WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Friday, May 15

Marc Rockov of Mill Creek found his identity had been stolen and used to file an unemployment claim, and payments have been sent to the impostor’s bank account. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)

Washington halts unemployment payments for 2 days after finding $1.6 million in fraudulent claims amid coronavirus pandemic
Washington state officials said Thursday they’re stopping unemployment payments for two days while they attempt to block a gush of fraudulent claims aimed at stealing some of the billions of dollars that Congress directed to workers left jobless amid the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Steve Ringman)


Gov. Jay Inslee has vetoed dozens of items in the state budget to reduce spending by about $445 million through mid-2023. THE OLYMPIAN

House Democrats’ plan would give billions to Washington state. How would money be spent?
Washington’s state and local governments’ ailing budgets would get billions of dollars in aid under a massive coronavirus relief package due for a U.S. House vote Friday. The plan fashioned by House Democrats would provide an estimated $10.8 billion to the state government, roughly half within 30 days of enactment and the rest within the next 12 months. Continue reading at The Olympian.


Alex Palma, a striking Matson Fruit employee, waves a Familias Unidas por la Jusicia flag in front of Columbia Reach Pack on Thursday, May 14, 2020, in Yakima, Wash. Palma was part of a caravan of hundreds of workers from Columbia Reach Pack, Jack Frost, Matson, Monson, Hansen, and Allan Bros. that traveled between the protests happening in front of the warehouses. Evan Abell/Yakima Herald Republic

Thursday sees 7th strike by Yakima Valley farmworkers protesting conditions during COVID-19 pandemic
Workers at Columbia Reach Pack and Hansen Fruit and Cold Storage Co. in Yakima walked out Thursday morning to protest their working conditions. They held signs asking employers for better COVID-19 safety measures, 6 feet of social distancing in the workplace, and protection from retaliation for protesting. They also want Columbia Reach to provide a hazard pay increase of $2 an hour. Continue reading at The Yakima Herald. (Evan Abell)


Print

Associated Press
Washington’s unemployment system sees a spike in impostors
Rep. Matt Shea fined for damaging Capitol steps with oil
Trump administration ease rules limiting truck driver hours
National Guard helps hand out free potatoes in Tacoma
US stock indexes are mostly lower on weak retail sales data
Dems push $3T coronavirus relief bill toward House vote
NIH director: Large-scale vaccine testing expected by July
Tensions rise as Texas governor readies to lift more rules
Aircraft to spray invasive moths in northwest Washington
Official: Busy wildfire season will be impacted by pandemic
Portland, Oregon, homeless tax tests voter mood in pandemic
Agriculture workers strike in Yakima County over coronavirus
Jail employee accused in plot to smuggle drugs to inmates
Carnival to lay off hundreds in Florida, other states
Holland America announces layoffs, furloughs for all staff
Some ag workers walk off job in Yakima County over COVID-19
University of Washington staff rally for better protections
Rep. Matt Shea fined for damaging Capitol steps with oil

Bellingham Herald (subscription required)
Inslee gathers business leaders to talk about phased efforts to reopen       
Washington hospital leaders say don’t delay getting necessary health care       
Washington state reports 261 new COVID-19 cases and 8 deaths Thursday
Watch: Washington Gov. Inslee, industry leaders on reopening retail, auto, hospitality       
As Ferndale’s Intalco smelter nears curtailment, chances of saving it look bleak
Medal of Honor recipient from Puyallup dies after battle with lung cancer
Coronavirus updates: Inslee issues personal services guidelines for Phase 2
Whatcom health department has reported 943 negative COVID-19 tests in past 2 days
Troopers seek scammer who pressures drivers to swap cash for fake gold jewelry
Opinion: Hardworking young people are building our future. Don’t leave them out of COVID relief

Capital Press
Early odds tilt slightly toward winter La Nina

Everett Herald (subscription required)
Quarantini time! New state rule allows cocktails to-go
Snohomish County jail employee suspected of drug smuggling
Alaska Airlines cuts Paine Field departures to one per day
Inslee changes course, says diners won’t have to sign in
Editorial: Lawsuits not path to reopening state’s economy
 
