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
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Car insurance premiums in WA to creep up, commissioner warns (The Seattle Times)
- DOJ probes Amazon for alleged knowledge of warehouse safety hazards (The Seattle Times)
- Before enormous, emotional crowd, Boeing delivers final 747 (NW News Network)
- 2 Seattle CEOs rank among the nation’s 3 best paid (Axios – Seattle)
- EDITORIAL: DOJ stands up to Google’s bullying with strong antitrust case (The Seattle Times)
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
CONGRESS
- McMorris Rodgers, first woman to lead Energy and Commerce Committee; encourages members to reach across aisle (The Spokesman-Review)
- McMorris Rodgers hoists gavel and coffee mug as new chair of House energy committee (The Center Square)
- Northwest Republicans introduce bill to stop VA health record system’s rollout until problems are fixed (The Spokesman-Review)
- COLUMN: WA Sen. Maria Cantwell’s great week highlights Alaska’s identity crisis (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)
CORONAVIRUS
COURTS (FEDERAL)
COURTS (STATE)
EDUCATION
- Legislation to fund five additional school days set for Thursday hearing (The Wenatchee World)
- Gov. Inslee weighs in on potential Bellevue school consolidation (KING TV)
- Fewer babies being born in Washington could affect school enrollment, study says (KOMO TV)
- Case dismissed against Lake Stevens HS employee accused of sexual misconduct (MyNorthwest)
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
ENERGY & UTILITIES
- How Washington’s wildfires could raise electricity rates (The Center Square)
- USDA announces $2.7 billion in rural electric infrastructure fund (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)
ENVIRONMENT
- Environmental bills being considered by WA House (Columbia Basin Herald)
- EPA blocks Alaska Pebble Mine in salmon-rich Bristol Bay region (The Seattle Times)
- Bateman Island causeway removal part of draft plan to restore Yakima River Delta in Tri-Cities (KAPP/KVEW)
- OPINION: WA trails its neighbors’ beverage recycling rates. A bottle bill can change that (Susan Collins is president of the nonprofit Container Recycling Institute/The News Tribune)
FISH
- Are ‘forever chemicals’ in Washington’s freshwater fish? DOH has answers (KAPP/KVEW)
- Sturgeon numbers sinking in Columbia River (The Columbian)
- First stage of fisher reintroduction comes to a close (Skagit Valley Herald)
HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS
- More delays and technical glitches plague Eastern Washington VA medical centers (KUOW Radio)
- 150 Washington applicants connected to Florida-based nursing diploma scheme (KING TV)
- EDITORIAL: Toppenish hospital district is a commendable cause (Yakima Herald-Republic)
HIGHER EDUCATION
HOMELESSNESS
HOUSING
- WA lawmakers of both parties back 13 bills meant to boost housing supply (The Seattle Times)
- WA lawmakers promise bipartisan action to boost housing supply (NW News Network)
- ‘Big session for housing’: Bipartisan group of lawmakers push for more construction (The Center Square)
- Lawmakers introduce a dozen bills addressing Washington’s housing shortage (KOMO TV)
- U.S. housing market cools with prices down 2.5% from peak in June (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)
- COLUMN: A $4 billion loan to build affordable housing? In WA, it’s a steep price worth paying (Matt Driscoll/The News Tribune)
LAND USE & PROPERTY RIGHTS
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Police support bill to roll back restrictions on pursuits (KING TV)
- Common sense, accountability needed to fix bad police pursuit law (KLCK Radio)
- Dems want to”fix” police pursuits by committee, not Legislature (KONA Radio)
- Lawmakers hoping to make it easier to hire more police (KONA Radio)
- Bill would limit traffic stops to try to prevent police killings (Axios – Seattle)
- Whatcom County police chiefs address Tyre Nichols death (The Center Square)
LEGISLATURE
- Washington Senate committee considers harsher penalties for sexually abusive jail guards (KING TV)
- Vancouver legislator proposes bill to allow optometrists to perform surgery (The Columbian)
- Can you afford to be on a jury for $10 a day? Not everyone can (KUOW Radio)
- State lawmakers considering ‘TSWIFT Consumer Protection Act’ concerning ticket sales (KIRO TV)
- New Mount St. Helens license plate option could be coming to a vehicle near you (KATU/KEPR TV)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
OTHER STATES
- Gov. Kotek focuses on three priorities in 2023-25 recommended budget (KNDO/KNDU)
- Oregon’s new governor requests $1B for housing spending (AP)
SCHOOL SAFETY
STATE GOVERNMENT
- Washington GOP lawmakers propose cap-and-trade watchdog (Capital Press)
- WA settles sexual harassment case at Monroe prison for $600,000 (The Seattle Times)
- Can Washington prisons change the culture of corrections? (Crosscut)
- WA Rep: Bill to protect women inmates, transgenders ‘going nowhere’ (MyNorthwest)
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
TAXES
TRANSPORTATION
- Conservative advocacy group sues to undo WA transportation package (The Seattle Times)
- Washington gas prices post fourth week of gains after long decline (The Center Square)
- WA saw highest traffic fatalities in 30 years in 2022. Is $9 million enough to help fix it? (The Olympian)
- Right turns at red lights could soon be banned for drivers at certain locations in Washington (The Spokesman-Review)
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
