The Sunday Lookout

The Sunday Lookout, 8/16/2026

First up today, we’ll take a look at the ongoing issues surrounding the detention center in Tacoma, and explain why the federal government might be about the buy it.

Then we’ll dive into some politics borne out of the Spokane fires, and how even terrible personal situations can lead to bouts of political theatre.

After that I’ll tell you why Grays Harbor County was just fined $70,000 for a public records request violation, and how the auditor’s election interference came back to bite him.

Next, we’ll take a closer look at Trump’s order on childhood vaccines and what it means, and doesn’t mean, for the health of children here in Washington.

And finally, we’ll end in Centralia where yet another bit of controversial growth management is sparking some questions about timing and motivation.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 8/9/2026

We’ll start with the fires in Spokane, which are now the most destructive in state history, and the funding decisions that made them worse.

Then we’ll head down the road to the Port of Centralia, which just banned immigrant detention centers on port property, and I’ll walk you through what that actually does and where it stops.

After that, the Post Office announced another two and a half billion dollar loss, and I want to talk about the trap we built for it, and what it has to do with the ballot you just turned in.

Then to D.C., where in one week the Senate voted to prosecute Anthony Fauci and confirmed Todd Blanche as Attorney General.

And we’ll close with a proposed rule that quietly deletes eighty percent of the Head Start rulebook, and what you can do about it before October.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 8/2/2026

We’ll start this week with an unprecedented fire danger warning coupled with a state of emergency from Governor Ferguson. Some people are still saying we’re not in a drought. I’ll explain why they’re wrong, and why it doesn’t really matter.

Next, we’ll talk about the funding trouble at Hope Alliance and how the Trump Administration drained the fund that’s supposed to support it by allowing Wall Street criminals to get off scot free. In fact, in some cases, he gave them refunds. I’ll tell you what that’s about.

Then we’ll talk about a 45 year old state program that is at risk of ending at the end of this month. Parents of kids with developmental disabilities and autism are fighting to save it while the state lets the clock tick.

After that we’ll head east to Grant County where citizens clocked a win against a company trying to pollute their air with AI Data Center generators. I’ll explain how they did it, and why the fight about this sort of thing is just beginning.

And lastly, for some good news, we’ll talk about the new Chehalis Grain Terminal project that opened in June and why it’s an excellent example of local development done correctly and for the right reasons.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 7/26/2026

We're going to start in Centralia, where the city council voted to move forward with the warehouse development process at the port. I’ll break down what the vote means and what still need some scrutiny.

Then we'll head to Green Hill School in Chehalis, where a state audit just found that fights and assaults quadrupled in two years and that nearly half the staff quit within twelve months of getting hired. That's a justice story, but it's also a Lewis County jobs story.

After that we'll go to Olympia, where two former Democratic governors have decided to publicly torch their own party over spending. One of them is just repeating GOP talking points, but the other one is actually making a good point.

Then to Washington, D.C., where the Trump administration just quietly rewrote one word in the Endangered Species Act and I want to talk about what it means for us now that it's gone.

And we'll close right here at home with the news that Cole Meckle, the pastor of Gather Church, is in hospice care in Tacoma after being diagnosed with terminal cancer two months ago. He deserves every nice word we can say about him, so I’ve got a few of my own.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 7/19/2026

We’ll start this week just down the Chehalis River, where the EPA is finally forcing a reckoning at a defunct pulp mill that’s been leaking corrosive chemicals for years. The owner is still being defiant, and now is announcing plans to build a data center.

Then we’ll head to Washington, DC, where a genuinely big bipartisan housing bill just became law, even though the president refused to sign it. We’ll get into what’s actually in it, especially for rural communities like ours.

After that, we’ll go to King County, where a trial just kicked off against Albertsons over its role in the opioid crisis. The case seems cut and dry to me, but Albertsons is trying to get out of it anyway.

Then we’ll head to Olympia, where the Governor wants FAFSA completion to become a graduation requirement. I’ll tell you why I support that, but also why I think the pitch is missing half the story.

And we’ll close right here at home, where Onalaska is about to become the second district in Lewis County to move to a four-day school week. There’s pros and cons there, so I’ll lay both out.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 7/12/2026

We'll start close to home with the Lewis County sheriff's saga, because it took another turn this week. Sheriff Rob Snaza has now asked the FBI, the DEA, and the state to investigate the allegations against him, and there's new reporting on the paper trail behind all of it. I'll walk you through the timeline and lay out what we actually know and what we don't.

Then we'll head east to a state Senate race in the Tri-Cities that has turned into a criminal stalking investigation, and ask how challenges to voter registration can be made less creepy.

After that, some good news: a federal judge has ordered the Tacoma immigration detention center to finally let state health inspectors inside after years of stonewalling. And that has the potential for action from other states.

