The Capitol Buzz is a daily summary of online news clips from across the state, discussing policies and politics affecting Washington state.
AGRICULTURE & WATER
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
- COLUMN: Artificial Intelligence bringing a non-human approach to health care (Dave Ross/MyNorthwest)
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Inflation slows, but western Washington consumers still gasping for air (MyNorthwest)
- Inflation eases as goods grow less scarce and prices fall for gas, housing (AP/The Oregonian)
- OPINION: Bidenomics in WA: Investing to grow the economy from the middle out (Heather Boushey, one of three members of President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers and the chief economist of the Investing in America Cabinet/The Seattle Times)
CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM
- Dozier plans to reintroduce fuel carve-outs bill to Washington cap-and-trade law (The Center Square)
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
- New CEO starts at the largest sexual assault resource center in the state (KING TV)
- Grocery store employee’s KKK attire shocks Gold Bar (The Everett Herald)
CONGRESS
- House votes to prevent a government shutdown as GOP Speaker Johnson relies on Democrats for help (AP)
- Northwest Republicans split as House passes short-term spending bill, averting government shutdown (The Spokesman-Review)
- Program to keep parents out of jail helps criminals more than kids, critics say (The Center Square)
- UW sleep expert among those pushing federal leaders for permanent standard time (KIRO TV)
- Rep. Newhouse hosting telephone town halls for Washington constituents (KNDO/KNDU)
COURTS (STATE)
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
- Program goes on: Car dealership etches catalytic converters to prevent theft (MyNorthwest)
- The Spotlight: Tacoma Police target crime on one of city’s most infamous streets (FOX 13)
- ‘Net Nanny’ sting results in 15 arrests, including 3 men from Thurston County, WSP says (The Olympian)
EDUCATION
- Seattle Schools hits pause on timeline to close several schools (KUOW Radio)
- Seattle teachers union votes to endorse call for ceasefire in Hamas-Israel war (KOMO TV)
- Adaptive mariachi at Mount Vernon High School aids self-expression in special education (KING TV)
- OPINION: The Pierce County Exec’s recent veto hurts Tacoma students. Overturn it — fast (Dr. Tafona Ervin, executive director at Foundation for Tacoma Students; and Holly Bamford Hunt, executive director at the Bamford Family Foundation and a board member of Foundation for Tacoma Students/The News Tribune)
ELECTIONS
- USPS failed to deliver ballots from one Seattle mail drop box (The Seattle Times)
- 85 ballots reach King County Elections Office after sitting in out-of-service mailbox (KIRO TV)
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
ENERGY & UTILITIES
ENVIRONMENT
- A look inside Washington’s first state-managed forest that pulls CO2 from the atmosphere (FOX 13)
- King County’s urban streams are showing signs of improving health. Just ask the bugs. (The Seattle Times)
- Advocates want to see recycling rates in Clark County, state climb beyond already solid numbers (The Columbian)
- Gap-to-Gap restoration project along Yakima River underway (KNDO/KNDU)
- Friday hearing will attempt to stop timber harvest along Elwha River (KONP Radio)
- Clover Island collaboration recognized with state award (KAPP/KVEW)
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
FISH
HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS
- Officials say ‘majority’ of nurses at largest hospital in Snohomish County are on strike (FOX 13)
- Washington leads country in new lung cancer cases, report shows (KOMO TV)
HIGHER EDUCATION
- How Seattle readers are handling student loan payments resuming (Axios – Seattle)
- WSU, Oregon State gain control of Pac-12 after judge grants motion, but appeal lurks (The Seattle Times)
- Washington State University launches initiative to combat election misinformation (The Spokesman-Review)
- Whitman College sit-in ends, students to meet with trustees (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
- COLUMN: Washington State and Oregon State’s victory in Tuesday’s hearing is no surprise (Greg Woods/The Spokesman-Review)
HOMELESSNESS
- King County gives Burien deadline to take $1 million for homeless shelter (The Seattle Times)
- Burien group protests city’s new camping ban by sleeping outside (KUOW Radio)
IMMIGRATION
INVASIVE SPECIES
LAW ENFORCEMENT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Seattle City Council approves funding for controversial gunshot technology (MyNorthwest)
- Spokane City Council approves property 1% tax boost (The Spokesman-Review)
- Clark County Council approves $3 million in ARPA funds to start public defenders office (The Columbian)
- Lynnwood fined $550K for air quality at sewage treatment center (The Everett Herald)
- EDITORIAL: Seattle’s $27 million experiment in participatory budgeting is not worth repeating (The Seattle Times)
MILITARY & VETERANS
OTHER STATES
- First lethal take of wolf in Grant County authorized by ODFW (Capital Press)
- Portland teachers cut proposal by $120 million, as strike cancels ninth school day (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- Medicaid to ask for big staff increase (The Lewiston Tribune)
SCHOOL SAFETY
- Puyallup school officials, police address gun safety after firearms found on campuses (The News Tribune)
- Thurston school bus driver charged with assault for allegedly hitting 6-year-old (KIRO TV)
TAXES
TRANSPORTATION
- Washington truckers say state should put the brakes on EV transition (The Center Square)
- Cayuse and Chinook passes close for the season (Yakima Herald-Republic)
- Seattle light rail is about to get heavy for those who don’t pay the fare (KUOW Radio)
- OPINION: WSDOT’s new highway plan embraces traffic congestion (Charles Prestrud, director of the Washington Policy Center’s Coles Center for Transportation/The Spokesman-Review)
TRIBAL ISSUES
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
WILDLIFE
