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
- Food inflation sends the American Diner Index soaring 13% (Bloomberg News/The Spokesman-Review)
- WA battery maker faces accusations of providing U.S. tech to China (Crosscut)
- Alaska Airlines reaches tentative agreement with pilots union (MyNorthwest)
CANNABIS
- Why Seattle’s cannabis equity plans have limited reach (Axios Seattle)
- Amazon still says no to drugs, and is booting marijuana businesses (The Seattle Times)
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
CONGRESS
CORONAVIRUS
- ‘This is your chance to chime in’: Emergency Management wants the public’s input on WA’s COVID response (FOX 13)
- Is the pandemic over? Pre-COVID activities Americans are (and are not) resuming (The Seattle Times)
COURTS (FEDERAL)
CRIME
- Washington state sees rise in crashes ending in vehicular homicide, assault charges (KOMO TV)
- Losses add up as Clark County businesses deal with surge in shoplifting (The Columbian)
- Yakima residents voice concerns about public safety related to gangs, drugs and traffic (Yakima Herald-Republic)
EDUCATION
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
- Floatplane wreckage recovery off Whidbey Island begins Monday (KING TV)
- It’s taking Tri-Cities 911 dispatchers longer to answer your calls for help. Here’s why. (Tri-City Herald)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
- Gas prices rise in Seattle, Washington state, nationally for first time in 14 weeks (KOMO TV)
- OPINION: Power moves: Efficiency and electrification are key to stop climate disruption (K.C. Golden, serves on the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Council/The Seattle Times)
ENVIRONMENT
- Green buildings get a boost in WA, but policy and demand still lag (The Seattle Times)
- ‘The future is electric’: Spokane’s prioritization of electric vehicles part of a larger trend (The Spokesman-Review)
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
FISH
HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS
- WA is stuck with a travel nurse dilemma, pitting care against costs (The Seattle Times)
- Providence Swedish staffers ratify new contract with ‘historic’ raises (The Seattle Times)
- They were entitled to free care. Renton-based Providence hospitals hounded them to pay (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
HIGHER EDUCATION
HOMELESSNESS
- Chinatown International District pushes back at expanded homeless shelter. Officials ask where else? (The Seattle Times)
- Spokane County Sheriff will execute warrant to clear homeless camp (The Center Square)
- Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich fires back after criticism to clear Camp Hope (The Spokesman-Review)
- City of Wenatchee grants over $1.5 million to homeless task force (KPQ Radio)
- OPINION: Sherff Knezovich’s divisive letters fails to acknowledge progress made at Camp Hope (Breean Beggs, Karen Stratton and Lori Kinnear, Spokane City Council members/The Spokesman-Review)
HOUSING
- Rising interest rates impact both home buyers and sellers (KOMO TV)
- Spokane County’s housing market begins to normalize as interest rates rise (The Spokesman-Review)
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- State trooper remains in serious condition after being shot in the face in Walla Walla (KIRO TV)
- Suspect in Walla Walla trooper shooting held on attempted murder charges (MyNorthwest)
- ‘50% was a mistake’: Seattle City Council abandoned the idea of defunding police (The Seattle Times)
- Is Seattle Police Department ready to embrace alternative responses to a gun and a badge? (The Seattle Times)
- Yes, the Spokane County Sheriff has jurisdiction within the City of Spokane (The Spokesman-Review)
- Inquest into fatal Federal Way police shooting begins after month delay (The Seattle Times)
- After cop’s suicide, Everett picked ‘money over the people,’ family says (The Everett Herald)
- EDITORIAL: Another Olympia mother grieves as police reform inches along (The Olympian)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Sumner official who sent offensive meme in work email apologizes for ‘horribly offensive mistake’ (MyNorthwest)
- Wrongful death suits against cities are evolving. After a landmark $4 million settlement, will Spokane Police Department policy change with them? (The Spokesman-Review)
- Olympia council member says no time to waste in funding fight against climate change (The Olympian)
- COLUMN: Seattle’s fight over park rangers doesn’t bode well for fixing the police (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)
LONG-TERM CARE
MENTAL HEALTH
- After a stressful few years, school districts prepare to support students with fragile mental health (The Spokesman-Review)
- EDITORIAL: 988 hotline plays key role in mental health care (The Columbian)
OTHER STATES
- Critics: Oregon’s move to decriminalize hard drugs a failure (AP/KOMO TV)
- As Portland nears car theft record, victims band together to find stolen vehicles (The Oregonian)
- ‘No sense of justice’: 1,300 criminal cases in limbo as Oregon’s public defender shortage mounts (The Oregonian)
RURAL BROADBAND
- Oregon receives millions to connect rural communities to the internet (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)
SCHOOL SAFETY
- Noted education consultant talks about the growing issue of bullying, intimidation in schools (KIRO TV)
- Meet the armed man who has been standing guard outside North Thurston schools (The Olympian)
SECURITY
SOCIAL MEDIA
TAXES
- Inslee’s office doesn’t rule out broad-based tax relief next year (The Center Square)
- Treasurer announces changes to Lewis County property taxes coming due to state law (The Chronicle)
TRANSPORTATION
- I-90 traffic woes continue; many furious over construction planning (MyNorthwest)
- WSDOT considering options after bridge again hit by oversize load while already undergoing repairs (The Chronicle)
- That new tolled expressway to the Port of Tacoma? It’s under construction along I-5 (The News Tribune)
- Officials request funds for more fast ferry sailings (Kitsap Sun)
- Thurston and Pierce counties become focus of search for new 2-runway airport site (The Olympian)
- Airfares hit highest level in years despite decreasing fuel prices (Los Angeles Times/The Columbian)
TRIBAL ISSUES
- Yakama Nation celebrates 50th commemoration of the ‘Land Return Ceremony’ (KOMO TV)
- OPINION: Stop sacrificing Indigenous sacred sites in the name of climate change (Jeremy Takala, tribal councilman for Yakama Nation, and Lauren Goldberg, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper/The Seattle Times)
- EDITORIAL: MMIWP Task Force is on the right track (Yakima Herald-Republic)
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
WILDLIFE
- As hunting participation continues to decline, a question of ethics arises (The Spokesman-Review)
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife expands testing for chronic wasting disease (KHQ TV)
WOLVES
