WA mayors urge state leaders to avoid more taxes for businesses: ‘Crisis is existential’
The Olympian — A coalition of Washington mayors is urging lawmakers to refrain from heaping more taxes onto the state’s businesses. Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus said at a March 28 press conference that certain proposed tax measures would work to destabilize the state’s economy. That, she said, could lead to lasting, negative effects on the region’s economic competitiveness and fiscal health. Backus noted two Democrat-backed revenue ideas, specifically: a proposed payroll excise tax and an increased business and occupation (B&O) tax on large companies. $
Washington Democrats divided on school funding plans
Washington State Standard — Funding of Washington’s public schools is one of the tougher wrinkles House and Senate budget writers must iron out in the weeks ahead. Democrat-drafted proposals in the two chambers are demonstrably different in how much is spent on special education, what grant programs are cut and when state funds are distributed to school districts. And it’s unclear what Democrats will do if new taxes they are counting on for billions of dollars for education are not approved.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR
- Unemployment in WA, nation rises (Columbia Basin Herald) $
- Brad Smith’s vision for the PNW? Microsoft’s ‘Tomorrowland’ everywhere (The Seattle Times) $
CANNABIS
CAPITAL BUDGET
- WA lawmakers’ capital budgets boost housing, school & environment (Cascade PBS)
- New $5B plan to fund culvert removals unveiled by WA senators (Washington State Standard)
- $5B proposal for salmon restoration aimed at addressing tribal lawsuit (The Seattle Times) $
- Sen. Torres announces $136M for Central Washington infrastructure and community projects (KNDO/KNDU)
- Major local investments proposed in state capital construction priorities (KOZI Radio)
CHILD CARE
COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES
CONGRESS
CORRECTIONS & JAILS
- Opening of new WA juvenile detention center delayed (The Seattle Times) $
- Former employee caught trying to get drugs into Green Hill School Sunday was convicted of crime at facility earlier this year (The Chronicle)
COURTS (FEDERAL)
- Supreme Court seems likely to side with Catholic Charities in religious-rights case (AP)
- Trump administration sued over decision to rescind billions in health funding (AP)
COURTS (STATE)
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
- Watch: Rallygoers in Olympia advocate for legislation to protect domestic abuse victims (The Center Square)
- Richard Sherman’s WA home robbed by armed men, deputies confirm (FOX 13)
DRUG CRISIS
EDUCATION
- Bill to align parents’ rights initiative with existing law passes another hurdle (The Center Square)
- WA schools served food from local farms. Then Trump cut the program (The Seattle Times) $
- La Center School District appeals state’s finding it discriminated against students, staff based on gender identity (The Columbian) $
- Puyallup parents concerned about school district’s response to recent whooping cough case (KIRO TV)
- Washougal School District needs to make up to $1.5M in additional cuts as enrollment continues to drop (The Columbian) $
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SERVICES
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE
- Trump welcomes Kid Rock to White House for order targeting ticket scalpers (KING TV)
- Canada, U.S. Columbia River Treaty negotiations in jeopardy (Cascade PBS)
HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS
- Washington hospitals brace for financial strain as Medicaid cuts could bring layoffs (KOMO TV)
- Vaccine clinics canceled, health jobs cut as feds rescind grants to Washington state (KUOW Radio)
- King County’s health wins come with affordability tradeoffs (Axios – Seattle)
- COLUMN: COVID-19 deaths hit new low in WA and drop out of the 10 leading causes (Gene Balk/The Seattle Times) $
HIGHER EDUCATION
- Has the U.S. revoked visas for UW or WSU students? (KUOW Radio)
- EDITORIAL: Cutting aid now for struggling students will cost a lot more later (The Seattle Times) $
HOMELESSNESS
HOUSING
IMMIGRATION
- WA man posed as ICE agent for YouTube stunt, police say (The Seattle Times) $
- COLUMN: It’s well-defined: What part of ‘illegal’ don’t you understand? (Bob Hassoldt/The Lewiston Tribune) $
LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Number of Seattle police lateral candidates surges in 2024 and into 2025 (The Center Square)
- Tacoma deputy police chief separates from department (KING TV)
LEGISLATURE
- Some proposals from Republican 19th District lawmakers still alive with just a month left in 2025 legislative session (The Chronicle)
- Ferguson one step closer to blocking out-of-state guard troops from entering WA (The Center Square)
- King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office wants to close a hate crime loophole (KING TV)
LGBTQ+
- Transgender people are about 1% of the US population. Yet they’re a political lightning rod (AP)
- New flag rules used for Transgender Day of Visibility celebrations in Tacoma, WA (FOX 13)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- Shannon Braddock is King County’s first new leader in 15 years. Who is she? (The Seattle Times) $
- Spokane County set to vote on housing, climate policies in line with state law but at odds with feds (The Spokesman-Review) $
- Belkot files suit against Clark County, alleging civil rights violations, breaches to open meeting laws (Clark County Today)
- Spokane Valley City Council considering reiterating it’s ‘not a sanctuary city’; resolution would carry no practical weight (The Spokesman-Review) $
- OPINION: Due process disappears when King County seizes and keeps property (Dan Alban, senior attorney and co-director of the National Initiative to End Forfeiture Abuse at the Institute for Justice, and Daryl James, Institute for Justice writer/The Center Square)
MENTAL HEALTH
MILITARY & VETERANS
OPERATING BUDGET
- WA Senate passes $78.5 billion operating budget, including major tax increases (The Center Square)
- Republican budget leaders shocked by Democrats’ rejection of no-new-taxes, no-cuts budget proposal (Clark County Today)
- Sen. Mike Chapman tells us why he voted against the Democrat’s two-year operating budget (KONP Radio)
- COLUMN: ‘We’re driving off a cliff’: House Republican sounds alarm over Washington budget proposals (John Curley KIRO Radio Host/MyNorthwest)
OTHER STATES
- How Oregon’s laws on forcing mental health treatment could change this year (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- Bill to end vote-by-mail slows Oregon legislative website to a crawl (Oregon Public Broadcasting) $
- Controversial logging bill makes it through Oregon committee (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
POLITICS
STATE
SPORTS
- School district files federal complaint over WA policy on trans athletes (The Seattle Times) $
- Proposal to limit transgender athletes’ participation in sports blocked in Washington state (KUOW Radio)
TAXES
TRANSPORTATION
- Washington lawmakers push for speed limiters to curb unsafe driving habits (KNDO/KNDU)
- Vehicle noise enforcement cameras under consideration by Washington lawmakers (KNDO/KNDU)
- Washington Senate committee advances tougher carbon standards for transportation fuels (KAPP/KVEW)
- Gas prices rise in Washington (Columbia Basin Herald) $
- WA may be getting new highways — for cyclists (The Seattle Times) $
- Yakima City Council could approve $1 million fund to help bring in new flights at airport (Yakima Herald-Republic) $
TRANSPORTATION BUDGET
- Senate passes transportation budget that increases gas tax, funds major projects (The Spokesman-Review) $
- Senate boosts, inflation-proofs gas-tax (The Washington Observer) $
- Washington state eyes 6-cent gas tax hike to fund transportation projects (KREM TV)
- Truckers concerned about proposed Washington gas tax increase (KHQ TV)
VAPING
WILDLIFE
Stories that are behind a paywall are denoted with a $ symbol, allowing readers to identify content that requires a subscription to access in full.