WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Tuesday, January 14

Speaker Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) Deputy Speaker Pro Tempore John Lovick (D-Mill Creek) at the House rostrum jointly holding gavel.

First female House Speaker convenes 60-day legislative session
Washington state’s first female speaker of the House was sworn in Monday as lawmakers returned to the Capitol to convene their 60-day legislative session. Democratic Rep. Laurie Jinkins of Tacoma is also the first gay lawmaker to take the role presiding over the chamber. She succeeds Frank Chopp, the state’s longest-serving speaker and the second longest serving speaker in the nation. Continue reading at The Bellingham Herald. (Ted S. Warren)


Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, left, talks with Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, right, after they took part in a legislative preview on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 in Olympia. Much of the legislature’s work in the short session is likely to make incremental changes to laws, writes veteran political reporter Jim Camden

5 big issues the Washington Legislature will debate in 2020
Some years, the Legislature faces huge issues, spends months in partisan wrangling and needs extra weeks or even months to complete some tasks. 2020 might not be one of them – except for some partisan wrangling, which is almost inevitable. It’s not that the state is completely free of problems that require lawmakers’ attention. Time and circumstances, however, suggest they might instead settle for some incremental adjustments on many fronts, rather than trying to push through a revolutionary change on a major issue. Continue reading at The Spokesman-Review. (Ted S. Warren)


Jay Inslee

Q&A: Gov. Jay Inslee on homelessness, climate change and problems with Washington prisons
Washington state lawmakers return to work with the kickoff of the 2020 legislative session Monday and Gov. Jay Inslee’s State of the State address Tuesday. With his presidential campaign behind him, and a run for a third term as governor now on his calendar, Inslee sat for an interview, which has been edited and condensed for space. Continue reading at the Yakima Herald. (Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)


Print

Associated Press
Microsoft ends free Windows 7 security updates on Tuesday
Russians hacked company key to Ukraine scandal: researchers
First female House Speaker convenes 60-day legislative session (Jinkins, Chopp)
Here’s a list of firearms bills that will be proposed to the 2020 Legislature (Kuderer, Valdez)
Washington lawmakers convene 60-day legislative session (Jinkins, Chopp)
Seattle reels in spending by ‘foreign-influenced’ companies
American Airlines sees more delay in return of Boeing Max
WNBA’s 8-year labor deal to hike average salary to $130,000
High anxiety: Proposed US hemp rules worry industry
State officials close Chinook salmon harvest in Oregon river
New Boeing CEO inherits crisis created under his predecessor 

Arlington Times
Arlington councilman resigns
Marysville breaks ground on Civic Campus 

Auburn Reporter
Warming shelter opens in Auburn, will remain open through Wednesday, possibly longer 

Bellingham Herald (subscription required)
Here’s what snow and ice looked like in Bellingham
Comprehensive privacy bill gets bipartisan support on first day of 2020 Legislature (Carlyle)
Some Hanford radiation exposure records could harm workers and taxpayers, report says 

Capital Press
Snake River dam speakers focus on impacts
Outside investors taking bigger bite of apple industry, banker says
Soil health initiative seeks funding from legislature
Weather puts damper on pro-farm rally in Olympia
WDFW looks at adding to cattle-wolf policy

Clark County Today
49th district legislators speak to community questions at town hall (Cleveland, Stonier, Wylie)

Columbian
In Our View: As the Legislature convenes, we’re optimistic

The Daily News
Rainier residents find new sales tax refund process ‘onerous, frustrating’ (Takko, Blake)

Everett Herald (subscription required)
History made: Washington gets its first woman House speaker (Jinkins, Lovick)
Construction on Marysville’s civic center to begin this month
Bloomberg: Boeing’s new CEO takes reins with company integrity in doubt
Bloomberg: Boeing thwarted Lion Air ‘idiots’ who wanted 737 Max training
Editorial: Detention of Iranian-Americans at border troubling

Federal Way Mirror
Federal Way Council member Johnson appointed as 30th District representative (Johnson)
Snow prompts opening of overnight homeless shelter in Federal Way
 
Issaquah Reporter
Spawning Grounds: Lake Sammamish kokanee documentary premieres Jan. 18

Journal of the San Juans
Alex Ramel replaces Jeff Morris as 40th District representative (Lekanoff, Ramel)
 
Kent Reporter
City of Kent on mission to let people know about plastic bag ban
 
Kitsap Sun (subscription required)
Icy roads in Kitsap County prompt widespread delays, school closures
Number of people who are homeless in Kitsap stays steady
Despite ‘weaker’ Arctic front, more snow could come this week to Kitsap
 
News Tribune (subscription required)
Dementia care in Tacoma gets boost from $500,000 state grant
Plenty of jobs still available for census takers in Seattle-Tacoma area
 
New York Times
What Happened When a State Made Food Stamps Harder to Get
 
Olympian (subscription required)
Winter’s ‘king tides’ in the forecast this week for Olympia
2 flu deaths in Thurston as hospitals take extra precautions
Forecast calls for freezing temperatures, chance of snow the rest of the week
Olympia likes this tax break. But federal limits still apply
Weather-related school and organization information for Tuesday, Jan. 14
 
Peninsula Daily News
Marysville pays $85,000 over immigrant’s detention
Van De Wege plans bill to force judicial branch to comply with Open Records Act (Van De Wege, Tharinger, Chapman)
 
Puget Sound Business Journal
U.S. says China is no longer a currency manipulator
Sprint/T-Mobile merger encounters another hurdle in DC
Boeing engineers union gets new legislative director
New Boeing CEO message to staff: ‘Safety, quality and integrity above all else.’
 
