The Capitol Buzz is a weekday summary of online news stories from across the state, highlighting policies, politics and other issues that affect Washingtonians.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- 7 more Seattle-area restaurants and bars announce permanent closures (The Seattle Times)
- Ephrata bistro owner reflects on ongoing closure; will the Legislature step in? (Columbia Basin Herald)
- Analyst: Boeing may boost 767 production in Everett after landing KC-46 tanker orders (Puget Sound Business Journal)
- Whistleblower concerned that ‘potential defects’ remain in 737 MAX (MyNorthwest)
- EDITORIAL: Paid leave is a pandemic godsend for Washington workers. Don’t mess with success (The News Tribune)
CONGRESS
- Newhouse: Impeachment vote was the right thing for the country (Yakima Herald-Republic)
- Can Republican Reps. Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beutler survive their Trump impeachment votes? (The Seattle Times)
- Murray, Cantwell ask Biden to approve wildfire aid for Malden, Pine City; McMorris Rodgers sends separate letter (The Spokesman-Review)
- Republican Senators criticize Biden action on Keystone XL Pipeline (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)
- House sending Trump impeachment to Senate, GOP opposes trial (AP/The Seattle Times)
- OPINION: Section 230: Friend, not foe, of free speech (James D. Long, associate professor of political science and co-founder of the Political Economy Forum at the University of Washington, and Victor Menaldo, political science professor and co-founder of the Political Economy Forum at the University of Washington/The Seattle Times)
CORONAVIRUS
- All Washington regions to stay in Phase 1 for another week. Here’s where each region stands (Seattle P-I)
- Washington Gov. Jay Inslee receives COVID-19 vaccine (KCPQ TV)
- ‘Do not waste doses.’ Leftover Covid-19 vaccine injected into non-priority arms (KUOW Radio)
- First cases of UK COVID-19 variant found in Washington (MyNorthwest)
- Health official: Expect new variant COVID-19 strains to become ‘widespread’ in King County (Seattle P-I)
- Many of the earliest COVID ‘long-haulers’ still suffer; Seattle researchers are trying to figure out why (The Seattle Times)
- COVID-19 spikes fourfold among Washington’s Latinos, and it’s reaching almost every corner of the population (The Seattle Times)
- EDITORIAL: Ready for vaccination? Have patience (Yakima Herald-Republic)
COURTS (STATE)
CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Aftershocks rock Tacoma after police officer drives through crowd (The News Tribune)
- Protesters swarm Tacoma streets over police driving vehicle through crowd at street race (The News Tribune)
- Seattle police detail challenges in stopping protesters from destroying property (MyNorthwest)
- SPD announces new policy of arresting, prosecuting protesters who vandalize (MyNorthwest)
- Sheriff’s drug investigators did not go ‘rogue’ despite writing fake reports, review finds (The News Tribune)
- Green River Killer: Youngest victim of serial killer identified (KCPQ TV)
- Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich files complaint against Washington State over rejection of training proposal (The Spokesman-Review)
- COLUMN: Seattle Council, activists pretend Antifa riot didn’t happen (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
- EDITORIAL: Keep up tough conversations to enact police reforms (The Seattle Times)
EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY
- Failing grades up 600% at Garfield High: Should letter grades be handed out during COVID? (MyNorthwest)
- Why did Inslee and DOH ease guidance for reopening schools in Washington state? (The Seattle Times)
- Distance learning has many Clark County students not making the grade (The Columbian)
- Legislators in Washington state sink their teeth into pandemic-era issues for schools (The Seattle Times)
- Kraft reintroduces school choice bill; says parents know best (The Reflector)
- EDITORIAL: Pause in standardized testing is an opportunity to rethink approach (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
- EDITORIAL: Extend window of opportunity for new public charter schools (The Seattle Times)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
ENVIRONMENT
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
