The Morning Briefing – August 06, 2018

Don’t forget to vote. Ballots are due tomorrow.

Happening in Olympia

A Thurston County Superior Court judge dismissed the Eyman v. Davidson case, in which Eyman argued Democrats unconstitutionally diverted money from the “Rainy Day Fund” this last legislative session. Despite historic sums of additional revenue, Senate Democrats chose to raid budget reserves using what Senator John Braun (R-Centralia) called a “felony budget gimmick.” (Washington State Wire)

Gov. Jay Inslee appeared on ABC’s This Week yesterday to talk about an “unhinged narcissist.” But it turns out he didn’t mean himself. (ABC News)

Western Washington

Privacy concerns over future facial recognition technology may be hurting the levy vote for King County’s automated fingerprinting system. “This addendum only talks about what might be possible in the future,” King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht told KIRO 97.3’s Jason Rantz. “Our current system has no ability to do facial recognition, and there are no plans to do it. The only place it may come into – and this has nothing to do with the average citizen – is with those booking photos we have in multiple systems from different jails across King County.” (My Northwest)

Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday after undisclosed allegations against him prompted a criminal investigation, the city said. “Whenever there is a criminal investigation underway involving a police department employee, it is our policy to place the employee on administrative leave,” Bellevue’s City Manager Brad Miyake said in the statement. Bothell Police are handling the investigation. (Seattle Times)

Eastern Washington

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers might be in one of her most competitive races since winning the seat in 2004. McMorris Rodgers said she believes her campaign’s message about opponent Lisa Brown’s record of voting for tax increases will resonate with voters. But she admitted it’s tough to predict how Tuesday’s election might go. “It’s difficult to predict, because of voter turnout, and obviously it’s summer and the election isn’t on everyone’s minds,” she said. (The Spokesman-Review)

An Energy Northwest subcontractor, Crane Nuclear, was ordered to pay more than $1 million in back wages to workers it employed at the nuclear power plant near Richland. Four investigations showed the Georgia-based firm failed to pay Benton County’s prevailing wages. (Tri-City Herald)

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