And now for the losers…
The Washington Observer — Main Street. After largely abandoning plans for new taxes on the wealthy, lawmakers ultimately opted to put most of the budget pain on business writ large. Across-the-board increases in the business & occupation tax and adding more services to the list subject to the retail sales tax will transfer billions more from the private sector to the public sector. Setting aside the benefits of the state services that money will pay for, that means some combination of reduced profits for businesses and higher costs for consumers. Look for things to get more expensive. $
Rising taxes foremost on constituents’ minds during town hall meeting of Republican state legislators
The Columbian — Taxes were first and foremost on the minds of constituents Saturday during a town hall held by four Republican state legislators. Reps. Stephanie McClintock and John Ley of the 18th Legislative District were joined by Reps. Ed Orcutt and Peter Abbarno from the 20th District to discuss the recently concluded 2025 legislative session, which Ley said included “the largest tax increase in the history of the state of Washington.” “At the end of day, this is about your money and how you want it spent or not spent,” Ley said during the event, which was held at Battle Ground City Hall. Saturday’s attendees raised concerns about rising property taxes and insurance costs. $
AGRICULTURE
- What is H5N1? Global experts warn about bird flu spread. What’s happening in Washington? (Kitsap Sun) $
- Darigold reduces milk checks to pay for construction cost overruns (Capital Press) $
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
- PNNL researchers advance use of AI to ultimately accelerate scientific discovery (Tri-City Herald) $
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- April jobs report better than expected (FOX 13)
- ‘Strippers bill of rights’ has fallen short, WA adult dancers say (The Seattle Times) $
CANNABIS
- Lynnwood may soon allow marijuana retail shops within city limits (MyNorthwest)
- BLOG: SNL skit foreshadowed change in Washington’s cannabis laws (Jim Camden/The Spokesman-Review) $
CAPITAL BUDGET
- $5 million for Centralia nitrates project approved by Legislature (The Chronicle)
- 17th District lawmakers secure more than $46 million in the 2025-27 capital and transportation budgets (Clark County Today)
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
CONGRESS
COURTS (FEDERAL)
- King County sues Trump administration over homelessness, transit funding rules (The Seattle Times) $
- Judge blocks Trump executive order targeting elite law firm, a blow to his retribution campaign (The Seattle Times) $
COURTS (STATE)
- Washington state Legislature’s budget doubles public defense funds — but counties say it’s still not enough (Investigate West/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- Lawsuit against King County claims employees allowed child abuse (The Seattle Times) $
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
- Man in custody escapes at Sea-Tac Airport, takes light rail to Capitol Hill (The Seattle Times) $
- Seattle taking a multifaceted approach to combatting youth violence in the city (The Center Square)
- COLUMN: Call me a nut — and they did — but we should be glad crime is falling (Danny Westneat/The Seattle Times)
DAMS
EARLY LEARNING
EDUCATION
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
- Gov. Ferguson implores FEMA to fund North Shore levee (The Daily World) $
- New study suggests major PNW earthquake could make ground sink up to 6 feet (The News Tribune) $
- Cascadia quake could sink Washington’s coastal towns (Axios – Seattle)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
- Bill allows nuclear fusion energy projects to use state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council process (The Columbian) $
- EDITORIAL: The Northwest power grid may soon max out. Here’s what that means (The Seattle Times) $
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
- Washington leaders protest cuts to AmeriCorps programs, warn of impacts to public lands (KOMO TV)
- 700 at-risk Tri-Cities students abruptly lose mentors after federal AmeriCorps cuts (Tri-City Herald) $
FISH
HIGHER EDUCATION
- WA’s college financial aid program is facing cutbacks (The Seattle Times) $
- EWU graduates first class of nursing program (The Spokesman-Review) $
HOMELESSNESS
- Spokane unveils homelessness plan as conservatives say they were left in the dark (The Center Square)
- Snohomish County Council toughens enforcement on nuisance RVs (The Everett Herald) $
- EDITORIAL: Yakima homeless discussion could map the way forward (Yakima Herald-Republic) $
HOUSING
- Rising costs of eviction – as much as $10,000 – weighs on landlords in Clark County (The Columbian) $
- The number of new apartments in the U.S. is at a 50-year high, but states expect a slowdown (Stateline/Washington State Standard)
IMMIGRATION
INSURANCE
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Quality vs. quantity: Seattle PD may be lessening standards, union official says (The Center Square)
- EDITORIAL: Investigations aren’t punishment, but accountability (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) $
LEGISLATURE
- WA Gov. Bob Ferguson set his priorities. Which ones survived the 2025 session? (The Olympian) $
- New law requires clergy in Washington to report child abuse (Washington State Standard)
- OPINION: The 2025 session in one sentence — It didn’t need to be this way (Sen. John Braun/The Chronicle)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Pierce County mayor owes state $15K for breaking campaign finance laws, PDC says (The News Tribune) $
- Olympia council to discuss how to provide reparations to enslaved Africans’ descendants (The Olympian) $
MEDIA
MENTAL HEALTH
- Construction picking up at new Washington psychiatric hospital (Washington State Standard)
- Deaths by suicide appear to be down in WA, but the reasons are unclear (The Seattle Times) $
- Yakima Valley program that trains school mental health counselors loses federal funding (Yakima Herald-Republic) $
OPERATING BUDGET
- Ferguson could sign Democrats’ nearly $78 billion budget this week (KOMO TV)
- COLUMN: WA’s just-passed budget has some troubling, costly bugs (Kate Riley/The Seattle Times) $
OTHER STATES
PARKS
POLITICS
STATE
SCHOOL SAFETY
SPORTS
- WA family at center of fight over trans athletes heartened by federal OSPI probe (The Center Square)
- Seattle scores a professional women’s hockey expansion team (KUOW Radio)
STATE GOVERNMENT
- 13 lawsuits in 100 days: WA AG Nick Brown takes on ‘lawless president’ (The Seattle Times) $
- WA AGO has 10 active contracts with law firm defended in amicus brief (The Center Square)
TRANSPORTATION
- What the WA Legislature approved, and didn’t, that could affect drivers (The Seattle Times) $
- State plans to start right-of-way acquisition for Belfair Bypass project next year (Kitsap Sun) $
- 3 Kelso projects close over original contract amounts, as national construction spending rises (The Daily News) $
- From Deadmond to Redmond, light rail transforms a suburb to a city (The Seattle Times) $
- Fire continues to burn historic Washington state railroad (KING TV)
TRIBAL ISSUES
- More help available when Indigenous people go missing in Washington, but challenges persist (Yakima Herald-Republic) $
- Indigenous people raise awareness about their missing and murdered (AP)
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