Seattle Times

Media coverage of the 2020 Democratic presidential campaigns began in earnest well over a year ago — but it is not providing citizens with the news and information we need in order to cast informed ballots. We are two former Federal Communications Commission chairmen who believe one critical issue the media is avoiding is … the media itself. The high level of consolidation and corporatization that exists in the industry today speaks to media’s lack of interest in addressing the current shortfall in our news and information.

When Seattle librarians visited the gated cluster of tents and tiny houses that make up Camp Second Chance in White Center, they brought Star Wars comics, Dean Koontz books and Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild” for homeless campers to check out. But the most popular item was­n’t a book. It was a Wi-Fi hotspot in a lockbox with a combination.

Seattle (WA) Mayor Ed Murray has directed that curbs be imposed on internet providers to protect customers’ data privacy. Under a new rule scheduled to take effect May 24, the three companies that have cable franchise agreements with the city must get customer permission if they want to sell personal information or web browsing details.

The city privacy protections come after President Donald Trump signed a bill in April rolling back upcoming federal measures that would have stopped internet companies from collecting and selling customer information without permission. “Where the Trump administration continues to roll back critical consumer protections, Seattle will act,” Murray said.

Washington State Sen Don Benton (R-Vancouver) is weighing a new “litter fee” that would apply only to The Columbian and cost the newspaper $150,000 a year. The Columbian reports the fee is one of several ideas floated by Benton’s environmental services department to pay for a costly settlement the county incurred for violations of the Clean Water Act. Other options include fee increases to homeowners and owners of private roads. The $150,000 annual fee would apply to “daily newspapers that are produced and distributed in Clark County with a circulation of more than 28,500. Only The Columbian meets those parameters,” the paper notes. Sen Benton claimed the newspaper is among the “top five” polluters, but the county’s public works director told the Columbian he wasn’t aware of newspapers being a problem. The city attorney added the litter fee may not be legal.