WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Monday, Sept. 27

Washington to start offering COVID booster shots immediately
The Washington state Department of Health said Friday it will immediately start offering booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to certain people. The move comes after recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices, and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, officials said in a news release. Continue reading at The Associated Press.


WA Dept of Health asks for retirees, volunteers to help fill hospital staffing shortage
Local hospitals claim they’re struggling because of nurse burnout. Earlier this week, Governor Jay Inslee called for federal help because of the growing number of COVID-19 patients. The Washington State Department of Health is also now asking for retirees and volunteers to help fill staffing shortages. Continue reading at KOMO News.


Thirty-one new Washington state troopers are sworn in.

Washington State Patrol’s hiring under fire as agency failed to diversify over decades
The Washington State Patrol is as vastly white today as it was nearly 20 years ago, before the agency’s first Black chief took charge. Throughout that time, the WSP has struggled not just to diversify its ranks, but to recruit and hire enough “warm bodies” — in the words of the chief — to fill its open trooper positions. A stage late in the hiring process has been repeatedly targeted as a problem: the psychological evaluation. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Alan Berner)


Print

Associated Press
Washington to start offering COVID booster shots immediately
Tribe wins major step toward resuming whaling off Washington
Jury orders city of Roy to pay $3.26M to men shot by police
Former WA employee charged with stealing unemployment funds
Groups want Seattle police at Jan. 6 events in DC identified

Aberdeen Daily World
‘The system is overwhelmed:’ fifth wave stretches hospitals, EMS thin
Frustration shows during homeless discussion at Aberdeen council meeting

Auburn Reporter
Seattle Children’s Hospital identifies racial disparities in infections, security response
Supporters of police reform laws disagree with Auburn’s response (Johnson)
Opinion: Can a Texas-style abortion law happen in Washington?

Bellingham Herald
WCC gets national recognition for this program that could boost local economy
Whatcom approved as refugee resettlement site. Here’s how to help
Whatcom County’s COVID-19 infection rate moves back above 500, as fifth surge continues

Courier-Herald
Enumclaw council returns to full force, but without masks as city breaks COVID records
Letter: Powering the future and doing away with landfills

The Daily News
One year after fire, Trapper Creek Wilderness reopening, regrowing

Everett Herald
Everett Community College clears student debt from pandemic
Bothell clinic helps kids exposed to drugs and alcohol
Volunteers needed to help guide future of Everett light rail
Everett considers gender-neutral terms for municipal code
What we know: Washington coronavirus outbreak at a glance
Union carpenters picket at Marysville and Everett projects
Arlington wants to close motel, center of ‘criminal activity’
Bloomberg Comment: Court’s opening of libel door bruises free speech
WaPo Comment: Reckoning with history of Indian boarding schools
WaPo Comment: GOP counts on public not understanding debt limit
WaPo Comment: Fact Check: McCarthy misleads on debt ceiling responsibility
WaPo Comment: Negotiating drug prices won’t hurt innovation
Comment: County farmland holds signs of devastating tsunami
Comment: The pandemic proved the need for broadband access. A bill before the House can deliver that lifeline.
Editorial: Getting to the truth of Tulalip boarding school
Editorial: Students, economy need boost of free college

International Examiner
COVID-19 in 2020: One year under the shadow of the pandemic

Kitsap Sun
Kitsap County’s COVID cases fall 24.8%; Washington state cases plummet 14.2%

New York Times
Biden’s agenda faces a make-or-break week as Democrats race to avert a government shutdown.
The Economy Looks Solid. But These Are the Big Risks Ahead.
Pelosi Announces Vote on $1 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

Peninsula Daily News
Clallam Bay Corrections cases among inmates, staff
State to start offering COVID booster shots
Forecast: State revenue up nearly $1 billion

Puget Sound Business Journal
T’wina Nobles: ‘Black people are leading transformative work, and we should all support their efforts’  (Nobles)
Report: SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program lending grew more diverse over time
SBA announces more awards through Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program
If interest rates rise in 2022, could that tamp down the U.S. housing market?