Islands’ Weekly
Drop in vaccination leaves children vulnerable to other diseases

Issaquah Reporter
King County loses second most clean energy jobs in nation

Kitsap Sun (subscription required)
Tons of taters: Kitsap food banks take in potatoes from Washington farmers
COVID-19 closed the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort for weeks. It’ll reopen Monday.
Pentagon looks to train, deploy combat units with ‘social distancing protocols in place’

News Tribune (subscription required)
It’ll take more than a pandemic to crush Tacoma’s hot housing market, brokers say
Emerald Queen Casino in Fife reopening next week; new I-5 site to open in June
Pierce County sees 25 new COVID-19 cases, two new deaths

New York Times
DeVos funnels coronavirus relief funds to favored private and religious schools

Olympian (subscription required)
Washington hospital leaders say don’t delay getting necessary health care
Washington state reports 261 new COVID-19 cases and 8 deaths Thursday
Thurston County retailers are reopening for business — curbside, that is
Child care might be harder to find after COVID-19. Will that hurt economic recovery?
Lacey City Council awards community development block grants to 7 nonprofit
Inslee gathers business leaders to talk about phased efforts to reopen
House Democrats’ plan would give billions to Washington state. How would money be spent?
Op-Ed: The bankrupt agenda of the GOP congressional leadership

Peninsula Daily News
Portions of Olympic National Park reopen today
COVID-19 cases rise to 50 on Olympic Peninsula

Puget Sound Business Journal
As unemployment claims rise, Washington business owners brace for long recovery
PPP fixes and tax breaks. Here’s what’s in the HEROES Act for small business
Opinion: A PPP lesson: Nation’s unemployment benefits should not be for everyone

Seattle Times (subscription required)
Antibody test results of 2 Snohomish County residents throw into question timeline of coronavirus’s U.S. arrival
As reopening continues amid coronavirus, Inslee says he’ll be confident going to a restaurant, but concerned about open casinos
Washington halts unemployment payments for 2 days after finding $1.6 million in fraudulent claims amid coronavirus pandemic
Seattle-based digital real estate firms Porch.com, Redfin are each hit with lawsuits 
Talton: Reopening blues: Don’t count on a quick recovery
After son’s shooting death in Rainier Beach, mother calls for community action
‘I don’t feel like it’s even Ramadan’: Washington’s Muslim community adapts to staying at home during holy month
More tribal casinos opening in Washington state, with coronavirus precautions
Washington’s busy wildfire season will be impacted by coronavirus pandemic
Seattle-based Holland America Line lays off 2,000 layoffs, makes other cuts as coronavirus halts cruises
LA Times: Panicked over ‘murder hornets,’ people are killing native bees we desperately need
Op-ed: I am a nurse, a DACA recipient, and I belong in this country
Op-ed: Washingtonians are going hungry — please help emergency-food fund

Skagit Valley Herald
5-15 Master Gardeners put resources online for growing food
Rules put in place for farmworker housing
Motel voucher funding runs out
Highway 20 over North Cascades opens

Snoqualmie Valley Record
King County loses second most clean energy jobs in nation

Spokesman Review
Shea billed $4,700 for olive oil poured on Capitol steps in response to Satanist demonstration
‘Everybody sticks together’ in Garfield County, but they’ve stayed apart enough to reopen without a virus case
‘It’s going to be a learning curve’: Lincoln County businesses prep to reopen ahead of most of state
Jobless claims up in Washington; so are fraudulent claims
University of Washington Medicine staff rally for better protections
Spokane County denied variance to move early to next phase of reopening; leaders hopeful for clearance next week
Opinion: Food supply chain links all of us

Tri-City Herald
170 Tri-Cities area warehouse workers will lose their jobs. COVID-19 is partly to blame
New $13 billion contract awarded for Hanford tank farm cleanup
Pasco schools moving graduation to August because of coronavirus
Kennewick farmers market to open. And free McDonald’s fries
71 Tri-Citians have now died of coronavirus. Two new deaths reported
Op-Ed: Coronavirus has beef producers around the world back on their heels and hooves

Walla Walla Union Bulletin (subscription required)
Editorial: Sadly, scoundrels and miscreants using coronavirus fear to run scams

