WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Wednesday, February 19

Prescription drugs

Trio of prescription cost bills pass off Washington Senate floor
The Washington Senate on Tuesday passed three bills that aim to reign in the costs of prescription drugs. Two of the measures, all sponsored by Democratic Sen. Karen Keiser, address insulin costs, while the third addresses overall drug affordability. A measure that would cap the monthly out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $100 until Jan. 1, 2023 and requires the Health Care Authority to monitor the price of insulin, passed on a 34-14 vote. Continue reading at Kiro 7. (Associated Press)


Teri Smith serves lunch at Jefferson Elementary on Nov. 8, 2018. In 2015, 16% of Spokane County youth reported experiencing food insecurity, slightly above the state average, according to data collected by the Spokane Regional Health District. A new bill would provide free lunches to all students at some schools. (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

Bill would expand free lunches to all students in Washington schools where 62.5% already qualify
Children in schools with a high percentage of low-income students would all get free breakfast and lunch while at school, under a bill moving through the Legislature. “We can’t expect kids who are hungry or doing their homework by the dome light of a car to be successful. They need to be fed,” said Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, the bill’s sponsor. Spokane Public Schools is among the districts with the most families getting help from federal food assistance programs, he said. In 2015, 16% of Spokane County youth reported experiencing food insecurity, slightly above the state average, according to data collected by the Spokane Regional Health District. Continue reading at The Spokesman-Review. (Kathy Plonka)


The Facebook Inc. Instagram logo is displayed on an Apple Inc. iPhone. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

The Technology 202: Meme-makers are newest frontier in Facebook’s political content debate
Facebook told reporters last week that it would allow political campaigns and candidates to pay social media influencers to create sponsored content — the most high-profile example is the recent flood of Instagram memes purchased by presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg. But critics are concerned the social networking giant is not subjecting the paid posts to the same standards as traditional ads. Continue reading at The Washington Post. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg)


Print

Associated Press
Border Patrol memo contradicts Greyhound on bus raids
Ex-Gov. Blagojevich returns to Chicago, maintains innocence
Barr tells people he might quit over Trump tweets
Woman seeking Trump’s DNA fights his effort to delay suit
Office to collect firearm violence data approved by Senate
Trio of prescription cost bills pass off Senate floor (Keiser)
Seattle City Council OKs more tent cities, tiny houses
House approves bill protecting domestic workers
Washington state to consider ban on single family zoning (Das)

Aberdeen Daily World
Seaport retiring the Hawaiian Chieftain
House passes Chehalis Basin funding bill
WDFW approves a four-day razor clam dig starting Thursday, February 20
Aberdeen School District teams with local agencies to educate students about drug abuse
Chehalis River, all tributaries closed to all fishing
Lawmakers here and elsewhere open groundwater fights vs. bottled water companies (Carlyle)

Auburn Reporter
State Senate passes bill banning most Styrofoam-type products (Das)
 
Bellingham Herald (subscription required)
Bankruptcy court approves McClatchy’s mediation request, fueling hope of resolution
 
Capital Press
Washington Senate votes to ban chlorpyrifos (Rolfes)
 
Columbian
Sen. Cleveland measure strives to better protect caregivers (Cleveland)
In Our View: Blowing the whistle on sports-gambling bill (Stonier, Wylie, Peterson) 
 
The Daily News
Kelso council won’t finance another homeless camp
 
Everett Herald (subscription required)
Bill would require kids’ menus to offer healthy beverages (Liias, Hobbs, Takko, Mullet, Robinson, Peterson)
Gov. Jay Inslee talks about homelessness and the climate
Op-ed: Oil trains need big enough crew for safety
WaPo Commentary: On climate, hope for the best, prepare for worst
Editorial: Insurance fee could limit wildfire risk, damage

Federal Way Mirror
Federal Way student serves as page with Rep. Pellicciotti (Pellicciotti)

Journal of the San Juan Islands
Long-Time Conservation Director Stepping Down

News Tribune (subscription required)
Battle over ‘missing middle’ moves from City Hall to the Capitol (Das)
 
New York Times
As Trump Claims to Be Law of the Land, Barr’s Irritation Builds
Fossil Fuels Are to Blame for Soaring Methane Levels, Study Shows
 
Olympian (subscription required)
Wrongful death trial on behalf of Susan Cox Powell’s sons begins in Pierce County
Editorial: Legislature clings to its use of title-only bills (Billig)
 
Peninsula Daily News
Bill would ban styrofoam food containers in Washington state (Das)
  
Seattle Times (subscription required)
Bill named after slain transgender Vancouver teen seeks to limit ‘panic defenses’ (Wylie)
Feared return of ‘The Blob’ fizzles as storms churn, chill Pacific Ocean
Where Seattle ranks among Washington’s safest and least safe cities
Seattle City Council passes ordinance that would allow up to 40 tiny house villages, encampments or parking lot camps
Mayor Jenny Durkan announces plan to curb gang violence in her third State of the City address
Resignation of 2 Seattle area Catholic-school teachers stirs protests over church stance on same-sex relationships
Westneat: Sorry treatment of gay teachers suggests Rush Limbaugh was, sadly, right
Boeing finds debris in wing fuel tanks of undelivered 737 MAXs, orders inspections
Day of Remembrance today: How Bainbridge Island’s Japanese residents were forced from their homes
Sweetened-beverage sales in Seattle dropped 30% after soda tax, new study says
What questions do you have about mental health?
Seattle area gets first ‘clear’ day since late November
Traffic relief coming for more than 26,000 bus riders
Adults bully me because of my disability. Education could solve that.
Spokane among four metro areas primed for growth in next decade, according to Redfin
FBI takes on investigation into criminal allegations against former Wapato government officials
Editorial: Legislature should let former inmates vote (Dolan, Kuderer)
 
