The Capitol Buzz is a weekday summary of online news stories from across the state, highlighting policies, politics and other issues that affect Washingtonians.
AGRICULTURE & WATER
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- After months of fighting to stay open during the pandemic, COVID-19 forces Skipworth’s Saw Shop into submission (iFiberOneNewsRadio-KMAS)
- Seattle ranks last among U.S. metros in job growth, study finds (KOMO TV)
- Restaurants, hotels face staff shortages, struggle to hire as business returns (KOMO TV)
- OPINION: State financial incentives available for creating clean buildings (Perry England, vice president of building performance at MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions/Puget Sound Business Journal)
- COLUMN: The next Seattle? No way. But here’s how Tacoma can get tech jobs for its college grads (Matt Driscoll/The News Tribune)
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
- Kiwanis to pay $6 million to former Centralia boys home residents (The Chronicle)
- Some summer festivals planned, but pandemic predicament persists (The Daily World)
CONGRESS
CORONAVIRUS
- Folks aren’t happy that Inslee’s pause of COVID rollbacks came too late for Pierce County (The News Tribune)
- Pierce County ‘frustrated’ it didn’t get a pause before its Phase 2 rollback (MyNorthwest)
- Pierce County COVID response faces $14.8 million budget shortfall as fourth wave continues (KNKX Radio)
- Washington state remains in 4th COVID wave but new numbers are ‘hopeful,’ officials say (The Seattle Times)
- Mixed messages? Is Washington at a COVID-19 plateau or amid a 4th wave (KING TV)
- Poll: No surprise that majority supports Inslee’s decision to pause phase adjustment; what is stunning are number of people who disagree (iFiberOne)
- Inslee hints at summer restriction lift (KPQ Radio)
- COVID-19 cases among teens on the rise in Walla Walla County (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
- ‘What are you waiting for?’: Washington officials urge vaccinations amid concerns over demand (Seattle P-I)
- Ybarra urges people to get COVID-19 vaccine (Columbia Basin Herald)
- COVID updates: Pfizer vaccine expected to be approved for children by next week (MyNorthwest)
- Washington health-care exec vowed to follow COVID rules. Then he led a 153-person Grand Canyon hike, rangers say. (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
- COLUMN: Lakewood mayor: ‘Science turns into political science’ with pause on rollbacks (Dori Monson/MyNorthwest)
- EDITORIAL: Staying in Phase 3 means we have to stay the course (Yakima Herald-Republic)
COURTS (STATE)
CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Washington state families celebrate progress on police reform, name future priorities (The News Tribune)
- Concrete wall around Seattle police’s East Precinct comes down after more than 8 months (The Seattle Times)
DAMS
- Newhouse, McMorris Rodgers slam Simpson for coordinating with Oregon governor on dam-breaching proposal (The Spokesman-Review)
- SEL founder opposes breaching plan (The Lewiston Tribune)
EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY
- Downtown stadium approved by Spokane Public Schools board (The Spokesman-Review)
- Testimony strongly favors renaming Sheridan Elementary School (The Spokesman-Review)
- Kitsap-area school districts formulating plans for high school graduation (Kitsap Sun)
- COVID outbreak closes West Valley High School building for 10 days (KXLY Radio)
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
ENERGY & UTILITIES
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
FISH
- Volunteer effort at Newberry Hill Heritage Park builds bridge for salmon habitat (Kitsap Sun)
- Tribes team with Northwest researchers to show viability of salmon above Upper Columbia dams (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
HEALTH CARE
- Washington 2nd best state for nurses in 2021 (KPQ Radio)
- Cluster of 7 children in King County infected with toxin-producing E. coli (KIRO TV)
- EDITORIAL: Transparent hospital billing helps patients (The Columbian)
HIGHER EDUCATION
- Washington State University Vancouver to honor 1,018 grads in virtual events (The Columbian)
- Washington State University may use debt to fix the university’s athletics budget shortfall (The Spokesman-Review)
- Three finalists to be president of The Evergreen State College withdraw from process, trustees announce (The Olympian)
- WWU joins other Washington universities in making the call on required COVID vaccines (The Bellingham Herald)
- Students push for Gonzaga to require COVID-19 vaccinations (KHQ TV)
- COLUMN: UW, PLU force vaccines on students but not staff; mask use unknown (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
- EDITORIAL: SPU should listen and be transparent about LGBTQ policies (The Seattle Times)
HOUSING
- Judge strikes down CDC’s national moratorium on evictions. Here’s where Seattle, state moratoriums stand (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)
- New laws pushing rental homes off market, landlord warns (Lens)
- Counties giving millions in rental assistance before state eviction moratorium ends (KING TV)
- Vancouver Housing Authority offers rental aid to child care providers (The Columbian)
LEGISLATURE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- King County Council delays vote on facial recognition ban (The Seattle Times)
- Seattle City Council favors using car-tab fee mainly for bridge repair (The Seattle Times)
- Council has questions, holds off on facial recognition technology ban in King County (KNKX Radio)
- King County Council takes big step to combat climate change (KNKX Radio)
- Kshama Sawant reintroduces proposal to bring rent control to Seattle (MyNorthwest)
- Grocery workers rally after Pierce County executive rejects hazard pay legislation (KING TV)
- OPINION: King County voters have spoken: Police reform and a new sheriff are coming (Dow Constantine, King County Executive/The Seattle Times)
MEDIA
MENTAL HEALTH
OTHER STATES
- US unemployment claims fall to a pandemic low; Oregon claims remain elevated (The Oregonian)
- Vaccine supply exceeds demand at major Oregon clinics, with scores of COVID-19 appointments available (The Oregonian)
- 355 shootings so far this year in Portland, police say (KATU/KEPR)
- Oregon moves toward safe storage of guns; ban from Capitol (AP/Yakima Herald-Republic)
- Lawmakers give final approval to gun bill, sending it to governor’s desk (The Oregonian)
- Idaho Senate OKs emergency powers bill (The Lewiston Tribune)
PARKS
RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- Space company makes a soft landing at the Port of Everett (The Everett Herald)
- Port of Kalama sets soybean export record, tops other West Coast ports (The Daily News)
- Harbor tourism trend: Life’s a beach during pandemic (The Daily World)
SOCIAL MEDIA
STATE GOVERNMENT
TRANSPORTATION
- Washington’s scenic North Cascades Highway reopens today (Seattle P-I)
- As Boeing and airlines contract, Paine Field airport faces churn, yet stays in the black (The Seattle Times)
- Sea-Tac Airport teams with Alaska, Delta to let passengers reserve a TSA screening time (Puget Sound Business Journal)
- Ferry could be out for months; rest of the system will feel the pain (KIRO TV)
TRIBAL ISSUES
- State task force will assess causes behind crisis of missing, murdered Indigenous women (Yakima Herald-Republic)
- Kalispel Tribe offers $4.75 million to buy Spokane County Raceway (The Spokesman-Review)
- New book explores the lies that built up Marcus Whitman’s legacy (KNKX Radio)
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
- Western Washington ‘riper for wildfire;’ Skagit County declares fire awareness month (The Seattle Times)
- Eastern Wash. wildfire started at homeless camp, investigators say (KOMO TV)
WILDLIFE
