Washington state spud farmers will be mashed by Trump’s tariffs, Sen. Murray warns
During President Donald Trump’s first term, Washington cherry growers took a big hit from tariffs that increased the cost of doing business with India. This time around, tariffs could devastate Washington potato farmers exporting their spuds to Japan, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray warned.
“I have talked to so many farmers in our state who are furious that Donald Trump cannot seem to grasp the basic fact that they actually rely on international markets,” Murray (D-Washington) said in a press release. “Trump doesn’t have a clue — and businesses in Washington state are already paying the price for his ignorance.”
Trump has said across-the-board tariffs will bring in billions of dollars. A statement from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said the agency has brought in $4.8 billion so far from tariffs imposed on China earlier this year.
In an interview in March, Trump told U.S. farmers, “Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural products to be sold inside of the United States.” He also advised them to “have fun.”
But Murray said there is nothing “fun” about the prospect of a tariff war for Washington’s agricultural industry, which relies heavily on international trade.
“He just slapped 24% tariffs on Japan, which is the largest export market for Washington potatoes,” Murray said. “Now, potato farmers are worried that they’ll lose access to Japan’s market over retaliatory tariffs. And they already lost access to China’s market in Trump’s first-term trade war.”
Washington state has one of the most trade-dependent economies of any state in the country, with approximately $60 billion in annual exports. Washington is the top U.S. producer of apples, blueberries, hops, pears, sweet cherries, and spearmint oil.
During Trump’s first term, India imposed a 20% retaliatory tariff on U.S. apples, which caused Washington apple shipments to India to fall by 99% and caused growers to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in exports.
Uncertainty for Washington's state land agency
Washington’s lands commissioner is crossing his fingers as legislative negotiators in Olympia develop the state’s next two-year budget.
Dave Upthegrove says the Senate has proposed keeping wildfire prevention and mitigation funding steady at its current $125 million over two years, while the House proposes to spend less.
“This is core basic government service. We hear the governor talk about public safety a lot. Well, this is public safety. It's about saving lives, protecting homes. The money is spent efficiently and effectively here on the ground to keep people safe," he said.
The commissioner, who has been in office for three months, is in Spokane today to meet with staff from the Department of Natural Resources.
Upthegrove has mixed feelings about how attempts to cut federal spending will trickle down to Washington state land management.
He says he’s not sure whether the state’s $200 million in annual federal grant money will be continued. He’s also worried about how layoffs within the Forest Service will affect joint federal-state projects.
But the commissioner says he’s cautiously optimistic because the administration has talked about doing more work to treat federal lands to protect them from wildfire.
“A lot of what we've done in the past with the U.S. Forest Service is actual restoration work. We go out and restore habitat along streams and take out culverts. So those kinds of projects can really be beneficial to our state. And if we have an opportunity to do more of that, that's a good thing," he said.
Upthegrove says his agency expects to be able to maintain past firefighting staffing and equipment levels as the state heads into the peak of wildfire season.
Ferguson names Fish and Wildlife Commissioners after pulling Inslee nominees
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has put forward his new nominees for the Fish and Wildlife Commission
This comes after withdrawing the candidates nominated by outgoing governor Jay Inslee.
Two of the nominees, Molly Linville and Jim Anderson, have already served on the commission, while Victor Garcia would be a new face.
Linville is a Douglas County rancher and farmer who previously worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a wildlife biologist and a wildlife refuge manager. She’ll serve as one of the Eastern Washington representatives on the panel.
Anderson previously worked with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. Garcia has worked as a science educator, commercial fisher and a field biologist.
The commission has faced scrutiny and some have even called for its disbandment after a highly critical report that called the organization “dysfunctional.” It also raised concerns over limited accountability and a lack of clarity in the commission’s relationship with tribes.
Upon taking office, Ferguson asked the Washington Senate to allow him to withdraw Inslee’s nominees in light of the report. Neither one of Inslee's choices was picked for Ferguson’s list of nominees.
However, the labor union that represents most Fish and Wildlife employees previously sent a letter supporting one of Inslee’s commissioner candidates, Tim Ragen.
The union wrote that Ragen was one of the few commissioners who had engaged with the union over their concerns about workplace safety and two recent on-the-job deaths by WDFW employees.
Union President Candace Hultberg told SPR that the union hopes the appointees focus on staff safety.
In an email to SPR, the governor’s office said they used an extensive interview process to evaluate all 14 candidates under consideration but declined to comment further.
Appointees are subject to state senate confirmation, but Ferguson’s new appointees will serve on the commission while they await those votes.
Baumgartner targets college sports with new bill
U.S. Representative Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane) says he wants to bring stability to the nation's college athletic system.
On Monday, the day of the men’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college basketball final, the Spokane Republican introduced his Restore College Sports Act.
“Because college sports is on a downward trajectory and the magic of what used to make it special is gone. Now the House v. NCAA settlement will unleash even more chaos with no plan to protect small schools, Olympic sports or competitive balance," Baumgartner said Monday night on the floor of the House of Representatives.
This week, U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken held a hearing as she decides whether to approve the settlement in the House v. NCAA case. The case could lead to major changes in how college athletes are compensated for use of their names, images and likeness.
Baumgartner's bill would abolish the NCAA and create a task force to write new rules to govern how college athletes should be compensated.
He wants a revenue sharing system that distributes money to all athletes, not just the best players in the most lucrative sports.
Baumgartner has also proposed that schools be organized into geographic regional conferences so that athletes and coaches don’t have to fly coast-to-coast to play teams in their own leagues.
Jury orders care provider to pay amputee for delaying his treatment
The company that provides health care for the Spokane County jail and other jails in Washington and Oregon is the subject of a new jury verdict.
NaphCare will have to pay $25 million to a man whose leg was amputated after being in custody.
According to his attorneys, Javier Tapia was an unremarkable inmate during his first three months in the Pierce County jail. He was arrested in 2018 for car theft, and was being held while he waited for trial
But when he began experiencing blood clotting in his left leg, corrections deputies and county staff said he became nonverbal, withdrawn and visibly pained.
Despite their notes in his medical charts, Tapia's attorneys said that the health care provider NaphCare delayed in giving him a physical examination.
On Friday, a jury awarded Tapia $5 million for his physical damages and another $20 million for punitive damages.
NaphCare provides health care in 49 states, according to its website. Company officials said they disagreed with the jury's finding and plan to file an appeal.
The company's contract at the Spokane County Jail was extended earlier this year for three years. In Washington, it operates under a nonprofit called Everhealth.
- - -
Reporting contributed by Joshua McNichols, Doug Nadvornick, Owen Henderson and Troy Brynelson.