CAPITOL  BUZZ

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Boeing’s former chief technical pilot on 737 MAX indicted on fraud charges (The Seattle Times)
• Boeing finds faulty titanium parts in latest setback for 787 (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)
• Amazon launches air operations at Spokane International Airport (The Spokesman-Review)
• Workers are quitting at record rates. Restaurants are bearing the brunt of it. (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• Delays at Port of Seattle ‘going to get worse before it gets better’ (MyNorthwest)
• COLUMN: Why all the fuss over Taiwan? And why Washington should care (Don Brunell/The Reflector)
• COLUMN: Downtown Seattle’s troubles go beyond the pandemic (Jon Talton/The Seattle Times)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Islamic Center of Tacoma overwhelmed with support following fire, ongoing arson investigation (The Seattle Times)

CONGRESS

• U.S. Senators to introduce antitrust legislation after reports say Amazon’s marketplace is unfair to sellers (The Seattle Times)

CORONAVIRUS

• Large events in Washington to require proof of vaccination or negative test (MyNorthwest)
• Okanogan County morgue near capacity as area combats coronavirus, suicides and overdoses (iFiberOne)
• Inslee may broaden mandates to private sector (KPQ Radio)
• With Tri-Cities COVID cases declining, what will it take to reduce restrictions? (Tri-City Herald)
• While COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations drop, Washington’s mandates remain in place (KING TV)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Supreme Court commission talks positively of shorter terms (AP/The Seattle Times)

CRIME

• Domestic violence homicides in King County on pace to be record breaking number (KCPQ TV)

CYBERSECURITY

• Clark County Auditor’s Office launches identity theft program (The Columbian)

DAMS

• Inslee, Murray plan to release dam breaching assessment by next summer (The Spokesman-Review)
• Inslee says Lower Snake River dams report should be ready this summer (NW News Network)

EDUCATION

• Seattle elementary school cancels Halloween parade, says it has historically marginalized students of color (The Seattle Times)
• EDITORIAL: Threats, insults don’t work (Daily Record)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Estimated 5% of Seattle Fire Department personnel haven’t submitted proof of vaccination (MyNorthwest)
• Seattle Fire Department braces to lose first responders (KOMO TV)
• Veteran Seattle firefighter empties locker after city denies vaccine exemption (KCPQ TV)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Radioactive liquid spilled outside Tri-Cities nuclear fuel plant. Here’s what happened (Tri-City Herald)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• US plans to reinstate ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy next month (AP/The Seattle Times)
• Dozens of US nuclear lab workers sue over vaccine mandate (AP/The Seattle Times)
• Transportation secretary Buttigieg mostly absent amid supply chain crisis (KOMO TV)

FISH

• Volunteers monitor invasive crab species in South Aberdeen (The Daily World)
• Pussyfoot Creek and SR 164 get new bridge. Fish get 9 miles of new habitat (The News Tribune)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Pierce County university announces tuition won’t increase for incoming students (The News Tribune)

HOMELESSNESS

• Seattle to begin towing vehicles again, but it’s unclear what that means for people who live in cars (The Seattle Times)

LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS

• Score one for Puyallup in dispute over warehouse zoning. City fends off Schnitzer appeal (The News Tribune)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Seattle police staffing woes prompt emergency dispatch plan (AP/KNKX Radio)
• Seattle business owner fears longer 911 response times ahead of possible police officer shortage (KING TV)
• Lawsuit against deputy for fatally wounding man in Port Orchard settles for $3.5 million (Kitsap Sun)
• Portion of Deschutes Parkway in Olympia closed for WSP shooting investigation (The Olympian)
• Internal memo says King County sheriff’s employees won’t be immediately fired on vaccine deadline (KING TV)
• Cowlitz County law enforcement propose body camera funding to meet state’s January deadline (The Daily News)

LEGISLATURE

• Man arrested for alleged attack on Ritzville state senator (AP/The Spokesman-Review)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• ‘At a loss’: After tough compromises from both sides, Spokane County redistricting committee impasse over commissioner term lengths could mean someone else decides on final map boundaries (The Spokesman-Review)
• Delayed city inspections latest headache for Seattle apartment developers in pandemic era (The Seattle Times)
• Kitsap County offers $500 incentive for its employees who get the COVID-19 vaccine (KING TV)

OTHER STATES

• Corrections workers 50% vaccinated in Oregon as mandate deadline nears (AP/The Columbian)
• Rent assistance delays leave thousands of Oregon renters on brink of eviction (The Oregonian)
• Portland, Multnomah County workers top 90% vaccination rate against COVID-19 (The Oregonian)
• With $2 million bump from lawmakers, Oregon set to expand hotline for bias crime reporting (The Oregonian)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Eastmont School Board approves agreement for school resource officer (The Wenatchee World)

SPORTS

• Going to Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena? Here’s what you need to know before you go (Seattle P-I)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Governor bids farewell to state employees who won’t vax, announces new event mandate (KONP Radio)

TAXES

• Four tax scenarios presented at town hall (Washington State Wire)

TRANSPORTATION

• Gov. Inslee hopes state lawmakers will ‘be more attentive’ to ferry system’s needs (MyNorthwest)
• Ferry-geddon: Sailings from Mukilteo, Edmonds cut in half (The Everett Herald)
• Puget Sound ferry customers eye deep service cuts as fears of delays rise (KOMO TV)
• Five I-5 rest areas to close in Snohomish and Whatcom counties over trash, vandalism (The Seattle Times)

WILDLIFE

• Public comment on Washington’s spring bear-hunting season coming to close (The Seattle Times)