Capitol  Buzz

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Ecology toughens stance on water use by Washington farm (Capital Press)
• COLUMN: Supporting WA agriculture is better for everyone (Mark Hambelton, tree fruit grower from Wenatchee and Chairman of the Board for the Washington State Tree Fruit Association/The Seattle Times)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Business association ‘disappointed’ by WA L&I’s proposed workers comp rate hike (The Center Square)
• Fed-up consumers are increasingly going after food companies for misleading claims (KNKX Radio)
• Fed keeps rates unchanged but signals likelihood of another hike this year to fight inflation (AP)
• Why U.S. hotels are missing more than 238,000 employees (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)

CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM

• EDITORIAL: Who causes high fuel prices? Politicians need only look in mirror (Capital Press)

CONGRESS

• Northwest lawmakers weigh in as House GOP infighting raises government shutdown risk (The Spokesman-Review)
• WA infrastructure highlighted in House oversight hearing (KNWN Radio)
• Takeaways from Garland’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• An Oregon city wants the U.S. Supreme Court to approve its camping ban. San Diego’s on board (The San Diego Union-Tribune/The Seattle Times)
• Clark County firefighting recruit mimicked lynching Black colleague, federal lawsuit alleges (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• EDITORIAL: Plaintiffs’ agenda now the law of the land (Capital Press)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Washington state has the nation’s seventh-highest reported crime rate (The Center Square)
• Washington makes Top 10 crime list (KNWN Radio)

DRUG CRISIS

• Seattle City Council passes drug possession bill that aligns with WA state law (The Center Square)
• Seattle mayor signs approved ordinance that allows city attorney to prosecute open drug use (FOX 13)
• Annual overdose deaths in Lewis County reach all-time high with three months left in 2023 (The Chronicle)

EDUCATION

• WA students are scoring higher on state assessments. Is Thurston County following? (The Olympian)
• Here’s when Seattle Public Schools will announce possible school closures (KUOW Radio)
• Attendance rates still haven’t recovered from COVID, but Spokane’s On Track Academy thinks it has a path to student success (The Inlander)
• Google extends lifespan of Chromebooks — a change that could save school districts millions (The Mercury News/The Columbian)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Heat pumps key to WA, coalition’s plan to end building emissions (The Seattle Times)
• Can farms, solar energy installations coexist in the Columbia River Basin? (Columbia Insight/The Columbian)
• EFSEC hearings on Horse Heaven wind project trail off (Capital Press)

ENVIRONMENT

• Could selling sewage save the Salish Sea? (Crosscut)
• Wildfire smoke is eroding decades of air quality improvements, study finds (Washington Post/The Spokesman-Review)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Biden is using executive power to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps (AP)
• White House to announce first federal office of gun violence prevention, AP sources say (AP)
• Beginning farmers and ranchers committee seeks nominees (Daily Record)

FISH

• State grants $1.5M for salmon recovery projects in Walla Walla County (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• Lewis County salmon recovery projects receive more than $1 million in state grant funding (The Chronicle)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• College enrollment slide is finally letting up. What’s driving the change in Tri-Cities (Tri-City Herald)
• WSU Academic Student Employees Union files ‘unfair labor’ suit against university (KREM TV)

HOMELESSNESS

• Homelessness authority shuttering Partnership for Zero pilot program in Seattle (The Center Square)
• ‘King County homeless organization lays off one-third of its staff as pilot project expires (MyNorthwest)
• Spokane illegal camping cleanup cost city taxpayers $629,000 last year (The Center Square)
• Everett’s Palisades Village could be educational model for Bremerton housing solutions (Kitsap Sun)
• EDITORIAL: Safe Stay communities humane, efficient (The Columbian)

HOUSING

• Seattle-area homes are selling fast — typically in 8 days (Axios – Seattle)

IMMIGRATION

• The US is allowing hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the country to work legally (AP)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• SPD oversight group demands officer under investigation for Jaahnavi Kandula comments be put on leave (The Seattle Times)
• A SW Washington sheriff pushes the limits of official powers while in training (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Auditors give Spokane books high marks but credit questions arise amid deficit (The Center Square)
• County Council delays vote on requiring businesses to take cash (The Everett Herald)
• New resolution exempts Lewis County employees from future mask mandates (KING TV)
• Proposition to close Columbia County Library is unconstitutional, court commissioner rules (The Spokesman-Review)
• Yakima Council divided over mayor’s 911 call over signature gatherers (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• COLUMN: Mayor scolded for calling 911 on ‘far right-wing’ signature gatherers (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

MEDIA

• COLUMN: Q&A: How to apply for Press Forward grants and support it locally (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Tacoma School District is working to address students’ mental health despite limited funds (KING TV)
• ESD 105, Astria partner for student mental health in central Washington (KNDO/KNDU)

OTHER STATES

• Gov. Tina Kotek claws back $2.7M in homelessness funds from Multnomah County (The Oregonian)
• Oregon student achievement remains mired far below pre-pandemic levels, new test scores show (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Efforts to roll back parts of Oregon drug decriminalization law gain momentum (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Washington State Standard)
• Balancing act: Idaho’s water managers weigh supply, demand (Capital Press)

REDISTRICTING

• OPINION: Lawmakers should reconvene redistricting commission, not shirk their responsibility (Sen. John Braun/The News Tribune)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Washington’s paid family leave program could see more delays (Axios – Seattle)
• Washington public pension system expected to be fully funded by 2027 (The Center Square)

TRANSPORTATION

• Prices skyrocket on WA transportation projects, and fewer contractors want the jobs (The Seattle Times)
• WSDOT’s ‘mobility dashboard’ logs billions of travel miles, and more (The Center Square)
• Ferry system operating at ‘bare minimum’ as unexpected damage takes toll on aging fleet (FOX 13)
• Bellevue light-rail line isn’t open yet, but something’s already broken (The Seattle Times)
• New issue may impact opening of Sound Transit’s Eastside light rail line (MyNorthwest)
• COLUMN: Is Inslee’s plan working? The electric car age arrives — for some (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Lummi Nation will honor orca Tokitae with private traditional ceremony in Bellingham Bay (The Bellingham Herald)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• New fire east of Darrington closes stretch of rural road (The Everett Herald)
• Fire Report: Olympic blazes still growing, Dorian fire 30% contained (Columbia Basin Herald)

WOLVES

• The latest clash over managing Washington’s wolves (Washington State Standard)