Washington lawmakers close out session, sending budgets to governor
This year’s 105-day Washington state legislative session was in many ways a trudge. There was a multibillion-dollar budget deficit to solve. Sharp debate on parental rights and capping rent increases. Clashes over tax policy. Tensions between the new Democratic governor and legislators in his own party. And the unexpected deaths of a sitting senator and a former House speaker. “I’ll say certainly today, it feels like the toughest one that I’ve been through,” House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-West Seattle, said at a post-session news conference. Continue reading at Washington State Standard. (Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero)
WA lawmakers honor late state senator: ‘Bill Ramos made Washington better’
Washington lawmakers on Sunday honored the late state Sen. Bill Ramos, an Issaquah Democrat who died suddenly April 19 while running on a trail near his home. Democrats and Republicans alike remembered Ramos for his professional contributions to the state — but also for who he was as a person. Senators adopted a resolution commemorating Ramos on Sine Die, the last day of the 2025 session. Continue reading at The Olympian. (Steve Bloom)
Rent Stabilization Makes It Across the Finish Line at Last Minute
Hours before the end of the state legislative session Sunday, both the Washington House and Senate finally signed off on a bill establishing a statewide annual cap on rent hikes for tenants. A longtime priority for many Democrats in the legislature, rent stabilization turned into one of the most hotly debated bills of the year, and faced a rollercoaster of obstacles over the course of the previous 105 days. Continue reading at The Urbanist. (Ryan Packer)
Aberdeen Daily World
Hoquiam Community Forest awarded $2.5M grant
Tour set for contaminated former Weyerhaeuser sawmill
Auburn Reporter
WA Legislature approves hiking Discover Pass price to $45
Axios
Seattle police hiring surges sixfold in 2025
Early 2025 data shows crime dropping in Seattle
Washington Legislature adjourns after passing tax hikes, rent cap
Bellingham Herald
WA lawmakers vote to hit litterbugs in their wallets. What it will cost you
Proposed change could reshape Endangered Species Act. Here’s how it affects WA
Capital Press
Washington lawmakers raise taxes, pass budget, adjourn (Fitzgibbon)
Everett Herald
Brier police levy fails; officials warn current staffing is not sustainable
At a Lynnwood thrift store, rising shoplifting mirrors larger retail crime surge
Bloomberg comment: Stifling climate anxiety only ignores the problem
Kitsap Sun
Bremerton tech school secures state funding to complete renovation (Hansen, Nance, Krishnadasan, Richards)
News Tribune
WA lawmakers vote to hit litterbugs in their wallets. What it will cost you
Pierce County exec, sheriff at odds over working with immigration authorities
WA lawmakers honor late state senator: ‘Bill Ramos made Washington better’ (Ramos, Valdez, Saldana, Lovick, Liias)
WA’s 2025 legislative session has adjourned. Here are some defining moments (Fitzgibbon, Ramos)
WA Democrats reveal final operating budget deal, but the hard part is passing it (Robinson, Ormsby)
Puget Sound Business Journal
Amazon enters space race with 27-satellite launch
WA companies, execs poured millions into Trump’s inauguration fund
Microsoft ends contract with transit provider, triggering 287 layoffs
Seattle Times
Why two NW cities celebrate ‘Loyalty Day’ on May 1
Some lanes of I-5 in Tacoma blocked by fatal semitruck crash
Why some Seattle students can’t attend the school of their choice
5 takeaways from the final budget approved by the WA Legislature (Robinson)
Vehicle attack in Vancouver devastates a vibrant and growing Filipino community
Spokesman Review
Legislature completes work on time as focus turns to governor (Alvarado, Wellman, Riccelli, Heck)
WSU international student records reinstated after Trump reverses course on visas
Spokane City Council approves law mirroring state LGBT+ protections after heated meeting
Legislative leaders reflect on ‘challenging’ 2025 session in Washington as it comes to a close (Pedersen, Jinkins)
Central Valley School Board drafts Title IX complaint against the state over transgender sports
Head Start sues Trump administration over DEI confusion, grant freezes to child care program
Tri-City Herald
