The Capitol Buzz is a weekday summary of online news stories from across the state, highlighting policies, politics and other issues that affect Washingtonians.
CORONAVIRUS
CASE COUNTS & COUNTY UPDATES
- Washington reports 521 new COVID-19 cases, 10 deaths Wednesday (Tri-City Herald)
- Coronavirus cases climb in local counties (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
- More mask-wearing required for Spokane County to control virus, continue reopening (The Spokesman-Review)
- More people wearing masks; 120 new cases on Wednesday (Yakima Herald)
- Enforcement of no-mask-no-service ‘challenging,’ top Kitsap health official says (Kitsap Sun)
- Clark County Council hears grim COVID-19 update (The Columbian)
- Clark County adds 37 new COVID-19 cases, no new fatalities (The Columbian)
- 3 new deaths reported from COVID-19 in Tri-Cities; 57 new cases announced (KEPR-TV)
- Coronavirus: Thirty new cases in Grant County (Columbia Basin Herald)
- County plans random community sample to gauge COVID-19 infection rate (The Daily News)
- Whatcom County COVID-19 infections slowing (KGMI Radio)
- Four more people test positive for COVID-19 in Whatcom, state reports Wednesday (The Bellingham Herald)
- COLUMN: ‘You just see the stack rising.’ Pierce County contact tracers try to slow COVID-19 spread (Matt Driscoll/The News Tribune)
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Layoffs stuck at high level as 1.3 million seek jobless aid (AP/The Seattle Times)
- Health department shuts down Duke’s Seafood on Alki Beach after coronavirus outbreak (The Seattle Times)
- Washington State Fair canceled due to coronavirus concerns (The Seattle Times)
- Herrera Beutler: Paycheck Protection Program loans preserving businesses, jobs in Clark County (The Reflector)
- Pierce County businesses received millions and millions from Paycheck Protection Program, data shows (The News Tribune)
- EDITORIAL: Taxpayers deserve answers on PPP (The Columbian)
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
CONGRESS & FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY
- Washington schools to receive reopening plan from state educators (KIRO TV)
- ‘We’re in a good position’ for now: Seattle Public Schools anticipates it has coronavirus-related costs covered for upcoming school year (The Seattle Times)
- How 7 Seattle schools won $100,000 in coronavirus relief for families (The Seattle Times)
- Schools or bars? Opening classrooms may mean hard choices (AP/The Seattle Times)
- Central Kitsap School District to move ahead with plans for hybrid model of instruction for fall (Kitsap Sun)
- Edmonds schools choose hybrid model allowing students in class twice a week (KOMO TV)
- College Place Public Schools push start date back two weeks (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
- Walla Walla schools zero in on morning/afternoon schedule after survey feedback (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & PARKS
GENERAL NEWS
- Coronavirus updates: Phased reopening could remain paused if Washington cases climb (KING TV)
- Some U.S. health officials lament a coronavirus crisis that didn’t need to happen (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
- Who should get coronavirus vaccine first? U.S. weighs early access for some (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
- Fred Hutch to coordinate large-scale vaccine trials for COVID-19 Prevention Network (KIRO TV)
- Apocalypse: Now What? Fauci’s tools to fight the pandemic (Crosscut)
- Fort Vancouver prepares to reopen with COVID-19 precautions (The Columbian)
- OPINION: To wear or not to wear a mask, that is the question! (Dr. Bob Lutz, Spokane County health officer, Spokane Regional Health District, and Dr. Francisco Velázquez, physician executive/The Spokesman-Review)
- COLUMN: The fight over a coronavirus vaccine will get ugly (Andreas Kluth/The Seattle Times)
HEALTH CARE
HIGHER EDUCATION
- UW and WSU changing dorms in response to coronavirus (KING TV)
