Capitol Buzz: State geologists warn of increased landslide risk following Western Washington wildfires; COVID-19 contact tracing efforts are falling short in Washington state, new report says

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Inslee brings infected apples on visits to fire areas (The Spokesman-Review)
• Local lawmaker calls for investigation after Inslee reportedly brings infested apples into pest-free area (Columbia Basin Herald)
• Gonzaga launching courses designed around wine industry (The Spokesman-Review)
• High winds and wildfires reduce nation’s largest apple crop (KOMO TV)
• 2020 Washington apple crop expected to be lighter (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)
• Washington dairies and EPA square off in court (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)
• COLUMN: Inslee’s apple misstep indicates he’s out of touch with agriculture (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Amazon plans to put 1,000 warehouses in neighborhoods (Bloomberg/The Seattle Times)
• Panel’s report blasts Boeing and FAA for plane crashes, seeks reforms (KCPQ TV)
• OPINION: State should partner with ports and agriculture to spur economic recovery (John Stuhlmiller, CEO of the Washington Farm Bureau, and John McLaurin, president of Pacific Merchant Shipping Association/The Seattle Times)

CONGRESS & FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

• Are this year’s wildfires too big for Congress to ignore? (Los Angeles Times/The Seattle Times)
• What FEMA is doing to help tackle fires in the Pacific Northwest (MyNorthwest)
• Newhouse throws support behind WIFIA Improvement Act (Washington Ag Network/KONA Radio)

COURTS, CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Barr told prosecutors to consider sedition charges for protest violence, asked about charging Seattle mayor (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
• State funding will allow Yakima to expand educational program aimed at gangs (Yakima Herald)
• Pierce County faces reckoning as report shows black people arrested disproportionately (The News Tribune)
• Yakima has a juvenile gang violence problem; here’s what YPD is doing to fix it (KVEW-TV/KAPP-TV)

EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY

• WA teacher of the year is from Parkland. She’s not afraid to tackle issues like racism (The News Tribune)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• State geologists warn of increased landslide risk following Western Washington wildfires (KNKX Radio)
• Rain to bring relief from Oregon wildfire smoke; flash flooding and thunderstorm concerns emerge (The Oregonian)
• September is National Preparedness Month (KCLK Radio)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Political considerations entwined in disputes over Kalama Methanol plant (Washington State Wire)

ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & PARKS

• ‘It’s historically bad’: Department of Ecology calls stretch of hazardous air in state unprecedented (KIRO TV)
• Clark County’s air quality is slowly improving (The Columbian)
• Puget Sound air quality ‘a little better’ as smoke slowly begins to improve (MyNorthwest)
• PNW wildfire smoke has outdoor workers worried — and sick (Crosscut)
• Air quality to slowly improve over the weekend (KEPR TV)
• Whatcom skies still clearing — will we be able to enjoy the outdoors this weekend? (The Bellingham Herald)
• Hazardous air persists in Tri-Cities. What’s it doing to your health? (Tri-City Herald)
• Auditor: $300,000 unaccounted for from Monte Cristo cleanup (Everett Herald)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• President Trump: ‘Open up Pac-12; get going’ (oregonlive.com/The Seattle Times)
• Path back gets easier as restrictions lifted for Pac-12 football teams in California, Oregon (The Seattle Times)
• WSU College of Medicine to offer medical residency program in Everett (The Spokesman-Review)

HOMELESSNESS

• Hyatt hoax was meant to get Seattle hotel to put up homeless, organizers say (The Seattle Times)
• Many homeless people in Tacoma say they want to live outside. Why not let them? (The News Tribune)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Recall petition against Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant can move forward, judge rules (The Seattle Times)
• King County Executive Dow Constantine proposes new felony diversion program, cuts to Sheriff’s Office in budget (The Seattle Times)
• Mayor Durkan talks Seattle police, protests, homelessness and more (Crosscut)

MENTAL HEALTH

• EDITORIAL: Need to talk about mental health (Daily Record)

OPERATING BUDGET

• OPINION: What we need is an entirely new budget and state government (Bill Bryant/The Spokesman-Review)

OTHER STATES

• ‘Hundreds of thousands of trees’ need to be removed along Oregon 22; nearly 300 miles of state highways closed indefinitely (The Oregonian)
• Worst air pollution on planet latest blow for Oregon healthcare workers (The Oregonian)

POLITICS

LEGISLATURE

• State Sen. Mark Schoesler says he has experience to help state through tough times; opponent drops out (The Spokesman-Review)

NATIONAL

• Biden campaign, gearing up for November, hires state director and senior advisor for Washington (The Spokesman-Review)
• QAnon conspiracy theories have seeped into Northwest politics (Crosscut)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Trump not ready to OK TikTok deal, admits US won’t get cut (AP/The Seattle Times)

TRANSPORTATION

• First rental scooters hit Seattle streets (The Seattle Times)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Wildfire news updates, September 17: What to know today about the destructive fires in Washington state and on the West Coast (The Seattle Times)
• Thousands of acres still burning in Washington, though fires are nearing containment (The Spokesman-Review)
• Crews make good progress in Eastern Washington fires; hundreds of homes burned (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
• Washington twice failed to pass dedicated funding for forest management (KCPQ TV)
• Wildfire at White Pass at 170 acres; U.S. Highway 12 to stay closed overnight (Yakima Herald)
• Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers speaks to President Trump about Eastern Washington wildfire relief needs (KHQ TV)
• Big Hollow Fire grows slightly; air quality remains poor (The Daily News)
• Series of individual fires extinguished along Interstate 90 Friday night considered suspicious (Daily Record)
• OPINION: Inmate fire crews, essential to WA fire fighting, deserve better (Stacy Selby, worked as a hotshot and firefighter for seven years and is writing a book called HOTSHOT/Crosscut)

WILDLIFE

• Seattle is in smoke. What’s happening to the birds? (The Seattle Times)
• ‘Cautious optimism’ for new orca calf as whales appear to be eating more (MyNorthwest)
• Possible rare ‘seven-armed octopus’ found on Whidbey beach (Everett Herald)