Then we'll look at the number that just landed on Obamacare, the sharpest enrollment drop since the marketplaces were created, and what it means for families right here in Washington.

And we'll close with something you can see from the freeway: the giant Amazon building now rising off Rush Road, and whether it's the rural economic win it's being sold as.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 7/5/2026

We'll start this week down in Oregon, with a lawsuit from a conservation group that could throw the management of nearly every acre of federal land in the West into chaos. We’ll dig into how an obscure law used by the Trump administration turns out to be the root cause.

Then we'll talk about the ongoing voter ID fight, which had about the worst week it's had in a long time — and it happened in three places at once. The Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, and right here in Washington, where the GOP came up short again.

After that, we’ll look at the rollout of national Democrat’s very first big policy idea for the Project 2029 platform. It’s a proposal about kids and social media, which is good, but there’s a lot more to untangle beyond the top line title.

Then we'll look at WA Cares, the state's brand new long-term care program that started paying out this week, and I want to ask the one question the press release did not want to ask: if you actually need this thing out here, is anybody going to show up?

And we'll close just up the road in Rochester, where a battery storage company was approved to develop, but ended up packing up and going home instead. It’s a perfect example of a community saying no, not because they don’t want the industry, but because the community isn’t yet prepared.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 6/28/2026

Welcome to the Sunday Lookout. It's June 28th, 2026. I'm Zac Eckstein, and this is a weekly show about the political news that matters here in Lewis County — from what's happening in DC, to what's brewing in Olympia, to what's landing right here in our backyard. Each week I cover five stories, and I give you both the facts and my take on what they mean for us here in southwest Washington.

We're going to start at the county this week with something I had to pry loose with a public records request. I'd heard that vaccine misinformation was being presented at a meeting of our county's public health board, so I asked for the recording. I got it — and what's on it is worth talking about, but so is the fact that I had to file paperwork to hear an open public meeting at all.

Then we'll head to Centralia, where the city council got described as "struck by indecision" this week. I ran into the mayor and two of those councilors this weekend, and I want to push back on that framing — and set one part of the record straight while I'm at it.

After that, we'll go to the other Washington, where the President canceled the signing of the biggest housing bill in a generation because he'd rather make it harder for you to vote. And a federal judge had something to say about that second part.

Then we'll talk about your gas tank, because the gas tax goes up on Tuesday and the state Supreme Court just ruled on who really gets the farm-fuel break. The answer is that working folks out here get to keep paying.

And we'll close with the family of Aron Christensen, who four years after he was shot and killed on a trail near Walupt Lake, are still asking the state to look at how this county investigates a death.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 6/21/2026

We'll start this week close to home, where the warehouse fight in Centralia took another turn and the Port finally put its cards on the table. The latest proposal still wants to put the cart before the horse when it comes to infrastructure.

Then we'll head north to Pierce County, where voters are going to get a chance this November to remove a sheriff a lot of you will recognize. I want to use it to talk about the bigger question, which is what a community is actually supposed to do about a bad sheriff.

After that, we'll go up to Olympia, where the state Supreme Court just handed Meta the biggest campaign finance fine in the country's history. It's a good ruling, but it might also kill off the last affordable way a small local campaign has to reach voters.

Then we'll come back home, where the county commissioners answered a question I've been getting all over the county lately, which is whether we're getting a data center. Their answer covers where one could go, and skips right past the part that actually decides whether it's good for us.

And we'll close with the story that reaches the furthest from home and lands closest to it anyway. The World Cup is in Seattle, ICE is coming with it, and a year-long surge in immigration enforcement is riding the I-5 corridor in our direction. We’ll look at what some cities are doing in response.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.

The Sunday Lookout, 6/14/2026

We're gonna start this week close to home, with a bribery verdict that came down on Friday. A former PUD commissioner tried to trade his public office for a job, and a jury of local folks held him accountable for it.

Then I want to take you about ninety miles south to Battle Ground, where a billion-dollar company has been quietly buying up a whole town, and this week it bought the town's only newspaper. The thread on that one runs straight back to a local paper a lot of you read.

After that, we'll connect the other Washington to Olympia, because a federal rule and a state budget warning landed within days of each other, and together they squeeze working families from both directions. One of them is going to ask cancer patients to prove they're sick enough to keep their health care.

Then we'll come home to the Chehalis Basin, where after a year of work, the board in charge of our flood future just decided not to decide. The long-term, large-scale flood strategy they were going to endorse before the end of the year will have to wait for a better plan.

And we'll close this week with the sheriff's race, where a candidate forum turned into a lesson about accountability, and one candidate's answer told you a lot about how he'd run the office.

Music I use: Bensound.com

License code: HN2TEEIAPTOLPBOU

Artist: : Marcus P.