Capitol  Buzz

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• EDITORIAL: Rainy, chilly Seattle is the envy of a drought-ravaged world (The Seattle Times)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• US inflation hit 8.3% in April but slows from 40-year high (AP/FOX 13)
• Cruises smash records despite COVID on board (The Seattle Times)
• Concrete shortage delays Seattle waterfront project (Seattle P-I)
• Labor talks begin amid port problems; experts cautiously optimistic (Capital Press)

CHILD CARE

• 80% of Washington child care programs are understaffed (KIRO TV)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Baby formula shortage in Washington has caregivers, parents scrambling to feed their infants (The Seattle Times)
• High inflation leaves food banks struggling to meet needs (AP/Seattle P-I)
• Stamp Out Hunger drive returns as Clark County food pantries seeing great need (The Columbian)

CONGRESS

• House approves $40B in Ukraine aid, beefing up Biden request (AP/The Seattle Times)
• Here’s how Democrats in Congress are trying to protect abortion rights (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Odessa stakeholders ask for review of Reclamation repayment policy (Capital Press)

CORONAVIRUS

• Emergent hid evidence of COVID vaccine problems at plant, report says (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Businesses, residents suing the City of Seattle over CHOP denied class action certification (MyNorthwest)

COURTS (STATE)

• State Supreme Court to examine overturned conviction of 1987 cold-case double murder (MyNorthwest)
• EDITORIAL: At least our justices are willing to listen (Yakima Herald-Republic)

CRIME

• Washington DNA collection identifies suspects in eight crimes (The Center Square)

DAMS

• EDITORIAL: Dam safety should take higher priority (The Columbian)

EDUCATION

• Questions surrounding the future of transportation at Seattle Public Schools (FOX 13)
• New name for Moses Lake High School mascot narrowed to five choices (KPQ Radio)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Bellingham sewer rates may quadruple. Here’s why (The Bellingham Herald)

ENVIRONMENT

• Thousands of forest acres were destroyed by heat, insects, and disease last year, DNR says (The News Tribune)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• OPINION: U.S. Postal Service can deliver for a clean-energy future with electric fleet (Emily Johnston, communications coordinator for 350 Seattle, and David Yao, Seattle-area postal worker and vice president of the Seattle local of the American Postal Workers Union/The Seattle Times)

FISH

• Seattle fish research could shake up global tire (KUOW Radio)

FOOD SAFETY

• 862 pounds of deli meat recalled in Washington, 2 other states due to printing error (The News Tribune)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• UW Medicine looks to teach friends and family of sexual assault survivors how to offer support (The Seattle Times)
• ‘There’s a need for more’: Five years later, MultiCare plans to keep expanding access to primary care (The Spokesman-Review)
• Necessary dye to operate CT scans facing significant shortage (MyNorthwest)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Tri-Cities student employees join hundreds of WSU workers demanding to unionize (Tri-City Herald)

HOMELESSNESS

• Seattle clears Woodland Park homeless encampment after months of trying to place people into shelter (The Seattle Times)
• ‘I’m going to be homeless’: Bellevue residents face soaring rent hikes (KIRO TV)
• ‘Don’t study the problem to death’: San Diego shares lessons on homelessness as Woodward administration pushes for East Trent shelter (The Spokesman-Review)
• CHAS staff say unhoused patients need more affordable housing, mental health services (Northwest Public Broadcasting)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Local law enforcement tackle officer shortages with different tactics (FOX 13)
• Thousands of sex offenders never submitted DNA to state database, AG says (FOX 13)

LGBTQ

• Marysville School Board proposes parental consent to join LGBTQ clubs (The Everett Herald)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle City Council moves toward compromise on police hiring incentive (The Seattle Times)
• King County Assessor’s Office struggling with monthslong wait times for property tax exemptions, report finds (The Seattle Times)
• Spokane council president responds to ethics complaint (The Center Square)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Development to restart on controversial Tacoma mental health hospital (Puget Sound Business Journal)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Cerner falls short of contract target for ‘uptime,’ prompting McMorris Rodgers to accuse VA of ‘blatant negligence’ over computer outages (The Spokesman-Review)
• Rep. McMorris Rodgers urges local VA chief to address service cuts rumors (The Center Square)

OTHER STATES

• Turnout in Oregon primary election stands below 10%, could end up lowest in modern history (The Oregonian)
• Oregon adopts permanent rules to protect workers from heat, wildfire smoke (The Oregonian)
• Portland settles with group who sued over homeless sweeps (OPB)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Lewis and Clark tells parents of crackdown on ‘hallway behavior’ after Thursday fracas (The Spokesman-Review)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Senator ‘very frustrated’ over how natural gas ban came about (KING TV)

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

• US overdose deaths hit record 107,000 last year, CDC says (AP/The Seattle Times)

TRANSPORTATION

• ‘It is a struggle’: Washington, Idaho gas prices hit record highs (KXLY)
• As gas prices hit record, here’s how to get better mileage (AP/The Seattle Times)
• North Spokane Corridor accelerating completion to 2028 (KREM TV)
• After one year delay, rising costs force WSDOT to cut back on new passing lanes for SR26 (KQQQ Radio)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Puyallup Tribe, Kenmore Air announce new seaplane venture to bring tourists to Tacoma (The News Tribune)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• ‘Wildfire Ready Neighbors’ program kicks off second year (KREM TV)
• COLUMN: Milling thinned trees can foot bill to reduce wildfire risks (Don Brunell/The Chronicle)

WILDLIFE

• Sightings of mammal-eating orcas increasing in Puget Sound (The Everett Herald)