Spokesman Review
Bill would expand free lunches to all students in Washington schools where 62.5% already qualify (Riccelli)
Washington considers new agency to study firearm violence prevention, safety (Dhingra, Pedersen)
Bill would allow Washington to offer undocumented students college loans (Liias)
Spokane area needs more physicians treating opioid use disorder, providers say
Cellphone use fines could double while driving in school zone
Amazon ramps up hiring for new Spokane fulfillment center on the West Plains
Opinion: Shawn Vestal: Greater Idaho is a wonderful name for a bad idea
 
USA Today
Secession in the Pacific Northwest? Some Oregon residents petition to join Idaho
AG Barr has considered resigning over President Trump’s interference in Justice investigations
  
Walla Walla Union Bulletin (subscription required)
Editorial: Legislature wise to move slow in OKing sports gambling
Editorial: Corrections officers will benefit from fix in state law
 
Washington Post
Republicans in super-liberal Oregon are so fed up they want to become part of Idaho
Trump declares himself America’s ‘chief law enforcement officer’
Against wishes of Barr, Trump fires off more tweets about the Justice Department
Boston harbor brings ashore a new enemy: Rising seas
Trump’s clemency spree shows white-collar felons it’s more about who you know than what you did
How the coronavirus can kill people
Opinion: Republicans have unleashed an ethical monster
Opinion: William Barr’s America vs. reality in 2020
Opinion: Trump’s corruption will get worse. His own advisers just showed how.
China expels three Wall Street Journal reporters over opinion article written by academic
Barr blasts tech giants for dodging liability for harmful online content
Methane is a hard-hitting greenhouse gas. Now scientists say we’ve dramatically underestimated how much we’re emitting
The Technology 202: Meme-makers are newest frontier in Facebook’s political content debate
 
Whidbey News-Times
County gathering flood forms for FEMA
Growing Coupevilles from-scratch program
 
Yakima Herald Republic
Cody’s Law would require missing persons to be entered into federal database  (Goodman)
Other views: Facial recognition software takes personal invasion into a new dimension

Broadcast

KING5 TV (NBC)
King County wants to shoot fireworks to keep bald eagles from landfill
Boeing finds a new issue with 737 MAX, debris in fuel tanks
Bill could ban single-family zoning in Washington state (Das)
Deadline nearing for dozens of legislative bills
Trial begins in lawsuit over Susan Powell’s murdered sons
Family of Orcas Island man blames racial profiling for coronavirus quarantine
 
KIRO7 TV (CBS)
Trio of prescription cost bills pass off Washington Senate floor (Keiser)
Kennedy Catholic students walk out in protest after they say two openly gay teachers were forced out

KOMO4 TV (ABC)
State House approves bill protecting domestic workers
Trio of prescription cost bills pass in state Senate
Are crime bosses paying shoplifters to steal?
After 80 straight days of clouds, Seattle FINALLY has first sunny day of the decade
Boeing finds a new issue with Max jet, debris in fuel tanks

KNKX FM
80 million years in the making: Local kids hope Washington designates official dinosaur (Morgan)
Analysis: A look at what bills are still alive and what’s in trouble in the Legislature
 
KUOW FM
Canoeing to work: Floods bring chaos, renewal to Snoqualmie Valley
Barr Has Considered Resigning Over Trump’s Remarks
Food Fight: How 2 Trump Proposals Could Bite Into School Lunch
Seattle soda tax works in curbing consumption, study says
Health insurance industry lobbying pays off with key change to consumer-minded bill (Rolfes)
Trump Commutes Sentence Of Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich
Return to Svalbard: Earth’s icy food chain is about more than polar bears
How Warming Winters Are Affecting Everything
 
NW Public Radio
Lobbying Pays Off: Washington Health Insurers Benefit From Change To Consumer-Focused Bill (Rolfes)
Ah, Shuck: Oysters, Cherries, Other Northwest Ag Products Back Up As Coronavirus Quarantines Trade
 
Q13 TV (Fox)
Civil trial begins over deaths of Powell children
Crowd rallies outside Catholic high school in Burien after gay teachers resign
Barr has said he’s considered resigning over Trump’s interference in Justice Department matters, source says

Web

Crosscut
Washington considers banning disposable plastics in restaurants and grocery stores (Gregerson)
State of Seattle: Mayor Durkan emphasizes progress, not problems
Opinion: A ‘trail of ghosts’ in Seattle, 78 years after Japanese incarceration
 
MyNorthwest.com
Seattle council raises cap on sanctioned homeless camps, tiny home villages
Inside Washington state’s battle with big tech over privacy

Schmudget
The revenue forecast explained in GIFs (and one chart)
 
Seattle P.I.
Officials: 746 people in Washington being supervised due to coronavirus outbreak
Durkan on state of Seattle: ‘Strong and Resilient,’ but not without challenges
Protest at Catholic Archdiocese over ouster of gay Kennedy High teachers
 
Slog
Nikki Kuhnhausen Was Killed by Transphobia (Stanford, Wylie)
Seattle City Council Votes to Allow 40 Transitional Encampments in Seattle

Tacoma Ledger
Truth behind Northwest detention centers (Ortiz-Self, Saldaña)
 
UW Medicine Newsroom 
Patient supports $100 cap on insulin costs (Keiser)