HOUSE & SENATE REPUBLICAN MEDIA AVAILABILITY
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Americans’ outlook on the economy brightens as inflation slows (AP/The Oregonian)
- US unions flexed their muscles last year, but membership rates fall to all-time low (AP)
- Proposed bill expands death benefits for families of slain rideshare drivers (KING TV)
- Some Washington workers want pay cuts to work from home (KPQ Radio)
- Fire devastates Southwest Washington seafood facility (KMUN/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- OPINION: Make companies responsible for the waste they produce in WA (Olgy Diaz, holds Position 7 on Tacoma City Council, Matthew Hepner, holds Position 7 on East Wenatchee City Council, and Sarah Perry, represents District 3 on Metropolitan King County Council/The Seattle Times)
CHILD CARE
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
CORRECTIONS & JAILS
- Man, 36, identified in most recent death at Snohomish County Jail (The Everett Herald)
- Chelan County jail installing high-tech medical sensors in cells (KPQ Radio)
COURTS (STATE)
- ‘Verge of collapse’: Washington public defenders swamped by cases (Washington State Standard)
- ‘That memory haunts me.’ Man sues after Tacoma cop ran him over at street-racing event (The News Tribune)
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
- Kretz on National Stalking Awareness Month (KOZI Radio)
- Common crime, uncommon response: New bill gets ‘do pass’ recommendation to deter misdemeanor criminals (KING TV)
- 30% of Benton Co. homicides unsolved after 2nd highest number for deaths in years (Tri-City Herald)
- OPINION: As Pierce County Sheriff, I’m fed up. The catch and release of WA criminals must end (Ed Troyer, Pierce County Sheriff/The News Tribune)
DRUG CRISIS
- State tribal leaders ask for nearly a million dollars to address opioid, fentanyl crisis (KING TV)
- EDITORIAL: Reduce demand, improve education on opioids (The Columbian)
EDUCATION
- Will chatbots teach your children? (The New York Times/The Seattle Times)
- ‘Here to listen’: Mukilteo therapy dogs help kids conquer reading fears (The Everett Herald)
- Wenatchee schools explain school closure; strong public reaction (KPQ Radio)
- COLUMN: School ‘celebrated’ Fidel Castro as ‘hero’ during MLK assembly (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)
- EDITORIAL: Lawmakers should make it easier for school levies to pass (The Seattle Times)
ELECTIONS
ENERGY & UTILITIES
- Washington House passes PSE natural gas ban days after cold snap hits energy grid (The Center Square)
- State House Republicans unite against bill that would ban new natural gas lines in Washington (KLCK Radio)
- Clark Public Utilities rates will jump 14.5 percent as of March 1 (The Columbian)
- USDA invests $2.6 million in PNW businesses for clean energy (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)
GUN RIGHTS
HIGHER EDUCATION
- WSU medical school raises homegrown doctors east of the Cascades (Crosscut)
- WSU Skagit County Extension shut downs forestry program (Skagit Valley Herald)
HOMELESSNESS
- As homelessness trends up, ‘it’s really important to hear their stories’ (The Everett Herald)
- 2024 homeless Point in Time Count underway in Spokane County (KHQ TV)
HOUSING
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- SPD cop’s comments on Jaahnavi Kandula’s death were ‘inhumane,’ biased, watchdogs say (The Seattle Times)
- State of Washington considering bill requiring sheriffs, others to undergo background check before qualifying for elections (KAPP/KVEW)
LEGISLATURE
- Legislators are shaping their staff’s collective bargaining rights (Crosscut)
- Bills regarding cannabis, hunting, hog-tying are set to be discussed in Washington Legislature (KHQ TV)
- COLUMN: Last year’s focus was housing. In 2024, lawmakers must tackle WA’s 2 biggest problems (Chris Vance/The News Tribune)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Anonymity, limited testimony and an end to standing: Spokane City Council changes open forum rules (The Spokesman-Review)
- After public pushback, Spokane City Council keeps weekly citizen forum (The Center Square)
- This Pierce County city spent $457,600 on LED streetlight bulbs. Almost all quit working (The News Tribune)
- Tacoma’s newest City Council member sues the city, 10 police officers over her arrest (The News Tribune)
LONG-TERM CARE
OTHER STATES
- With Oregon facing rampant public drug use, lawmakers backpedal on pioneering decriminalization law (AP)
- Oregon Democrats would make drug possession a crime, widen treatment (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Washington State Standard)
- Oregon Democrats tap Majority Leader Julie Fahey as next House speaker (Oregon Capital Chronicle/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- Oregon seeks redo on signature Climate Protection Program invalidated by court ruling (The Oregonian)
- Proposed legislation could repeal Medicaid expansion in Idaho (KLEW TV)
- Bill addressing fentanyl trafficking passes Idaho committee (The Lewiston Tribune)
SCHOOL SAFETY
- New strategy aims to prevent tragedies, support safer schools in King County (KOMO TV)
- Glacier Peak High School reopens after bomb threat (The Everett Herald)
- 13 children hurt in school bus crash near Mattawa (KPQ Radio)
STATE GOVERNMENT
TAXES
- Effort to place WA’s capital gains tax on November ballot advances (The Seattle Times)
- Effort to repeal Washington’s capital gains tax advances toward November ballot (The Spokesman-Review)
- Washington Secretary of State certifies initiative repealing capital gains tax (The Center Square)
- Initiative to repeal capital gains tax certified; ballot could be next (MyNorthwest)
- State certifies initiative to repeal Washington’s capital gain tax (KHQ TV)
TRANSPORTATION
- Senators focus on transportation projects in the short session (Snoqualmie Valley Record)
- Statewide initiative “Target Zero” focuses on saving lives (KEPR TV)
- ‘We’re angry’: 6 WSDOT workers hospitalized after DUI driver crashed into Vancouver worksite (FOX 13)
- Data shows more collisions in SR 18 construction zone (Snoqualmie Valley Record)
- Alaska Airlines and United CEOs cast doubt on Boeing after 737 Max 9 issues (Axios – Seattle)
WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE
