Texts Point to Possible Delay in Washington Shooting News Conference | The States

Former Seattle Police Chief Sean Barnes resigned following communication breakdowns after a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle Festival left three dead, with public records showing a five-hour delay before officials held a press conference. Text messages obtained by The Center Square show Washington Governor Bob Ferguson was not responsible for the delay, while reporting also revealed Barnes doesn't live in Washington state and received a $700,000+ severance package on top of a $300,000+ salary. Also, in this episode: A Legislative Inspector General report found former Democratic state Rep. Harry Benton committed two founded acts of sexual harassment, including incidents at bars in Springfield and Chicago, though most other allegations were ruled unfounded due to statute-of-limitations or scope issues. House Speaker Chris Welch said his office followed proper procedure, but Republican Leader Tony McCombie and Democratic Rep. Kelly Cassidy both called for accountability, with Cassidy specifically accusing Welch of his own misconduct toward a former intern. California Governor Gavin Newsom has solicited more than $340 million in "behested payments" since 2019 from corporations, unions, and tribes to third-party nonprofits, including $32 million from Facebook and $21 million from Blue Shield, the latter of which later received a $15 million no-bid COVID vaccine contract. These payments are legal, lightly regulated, and unlimited in size, unlike capped campaign contributions, and California's Fair Political Practices Commission only checks that disclosure forms are filed on time, not whether the payments raise conflicts of interest. Orphe Divounguy analyzes last week's Federal Reserve decision to hold interest rates flat and what that means for consumers. Plus, America's Talking: Arizona and Nevada opposed a federal Colorado River water-reduction plan affecting 40 million people. A Georgia congressman revived a bill to bar witnesses who plead the Fifth before Congress, prompted by Anthony Fauci's testimony, from future government employment. A new Louisiana law bans retail debit card surcharges. 31 states have opted into the federal Education Freedom Scholarship tax-credit program while 19 states plus D.C., including Illinois and Pennsylvania, have not. The States delivers taxpayer-focused reporting from around America, powered by The Center Square. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.