Washington Post
More people are flying again. Here’s what to expect at airports and on planes.
CDC offers few guidelines for reopening safely
Wondering what’s safe as states start to reopen? Here’s what some public health experts say.
A noose, an ax and Trump-inspired insults: Anti-lockdown protesters ratchet up violent rhetoric
Retail sales plunged 16.4% in April, a record decline
Colleges push ideas for fall return. But some fear making the crisis worse.
A majority of Americans going to work fear exposing their household to virus, poll finds
Editorial: The virus spreads in close quarters. That should factor into reopening decisions.
Op-ed: States have taken the lead in fighting the coronavirus. Now we need aid.
Trump expresses anger that his China trade deal is off to a rocky start
Democrats scrutinize State Dept. plan to overhaul Social Security
In remote Alaska, changes coming in how the Air Force prepares for war
North Dakota businesses dominated the PPP. Their secret weapon? A century-old bank founded by radical progressives.

Yakima Herald Republic
Thursday sees 7th strike by Yakima Valley farmworkers protesting conditions during COVID-19 pandemic
Yakima County commissioners seek more local control of business reopening
Yakima County COVID-19 cases increase by 65; four more deaths
Yakima County first-time unemployment claims increase 8% from prior week
Kittitas County won’t receive variance to open businesses now, but application remains active

Broadcast

KING5 TV (NBC)
Gov. Inslee can’t guarantee Washington will enter Phase 2 of reopening on June 1
Large-scale vaccine testing expected by July, NIH director says
Real-time updates: Another $1,200 included in new stimulus as unemployment rises
Seattle healthcare workers will be among the first to eat this season’s Copper River salmon

KIRO7 TV (CBS)
Washington hospitals urge people not to delay care because of COVID-19 concerns
Copper River salmon arrives, but fanfare exchanged for focus on health care workers
Beekeepers worried hives are being destroyed due to murder hornet fear
State pauses unemployment payments to deal with fraudsters
FDA halts COVID-19 in-home test kits in Seattle
Coronavirus: Inslee issues Phase 2 rules for salons, offices
Couple reunited after both survived COVID-19
SDOT to start installing temporary curbside priority pick-up zones for retail shops
Police warn of contact tracing scams in Washington

KOMO4 TV (ABC)
King Co. records no new coronavirus deaths for first time in over 2 months
Retailers making safety changes to reopen during Phase 2
Washington lottery sales skyrocket amid COVID-19 entertainment doldrums
More Washington casinos re-opening against Governor Inslee’s wishes
State to pause unemployment benefit payments this week amid fraud probe
Washington State hospitals urge patients to continue to seek care

KNKX FM
Like A Scene Out of ‘Mad Max’: Washington And Oregon State Parks Struggle To Address Crowds

KUOW FM
Working at a Seattle grocery store amid a pandemic: ‘They’re counting on us to deliver the goods’
What makes a neighborhood special and sustainable during a pandemic?
Now serving: masks.
CDC Issues Decision Tools To Guide Reopening Of Schools, Businesses, Transit
What are you smoking? Clearing the air about cannabis
We’d love to share a bus ride with Mayor Durkan
Online Pharmacy Saw A ‘Panic-Driven’ Boom In Drug Touted By Trump
Trump Names Leaders Of ‘Operation Warp Speed’ Vaccine Effort
Court Allows Emoluments Case Against Trump Over D.C. Hotel To Proceed
What You Need To Know About The Flynn, Biden And ‘Unmasking’ Story 

Q13 TV (Fox)
Unemployment fraud continues to spike, following $1.6 million paid last month to impostors
UW Medicine employees demonstrate for increased COVID-19 protection
Companies of all sizes struggling to pay rent
Emerald Queen Casino to reopen Monday, May 18
Rep. Matt Shea fined for damaging Capitol steps with oil

Web

Slog
Sawant Will Discuss Tax Amazon Package in Her Own Committee
Opinion: What Will Really Make Jeff Bezos a Trillionaire Is Seattle’s Commitment to Long-Term Lockdown
Lawmaker Calls for an Immediate Audit of State Filing and Voter Registration System (Tarleton)