Capitol Buzz: Cherry harvest continues at healthy pace; wildfire forces evacuation of state park on Lake Chelan

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Cherry harvest continues at healthy pace (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)
• Agreement could send more apples to Indonesia (The Wenatchee World)
• Investment group buys 1,000-plus acres of farmland in Toledo (The Chronicle)
• USDA invites comments on the implementation of the e-Connectivity Pilot Program (KBKW Radio)
• Washington farmers consider options as pool of workers keeps shrinking (Tribune News Service/Yakima Herald)
• Spokane’s water system free from lead pipes, removal complete (The Spokesman-Review)
• City of Cheney issues mandatory lawn watering restrictions (KQNT Radio)
• Emergency water restrictions issued in the city of Colton after well failure (KHQ TV)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Amazon roll-out in Spokane follows growth in Prime subscriptions; among 7 fulfillment centers announced this year (The Spokesman-Review)
• Conservative activists find fuel for anti-union campaign in Seattle (Crosscut)
• Port gets funds and begins construction of wash-down (KONP Radio)
• The state of income inequality: Yakima County’s top 1% makes 20.3 times more than the other 99% (Yakima Herald)
• Bitter brew: Northwest craft beer industry feeling bite from metals tariffs (KNKX Radio)
• T-Mobile strikes $3.5B deal with Nokia to build out 5G wireless network (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• EDITORIAL: Solar farms could heat up economy in the Yakima Valley (Yakima Herald)

CENSUS

• AG Ferguson says it’s illegal to ask census takers about citizenship (KGMI Radio)

CONGRESS & FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

• WA Rep. Kilmer backs bipartisan legislation to allow servicemembers out of contracts before deployment (Kitsap Sun)
• Newhouse reacts to USDA Assistance Package on tariffs (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)
• Rep. Herrera Beutler part of ‘lower health care costs’ bill (The Columbian)
• Bill to ease regulations on fishing harvest passes in House (KGMI Radio)
• EDITORIAL: Charitable, this isn’t (The Columbian)

COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT

• EDITORIAL: Holding sex offenders on McNeil Island wastes public money (The News Tribune)

EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY

• School Stats: Do charter schools in Washington actually serve students with disabilities? (The Seattle Times)
• College credit for IB program: Students caught in middle of confusion over new Washington law (The Seattle Times)
• For sale: Survey data on millions of high-school students (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Western Washington University exposes kids, teachers to cybersecurity through camp (Kitsap Sun)
• Summer school blends education, culture, fun (Skagit Valley Herald)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Emergency services practice multiple casualties incident (Skagit Valley Herald)
• Tsunami preparedness event coming to Aberdeen Aug. 8 (The Daily World)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Puget Sound Energy looks elsewhere for power as pollution-test failure idles most of Montana coal plant (The Seattle Times)

ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & PARKS

• Cleanup of toxins from Everett smelter to begin next month (The Everett Herald)
• Excessive heat watch warning in effect for Monday, Tuesday (The Spokesman-Review)
• DNR offers cost sharing for forest management plans (The Vidette)
• Boat that sank in Hoquiam River in March has not yet been removed (The Daily World)
• Report shows detailed projections for Washington rising seas (AP/The Spokesman-Review)
• Woman dies while hiking in Mount Rainier National Park (KHQ TV)
• Officials: Lower Falls taking a beating (The Columbian)

FISH

• Spring chinook salmon forecast gloomy (The Lewiston Tribune/The Spokesman-Review)
• OPINION: Salmon and dams can co-exist (Rachel Little, biologist and outreach coordinator for the Benton Conservation District/Tri-City Herald)

GUN RIGHTS

• Report lost, stolen guns within 24 hours or face $250 fine (The Everett Herald)
• 3D-printed guns targeted in lawsuit by Washington attorney general (AP/Seattle P-I)
• COLUMN: With gun-storage law, Seattle’s gone too far again — and at just the wrong moment (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

