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
- Judge’s ruling adds to legal saga over how Amazon enforces noncompete agreements (The Seattle Times)
CONGRESS
- House passes $1.9 trillion stimulus as Democrats work to salvage wage increase (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
- McMorris Rodgers: Effort to block disinformation really tries to silence conservatives (The Spokesman-Review)
- Congressman Dan Newhouse pushes for investigation into origins of COVID-19 (KONA Radio)
- Newhouse addresses Capitol security amid continued tensions (KPQ Radio)
- Congressman Kilmer gets Wild Olympics bill passed in House (KONP Radio)
- House passes the Equality Act, bill now goes to Senate (KCLK Radio)
CORONAVIRUS
- Despite several attempts, Inslee couldn’t be pinned down on a Phase 3 plan (NCW Life Channel)
- Lack of Phase 3 in Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan has some community members worried (The Wenatchee World)
- Senator John Braun gives opinion on Phase 3 (KONA Radio)
- U.S. coronavirus cases dropped dramatically since January, but can we keep them down? (NPR/Northwest Public Broadcasting)
- Washington rural communities could benefit from one-shot vaccine, new storage rules (KING TV)
- Clark County providers to receive thousands of vaccine doses by next week (The Columbian)
- Bainbridge Island outpaces other parts of Kitsap County on COVID-19 vaccinations (Kitsap Sun)
- Seattle creates standby list to distribute extra COVID-19 vaccine doses (KNKX Radio)
- King County health officer: Region could see ‘possible return to normalcy in a few months’ (MyNorthwest)
CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Police deadly-force probes mostly fall short of Washington’s new accountability law, according to state attorney general (The Seattle Times)
- Few agencies complying with law requiring independent investigations in use of force case (The News Tribune)
- Report finds Clark County law enforcement did not fully comply in 2 death probes (The Columbian)
- The State Senate passed a bill to overhaul the decertification process for police officers. Here’s what’s in it (The Spokesman-Review)
- State Senate approves tougher police accountability bill (AP/KOMO TV)
- Police, prosecutors scramble with fallout of Washington’s drug possession decision (KING TV)
- Alarm grows over Supreme Court’s overturning of drug possession law (KOMO TV)
- SU law professor: State was ‘actually an outlier’ before court ruling on drug possession (MyNorthwest)
DAMS
- Seattle City Light agrees to study fish passage over dams on Skagit River (KING TV)
- Dams proposal looms over governors’ group (The Moscow-Pullman Daily News)
EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY
- After initial bill fails, state Republicans reignite push to open schools with more aggressive proposal (The Daily Chronicle)
- Larger Washington school districts struggle with classroom reopening plans (KING TV)
- Demand for private schools leads to waitlist pool and expansion amid uncertainty for some public schools (KCPQ TV)
- Seattle school district labels some educators as ‘essential’ to bring them back to classrooms ahead of reopening agreement with union (The Seattle Times)
- Thurston health official recommends high school students return to in-person classes (The Olympian)
- Ellensburg schools unlikely to return to five day week this school year (Daily Record)
- In Puget Sound area, not all students will return to classrooms this school year (KNKX Radio)
- Tacoma high school kids return to class soon. Will armed school resource officers join them? (The News Tribune)
- BLOG: Native American mascot bill points to something Spokane did well (Jim Camden/The Spokesman-Review)
- COLUMN: A Republican senator has a great idea to save the year for Washington state schools (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
ENERGY & UTILITIES
- Biden is hiking up the cost of carbon. It will change how US tackles global warming (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
- Cap-and-trade bill clears committee despite business concerns (Lens)
- COLUMN: How the Washington cap and trade proposal costs may be passed to consumers (Dori Monson/MyNorthwest)
ENVIRONMENT
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
- As USPS delays persist, bills, paychecks and medications are getting stuck in the mail (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
- Grazing rights rescinded for controversial Oregon ranchers (AP/Yakima Herald-Republic)
HANFORD
HIGHER EDUCATION
LEGISLATURE
- Measures looking to limit executive powers die in state legislature (Washington State Journal/The Reflector)
- Juneteenth steps toward state holiday status (The Daily Chronicle)
- BLOG: Money, drugs, hackers and the wait continues for Phase 3 (Jerry Cornfield/The Everett Herald)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Spokane Valley demands say in debate over utility tax (The Spokesman-Review)
- Up $200 million of COVID stimulus bill could make its way to Seattle, Durkan says (KOMO TV)
- OPINION: Seattle’s unraveling, and AWOL leadership, predates the pandemic (Brandi Kruse, correspondent for Q13 FOX/The Seattle Times)
MARIJUANA
MILITARY & VETERANS
OTHER STATES
- All Oregonians eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by July 1 (AP/The Columbian)
- Could Measure 11′s mandatory prison sentences disappear? (The Oregonian)
- Oregon voters want to limit money in politics, but lawmakers might not get there this session (The Oregonian)
STATE GOVERNMENT
- Washington state ‘literally failed workers,’ and fixing the unemployment system won’t be easy (The Seattle Times)
- State begins sending notices to those impacted by unemployment data breach (iFiberOne)
TAXES
- EDITORIAL: Don’t be fooled. WA Dems are using the backdoor to slip us an income tax (Tri-City Herald)
- EDITORIAL: State wrong to use tax on sugary drinks as way to improve health (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
- EDITORIAL: How to raise Washington taxes during COVID-19 pandemic: very cautiously or not at all (The News Tribune)
TRANSPORTATION
TRIBAL ISSUES
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
WILDLIFE
