Capitol Buzz: Security measures around state Capitol to remain; Long debate expected on Washington police reforms Washington House Republicans sent this bulletin at 02/23/2021 11:09 AM PST Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Capitol Buzz: February 23, 2021 02/23/2021 11:09 AM PST BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR Engine maker under scrutiny after series of aircraft mishaps (The New York Times/The Seattle Times) Boeing: 777s with engine that blew apart should be grounded (AP/The Columbian) Dramatic United 777 engine failure won’t have much impact on Boeing — here’s why (Puget Sound Business Journal) Boeing supplier XPO Logistics cuts 104 jobs in Everett after reporting record revenue (Puget Sound Business Journal) Apple goes on hiring spree for its Seattle Siri and AI teams (Puget Sound Business Journal) Seattle startup will leave Pioneer Square due to safety concerns (Puget Sound Business Journal) COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES COLUMN: Metro Parks renames park to honor Tacoma Sen. Rosa Franklin, ousting a founding father (Matt Driscoll/The News Tribune) CONGRESS GOP working to block Biden’s health care pick; Dems unfazed (AP/The Seattle Times) Newhouse: Rejoining Paris Climate Agreement will hurt rural America (Pacific Northwest Ag Network) Lawmakers urge end to COVID closure that ‘completely halted’ life along U.S.-Canada border (The Bellingham Herald) CORONAVIRUS More vaccine on its way to Washington, but it still won’t meet demand (KNKX Radio) Some Washington state providers to get ‘double delivery’ of COVID-19 vaccine after last week’s storm delays (The Seattle Times) A few new glitches with Seattle’s pop-up vaccine clinic for Latinos (KUOW Radio) Vaccines, comorbidities, immunity: Answering your COVID questions (Crosscut) Vaccine tourism in Walla Walla? Local efficiency getting attention (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) COVID hospitalizations declining statewide, locally (The Spokesman-Review) Seattle Children’s partners with 10 state school districts for rapid COVID testing program (KOMO TV) ‘One of the greatest men I ever met:’ 26-year-old Gig Harbor Navy sailor dies from COVID-19 complications (KCPQ TV) COURTS (FEDERAL) Seattle federal Judge James Robart recalls deluge of threats after striking down Trump travel ban in 2017 (The Seattle Times) CRIME & LAW ENFORCEMENT Long debate expected on Washington police reforms (KIRO TV) Clark County Prosecutor’s Office: Get body cameras (The Columbian) COVID-19 outbreak at Thurston County jail improves, status set to change (The Olympian) EARLY LEARNING OPINION: Early learning must be priority in WA state budget (Jess Agi is the Executive Director of the Children’s Campaign Fund. Ryan Murphy is the Associate Director of State and National Campaigns for Save the Children Action Network/Tri-City Herald) EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY In-person school for young Seattle kids won’t begin until ‘at least’ March 8, district says (The Seattle Times) Seattle Public Schools delays reopening plans as teachers union agreement stalls (KUOW Radio) Edmonds, Mukilteo are reopening for some classes next month (The Everett Herald) Governor Jay Inslee to visit Spokane’s Stevens Elementary School (KREM TV) OPINION: Tri-City STEM partners needed (Matt Hammer is the President of the Board of the Washington State STEM Education Foundation/Tri-City Herald) EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES Heavy snowfall in North Cascades means ‘avalanches could be deep and historically large’ (The Bellingham Herald) ENERGY & UTILITIES Cap-and-trade bill gets overhaul (Lens) EDITORIAL: The simple lesson of the Texas blackouts (Bloomberg Opinion/Yakima Herald-Republic) GUN RIGHTS Appeals court says Edmonds can’t enforce safe storage gun law (The Everett Herald) HEALTH CARE ‘I am worth it’: Why thousands of doctors in America can’t get a job (The New York Times/The Seattle Times) Why we’re zooming in on barriers to health care in Washington (Crosscut) PeaceHealth St. John investigating potential COVID-19 exposure in hospital after patients test positive (The Daily News) Seattle Indian Health Board leader calls out state report (Puget Sound Business Journal) HIGHER EDUCATION Bill addresses mental health among college students (Columbia Basin Herald) HOMELESSNESS “I shouldn’t have to live like this”; Homeowners frustrated with drug paraphernalia dumped on properties (KHQ TV) HOUSING Rental vacancy rate in Washington one of the lowest in the country: report (Seattle P-I) LEGISLATURE New apprenticeship bill presented to the House of Representatives (KONA Radio) Senators approve shoreline armoring bill; Warnick votes against it (Columbia Basin Herald) Tax reform, tenant protection bills still alive in Olympia (KUOW Radio) LOCAL GOVERNMENT Seattle’s controversial ‘poverty defense’ proposal stalls out (Crosscut) After complaint forces ‘heartbreaking’ closure of business, Seattle aims to loosen land use rules (MyNorthwest) Clarkston council asks Inslee to rethink regional approach to reopening (The Lewiston Tribune) OPINION: Spokane city leaders must follow popular city law on transparency and reject violent union rhetoric (Chris Cargill and Jason Mercier, Washington Policy Center/The Spokesman-Review) OTHER STATES Dallas Heard, far-right senator, elected chair of Republican Party in Oregon (The Oregonian) Public access to police discipline records gets hearing in Oregon Legislature (The Oregonian) Oregon legislative session will pick up steam, shift to more in-person work starting March 8 (The Oregonian) SPORTS Mariners chairman: Kevin Mather’s resignation ‘the right answer for the organization’ (The Seattle Times) STATE GOVERNMENT Security measures around state Capitol to remain (KPQ Radio) Q&A: What DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter is seeing amid the pandemic (Washington State Wire) SUBSTANCE ABUSE ‘Hot pills.’ Tri-Cities brothers among 3 to die over weekend of suspected tainted drugs (Tri-City Herald) TAXES Sugary drinks latest target in Washington tax proposal (KING TV) Senate hearing on statewide soda tax (KONA Radio) COLUMN: A capital gains income tax is not needed and will hurt Washington’s economy (Matt McIlwain, managing director, Madrona Venture Group/The Seattle Times) EDITORIAL: Legislators must drop hasty, flawed capital-gains tax push (The Seattle Times) EDITORIAL: Latest capital gains tax plan is still an income tax (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) TRANSPORTATION House considering bill that would make learning the zipper merge part of drivers ed (KIRO TV) Snoqualmie, Stevens, White passes reopen – but they could all close again (The Spokesman-Review) WILDLIFE Spotted owl forest protection rollbacks reconsidered (AP/Yakima Herald-Republic) Roller coaster to recovery: Local pygmy rabbit effort shows alarming numbers (Columbia Basin Herald)
