Capitol Buzz: Inslee: Washington may not be able to lift many coronavirus restrictions by May 4; Timeline reset: CDC confirms weeks-earlier California deaths

Washington House Republicans: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information and Resources
Governor’s Office: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Information and Updates
Washington State Department of Health (DOH): 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak (COVID-19)

CORONAVIRUS

CASE COUNTS & COUNTY UPDATES

• Washington state reports 197 new COVID-19 cases, 30 deaths (The News Tribune)
• Thirty three new COVID-19 cases, three more deaths in Pierce County (The News Tribune)
• Eighth COVID-19 death reported in county (Skagit Valley Herald)
• 727 cases of COVID-19 in Tri-Cities area; 38 have died (KAPP-TV/KVEW-TV)
• Second confirmed COVID-19 death reported in Kitsap County (Kitsap Sun)
• Clark County up to 306 COVID-19 cases (The Columbian)
• COVID-19 case counts in North Central Washington (The Wenatchee World)
• Walla Walla, Umatilla counties report more COVID-19 cases (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• Coronavirus cases rise by 2% in Yakima County, no new deaths (KAPP-TV/KVEW-TV)
• Thurston County adds two more COVID-19 cases, updates map of cases by ZIP code (The Olympian)
• Whatcom County reports two new coronavirus cases Tuesday, but no additional deaths (The Bellingham Herald)
• Two more COVID-19 deaths reported in Spokane County, including a Veterans Home resident (The Spokesman-Review)

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Thirty six asymptomatic Stemilt employees test positive for COVID-19 (The Wenatchee World)
• Prescott’s FirstFruits Farms has three positive COVID-19 cases (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Boeing shrinks and reshuffles its top leadership team, says it’s preparing for ‘the post-pandemic industry footprint’ (The Seattle Times)
• Wary Boeing workers return to the assembly lines in Everett (The Everett Herald)
• Boeing makes sweeping executive changes, shifting more power to Chicago (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• Tyson plant may temporarily close after 100 workers test positive for COVID-19 (KAPP-TV/KVEW-TV)
• All Tyson workers at plant near Tri-Cities to be tested for coronavirus. Cases reach 100 (Tri-City Herald)
• More than 800 local businesses applied for emergency COVID-19 grants (The Wenatchee World)
• The death of the department store: ‘Very few are likely to survive’ (The New York Times/Puget Sound Business Journal)
• ‘Massive demand’ causes digital hiccups for unemployment applicants (The Daily News)
• COLUMN: Bob Ferguson demands gym owners pay for what government has done (Todd Herman/MyNorthwest)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Nonprofits team up to offer child care (Skagit Valley Herald)
• Ellensburg Farmers Market looking to open May 23 (Daily Record)
• Stimulus checks bring mixed reactions among residents (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Food banks see slight slowdown, but anticipate return of high demand (The Daily News)
• Birth parents fight to visit kids in foster system during pandemic (Crosscut)

CONGRESS & FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

• Barr says Justice Department may act against governors with strict virus limits (Bloomberg News/The Seattle Times)
• Department of Justice would support legal action if governor’s restrictions go ‘too far,’ Barr says (KUOW Radio)
• Trump’s latest move to limit immigration worries Seattle-area tech community (The Seattle Times)
• McEnerny-Ogle, Herrera Beutler push for rapid screening of construction workers (The Columbian)

COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Supreme Court to decide if inmates should be released (Skagit Valley Herald)
• Mass release of prisoners a big mistake, Sen. Sheldon says (iFiberOneNewsRadio-KMAS)
• Under court order, 46 inmates released to Snohomish County (The Everett Herald)
• King County health officials search for two former jail inmates who tested positive for coronavirus (The Seattle Times)
• Sheriffs across US are not enforcing coronavirus stay-at-home orders. Is that legal? (The Bellingham Herald)
• Republican gubernatorial candidate sues to lift restrictions on religious activities (KCPQ TV)
• Local law enforcement receive nearly $100k in federal COVID-19 grants (The Daily News)

EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY

• State eases graduation requirements for 2020 class (Lynden Tribune)
• FAQ: What’s happening in K-12 education during the coronavirus closures? (The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: ‘A’s for all’ is the most Seattle thing ever — and cover for the school district’s own poor marks (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Inslee bans utilities from cutting off water, energy and phone service to homes during coronavirus crisis (The Seattle Times)

ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & PARKS

• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife working to reopen fishing (Yakima Herald)
• OPINION: Four messages coronavirus is delivering on 50th anniversary of Earth Day (Elly Claus-McGahan, Citizens’ Climate Lobby – Tacoma/The News Tribune)

GENERAL NEWS

• Inslee: Washington may not be able to lift many coronavirus restrictions by May 4 (KCPQ TV)
• Governor: Many COVID-19 restrictions to linger after May 4 (The Everett Herald)
• Timeline reset: CDC confirms weeks-earlier California deaths (AP/The Seattle Times)
• CDC: First US coronavirus deaths happened weeks before death in Kirkland (KING TV)
• Inslee says ‘return to public life will occur in measured steps’ (The News Tribune)
• Inslee says elective surgeries, outdoor recreation and some construction could restart soon as Washington begins to recover from coronavirus (The Seattle Times)
• Washington will need ‘to double our efforts,’ says Gov. Inslee (MyNorthwest)
• Inslee calls for gradual relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions; construction may begin ‘very soon’ (The Spokesman-Review)
• Some restrictions could soon be lifted, governor says (The Wenatchee World)
• Gov. Jay Inslee lays out broad plan for economic recovery (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• Inslee sketches outlook for reopening (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Washington’s COVID-19 outbreak may be slowing but social distancing must persist, Gov. Inslee says (NW News Network)
• Gov. Inslee unveils plan for getting Washington back to normal, but timeline still uncertain (KNKX Radio)
• Coronavirus: Inslee outlines plan for safe return to public life in Washington (KIRO TV)
• Washington’s COVID-19 outbreak may be slowing but social distancing must persist, Gov. Inslee says (KNKX Radio)
• Recovery for Washington state will be gradual during coronavirus, says Gov. Inslee (KING TV)
• Inslee addresses reopening amid COVID-19; Republicans call for special session (The Reflector)
• VIDEO: Inslee outlines road map for a ‘safe return to public life’ (TVW/The News Tribune)
• Inslee: 1,500 workers will track, trace virus by mid-May (AP/Seattle P-I)
• Washington building team of 1,500 COVID-19 contact tracers (KIRO TV)
• The quiet hand of conservative groups in the anti-lockdown protests (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• Despite broad compliance, pockets of rebellion around Inslee’s ‘Stay Home’ order (NW News Network)
• Elected officials in eastern Washington pushing for ‘slow reopening’ of economy (KXLY)
• Regional reopening of Washington could cause surge in coronavirus cases, state leaders say (KREM TV)
• Frustrated residents publicly gather to work towards a solution to reopen local economy (Daily Record)
• Group says Sawant’s May Day event will violate governor’s stay-home order (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• Downtown Seattle’s streets are almost empty, save for homeless and those who still come to help amid coronavirus (The Seattle Times)
• Poison center calls spike during coronavirus pandemic as more people are exposed to cleaning and disinfecting agents (The Seattle Times)
• Remote Washington community testing residents for COVID-19, even if they don’t have symptoms (KNKX Radio)
• First self-swab at home coronavirus test OK’d by US (AP/The Oregonian)
• Coronavirus updates: UW Medicine launches antibody testing; one county defies ‘stay home’ (The News Tribune)
• CDC director warns second wave of coronavirus this winter will likely be worse (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• COLUMN: Inslee: Limited reopenings to come with long-term impacts of coronavirus in Washington (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)
• COLUMN: What it will take to reopen our local economy and limit risks (Rufus Woods, Publisher emeritus/The Wenatchee World)
• COLUMN: Gov. Inslee’s insufferable hypocrisy on coronavirus protests (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
• EDITORIAL: Charting our way out of this (Daily Record)
• EDITORIAL: Thoughtful discussions needed as state slowly reopens (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