Washington becomes twelfth state to restrict circus animal use (Liias)
Innovative Pasco program for gifted kids on the fringes draws WA attention
Washington Post
Common chemicals in plastic linked to over 350,000 deaths from heart disease
WA State Standard
Rent increase cap proposal heads to Washington governor (Cleveland, Shewmake)
New taxes, no furloughs in WA Legislature’s $77.8B budget deal (Robinson, Ormsby)
Washington lawmakers close out session, sending budgets to governor (Fitzgibbon, Fey, Frame, Ramos)
WA lawmakers shift approach on closing center for people with disabilities (Farivar)
Five tax bills lawmakers passed to underpin Washington’s next state budget
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
Washington State Ferries prepare for triple traffic surge
What we can VERIFY about Port of Seattle ‘ghost town’ rumors
15% of Snohomish County residents live in wildfire danger zones
Washington facility for drug-affected mothers, infants will remain open
Washington budget awaits approval as Ferguson vows thorough review
Amazon denies tariff pricing display plan after White House calls it ‘hostile’
Washington legislators just passed a new tax that only impacts Tesla, for now
A rent stabilization bill just passed the Washington Legislature. Here’s what it does (Alvarado)
Democrats say Washington’s $77 billion budget proposal aims to protect K-12 education, essential services (Ormsby, Robinson)
KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
Washington lawmakers wrap up legislative session
What’s driving up gas prices in Washington and 4 ways you can save (Fey, Liias)
Two Black Seattle police officers sue SPD, allege racist practices, culture
KNKX Public Radio
New tax hikes, rent limits head to governor as WA lawmakers end session (Robinson, Ramos)
KUOW Public Radio
What is pension spiking, and how is it costing the state of WA millions?
Rent limits, tax hikes head to governor as Washington lawmakers end session (Robinson, Ramos)
Dozens of international students in Washington to have visas restored by Trump administration
Irish woman with green card held at Tacoma ICE center, questioned about decades-old drug conviction
Tacoma School Board president calls on community to ‘dig in’ on gun violence after three teens die in a week
KXLY (ABC)
Spokane City Council approves $1.25M for safety improvements in West Central
Spokane City Council declares emergency and adopts new alcohol-related ordinance
Spokane City Council votes to affirm right to gender-affirming care and maintain an LGBTQ+ liaison officer with SPD
Mead School Board delays vote on newly proposed transgender student policy due to feedback from State Superintendent
Web
Cascadia Daily News
Coffee roasters in Whatcom, Skagit feel impact of cost increases
High forecast of pink salmon could overwhelm local fishermen, stress processing capacity
Cascade PBS
A breakdown of Washington’s new $78B two-year state budget (Robinson)
WA Legislature approves yearly rent caps – just under the wire (Alvarado)
USDA set to cut $1B for food programs. WA food banks are worried
What you need to know after the 2025 Washington legislative session (Jinkins, Ramos)
MyNorthwest
Washington Democrats pass $77.1 billion budget (Ormsby, Robinson)
WA’s $77.8B budget saga: Ferguson to make final call (Pedersen)
Washington Democrats pass rent cap bill amid controversy (Bateman)
Washington lawmakers approve 6-cent gas tax hike with July start date
Bezos bolts, billions lost: Is Washington’s wealth walking out the door?
Washington lawmakers approve 6-cent gas tax hike with July start date (Liias)
After years of struggling, City of Seattle celebrates rise in police applications
Poll: Bob Ferguson grows on Republicans, sours on Democrats, amidst economic fear heightened
The Urbanist
Rent Stabilization Makes It Across the Finish Line at Last Minute (Alvarado)
Washington Observer
And they’re outta here
A weird last-day vote for the wealth tax (Lovelett, Hansen, Liias, Krishnadasan)
Softer rent restriction makes it to Ferguson’s desk (Alvarado, Cleveland)
Democrats cut more than half of abortion access project
Balancing (a tiny little bit of) the budget on your neighborhood bartender (Stanford)
A $100 fee on getting married to pay for domestic violence victim advocates (Davis)
Ferguson gets his $100M for cops, but local taxpayers get the bill in the long run (Entenman)
West Seattle Blog
TRAFFIC, WEATHER, TRANSIT, ROAD WORK: Tuesday info, with bridge crash