Seattle Medium
Strickland Secures House Passage Of Over 20 Provisions To Support Military Families & Servicemembers
City Of Seattle Makes Investments Towards Minority Homeownership

Seattle Times
WSP trooper whose work was key to investigation of 2017 DuPont Amtrak derailment dies from COVID
Light rail ready to open at Northgate, transforming more than just commutes
Contrasting coverage of Gabby Petito case and missing and murdered Indigenous people shows ‘absolute injustice’
Should foster youth age out at 21? This week’s cutoff of pandemic relief money again raises the question
Washington State Patrol’s hiring under fire as agency failed to diversify over decades (Lovick, Van De Wege)
Opinion: As the Elwha rushes back to life, hope for river restoration nationwide

Skagit Valley Herald
Police body cameras to become the norm by Jan. 1
Skagit County records 398 new COVID-19 cases for the week
Eviction mediation program comes to Skagit County

Tri-City Herald
‘Failed obligation.’ WA Gov. Inslee implores feds to halt appeal of ill Hanford worker law

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber
Breaking news: Vashon fire chief, who objected to mandate, gets vaccinated

Walla Walla Union Bulletin
Walla Walla school district giving over 100 COVID-19 tests per week
Blue Mountain Action Council prepares for ‘crisis’ when utility moratorium ends next week
Flu shot clinics scheduled for Walla Walla-area veterans

Washington Post
Senate Republicans prepare to block measure to fund government, stave off U.S. default
Supreme Court observers see trouble ahead as public approval of justices erodes
With overdose deaths soaring, DEA issues warning about fentanyl-laced pills
Today’s kids will live through three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents, study says

Yakima Herald Republic
Apple harvest off to good start in Central Washington
Letter: Anti-abortion, anti-vax views don’t square with science
Letter: Whitewashing history helps build dictatorships

Broadcast

KING5 TV (NBC)
‘We are on a razor’s edge’: Hospitals nearing crisis standards with staff burnout, abuse from patients
DEA issues warning for fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and meth
Snohomish County works to end youth suicide with newly formed task force
Makah Tribe wins legal battle in Seattle over whale hunting rights
VERIFY Weekly: Rising sea levels

KIRO7 TV (CBS)
Pfizer in late-stage trials of pill that fights COVID-19 infections
Facebook puts Instagram for kids on hold after pushback
Longtime landlord takes out full-page ad to decry eviction moratorium
Tribe wins major step toward resuming whaling off Washington
Pfizer booster shots becoming available after new guidance
COVID-19 outbreak prompts Eatonville school to return to fully remote learning

KOMO4 TV (ABC)
The Pulse of Seattle: KOMO News poll finds city residents want new direction
WA Dept of Health asks for retirees, volunteers to help fill hospital staffing shortage
Community activists at odds with Seattle car dealership over encampment

KNKX FM
Washington Medical Commission can now discipline doctors who spread COVID-19 misinformation

KUOW FM
Pandemic blog: Updates for Seattle and the NW
There’s algae in the water, Covid boosters being approved, and a monumental equipment sale, this week
Three low-income housing apartments to open on Capitol Hill
NW conservation groups push for infrastructure package ahead of U.S. House vote

Q13 TV (Fox)
Rare access: A look inside Harborview Medical’s somber COVID-19 ICU
‘People are running on fumes:’ Washington faces nursing shortage among record-high COVID hospitalizations

Web

Crosscut
Remote work affects microaggressions for some WA employees
Opinion: A new book puts homelessness at the center of Seattle history

MyNorthwest
Seattle-area carpenters return to picketing Monday, set to bargain this week
Pfizer COVID vaccine booster available for certain individuals in Washington
Puget Sound region should expect unstable weather as cold air moves in
Seattle business attempts to clear homeless camp, backtracks after advocates step in
‘Tough few weeks ahead’ as state’s hospitals continue to struggle with flood of COVID patients
Eatonville school goes back to virtual learning over COVID outbreak
Permits indicate Amazon is behind planned warehouse in Bothell, despite denial from county
Washington hospitals lacking in monoclonal antibody treatment
Seattle reaches agreement with labor groups on vaccine mandate, still no deal with police union
Bipartisan group of state lawmakers ask Gov. Inslee to pause long-term care insurance tax