HEALTH CARE

• Coronavirus testing site opens (Skagit Valley Herald)
• OPINION: Rural hospitals deserve relief (U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, 4th Congressional District/The Wenatchee World)
• EDITORIAL: On COVID-19, take politics out and listen to the health experts (The Chronicle)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• WWU resumes construction of residence hall after coronavirus pandemic forced stop (The Bellingham Herald)
• Washington, Idaho colleges to receive $281 million from federal stimulus package (The Spokesman-Review)

HOUSING

• Tacoma offers rent help during pandemic; nearly half set aside for people of color (The News Tribune)
• Mom-and-pop landlords also struggling with rent amid Washington’s coronavirus crisis (KING TV)

LEGISLATURE

• How Washington Republicans want to restart the economy before Inslee’s stay-at-home order ends (KUOW Radio)
• Vancouver Rep. Brandon Vick on task force on economic fallout (The Columbian)
• Four GOP lawmakers call for a special session to deal with pandemic’s effects (The Spokesman-Review)
• Local lawmakers sympathize with Olympia protesters (The Wenatchee World)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Franklin commissioners defy state order. Businesses can reopen, they say (Tri-City Herald)
• Franklin County commissioners vote to reopen businesses, but Gov. Inslee’s office says move is illegal (KREM TV)
• Franklin County commissioners vote to encourage businesses to reopen (KONA Radio)
• Franklin County is prepping a lawsuit against Gov. Inslee during statewide Stay at Home orders (KNDO/KNDU)
• Eastern Washington county votes to defy Inslee’s order, reopen all businesses (The News Tribune)
• Ferndale sets construction guidelines (Lynden Tribune)
• Commissioners ask Inslee to lift restrictions on fishing, construction (The Daily News)
• Chelan and Douglas counties ‘reluctantly’ rescind ordinances allowing residential construction to continue (iFiberOne TV)
• Walla Walla County commissioners ask all departments to trim budgets (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• Whatcom executive outlines budget cuts caused by coronavirus uncertainty (The Bellingham Herald)
• Pandemic could leave $210M to $300M hole in Seattle budget (AP/The Bellingham Herald)
• White Salmon looking ahead toward restarting (KIHR Radio)
• Snohomish County says testing is too scarce to obtain multiple negative tests for ‘essential workers’ (KIRO TV)
• Your selfishness doesn’t trump my right to be safe, says county executive (KUOW Radio)
• EDITORIAL: Everett faces painful cuts to survive downturn (The Everett Herald)

MEDIA

• Seattle Times Co. gets nearly $10 million in federal coronavirus-aid funds (The Seattle Times)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Puget Sound Naval Shipyard worker fired after raising concerns about coronavirus (Kitsap Sun)
• Navy: USS Carl Vinson sailor death unrelated to COVID-19 (AP/The Bellingham Herald)

OTHER STATES

• Coronavirus in Oregon: 2,000 known cases, 78 now dead (The Oregonian)
• Gov. Brown will keep Oregon’s new Corporate Activities Tax amid coronavirus outbreak (KATU/KEPR-TV)
• White House: Oregon among bottom four states in U.S. for COVID-19 virus testing (AP/The Columbian)
• Oregon wildfire teams prepare for COVID-19 impacts as state drought deepens (The Register-Guard/The Columbian)

TAXES

• Sen. O’Ban proposes suspension of car tab fees during coronavirus crisis (MyNorthwest)

TRANSPORTATION

• Skagit Transit awarded $5.9 million grant (Skagit Valley Herald)