Capitol Buzz: Bodies of 3 missing Wenatchee, WA girls found, father wanted for murder; King County Council appoints Victoria Hunt, Zach Hall to legislative roles

 

AGRICULTURE

• Farmer sentiment rises to highest level in four years (Capital Press) $

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• WSU Tri-Cities integrates AI into cybersecurity education and research (KAPP/KVEW)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Data shows WA shedding construction jobs at rapid rate (KONA Radio)
• Union vote could stir summer disruptions in WA grocery stores (KING TV)
• Downtown Spokane’s empty office buildings have lost millions in assessed value. That’s a concern for the entire region, business leaders say (The Spokesman-Review) $
• OPINION: Washington’s affordability crisis fuels out-migration in 2025 (Mark Harmsworth, Washington Policy Center/Clark County Today)

CANNABIS

• Health risks from cannabis may grow as users age (The New York Times/The Seattle Times) $

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Cathy McMorris Rodgers launches leadership institute after leaving Congress (The Spokesman-Review) $

CONGRESS

• Trump formally asks Congress to claw back approved spending targeted by DOGE (AP)
• ‘We are a nation of self-sufficient people’: U.S. Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez appeals to Rainier’s rural needs (The Chronicle)
• OPINION: Shut up and be quiet? No thanks (U.S. Senator Patty Murray/The Seattle Times) $

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Court fight pits religious group that doesn’t want LGBTQ+ employees against WA law (Washington State Standard)
• Federal prisons must continue providing care for transgender inmates, judge says (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• Memorial for late Justice Susan Owens proposed at Clallam Courthouse (KONP Radio)
• Watch: Lewis County judge tackles suspect in courthouse after attempting to flee (MyNorthwest)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• WPD, CCSO review triple-homicide timeline in joint press conference (The Wenatchee World) $
• Wenatchee mourns 3 girls found dead; police search for their father (The Seattle Times) $
• Wenatchee girls found dead at campsite were bound as manhunt for their father kicks off (The Spokesman-Review) $
• Sheriff warns father of three murdered Wenatchee girls ‘We’re going to make sure we find you’ (MyNorthwest)
• Who is Travis Decker? What to know about the Wenatchee, WA father wanted for murder (FOX 13)

DRUG CRISIS

• ‘Falling through the cracks can be fatal’: Spokane mayor proposes $730,000 investment in opioid treatment plans (The Spokesman-Review) $

EDUCATION

• WA district reeling after superintendent and student die in Long Beach ocean incident (The Seattle Times) $

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Spokane Fire Department bracing for cuts in 2026 as overtime costs surge (The Center Square)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• WA trade groups seek federal intervention to block state gas ban (The Center Square)
• Giant turbine sparks outrage in WA orca habitat: ‘Like a 747 in the water’ (FOX 13)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Trump doubles tariffs on steel and aluminum (States Newsroom/Washington State Standard)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Providence Everett plans to reduce certified nursing assistants (The Everett Herald) $

HIGHER EDUCATION

• International students add nearly $1B to Washington state’s economy (Axios – Seattle)

HOMELESSNESS

• ‘It’s been a nightmare’: Seattle business owner navigates repeated homeless vandalism (MyNorthwest)
• $20 million expansion of Tacoma’s largest homeless shelter in the works (Washington State Standard)
• Homeless, sick and aging: Pierce County faces worsening crisis in 2025 (The News Tribune) $
• Trump cuts to Job Corps put Skagit County youth at risk of homelessness (KING TV)

HOUSING

• Evictions in Washington skyrocket, overwhelming legal aid program for low-income renters (Investigate West/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• EDITORIAL: Trees and middle housing? Seattle can have both (The Seattle Times) $

IMMIGRATION

• Spokane County caught in confusion over DHS sanctuary designation (The Seattle Times) $
• Lincoln County Commissioners declares it’s not a ‘sanctuary county’ following inclusion on Homeland Security list (The Spokesman-Review) $
• Asylum seeker arrested at Portland courthouse transported to Tacoma. Federal judge seeks answers (The Oregonian) $

INVASIVE SPECIES

• Alaska man sentenced for shipping crabs with parasitic disease to WA (Alaska Beacon/The Spokesman-Review) $

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Probable cause document explains why AMBER Alert wasn’t issued for missing girls (KING TV)
• Amber Alert was not issued for Wenatchee girls who were found dead (The Seattle Times) $
• WA AGO launches long-delayed police use of force database (The Center Square)
• WA use-of-force database up and running (Columbia Basin Herald) $
• New documents, recordings reveal investigation into fired former Seattle police chief (KOMO TV)
• New records detail fear, deception as Seattle investigated former police chief Diaz for hiring girlfriend (KUOW Radio)

LEGISLATURE

• Replacement chosen for Washington state senator who died (Washington State Standard)
• Murders of Wenatchee girls sparks outcry over WA child welfare laws (FOX 13)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• King County assessor says he won’t resign, as pressure mounts from County Council (The Seattle Times) $
• Olympia city manager announces spending, hiring freeze at council meeting. Here’s why (The Olympian) $
• Vancouver City Council looks at requiring landlords to license rentals (The Columbian) $
• Chelan County Auditor threatens early exit as commissioners delay staffing decision (The Wenatchee World) $
• Longview City Council to vote on public camping ‘zero-tolerance’ policy (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Spokane Valley City Council votes against settlement with councilmember Al Merkel (KREM TV)
• Sunnyside City Manager Mike Gonzalez placed on leave pending investigation (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

MENTAL HEALTH

• Concerns were raised over mental state of father of slain Wenatchee sisters (KING TV)

OPEN GOVERNMENT

• EDITORIAL: Legislators work for public, not privilege (The Columbian) $

OTHER STATES

• Oregon’s governor could soon have more say in vacant US Senate seats (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Enumclaw ‘senior prank’ alarms police, students break into school with airsoft gun (KING TV)

SPORTS

• WA now at center of national debate after transgender athlete’s victory in track event (KIRO TV)

TRANSPORTATION

• These two Washington roads are watching, speed here and you’ll get a notice (KPQ Radio)
• State’s first hybrid-electric ferry out of shipyard, nearing return to service (Kitsap Sun) $
• OPINION: ‘The IBR project is a perfect example of why less than 25 percent of Americans trust government’ (Robert Wallis/Clark County Today)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Avista launches safety mode as conditions move toward fire season (The Spokesman-Review) $
• New research points to potential climate change benefits from wildfires (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)
• Oregon Rd. Fire survivors voice hopes for $44 million recovery grant at Spokane County meeting (KXLY TV)
• COLUMN: Democrats cut Washington wildfire budget, pre-emptively blame Trump for future blazes (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

---

Stories that are behind a paywall are denoted with a $ symbol, allowing readers to identify content that requires a subscription to access in full.