Capitol Buzz: Frustration grows as eligible Washingtonians continue to have trouble getting vaccine; Counties question regional reopening plan, Inslee doesn’t budge Washington House Republicans sent this bulletin at 01/28/2021 11:37 AM PST Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Capitol Buzz: January 28, 2021 01/28/2021 11:37 AM PST AGRICULTURE & WATER Washington Ag community warns no action by lawmakers could destroy farm economy (Pacific Northwest Ag Network) BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR Boeing confirms 787 Dreamliner production is moving from Everett to South Carolina in March (KING TV) US jobless claims drop; still at 847,000 as pandemic rages (AP/Seattle P-I) Amazon seeks to block shareholder proposals on hate speech, diversity, workplace conditions and surveillance tech (The Seattle Times) Yakima area fruit processor fined $150k by state for COVID violations (KOMO TV) Twin City Foods workers secure union representation; advocating for better labor rights (KEPR-TV) Seattle metro area tops list of best areas for STEM professionals: study (Seattle P-I) Pierce County economy will bounce back from COVID-19, but it will take time, experts say (The News Tribune) ‘Dumb money’ is on GameStop, and it’s beating Wall Street at its own game (The New York Times/The Seattle Times) COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES These 4 Tacoma Catholic churches will combine into one new parish under proposal (The News Tribune) CONGRESS Biden won’t budge on the Senate filibuster. Why aren’t progressives pushing him? (The New York Times/The Seattle Times) Murray, Jayapal join Sanders and others in introducing $15 minimum wage legislation (KPQ Radio) Newhouse named Assistant House Republican Whip (KPQ Radio) CORONAVIRUS Washington health officials: residents only for vaccines (AP/Yakima Herald-Republic) All booked up: First appointments for COVID-19 vaccines at the Spokane Arena filled in less than two hours (The Spokesman-Review) Frustration grows as eligible Washingtonians continue to have trouble getting vaccine (KIRO TV) Clark County working to shore up gaps in vaccination (The Columbian) Polarizing debate continues whether Washington educators should move up higher on the COVID-19 vaccine list (KCPQ TV) Counties question regional reopening plan, Inslee doesn’t budge (KCPQ TV) Letter from Washington legislators attacks Inslee’s regionalized approach (KPQ Radio) State Senator says Gov. Inslee will announce reopening changes Thursday, allowing more ‘flexibility’ (KHQ TV) Study: Pregnant women more likely to die of COVID-19 (KCPQ TV) COLUMN: Washington state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout: Do you live in a multigenerational household? (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times) EDITORIAL: Many elderly Tri-Citians can’t wait hours in a car for a COVID shot. They need help (Tri-City Herald) COURTS (FEDERAL) EDITORIAL: GOP’s stance to cap court at nine hypocritical (The Columbian) CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT A podcast about defunding the police and rethinking public safety (Crosscut) Most U.S. mayors do not support reallocating police resources, survey finds (NPR/Northwest Public Broadcasting) SPD Chief Diaz: Additional police budget cuts impacting ‘proactive public safety’ (MyNorthwest) Officer who drove through crowd ‘reacted to a violent mob trying to do him harm,’ union says (KIRO TV) Tacoma in the spotlight at Legislature’s hearings on police accountability (The News Tribune) WA law enforcement, families of victims clash over independent investigations bill (MyNorthwest) Bill addresses law enforcement officers’ mental health (Columbia Basin Herald) Bill would establish office to investigate police use of force in Washington (The Daily Chronicle) Thurston judge sets $250,000 bail for man shot at by 6 officers on I-5 Jan. 13 (The Olympian) EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY A Washington bill to waive some graduation requirements in emergencies is closer to becoming law (The Spokesman-Review) House approves bill on emergency waivers for high school students (Columbia Basin Herald) State lawmakers explore ways to address students’ learning loss during the pandemic (KNKX Radio) State Superintendent of Instruction on pandemic lessons and shorter summer breaks (KONP Radio) Slowly and surely, area public schools are reopening (The Everett Herald) OPINION: Strengthen school nursing to support COVID-19 recovery and resilience (Sofia Aragon, executive director for the Washington Center for Nursing/The Seattle Times) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE ‘Fighter’: First female pick for U.S. attorney for eastern Washington reflects on Spokane roots (The Spokesman-Review) GUN RIGHTS Senate introduces bill to ban firearms at public demonstrations, Washington state Capitol (The Seattle Times) Hundreds sign up to weigh in on WA bills to limit high capacity magazines, open carry (MyNorthwest) EDITORIAL: Legislature, ban high-capacity magazines and assault weapons now (The Seattle Times) HANFORD Sen. Cantwell secures commitment from incoming Energy Secretary to continue Hanford funding (KONA Radio) HIGHER EDUCATION WSU working to resume mostly in-person classes this fall (KCPQ TV) Alumni donate $2 million to The Evergreen State College (The Olympian) Saying marijuana offers an ‘underserved career opportunity,’ WWU offering business programs (The Bellingham Herald) HOMELESSNESS Homeless camp under I-5 bridge in Tacoma to be cleared to make way for project (The News Tribune) As Camp 210 cleanup looms, Bellingham, Whatcom councils look at more housing for homeless (The Bellingham Herald) HOUSING Vancouver Housing Authority rent buy-down program to provide subsidy for landlords (The Columbian) WA lawmakers consider funding tenant legal representation as renters, landlords reel financially from pandemic (KUOW Radio) Clark County homebuilders decry timing of new energy standards, say home prices will go up (The Columbian) COLUMN: Tenants and landlords headed for a cliff (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review) IMMIGRATION More help for WA undocumented community could be on the way (Crosscut) LEGISLATURE Lawmakers push competing COVID-19 packages (WNPA News Service/Columbia Basin Herald) Takeaways from House Appropriations Work Session on Stokesbary’s covid relief package (Washington State Wire) With 1 in 5 lobbyists coming from state service, Washington state lawmakers hear bill to restrict revolving door (The Seattle Times) Dinosaur debate: Washington lawmakers consider official state dinosaur amid criticism (KING TV) Washington state house approves bills on public access, tax exemptions, online training (The Daily Chronicle) Orcutt sponsors bill to designate Washington a ‘Purple Heart State’ (The Daily Chronicle) Legislative ethics complaint against former Rep. Matt Shea dismissed (The Spokesman-Review) LOCAL GOVERNMENT Constantine seeks renewal of Best Starts for Kids levy, $811 million proposal would expand child care in King County (The Seattle Times) Seattle sees ‘a path forward’ on convention center financing, city official says (Puget Sound Business Journal) City plans upgrades to downtown lots beneath I-90 – if the state is on board (The Spokesman-Review) Emails between Dr. Bob Lutz and Spokane Mayor Woodward show tense, but not dysfunctional relationship (The Spokesman-Review) MARIJUANA Legal cannabis adds $2 billion to Wash. state economy, report finds (KOMO TV) MENTAL HEALTH COLUMN: Patient safety lapses found at Tacoma hospital opened in ’19 to address mental health crisis (Matt Driscoll/The News Tribune) OTHER STATES Portland Public Schools eyes April 8 in-person start for most elementary, middle school students, February start for select learners (The Oregonian) Portland-area educators express mixed feelings as they receive 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine (The Oregonian) PARKS National Parks commercial use rule deemed unconstitutional (The Spokesman-Review) RURAL BROADBAND Push for municipal broadband, as pandemic highlights lack of internet access in rural Washington (KING TV) SECURITY No specific threats in Washington as feds warn of more extremist activity (KOMO TV) SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter troll tricked 4,900 Democrats in vote-by-phone scheme, U.S. says (The New York Times/The Seattle Times) Facebook ‘Supreme Court’ orders social network to restore 4 posts in first rulings (KUOW Radio) TAXES Controversial tax proposal to support public health (KIRO TV) TRANSPORTATION Seattle traffic fatalities remained high in 2020 despite pandemic (The Seattle Times) Bill would further prioritize transportation infrastructure preservation (Lens) Washington boating bill aims to regulate human-powered watercraft in the same way as motorboats (The Spokesman-Review) TRIBAL ISSUES EDITORIAL: Wine industry should respect tribal language, culture (Yakima Herald-Republic) WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE Combination of ground and aerial reseeding in Wenas Wildlife Area totals over 1300 acres to date (Daily Record) Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz – full conversation (iFiberOneNewsRadio-KMAS)
