Capitol Buzz: Inslee expected to sign bill that paves way for natural gas ban in WA; Housing and homelessness in Washington, by the numbers Washington House Republicans sent this bulletin at 03/28/2024 10:24 AM PDT Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Capitol Buzz: March 28, 2024 03/28/2024 10:23 AM PDT AGRICULTURE & WATER Why WA’s farmworkers are disappearing (The Seattle Times) USDA gives organic product grants to nine Northwest firms (Capital Press) Shell shocked: Egg producers carry on despite avian flu, cage-free regulations (Capital Press) Northwest honey production, prices drop in 2023 (Capital Press) Return to Quincy: Waste-derived products in agriculture impact Yakima County too (Yakima Herald-Republic) EDITORIAL: WOTUS legal sideshow keeps going (Capital Press) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Washington state Supreme Court justice says she sees value of AI in legal realm (The Lewiston Tribune) BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR A new Washington program will automatically start retirement accounts for workers who don’t already have access (The Inlander) Interesting wrinkles in the strippers’ rights bill (The Washington Observer) Despite All-Star summer, recovery is elusive for Seattle’s tourism industry (The Seattle Times) Experts keep close eye on Yakima Valley economy as 2024 begins with layoffs (Yakima Herald-Republic) CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM Utility: Washington’s cap-and-trade unfair to other states (Capital Press) COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES Washington adults are among the nation’s least religious (Axios – Seattle) CONGRESS EDITORIAL: Beware the Corporate Transparency Act (Capital Press) CORONAVIRUS COLUMN: Speaking freely has a high cost for former local doctor (Sue Lani Madsen/The Spokesman-Review) CORRECTIONS & JAILS King County’s plan to close youth detention center met with fierce backlash (MyNorthwest) COURTS (STATE) NCW public defenders want to be optimistic about new caseload limits (The Wenatchee World) Woman rode train home to Puyallup but didn’t get off. What happened aboard the Sounder? (The News Tribune) CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY 4-year-old Everett boy missing, police worried he’s in danger (MyNorthwest) DAMS Carnation residents, officials frustrated after another false alarm from Tolt River Dam emergency system (KING TV) DRUG CRISIS Whatcom Council approves resolution to declare state of emergency for county’s fentanyl crisis (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now) EDITORIAL: Abatement council crucial against opioid crisis (The Columbian) EDUCATION ‘It’s about time’: Much anticipated new Pierce County high school finally breaks ground (The News Tribune) Evergreen school district approves $18.7 million in budget reductions (The Columbian) OPINION: WA schools don’t have ‘bad kids.’ They lack enough tools to help them (Justin Hendrickson, principal at South Shore PreK-8 in Seattle Public Schools/The Seattle Times) ENERGY & UTILITIES Inslee expected to sign bill that paves way for natural gas ban in WA (The Center Square) WA governor urged to veto $25M for nuclear power project (Washington State Standard) Harris semiconductor bill signed by Inslee (KIHR Radio) ENVIRONMENT Climate protesters block Amazon’s Seattle HQ to oppose fossil fuel plans (KUOW Radio) Vancouver officials developing new green building policy (The Columbian) OPINION: What’s ‘climate-smart’ wood? Hopefully, a big part of Pierce County’s future (Robyn Denson, Pierce County Council/The News Tribune) FISH Salmon are struggling, as former foes turned allies call for action (FOX 13) GUN RIGHTS Inslee signs legislation expanding places where guns are banned (The Center Square) Gun owners have 24 hours to report theft or face up to $1K fine, new law says (KOMO TV) HANFORD 300-ton Eastern WA melter reaches peak temperature to turn radioactive waste into glass (Tri-City Herald) HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS In rural Washington, patients travel hours for basic healthcare (Crosscut) HIGHER EDUCATION College enrollment rose in 2023, but Washington state ranks low nationally in new students (The Olympian) No one hurt after officer fires shot on WSU campus (The Lewiston Tribune) HOMELESSNESS Housing and homelessness in Washington, by the numbers (Washington State Standard) HOUSING New housing law passed to promote co-living development in Washington State (KXLY TV) Luxury tiny homes creating a stir in Washington home market (MyNorthwest) LAW ENFORCEMENT Olympia police the latest in South Sound to buy car-tracking cameras (KNKX Radio) Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft (The Everett Herald) LEGISLATURE WA passes bill to protect libraries, as other states target them (The Seattle Times) Washington bans sale of cosmetics newly tested on animals (Northwest Public Broadcasting) New WA law caps cost of inhalers, EpiPens (Columbia Basin Herald) LOCAL GOVERNMENT Here’s how much of a budget deficit the Seattle City Council could be navigating by next year (KING TV) State Auditor: One bookkeeper misused thousands of taxpayer dollars across 7 Yakima Co. special purpose districts (KAPP/KVEW) MEDIA COLUMN: Black Press sale closes, plus Australia’s ‘must carry’ idea (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times) MILITARY & VETERANS EDITORIAL: Navy smart to invest in Everett for new class of ships (The Seattle Times) OTHER STATES Oregon prison watchdog says Tina Kotek’s top aides and corrections department stonewall him (The Oregonian) Inequity, mismanagement beleaguer Oregon’s early learning agency, employees say (Investigate West/Oregon Public Broadcasting) Influence sought by Oregon first lady isn’t unique nationally, but has caused trouble for Kotek (Oregon Public Broadcasting) Oregon becomes fourth state with a right-to-repair law for technology (Pluribus News) RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Grant County Economic Development Council receives $200,000 for carbon-transformation project (NCW Life Channel) TAXES Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free (The Everett Herald) TRANSPORTATION WSDOT talks local bridge safety, improvements (FOX 13) Could fatal collapse of Interstate 5 Bridge happen? (The Columbian) High-speed auto crashes all too common in Washington state (The Center Square) Suspect was driving 107 mph when he hit, killed a Washington State Patrol trooper, documents say (KREM TV) As deaths on our roads continue to rise, a local stay-at-home dad is on an ambitious quest to make Spokane’s streets the safest in the U.S. (The Inlander) Electric vehicles keep charging ahead in Washington state (KUOW Radio) WILDLIFE Washington works towards cougar conservation (KHQ TV) Animal advocacy, wildlife groups oppose plan to shoot barred owls (The Seattle Times) New report separates species of killer whales found in North Pacific Ocean (KING TV) WOLVES Inslee inks final Kretz bill on tribal cooperation (NCW Life Channel)