HEALTH CARE

• Shingles vaccine is popular — and there’s a shortage in the Tri-Cities (Tri-City Herald)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Sen. Murray slams proposed rule from Education Secretary DeVos on student loan debt relief  (KNKX Radio)
• Green River and Seattle colleges say visas for international students are more unpredictable (KNKX Radio)

HOMELESSNESS

• Downtown Olympia through the eyes of Olympia Police Departments’s walking patrol (The Olympian)
• Two years later, homeless shelter in Seattle’s Harborview Hall expected to open in fall (The Seattle Times)
• VHA considers opening new assisted living facility (The Columbian)
• EDITORIAL: Accountability crucial for Seattle homelessness spending (The Seattle Times)

HOUSING

• Zillow says Bellingham apartment rental prices are down. But is that a hiccup? (The Bellingham Herald)
• Housing crunch hurting seniors in Clark County (The Columbian)
• House hunters feel burn of hot market in Clark County (The Columbian)

IMMIGRATION

• He’s Mexican. She’s American. Deportation forced this Washington state family to make a choice. (The Seattle Times)

LEGISLATURE

• EDITORIAL: Unite against harassment (The Columbian)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Mariners want $180 million in public funding for Safeco Field (KING TV)

MARIJUANA

• OPINION: Cannabis industry helped Arlington bounce back from recession (Barbara Tolbert, mayor of Arlington, and Emily Lade, financial director, Smokey Point Productions/Puget Sound Business Journal)

MENTAL HEALTH

• State’s $3.2 million grant sets stage for county’s new mental health crisis center (The News Tribune)

OTHER STATES

• Measure 103, ban on grocery taxes, is a reaction to Measure 97 (The Oregonian)
• Oregonians to decide if state funding of abortion continues (AP/KNDU TV/KNDO TV)

POLITICS

BALLOT MEASURES

• Two lawsuits filed over I-1639 gun control initiative (MyNorthwest)
• Washington gun initiative certified to the November ballot (KAYU TV)
• King County levy could allow law enforcement to study facial recognition, sparking criticism (KNKX Radio)

CONGRESS

• Democratic challenger hopes to repeat Ocasio-Cortez’s success in Washington state (The Seattle Times)
• DelBene faces four challengers looking to change dynamic in DC (The Everett Herald)

LEGISLATURE

• Races heating up in the Washington legislative districts that elect both Democrats and Republicans (The Seattle Times)
• Facebook page parodying opponent has Manweller ties (Columbia Basin Herald)

NATIONAL

• EDITORIAL: First Amendment in action (Daily Record)

SECURITY

• Confluence Health discloses patient-data breach (iFiberOne TV)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Gov. Inslee visiting Planned Parenthood health center in Spokane (KREM TV)
• Governor visits Zillah inn (Daily Sun News)

TRANSPORTATION

• A new Agate Pass Bridge? WSDOT takes an early look (Kitsap Sun)
• City working with Silicon Valley-based Lime to bring electric bikeshare to Spokane (The Spokesman-Review)
• Spokane Valley to hire federal lobbyist to pursue transportation funding (The Spokesman-Review)
• COLUMN: Sound Transit $4B over-budget is a criminal rip-off (Dori Monson/MyNorthwest)
• EDITORIAL: A not-quite modern class for Washington State Ferries (Kitsap Sun)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Tribal fishing a vital tradition on Valley rivers (Yakima Herald)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Wildfire forces evacuation of state park on Lake Chelan (KING TV)
• Section of South Lakeshore to be closed Monday while crews work 25 Mile Creek Fire (The Wenatchee World)
• Chelan Hills fire 87% contained, evacuations lifted (KXLY TV)
• Westbound I-90 near Cle Elum open after brush fire (KOMO TV)
• Cutthroat Fire reported near Mazama (The Wenatchee World)
• Washington lawmakers hope to fight forest fires with fire (Crosscut)

WILDLIFE

• Groups: Endangered Species Act rollback a bad idea (The Columbian)