The Capitol Buzz is a weekday summary of online news stories from across the state, highlighting policies, politics and other issues that affect Washingtonians.
HOUSE AND SENATE REPUBLICAN MEDIA AVAILABILITY
AGRICULTURE & WATER
- House passes bill extending tax breaks for agricultural producers in Washington state (KGMI Radio)
- Bill proposes public funding to promote Washington farm goods (Capital Press)
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Remote work continues to thrive among Seattle commuters (KUOW Radio)
- Amazon cuts another 9,000 jobs signaling new era for the company (KUOW Radio)
CAPITAL BUDGET
- WA senators propose $7.9 billion for construction projects. Here’s what’s in the budget (Tri-City Herald)
- Senate’s proposed $7.9B capital budget includes record $400M for Housing Trust Fund (The Center Square)
CONGRESS
- Representative Dr. Kim Schrier visits Cle Elum to speak with FISH, a manufacturer and local business owners (KNDO/KNDU)
- EDITORIAL: Farm Bill exposes divisions in Congress (The Columbian)
COURTS (STATE)
CRIME
EDUCATION
- Battle Ground middle schoolers meet with state lawmakers (The Reflector)
- Guards in Vancouver, WA public schools used illegal restraint (Crosscut)
- Sequim School District settles lawsuit with former employee for $1.5M (KONP Radio)
- OPINION: Thurston County superintendents say state must step up to fund special education (Thurston County School Superintendents/The Olympian)
EMERGENCY POWERS
ENERGY & UTILITIES
ENVIRONMENT
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
GUN RIGHTS
HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS
HIGHER EDUCATION
HOMELESSNESS
- Burien groups call on King County to address homeless crisis (KOMO TV)
- Large tent encampment cleared from South Park following reports of violence (KUOW Radio)
HOUSING
- WA Gov. Jay Inslee’s $4B housing proposal faces hurdles in Legislature (The Seattle Times)
- Bank turmoil triggers uncertainty in Seattle housing market (The Seattle Times)
- Olympia and Thurston County officials want your thoughts on plans to improve housing access (The Olympian)
- Chelan, Douglas County will need building boom to handle growth (KPQ Radio)
- OPINION: A fiscally responsible way to tackle WA’s affordable housing crisis (Sen. Mark Mullet/The Seattle Times)
INVASIVE SPECIES
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- King County detective in critical condition after getting shot while serving eviction notice (FOX 13)
- A deputy was shot in Ballard and one person found dead: What we know (The Seattle Times)
- A look at law enforcement serving eviction notices: What happened on Monday (FOX 13)
LEGISLATURE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Seattle City Council moves to give gig workers paid sick leave (Crosscut)
- Lakewood passes ordinance criminalizing use of ‘dangerous drugs’ in public (KING TV)
- Longtime Kitsap County Commissioner Rob Gelder to resign (Kitsap Sun)
- COLUMN: King County official defended terrorists, tweets anti-Semitic smears (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
MEDIA
OPERATING BUDGET
- How WA’s cloudy economic forecast could impact state spending (Crosscut)
- New forecast show state revenues won’t be quite as robust as expected (The Everett Herald)
- WA state revenue forecast is down, reflecting expected slowdown in economy (The News Tribune)
- Washington’s revenue projections are slowing thanks to inflation and an uncertain economy, new forecast says (The Spokesman-Review)
- Washington state revenue forecast drops by more than $1B over next two biennia (The Center Square)
- Drop in state revenue forecast highlights need for cautious approach in new state budget (KLCK Radio)
OTHER STATES
- Oregon bill on abortion, gender-affirming care sparks debate (AP)
- Deadline kills controversial Oregon water law proposals (Capital Press)
- Hate-crime victims could break leases without penalty to move away from attackers, Oregon bill proposes (The Oregonian)
- Lawmakers considering bill to require fentanyl education by fall 2024. Advocates say schools shouldn’t wait. (The Oregonian)
- Bill to let Oregon drivers pump their own gas passes House (The Oregonian)
POLITICS
NATIONAL
SPORTS
STATE GOVERNMENT
- Bill would increase support, cash for Washington inmates before being released (KING TV)
- EDITORIAL: Use state forestlands to ‘farm’ carbon credits (The Everett Herald)
TAXES
TECHNOLOGY
TRANSPORTATION
- Washington residents see one penny of pump price relief; a first for 2023 (The Center Square)
- 100+ mile Hood Canal Bridge detour will mess with summer weekends (MyNorthwest)
- Cameras caught drivers illegally using bus lanes 110,000 times (Axios – Seattle)
- Oil train derailed to avoid plunging into Puget Sound, tribal leader says (KUOW Radio)
- WSDOT suspends search for missing aircraft (The Daily World)
- EDITORIAL: Enforce transit fares, but fairly, without bias or intimidation (The Seattle Times)
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
WILDLIFE
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