Bill that would up oversight of WA hospital consolidations dies; WA won’t legalize cafes in residential neighborhoods, lawmakers decide

HOUSE & SENATE REPUBLICAN MEDIA AVAILABILITY

• March 5

ABORTION

• Planned Parenthood installs 24/7 morning-after pill vending machine (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

AGRICULTURE & WATER

• Yakima Valley junior water rights holders looking at reduced supply for coming year (Yakima Herald-Republic)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Bill to create AI task force passes Washington state legislature (KIRO TV)
• WA Legislature greenlights AG’s proposal for state AI Task Force (Columbia Basin Herald)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• WA won’t legalize cafes in residential neighborhoods, lawmakers decide (The Seattle Times)
• Report: Washington ranks fourth for highest gender wage gap (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)
• Kroger-Albertsons merger, largest supermarket merger in history, rests in hands of Oregon judge (The Oregonian)

CAPITAL BUDGET

• Washington State Legislature finalizes $1.3 billion capital budget (KHQ TV)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Bills to help families with low incomes go to Governor (Columbia Basin Herald)
• OPINION: We could have protected women and children from abuse. WA Dems wouldn’t hear my bill (Sen. Phil Fortunato/The News Tribune)

CONGRESS

• Senator Patty Murray makes pro-choice statement with State of the Union invite (KHQ TV)

CORONAVIRUS

• Leader of near-$7M pandemic fraud scheme sentenced to five years (MyNorthwest)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Momentum builds in major homelessness case before U.S. Supreme Court (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• WA to train public defenders, prosecutors for rural, underserved areas (The Seattle Times)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Child sex trafficking survivor says update of WA laws will help prevent stories like hers (Washington State Standard)

DAMS

• Federal water managers to increase spill over dams (Capital Press)

DRUG CRISIS

• King County leaders say they have new plans to fight the opioid crisis. But when? (KUOW Radio)
• Mosbrucker fentanyl bills clear Senate (KIHR Radio)
• Not just ‘a big city issue’: Stevens County raises community awareness of opioid overdoses (The Spokesman-Review)

EARLY LEARNING

• Washington State allocates over $1 million to Spokane early learning facilities (KHQ TV)

EDUCATION

• K-12 parental ‘bill of rights’ set to become law in Washington State (KOMO TV)
• LGBTQ+ organizations voice concerns over Washington’s ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ (KING TV)
• Dual language education is one step closer to becoming a WA law (The Seattle Times)
• ‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools (The Everett Herald)
• EDITORIAL: Close gap between promise and reality of dual-credit courses (The Seattle Times)

ELECTIONS

• Washington Presidential Primary: Are taxpayers getting the most bang for their buck? (KAPP/KVEW)
• Voting in Washington’s presidential primary: What to know (Axios – Seattle)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• Keep on trucking: Spokane confronts issues in replacing its fire and police vehicles (The Spokesman-Review)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Rep. Ybarra’s energy bill passes House and Senate | Awaiting governor signature (NCW Life Channel)
• Puget Sound Energy works to make power outages ‘invisible’ to customers (KING TV)
• U.S. hydropower output drops to 20-year low as Northwest snowpack shrinks (KUOW Radio)

ENVIRONMENT

• EPA looks to unlock Superfund dollars for Columbia River site in northeast Washington (Washington State Standard)

GUN RIGHTS

• WA lawmakers vote to prohibit firearms in more public areas (The Olympian)

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Bill that would up oversight of WA hospital consolidations dies (The Seattle Times)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• OPINION: WSU’s administration has failed. Take it from a professor: Kirk Schulz has to go (K.W. Hipps, regents professor of chemistry/Tri-City Herald)

HOMELESSNESS

• This city just committed $1 million to controversial Spanaway homeless village project (The News Tribune)

HOUSING

• Seattle-area home prices pick up as spring market inches closer (The Seattle Times)

IMMIGRATION

• After march on King County Courthouse, help arrives for asylum-seekers (The Seattle Times)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Washington lawmakers pass initiative to roll back limits on police pursuits (KIRO TV)
• Washington lawmakers lift restraints on police pursuits (KNDO/KNDU)
• Police pursuit initiative passes state Legislature (NCW Life Channel)
• Some law enforcement agencies say they won’t change pursuit policies after new initiative goes into effect (KING TV)
• Man suspected of killing WSP trooper was in the country illegally, ICE says (MyNorthwest)
• Family of Washington trooper killed by motorist in line of duty releases statement (KOMO TV)
• WSP trooper shot 9 times during Kent traffic stop in Feb. leaves hospital
• Guns seized from Brush Prairie man fatally shot by deputies were loaded, investigators say (The Columbian)

LEGISLATURE

• Three of six initiatives pass the Washington State Legislature (The Center Square)
• Here’s why WA Democrats passed 3 Republican-backed voter initiatives (NW News Network)
• 7th District Rep. Joel Kretz won’t seek another term (KPQ Radio)
• WA Legislature departures continue: Sen. Karen Keiser to retire (The Center Square)
• House, Senate at odds on rules to govern collective bargaining with their staff (Washington State Standard)
• Washington’s ‘Stripper Bill of Rights’: Proposed bill aims to protect sex workers (FOX 13)
• Strippers, book bans, guns: Examples of partisan divide persist in Olympia (MyNorthwest)
• Goehner bill for senior/disabled ADU tax break goes to governor (KPQ Radio)
• Washington Legislature bans octopus ranching as cruel and unusual (KIT Radio)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Amid financial issues, Pierce County clerk staff alleged a toxic workplace environment (The News Tribune)

MEDIA

• Seattle area McClatchy newspapers move to printing just three days per week (KUOW Radio)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Gluesenkamp Perez introduces bill to expand free transportation to rural veterans seeking health care (The Columbian)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon lawmakers approve $30 million for summer school programs (The Oregonian)
• Lawmakers approve bill directing Oregon Treasury to drop coal investments (The Oregonian)
• Oregon House OKs revisions to farm machinery tax exemption (Capital Press)
• PacifiCorp ordered to pay Oregon wildfire victims another $42M. Final bill could reach billions (The Columbian)
• Ranked choice voting may have a prominent place on Idaho’s November ballot (Spokane Public Radio)
• EDITORIAL: Oregon lawmakers avoid time warp (The Columbian)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Former WSDOT economist sues agency and governor’s office, claims he was pressured to lie about gas prices (KING TV)
• Former WSDOT worker sues over gas price whistleblowing claims (MyNorthwest)

TAXES

• The Washington capital gains tax is here to stay, for now (Puget Sound Business Journal)

TRANSPORTATION

• I-5 bridge planners release renderings of new, larger span (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Major Columbia River property owner frustrated that I-5 Bridge project has yet to get Coast Guard approval (The Columbian)
• A new tax levy for Seattle bridges? One councilmember signals support for it (The Center Square)

WEATHER & CLIMATE

• WA’s lackluster snowpack draws concerns, especially on the Olympic Peninsula (The Seattle Times)

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• How wildfires impact mental health (Axios – Seattle)