Capitol  Buzz

ABORTION

• Report: Threats against abortion providers have spiked, especially in states like Oregon, Washington (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• New WA 64 apple is a cross between a Honeycrisp and a Cripps Pink (Yakima Herald-Republic)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• How Washington’s outdoor economy became a billion-dollar business (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• Aerospace alternatives: Area’s manufacturers flex and diversify to meet industry’s challenges (The Spokesman-Review)
• I-5 Bridge replacement will require strong labor pool in Clark County (The Columbian)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• State preps for second sale of pollution allowances (Washington State Standard)
• Washington Ecology Department forms task force to address farmer fuel surcharge (The Center Square)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Youth firearm deaths up in socially vulnerable areas, gun laws having little impact (KEPR TV)

CONGRESS

• Biden and McCarthy reach a final deal to avoid US default and now must sell it to Congress (AP)
• New details in debt limit deal: Where $136 billion in cuts will come from (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Bipartisan bill to help tribes and counties manage wildfire risk on federal land as ‘good neighbors’ gains momentum in Congress (The Spokesman-Review)

COURTS (STATE)

• Standard ranges, not judges, often dictate sentencing length in Washington (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• Attempted murder charge may be dropped because of Franklin County attorney shortage (Tri-City Herald)
• Snohomish County prosecutors declined 3,000 felony cases in 2022. Why? (The Everett Herald)
• Court: Snohomish County jurors’ opaque masks didn’t taint verdict (The Everett Herald)
• Inslee appoints Steffener as Superior Court judge (The Everett Herald)

CRIME

• Thurston County LEAD program has helped hundreds since 2021 despite limited arrests (The Olympian)

DAMS

• Ag stakeholders: Mediation skewed toward breaching dams (Capital Press)

EARLY LEARNING

• Debt ceiling bill could hurt early learning providers in Clark County (The Columbian)

EDUCATION

• Seattle schools chose integration. But then it fell apart (The Seattle Times)
• What drove the parent whose lawsuit ended Seattle’s integration effort (The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: School busing was one of the best things that ever happened to me (Naomi Ishisaka/The Seattle Times)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Washington’s drowning rate surpasses national average, the need for lifeguards has never been greater (FOX 13)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Lewis County’s Centralia bets on clean energy as coal economy fades (The Seattle Times)
• Inslee talks clean energy jobs, Malden rebuild and battling climate change (Northwest Public Broadcasting)

ENVIRONMENT

• New study investigates why some parts of Seattle have high asthma rates (The Seattle Times)
• Could the Northwest’s basalt rocks help slow climate change? (NW News Network)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Postal workers, supporters rally in Seattle amid contract negotiations (The Seattle Times)

FISH

• WA seeks public comment on proposed rules for 2023-24 salmon fishing seasons (The Center Square)
• Ambitious fish passage work begins under I-90 in Bellevue (MyNorthwest)

GUN RIGHTS

• Several states adopt, advance new gun restriction laws in 2023 (The Center Square)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• How new Washington laws aim to lower out-of-pocket health care costs (Washington State Standard)
• Everett son’s struggle to get mom into assisted living: $22K, 1,500 miles (The Everett Herald)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• CWU receives over $130 million in state funding (Daily Record)
• OPINION: Medical school in Central WA committed to rural health care is ready expand (Michael J. Lawler, PhD, is President of PNWU and Catherine J. Potts, MD, FACP, is Chair for the Board of Trustees/Tri-City Herald)

HOMELESSNESS

• Homeless population spikes in Skagit County (KING TV)
• She feeds Everett’s homeless; ‘no sit’ ban makes her mission harder (The Everett Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Double down on homelessness authority’s founding principles and update CEO’s job description (The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: 4th Safe Stay site plan fuels cautious optimism (The Columbian)

HOUSING

• It’s far cheaper to rent than own in Seattle right now (Axios – Seattle)
• Clark County housing developers face challenges due to environmental and zoning constraints (The Columbian)
• Supporters of tenant rights bill make their voices heard at city hall (Northwest Public Broadcasting)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Washington State Patrol faces staff shortage (The Center Square)
• Olympia begins process to form civilian oversight group for law enforcement. Here’s how (The Olympian)

LEGISLATURE

• Nearly 96% of bills passed in 2023 received some level of bipartisan support (The Center Square)
• New Washington state laws give debt relief to people exiting prison (KUOW Radio)

LGBTQ

• Olympia crosswalks get trans flag paint, City Hall gets pride flag flown for Pride Month (The Olympian)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Seattle city attorney argues for crack down on drug abuse (The Center Square)
• Steps to phase out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in Seattle (The Seattle Times)
• Redmond mayor disbands commission proposing increased council salaries (The Seattle Times)

LONG-TERM CARE

• You may still be eligible to opt out of WA Cares payroll tax (The Seattle Times)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: Saving and rebuilding America’s local free press system (Frank Blethen, publisher of The Seattle Times/The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Local organizations, schools partner for suicide prevention in Walla Walla (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• County Council OK’s Stanwood behavioral health center (The Everett Herald)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Memorial Day prompts strong memories, ceremonies (KOMO TV)
• ‘Holy smokes’: For Everett veterans, a chance to restore war memorabilia (The Everett Herald)
• At the state Capitol, a longstanding tribute to lives lost in WWI (Spokane Public Radio)
• Group creates memorials for WA Civil War veterans, including heroes buried in Pierce County (The News Tribune)
• In the military, fertility policies and family building collide (Washington State Standard)

OPEN GOVERNMENT

• BLOG: Fate of Sunshine Committee getting cloudy (Jim Camden/The Spokesman-Review)

OTHER STATES

• Legislatures not very active in election reform (The Center Square)
• Investment standards debate moves into state legislatures (The Center Square)
• States legislatures adapt to electric vehicles (The Center Square)
• States see Chinese purchase of farmland as a threat to national security (The Center Square)
• Fentanyl is driving Oregon’s drug crisis deeper (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

RURAL BROADBAND

• Washington public agencies win $121M to extend rural broadband (Crosscut)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Your taxpayer dollars: Are they helping keep students safe in public schools? (KING TV)
• New child-sex charges filed against former University Place schools employee in another WA county (The News Tribune)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Driver’s licenses, addresses, photos: Inside how TikTok shares user data (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• BLOG: Babylon Bee’s Kyle Mann: “You have to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.” (Shift)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Seven escape from Snoqualmie juvenile detention center (The Seattle Times)
• All teens who escaped from Echo Glen Children’s Center now in custody (FOX 13)
• ‘They didn’t do anything’: CPS closed case before Snohomish Co. child’s suspected fentanyl death (KING TV)
• EDITORIAL: WA’s Office of Equity must focus on dismantling racism, transformation (The Seattle Times)

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

• How to spot, respond to a fentanyl overdose (The Seattle Times)
• WA has upped efforts to get naloxone into communities. Is it enough? (The Seattle Times)
• King County’s drug use stigma reduction campaign receives national award (The Center Square)

TAXES

• COLUMN: WA’s wealthiest are richer than even the tax collectors guessed (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

TRANSPORTATION

• As WA State Ferries cancellations, delays continue, here’s what to know (The Seattle Times)
• Stranded ferry riders frustrated with WSF over holiday weekend travel issues (KOMO TV)
• The baby born in holding lanes of Bainbridge ferry terminal? Little Charlie is doing just fine (Kitsap Sun)
• $123M project starting on Highway 529 interchange, I-5 HOV lane (The Everett Herald)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Lummi Nation says new Port of Vancouver terminal violates agreement, hurts fisheries (The Bellingham Herald)