How Washington’s state new tax and fee increases could hit your pocket; Why police accountability efforts failed again in the Washington Legislature

How Washington’s new tax and fee increases could hit your pocket

Cascade PBS — Democrats say tax and fee increases are necessary to keep up with inflation and ensure Washington residents still have access to government services. Republicans say the increases will hurt only low- and middle-income Washingtonians … The new fees’ implementation will depend on Ferguson’s signature: He has until mid-May to sign off on the budgets, or veto parts of them.

Why police accountability efforts failed again in the Washington Legislature

Washington State Standard — Departments can use the $100 million for more than just officers on the beat. Under House Bill 2015, the money can also go toward peer counselors, behavioral health co-responders, training and other broader public safety efforts. While Republicans generally supported the idea behind the grant program, many of them believe Washington’s police staffing difficulties are caused more by the state’s perceived hostility toward law enforcement than anything else.

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• Economic outlook deteriorates in Mountain West (Axios – Seattle)
• Why the new Rite Aid bankruptcy could kill Seattle’s Bartell Drugs (The Seattle Times) $
• OPINION: Washington’s 2025 Legislature missed the mark for small businesses (Rep. Peter Abbarno/The Chronicle)

CAPITAL BUDGET

• Washington budgets include local projects (KIHR Radio)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Washington slips in 2025 best states ranking (Axios – Seattle)
• COLUMN: WA slides again in ranking of best states, but remains in Top 10 (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times) $

CONGRESS

• What’s in Trump’s big bill? Money for migrant clampdown but tax breaks and program cuts hit ‘bumps’ (AP)
• Cantwell, Murray ask Trump to secure release of WA man detained in Venezuela (The Seattle Times) $
• Baumgartner, Crapo and other NW lawmakers weigh in on Trump’s first 100 days of deportations (The Spokesman-Review) $

COURTS (STATE)

• Lawsuit alleges that Sunnyside Municipal Court has operated without legal authority since 2022 (Yakima Herald-Republic) $
• EDITORIAL: Defenders of justice turn out for Law Day (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Inmate who escaped custody at SEA airport still on the run (KIRO TV)
• COLUMN: Media outlets defend two-time felon illegal immigrant previously accused of rape (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES

• New debris slide at Rattlesnake Ridge. Officials say there’s no threat to I-82 or homes (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• Washington challenges federal blocking of wind energy development (The Spokesman-Review) $
• Whitman County halts new wind farms with extended moratorium (KHQ TV)

ENVIRONMENT

• Columbia Generating Station in Richland fined for oil spill into Columbia River (KNDO/KNDU)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• How Washington state is suing Trump in his second term (Axios – Seattle)
• DOJ opens inquiry into new WA law requiring clergy to report abuse (The Seattle Times) $
• U.S. Justice Dept. to investigate new WA law requiring clergy to report child abuse (The Center Square)
• WA counties sue feds over DEI ban tied to homeless, transit grants (The Center Square)
• EDITORIAL: County had no choice but to sue over new grant rules (The Everett Herald) $
• EDITORIAL: Trump actions against Seattle law firm spark brave resistance (The Seattle Times) $

FISH

• Washington puts $1.1 billion toward salmon culvert fix (KONP Radio)

HANFORD

• Here’s what the Trump admin proposes spending on WA’s toxic Hanford nuclear site (Tri-City Herald) $

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• How a Seattle hospital erased racial disparity in unnecessary C-sections (The Seattle Times) $

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Around 30 ‘masked activists’ arrested after taking over UW building, staging blockade (MyNorthwest)
• Spring enrollment grew by a double-digit margin at The Evergreen State College (The Olympian) $

HOMELESSNESS

• Council for the Homeless: Federal cuts would devastate services in Clark County (The Columbian) $

HOUSING

• Trump budget would slash money for housing programs in WA (The Seattle Times) $

IMMIGRATION

• DHS offers $1,000 to immigrants without legal status who self-deport (States Newsroom/Washington State Standard)

INSURANCE

• How an accountability bill for bad actors in the insurance industry died (The Washington Observer) $

INVASIVE SPECIES

• Chinese mitten crab could be trouble for Oregon, Washington, if there are more (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• New WA grant program incentivizes compliance with police use of force reporting (The Center Square)
• Tacoma police deputy chief fired for gender discrimination, hostile workplace (KING TV)

LEGISLATURE

• Seattle archbishop decries new WA mandatory reporting law: ‘Alarmed by this overreach’ (The Olympian) $
• New law provides protection for hot car rescues (Columbia Basin Herald) $
• Republicans say they are the ones fighting for the working class (Clark County Today)
• 18th, 20th District lawmakers face tough questions at Battle Ground Town Hall (The Reflector)
• Cortes reflects on first session in Olympia, warns of challenges ahead (The Reflector)

MEDIA

• Seattle Times journalists earn Pulitzer nod for investigation of WA’s salmon recovery spending (The Seattle Times) $

OPERATING BUDGET

• Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library seeks donations after Washington state cuts funding (KNKX Radio)

OTHER STATES

• Bill to have big tech pay for local news advances in Oregon Legislature (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

PARKS

• Hoh Rain Forest access to be restored Thursday (Axios – Seattle)

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Deputies: 11-year-old in custody after bringing knives to Lynnwood school (The Everett Herald) $

SPORTS

• Despite ongoing federal probe into state schools, Central Valley School Board sends Title IX complaint to feds (The Spokesman-Review) $

STATE GOVERNMENT

• DOH introduces real-time pollen monitoring to combat spring allergies in Washington (KOMO TV)

TRANSPORTATION

• State representative: Expect sticker shock when Interstate Bridge project officials reveal price, tolling plans (Clark County Today)
• Washington State one of several pushing for speed-limiting devices on the cars of dangerous drivers (AP/KREM TV)
• Washington eyes speed-limiting tech for reckless drivers after Renton crash kills 4 (KIRO TV)
• Hood Canal Bridge reopens after emergency closure (The Seattle Times) $
• Last day before REAL ID deadline: WA residents face long DOL wait times (MyNorthwest)
• Seattle’s $300M Amtrak expansion to bring modern trains, transportation by 2027 (MyNorthwest)
• OPINION: TriMet’s ‘fiscal cliff’ a caution for Clark County taxpayers (Rep. John Ley/The Reflector)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Hundreds of Washington Native Americans gather to raise awareness for missing, murdered community members (KING TV)
• ‘The only acceptable number is zero’: Kalispel Tribe honors missing Indigenous people (The Spokesman-Review) $
• OPINION: Speed recognition of Chinook Nation so ancestors can be laid to rest (Tony A. Johnson, chair of the Chinook Indian Nation/The Seattle Times) $

WATER

• Yakima Basin water forecast drops to 51% for junior rights holders (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Utilities required to strengthen fire mitigation plans under WA law (Columbia Basin Herald) $

---

Stories that are behind a paywall are denoted with a $ symbol, allowing readers to identify content that requires a subscription to access in full.