- WSU makes changes to housing agreements (The Lewiston Tribune)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- More Whatcom County workers will be taking unpaid leave as cost-cutting measure (The Bellingham Herald)
- Yakima City extends declaration of emergency due to COVID-19 (KNDO/KNDU)
MENTAL HEALTH
OTHER STATES
- Are some ‘anti-maskers’ falsely claiming Gov. Kate Brown’s face covering order doesn’t apply to them — for medical reasons? (The Oregonian)
- Coronavirus in Oregon: State officials report 217 cases and four deaths on Wednesday (The Oregonian)
TRANSPORTATION
AGRICULTURE & WATER
- Langley city water system contaminated with E. coli (KIRO TV)
- The cost of a strawberry: Overtime battle for Washington’s farm workers (KUOW Radio)
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- With curtailment looming, Intalco workers to get this help from the federal government (The Bellingham Herald)
- Amazon to start pulling Redskins merchandise after letter from AG Ferguson (AP/The Columbian)
- Boeing tells court it’s settled almost all lawsuits filed in aftermath of Lion Air 737 Max crash (Puget Sound Business Journal)
CENSUS
COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT
- After CHOP, no armed police officers allowed inside Molly Moon’s ice cream shop (KOMO TV)
- Two children struck by bullets in drive-by shootings that shake a southeast Yakima neighborhood (Yakima Herald)
- COLUMN: ‘Toxic’ law enforcement oversight director faces discipline for shocking bigotry (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY
- Despite Trump’s threats to cut funding, student safety is area school officials’ main concern for fall (The Spokesman-Review)
- Local school districts continue with fall reopening plans amid President Trump’s threats (KNKX Radio)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
GUN RIGHTS
HEALTH CARE
- MultiCare to build new $300 million children’s hospital in Tacoma (The News Tribune)
- $300M children’s hospital coming to Tacoma (KIRO TV)
HIGHER EDUCATION
- ICE order for international students raises alarm at Clark College (The Columbian)
- Universities react to new ICE rules (Moscow-Pullman Daily News)
- ‘Inappropriate and inhumane’: Gonzaga University president reponds to end of temporary exemptions for international students (KXLY TV)
HOMELESSNESS
HOUSING
LEGISLATURE
- Despite budget woe, legislature not meeting (Columbia Basin Herald)
- New WA bill would outlaw CHOP zones and withdrawal of police services (MyNorthwest)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Seattle City Council pressed to defund police, move 911 response dispatchers out of department (The Seattle Times)
- Clark County Council to join listening sessions on systemic racism (The Columbian)
- Yacolt Town Council rejects proclamation acknowledging, denouncing systemic racism (The Columbian)
- Grant, Douglas, Chelan, and Adams counties receive over $4 million in federal funds from Trump Administration (iFiberOne TV)
- EDITORIAL: Seattle’s new payroll tax is bad policy (The Seattle Times)
MEDIA
OTHER STATES
- Oregon among many states confronting big drop in lottery revenue (AP/KOMO TV)
- Portland police union ‘No confidence’ leaders will stop protests (The Columbian)
- Metro eyes payroll tax for $7 billion transportation package as business groups formally call for delay (The Oregonian)
- Police: $23 million lost due to ongoing Portland protests (AP/KAPP-TV/KVEW-TV)
- Idaho among first wave of census follow-up (The Lewiston Tribune)
POLITICS
CONGRESS
ELECTIONS
RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL MEDIA
STATE GOVERNMENT
- WA resident on her maze-like experience getting unemployment (MyNorthwest)
- CWU’s Reasons to serve on state task force on race, criminal justice (Daily Record)
TAXES
TRANSPORTATION
- Tolling in the mix as a funding option to pay for West Seattle Bridge fix (MyNorthwest)
- Amazon Air secures deal to use biofuels (Puget Sound Business Journal)
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
- Saddle Mountain wildfire now 90% contained (Yakima Herald)
- Three wildfires currently burning in the Inland Northwest (KREM TV)
WILDLIFE
