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Washington governor tells agencies to prepare for budget shortfalls, SpaceX IPO nearly 4x oversubscribed, Frontier airlines offering Boise to Vegas route, Seattle blocks news data centers, billionaire Todd Boehly enters bid for Seahawks, Oregon’s Tillamook snack brand acquired, DOJ labels EEOC hiring guidelines unconstitutional, US Strikes Iran again.
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PNW Market Look
As of market close 6.9.26
SpaceX IPO explained: The price is set, but retail allocation still up in the air (CNBC)
Headline Roundup
Bellevue firm said no to layoffs for decades. Now it’s cutting 230 jobs (ST)
Costco lowers some Kirkland prices after customers complain: "They’ve become too expensive" (F13)
What to know about the negotiations, and how the public can get involved. (OPB)
Spokane Tribe pays over $53M for 200 Everett units, to remain affordable (DJC)
WA governor’s office warns agencies to prepare for ‘significant budget shortfalls’ (KUOW)
Low-cost airline to offer direct flights from Boise to Las Vegas (IDP)
Seattle passes moratorium on new data centers amid national backlash (ST)
Seahawks could have new bidder in financier Todd Boehly, report says (ST)
Tillamook County snack brand acquired by national portfolio (PBJ)
Portland medical device maker acquired by Novanta for $1.2B (PBJ)
DOJ finds EEOC guidelines on workplace discrimination unconstitutional (Ground)
Missoula City Council approves $9.7 million water building renovation (Missoulian)
Seattle's Crocodile club exits receivership amid sale to new owner (PBJ)
A Message from G.A. Rogers
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Community Highlight
“Organizations sought nearly $950,000 in funding this year. An independent review commission recommended awards, which were approved by Visit Bend’s board of directors.
The largest grants, $29,000 each, went to BendFilm, the High Desert Museum and the Tower Theatre Foundation. Other funded projects include TEDxBend, Winter PrideFest and the Bend Fall Festival.
Visit Bend said the program is designed to increase participation in cultural events and encourage travel during shoulder seasons, helping support local businesses outside peak tourism periods.
Now in its 11th year, the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund has awarded more than $2.8 million to 155 projects since 2015. This year’s recipients include 13 returning organizations and nine first-time grantees.”
Rip’s Spotlight
WA’s controversial new drug pricing law upheld amid legal challenge (WSS)
“Established in 1992, the 340B program requires drug makers to give certain safety-net providers, like those in rural areas or that disproportionately serve low-income patients, hefty discounts on outpatient drugs. Those providers, many of which operate on very thin margins, can then bill insurers for the prescriptions at higher market rates. Pharmaceutical companies have to participate in the program to have their medications covered by Medicaid and Medicare.
While obscure to many outside of the health care arena, billions of dollars worth of pharmaceutical drugs flow to patients under the 340B program each year. The program’s setup helps to bolster the finances of some hospitals.
Susan Cook, an attorney for Novartis, said that health care providers sometimes use the revenue for expenses that don’t have to do directly with care, like deals for sports facility naming rights or construction of luxury apartment complexes.
This aspect of the 340B program has grown rapidly in recent years, and is a central sticking point with the law. After the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, many more providers qualified to participate in 340B. In 2024, these hospitals and clinics bought $81.4 billion in outpatient drugs under the federal program, up from $44 billion just three years earlier.
Manufacturers have pushed to restrict the contract pharmacy practice, which they see as the key to abusing the federal program.
Like other states, Washington is seeking to prohibit drug manufacturers from limiting the use of contract pharmacies in the 340B program. Similar laws passed in other states in recent years have largely been upheld. “
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