The Reflector
Homeless emergency grabs the attention of state lawmakers (Kuderer)
 
Seattle Times (subscription required)
Seattle City Council bans ‘foreign-influenced’ companies from most political spending
Boeing’s new CEO takes reins with company’s culture and strategy in doubt
Ishisaka: Some Americans feel ‘belittled’ at the U.S.-Canada border
Was last February’s ‘snowmaggedon’ a fluke, or can we expect more like it? We took your snow questions to the experts.
From Richland to the moon: New astronaut Kayla Barron awaits her first space flight
Ideas for a new tax on big businesses like Amazon swirl in Seattle as debate heats up again
Auburn police investigating fatal shooting
New rule to curb lawsuits by franchise workers. Here’s what it could mean if you are owed wages.
New Puyallup mayor aims to tackle homelessness
Trump tweet targets Mercer Island man appointed to advise secretive federal surveillance court
Op-ed: No more excuses for lack of cooperation in Olympia on climate change
Editorial: Trump and nation need fair Senate trial
Op-ed: 2020: The year America gets its act together
Editorial: Done with school-funding legislation? Not even close
Trump Shares Photoshopped Image Tying Pelosi and Schumer to Iran
‘Techlash’ hits college campuses

Seattle Weekly
Washington state has been under-producing housing units for decades (Kuderer, Macri)
 
Skagit Valley Herald
Skagit 911 to produce strategic plan
 
Spokesman Review
Legislature opens on historic note amid plenty of protests (Jinkins)
Stripped of party support, Rep. Matt Shea arrives in Olympia amid calls for his resignation (Jinkins, Riccelli)
5 big issues the Washington Legislature will debate in 2020 (Billig, Jinkins)
 
Tri-City Herald
Snake dams rally draws crowd in Tri-Cities
Some Hanford radiation exposure records could harm workers and taxpayers, report says
 
USA Today
House to vote Wednesday to send Trump impeachment articles to Senate
 
Walla Walla Union Bulletin (subscription required)
Editorial: Lawmakers willingness to follow Public Records Act is welcome (Billig)
High anxiety: Proposed US hemp rules worry industry
Washington lawmakers convene 60-day legislative session (Jinkins, Chopp)
 
Washington Post
House to vote Wednesday to send impeachment articles against Trump to the Senate
Russian spies hacked Ukrainian gas company at heart of impeachment trial
NSA found a dangerous Windows 10 flaw and alerted Microsoft — rather than weaponize it
Why women now outnumber men in the American workforce
Op-ed: The health-care industry is letting surgeons behave like muggers
Trump planning to divert additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funds for border wall
U.S. citizen dies in Egyptian prison, despite warnings over poor medical condition and an appeal to Trump
Trump’s trade deal with China won’t give many U.S. companies relief, as most tariffs will remain
White House shifts strategy on California homelessness, opting for more cooperation
Liberal arts education: Waste of money or practical investment? Study’s conclusions might surprise you.
Trump restrictions on fetal tissue research unsettle key studies and scientists
Dogs are helping save Florida’s citrus groves from a devastating disease

Wenatchee World
Physicians describe loss of Yakima hospital as ‘catastrophic’
Report: ‘Cultural change’ needed in enforcement of state’s pot laws
 
Yakima Herald Republic
Q&A: Gov. Jay Inslee on homelessness, climate change and problems with Washington prisons
Nurses union goes to court today in effort to keep Astria Regional Medical Center open
New app aims to reduce number of missing and murdered Native women

Broadcast

KING5 TV (NBC)
Washington state’s first female, LGBTQ House Speaker sworn in (Jinkins)
US 2 ‘impassable’ east of Skykomish due to snow, threat of falling trees
Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant proposes Amazon tax
Cold weather shelters open across western Washington
 
KIRO7 TV (CBS)
Historic Washington House Speaker sworn-in, faces challenges
 
KOMO4 TV (ABC)
Rep. Laurie Jinkins is first woman House Speaker in Washington history
Shunned state lawmaker Rep. Matt Shea continues serving despite controversy
 
KNKX FM
Washington’s chief justice on the law, her career, and how to disagree
 
KUOW FM
Border Wall Threatens National Wildlife Refuge That’s Been 40 Years In The Making
House To Vote Wednesday To Send Impeachment Articles To Senate
DOJ Says 21 Saudi Trainees Being Expelled From U.S. Over Jihadist, Child Porn Content
U.S. Driver’s License Network Goes Down, Slowing DMV Offices Around The Nation
Opinion: In Iran Crisis, Iraq And Afghanistan Risk Becoming Collateral Damage

NW Public Radio
The Kratom Debate: Helpful Herb Or Dangerous Drug?

Q13 TV (Fox)
Matt Shea’s fate uncertain as state lawmakers weigh vote to remove

Web

Crosscut
Inslee, environmentalists want aggressive action on climate, including a clean fuel standard (Fitzgibbon)
Newcomers fleeing expensive housing are finding it again in Spokane. Now they want protections
 
MyNorthwest.com
Sawant rallies support for head tax relaunch
Mike: We should not restrict guns but their owners are different story
In wake of domestic terrorism allegations, future for Rep. Shea remains unclear (Jinkins)
State lawmaker pushes mental health bill to address homeless prolific offenders (Macri)
 
Slog
Slog PM: Stevens Pass Is Closed; Sanders and Warren Feud; Meet Your New House Speaker, Washington! (Jinkins)
Clean Campaigns Act Unanimously Approved by Seattle City Council
 
Seattle P.I.
Seattle reins in spending by ‘foreign-influenced’ companies