- What a Biden administration might mean for Washington, from immigration and environment to COVID-19 (The Seattle Times)
- Millions of stimulus payments were mailed as prepaid debit cards. Some say they look like scams. (The Seattle Times)
- OPINION: I’m looking forward to a new era with President Biden (William ‘Stacey’ Cowles/The Spokesman-Review)
- EDITORIAL: Inauguration offers new hope, as Biden and Harris call for collective problem-solving (The Olympian)
HIGHER EDUCATION
HOUSING
- Why the pandemic has Puget Sound residents leaving cities for the suburbs (MyNorthwest)
- King County judge to decide whether to strike down Seattle renter protections (The Seattle Times)
- Gov. Inslee’s repeal of the State Building Code Council’s code extensions could increase home prices, according to BIA (The Reflector)
IMMIGRATION
- ICE protesters march through Seattle (KIRO TV)
- OPINION: Stop cruel immigration detention: Close the Northwest Processing Center (Thomas Antkowiak, professor of law, Seattle University School of Law, and Alejandra Gonza, human rights attorney and executive director of Global Rights Advocacy/The Seattle Times)
LEGISLATURE
- Washington state lawmakers propose a $2.2 billion COVID-19 package supporting renters, vaccinations, businesses (The Seattle Times)
- ‘Our work is not finished’: Washington lawmakers propose $2.2 billion for early action COVID-19 relief (The Spokesman-Review)
- Remote testimony issues, virtual session prompt concerns about access (Lens)
- WA Legislature debates cost and value of launching Equity Office (Crosscut)
- Formerly incarcerated Washington lawmaker leads drive to restore felons’ voting rights (The Olympian)
- State Senate bill would give tenants right to counsel and stop no-cause evictions (The News Tribune)
- House passes legislation on transparency, business tax exemptions (Columbia Basin Herald)
- Numbers reveal overwhelming statewide support, including Wenatchee Valley Chamber, for Senate Bill 5114 (KPQ Radio)
- Rude sponsors bill for unaffiliated voters (KWHT)
- State Rep. Abbarno bill would invest in rural infrastructure projects (The Daily Chronicle)
- BLOG: New attempt at 51st state has about as much chance as old one (Jim Camden/The Spokesman-Review)
- COLUMN: WA Rep: ‘Our waters are dangerous,’ wants licenses for kayaks, paddleboards (Dori Monson/MyNorthwest)
- COLUMN: $2.2B COVID conversation begins; a road feud may be easing (Jerry Cornfield/The Everett Herald)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Protestors break into Bellingham City Hall, mayor rushed out for safety (KIRO TV)
- Seattle city council introduces COVID-19 hazard pay legislation for grocery store workers (KOMO TV)
MARIJUANA
MEDIA
- Larry King, broadcasting giant for half-century, dies at 87 (MyNorthwest)
- The Divide: The press and President Biden (KCPQ TV)
MENTAL HEALTH
MILITARY & VETERANS
OPEN GOVERNMENT
OTHER STATES
- Oregon finds third case of highly contagious coronavirus variant (The Oregonian)
- California discovers homegrown coronavirus strain that spreads even faster than any other (The Los Angeles Times/The Oregonian)
POLITICS
CONGRESS
ELECTIONS
LOCAL
STATEWIDE OFFICE
RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
SECURITY
STATE GOVERNMENT
- Suzi LeVine, head of Washington state’s unemployment agency, to take job in Biden administration (The Seattle Times)
- LeVine leaves ESD fraud mess for role in Biden’s administration (Puget Sound Business Journal)
TAXES
- WA Rep: Democrats’ gas taxes could be ‘rammed through this year’ (MyNorthwest)
- EDITORIAL: Proposed 18-cent gas tax hike worth considering (The Columbian)
TRANSPORTATION
- Washington House transportation proposal hefty at $25.8 billion, but needed for multimodal improvements (The Spokesman-Review)
- Sea-Tac passenger traffic in 2020 fell to 26-year low (Puget Sound Business Journal)
- Hate hearing train horns in Bellingham and Whatcom? There may be some relief in sight (The Bellingham Herald)
- Initial stabilization of West Seattle Bridge complete (KING TV)
- Community Transit’s new CEO looks beyond the pandemic (The Everett Herald)
WILDLIFE
- OPINION: The return of the spotted-owl wars? (Susan Jane Brown, attorney and wildlands program director at the Western Environmental Law Center/The Seattle Times)
- OPINION: Hunting is under attack in Washington (Kim Thorburn is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife commissioner/The Spokesman-Review)
