Capitol Buzz: Washington state parks, recreational fishing, golf courses to reopen May 5 amid coronavirus outbreak

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 165 new COVID-19 cases, 16 deaths (Tri-City Herald)
• Early April, 50 COVID-19 cases were tied to Pierce County care sites. Now, it’s 200+ (The News Tribune)
• Two new deaths, 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Clark County (The Columbian)
• Pierce County reports 28 new COVID-19 cases, no new deaths at start of week (The News Tribune)
• Only 1 new COVID-19 case reported Monday in Spokane County (The Spokesman-Review)
• Local COVID-19 case counts still rising (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
• Whatcom health department reports one new coronavirus case, no deaths Monday (The Bellingham Herald)
• A dozen new COVID-19 cases in greater Tri-Cities (KONA Radio)
• Only 12 new cases of coronavirus in Tri-Cities, another person dead (KAPP-TV/KVEW-TV)
• 2nd COVID-19 death reported in Asotin County (KLEW TV)
• Skamania County reports COVID-19 death (KIHR Radio)
• COVID-19 case counts in North Central Washington (The Wenatchee World)
• Coronavirus: No new cases, 60 have recovered as of Monday (Columbia Basin Herald)

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Farm groups fear L&I proposal would devastate Washington Ag (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)
• Washington dairy producers trying to overcome challenges produced by COVID-19 (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• U.S. senator blasts Tyson for allowing coronavirus to spread at plant near Tri-Cities (Tri-City Herald)
• Testing of Tyson employees underway in Walla Walla County (KONA Radio)
• ‘Food supply chain is breaking,’ Tyson Foods chairman says as processing plants continue to close (KCPQ TV)
• For want of a cotton swab, will economy be lost? (The Everett Herald)
• Spokane leaders ponder ways to boost business post-shutdown (The Spokesman-Review)
• Second round of business relief exposes more problems at SBA (The Spokesman-Review)
• Businesses asked to ready reopening plans (Daily Record)
• Contractors back to work with safety plan in place (KIT Radio)
• Cosmo Specialty Fibers to suspend operations due to COVID-19 impacts on clothing industry (KBKW Radio)
• Boeing CEO sees years of recovery from coronavirus ahead for aviation industry (KUOW Radio)
• WA could lose half its breweries if stay-at-home order lingers through summer (MyNorthwest)
• Construction work slowly resuming as contractors adapt to new rules (KIRO TV)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Skagit group to help animals in time of need (Skagit Valley Herald)
• Pullman Serves It Forward raises nearly $20K to support local restaurants and families in need (KQQQ Radio)
• Second Harvest in Pasco to receive 19-ton food donation from LDS church (KAPP-TV/KVEW-TV)

CONGRESS & FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

• Trump urges states to consider opening schools before summer despite coronavirus concerns (AP/The Oregonian)
• SBA program reopens with new glitches, new scrutiny after NBA franchise returns loan funds (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times)
• Partisan division might hold up next virus relief package (AP/The Seattle Times)
• Jamie Herrera Beutler applauds CDC relief funding to Washington (The Daily News)
• Small business loan program plagued by outages, delays as second wave of aid begins (KCPQ TV)
• OPINION: ‘New normal’ must address pre-virus inequities (U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer/The Seattle Times)

COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Fewer young people in detention during pandemic (iFiberOneNewsRadio-KMAS)
• ‘COVID-19 didn’t stop violence’: Teen homicide arrests highlight importance of outreach during quarantine (KCPQ TV)

EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY

• Tacoma announces virtual graduation ceremonies, leaving some high school seniors disappointed (The News Tribune)
• School meals are becoming an increasingly important lifeline amid the pandemic (KNKX Radio)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Precautions, equipment conservation keep Clark County responders safe (The Columbian)
• Free therapy offered to COVID-19 first responders in Clark County (The Columbian)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Comcast extends policy not to disconnect service or charge late fees to June 30 (The Olympian)

ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & PARKS

• Will national parks reopen by summer? States, feds are working on a coronavirus plan (The News Tribune)
• Inslee: Washington state parks, recreational fishing, golf courses to reopen May 5, amid coronavirus outbreak (The Seattle Times)
• Fishing, golf to reopen May 5, with restrictions (The Spokesman-Review)
• Outdoor enthusiasts greet news of reopening in Washington with cheers of victory (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
• Gov. Inslee announces partial reopening of outdoor recreation in Washington State as of May 5 (KLCK Radio)
• Washington’s state parks will reopen May 5. Here’s what to keep in mind as you venture back to the great outdoors (The Seattle Times)
• Washington public lands to open May 5 for some recreation, including hunting and fishing (KNKX Radio)
• Ecology sees increase in illegal dumping (KGMI Radio)
• Inslee reopens fishing, hunting, state parks, and public lands (The Wenatchee World)
• COLUMN: Inslee’s limited reopening of Washington’s public lands: Will public test limits? (Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I)
• EDITORIAL: Reopening Washington hiking, fishing and golf signals greater trust. Let’s not blow it (The News Tribune)

GENERAL NEWS

• Real-time updates: UW model increases US COVID-19 death toll projections (KING TV)
• Hand sanitizer should taste worse, FDA tells companies during coronavirus pandemic (Tri-City Herald)
• Whatcom County residents seem to tire of stay-at-home order to fight coronavirus (The Bellingham Herald)
• COLUMN: Mid-pandemic, we gathered ideas to help save Washington (Mason Bryan/Crosscut)
• COLUMN: Washington’s coronavirus stay-at-home order could end now if we wanted (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
• COLUMN: A ‘new normal’ should addresses inequalities (Karen Vargas/Kitsap Sun)
• EDITORIAL: Limiting infections top priority of reopening plan (The Columbian)

HEALTH CARE

• Astria Health to reorganize, not sell, as the coronavirus affects markets (Yakima Herald)
• ‘Medicine has never been done this way.’ How Prosser’s rural hospital is facing COVID-19 (Tri-City Herald)
• Coronavirus testing site opens to general public (Skagit Valley Herald)
• A new drive-through COVID-19 test site opens in Skagit County (KNKX Radio)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Yakima vs. COVID-19: In a time of uncertainty, medical students respond to community needs (Yakima Herald)
• CARES Act funds being distributed to WVC students (The Wenatchee World)
• Big Bend Community College says fall classes will be online-only (iFiberOne TV)

HOMELESSNESS

• Hundreds of people have moved out of homeless shelters into hotels. Is it a better model? (KNKX Radio)

HOUSING

• Tenants, city officials calling for ‘rent strike’ as May payment date looms (Seattle P-I)
• Olympia hosts town hall on rent relief, mortgage resources (The Olympian)

LEGISLATURE

• Sen. Wilson advocates for antibody testing (The Columbian)

LGBTQ

• Seattle’s queer businesses struggle as Pride goes virtual (Crosscut)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Inslee announces distribution of funding to local governments from federal stimulus package (iFiberOne TV)
• Gov. Inslee distributing $300 million for local governments to recover after COVID-19 outbreak (KNDO/KNDU)
• Budget cuts possible from coronavirus pandemic measures, Bellingham mayor says (The Bellingham Herald)
• ‘Cuts are going to be hard’ as King County stares down $20 million budget shortfall (MyNorthwest)
• ‘Beyond frustrating’: Some mayors left feeling powerless over economic fate of their cities (KCPQ TV)
• OPINION: Clark County input on order needed (Gary Medvigy, Clark County councilor District 4/The Columbian)
• EDITORIAL: County, city governments could face far deeper budget woes (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

MEDIA

• Amid falling revenue, Sound Publishing lays off 70 workers (The Everett Herald)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Job fair familiar to military community will host latest event online (The Olympian)
• Nearly 50 crew members on Everett-based USS Kidd test positive for coronavirus (KING TV)

OTHER STATES

• Colorado and Nevada join Western States Pact, will coordinate coronavirus response with Oregon, Washington and California (The Oregonian)
• Colorado, Nevada join Western States Pact with Washington, Oregon, California (KIRO TV)
• Coronavirus in Oregon: Daily test results reach record high as confirmed cases climb to 2,354 (The Oreognian)
• Oregon Sen. Wyden plans to reintroduce Community Broadband Act (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)

POLITICS

• AP-NORC poll: Rising support for mail voting amid pandemic (AP/The Columbian)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Washington mental hospital staff call virus testing unsafe (The Seattle Times)

TAXES

• COLUMN: Coronavirus shows us why WA has always needed an income tax (Katie Wilson/Crosscut)

TECHNOLOGY

• Cell phone data shows signs of ‘quarantine fatigue.’ How is Washington doing? (KING TV)

TRANSPORTATION

• JetBlue now requiring passengers to wear face masks. What are other airlines doing? (Tri-City Herald)
• Corporate shuttles are still on the roads – but they’re not transporting employees (Puget Sound Business Journal)