KUOW Radio)

COURTS (STATE)

• COLUMN: There’s a limit to compassion that we should have in the courts (Dave Ross/MyNorthwest)

CRIME

• Seattle car thefts spike 73% over three years (Axios – Seattle)
• Missed evidence at Washington’s crime lab could’ve stopped the Green River killer in the 1980s (KUOW Radio)

DAMS

• McMorris Rodgers, Newhouse bash Biden for Columbia River mix-up in remarks on Northwest salmon (The Spokesman-Review)

EDUCATION

• Seattle Schools will not consolidate next year despite deficit, budget cuts (The Center Square)
• Proposal could mean changes for young Yakima drivers, possible return of driver’s ed in schools (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Walla Walla Public Schools finds pathway for special education teachers (KNDO/KNDU)
• OPINION: Support special-ed students with advocates in each WA service district (Sen. John Braun/The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: What’s the matter with Wahkiakum? (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Chelan County PUD to gain access to 4,000 acre-feet of Okanogan County water in $1 million annual lease (The Wenatchee World)

ENVIRONMENT

• State is offering $500 to scrap your old, uncertified wood stove or insert (KONP Radio)

GUN RIGHTS

• Bill before Washington Senate would ban the sale of these guns (The Center Square)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• WA hospitals warn that services could be affected as their financial picture worsens (The News Tribune)
• Washington hospitals have operated at a loss for the last 2 years, report says (KING TV)

HOMELESSNESS

• Inslee calls South Park encampment ‘scourge on our state’ during tour of cleanup (KOMO TV)
• Inslee visits Seattle encampment during cleanup, urges legislators to fund affordable housing (FOX 13)
• City of Spokane files suit to clear Camp Hope (The Spokesman-Review)

HOUSING

• Washington Senate’s proposed budget includes $625 million for affordable housing projects (The Columbian)
• Ballard eviction underscores process’s complexities (The Seattle Times)
• ‘An extreme outlier:’ Rental Association reacts after King Co. detective is shot serving eviction notice (FOX 13)
• Tacoma Housing Authority will open low-income housing waitlist (KNKX Radio)
• OPINION: Those with disabilities need housing benefit help (Pam Blanton, founder and chief executive of Partners4Housing/Everett Herald)

IMMIGRATION

• Podcast | A child of Vietnamese refugees helps displaced Afghans (Crosscut)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• No House committee hearing scheduled for police pursuit reform legislation (The Center Square)
• Documents detail fatal police shooting in North Bend park (Snoqualmie Valley Record)

LEGISLATURE

• EDITORIAL: Building ballparks, rewriting ferry rules, recognizing Chinese-Americans (Jerry Cornfield/Everett Herald)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Spokane could punish public drug use, boost ‘healthy street life’ (The Center Square)
• Proposed ordinance would make open drug use in public spaces illegal in Spokane (KXLY TV)
• Pierce County Council votes on sales tax to address housing crisis. Here’s the decision (The News Tribune)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Crisis center legislation would help bring solutions to crisis intervention, sponsors say (Columbia Basin Herald)

OPERATING BUDGET

• WA state revenue forecasts predict slowdown as lawmakers prepare new spending plans (NW News Network)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon lawmakers debate $200M for housing, homelessness (AP)
• Wave of Oregon affordable housing nears an expiration date; bill would give tenants more time (The Oregonian)
• Oregon lawmakers take up contentious data center clean energy bill (The Oregonian)
• Oregon legislators to consider 3 new laws aimed at curbing gun deaths (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Pulling the plug on TikTok will be harder than it looks (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

• EDITORIAL: Access to fentanyl test strips could save lives (The Columbian)

TAXES

• Sales tax exemption for seniors’ meals passes WA House (KPQ Radio)

TRANSPORTATION

• I-5 Bridge program: If there must be lifts, limit them to 1-4 a.m. (The Columbian)
• Fatal hit-and-runs in Seattle leave lasting damage, few consequences (Crosscut)
• ‘Build in Washington’ rule may be cast overboard to obtain new ferries affordably and quickly (NW News Network)
• Bill opening up Washington’s ferry procurement process takes center stage at Senate hearing (The Center Square)

WILDLIFE

• Serving wildlife: The Wenatchee Valley boasts two biologists on state commission (NCW Life Channel)

WOLVES

• Washington commissioner backs off claim ranchers put cattle in harm’s way (Capital Press)
• Range-riding director: We need more collared wolves in NE Washington (Capital Press)