Changes made to WA tax plan: What’s still in play as end of session nears
With just days left to go in the 2025 legislative session, Washington lawmakers are still mulling over new tax proposals to balance a multibillion-dollar hole in the state’s budget while details of their final spending plan remain under wraps. Those proposals are moving fast and changing quickly as the Sunday deadline approaches. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Nick Wagner)
Deportation flights pick up pace at Boeing Field
As deportation flights out of Boeing Field increase in frequency, human rights advocates are calling for change regarding the treatment of detainees on board. In December 2024, a federal judge ruled deportation flights could continue at Boeing Field. King County’s then-executive Dow Constantine made a 2019 order suspending deportation flights, and after litigation, flights resumed at the King County International Airport in May 2023. Then in December 2024, a federal appeals court judge ruled the flights could continue. Continue reading at King 5. (King 5)
WA bill to keep medical debt off credit reports signed into law
Washingtonians’ medical debt will not be included in their credit reports, under a bill signed into law on Tuesday. Having medical debt can create a spiraling effect and prevent people from getting approved for car or home loans or apartment rentals. Medical debt can also cause providers to deny services to patients with outstanding bills or dissuade people from seeking care. Continue reading at Washington State Standard. (Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero)
Auburn Reporter
Fifth case of measles in state identified in a King County infant
Axios
Pike Place Market restricts car access in new pilot
Bellingham Herald
WA House advances ‘Tesla tax’ bill after tense late-night debate (Fitzgibbon)
Capital Press
Washington vineyard, accused of favoring foreign workers, pays $180K
Courier-Herald
Carbon River Fairfax bridge buckling, closed indefinitely
Everett Herald
North Cascades Highway reopens for 2025 season
Federal agency cancels $250k grant to Everett museum
State budget cuts could hurt education work at nonprofits
Edmonds voters approve measure to annex into South County Fire
Edmonds approves interim ordinance to protect landmark trees from removal
Letter: Due process is for all of us
Comment: A distressing accounting of what Trump has wrought
High Country News
Nearly all federal workers who investigate firefighter deaths fired
Islands’ Weekly
What did you think of the winter ferry schedule? Take the survey
Kitsap Sun
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health network bracing for possible cutbacks
News Tribune
WA gray wolf population down for the first time in 16 years. Is that bad?
Here’s what Tacoma’s U.S. Rep. Emily Randall saw in tour of ICE detention center
COLUMN: Teachers, states stepping up to keep climate change education alive as federal government defunds it
New York Times
Almost Half of Americans Breathe Unhealthy Air, Report Finds
E.P.A. Set to Cancel Grants Aimed at Protecting Children From Toxic Chemicals
Olympian
WA House advances ‘Tesla tax’ bill after tense late-night debate (Fitzgibbon)
Bridge to Mount Rainier National Park permanently closed due to safety risks
WA drivers could see 6-cent rise in gas tax as lawmakers mull transportation budget
Puget Sound Business Journal
Housing market shifts to favor buyers — but they’re not buying
Why small-business owners say tariffs create an uneven playing field
Seattle Times
San Juan Islands get walk-on ferry this spring
WA lawmakers want PFAS testing for human waste fertilizer
New WA law prohibits medical debt reporting on credit scores (Riccelli)
Lawmakers debate closing WA facility for people with disabilities
Changes made to WA tax plan: What’s still in play as end of session nears
Highly capable services don’t measure up across Seattle schools, families say
Opinion: WA hospitals can cut costs, improve patient care (Robinson, Macri)
Editorial: Lawmakers should backstop the fragile WA ferry system comeback (Nance)
Westneat: UW profs push for a ‘NATO’ defense pact — against our own government
Spokesman Review
Spokane County public defender charged with misusing non-profit funds
Democratic lawmakers push tax increases in hopes of balancing Washington’s budget (Liias, Salamon)
State militias now prevented from entering Washington without permission from governor (Mena)
Opinion: Local leaders need new revenue tools to serve our communities
Washington Post
Americans unsure what to believe about the measles vaccine, poll shows
Top aides urged Trump to tone down attacks on Fed chief after markets slid
When government thinks you’re dead, it upends lives. DOGE may make it worse.
WA State Standard
WA bill to keep medical debt off credit reports signed into law (Riccelli)
6-cent gas tax hike central to new transportation deal in WA Legislature (Fey, Liias)
Broadcast
KING 5 TV (NBC)
Deportation flights pick up pace at Boeing Field
As Tesla profits drop, Seattle protesters applaud
U.S. Representative Emily Randall visits Tacoma ICE facility
Adoption of electric vehicles presents new challenges, and dangers, for firefighters
Parents demand action after Washington student allegedly makes ‘hit list,’ brings weapon to school
KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
Diving into the gas tax debate
City of Lynden votes to remove fluoride from city water supply
Gets Real: Investigating the ‘DEI divide’ rocking American culture
WA Democratic Senator upset after VA is ‘no show’ at veterans round table
Controversial transgender student-athlete ruling falls one vote shy of passing
Police crack down as hundreds flock to illegal street racing events across Seattle
VIDEO: Aviation expert explains what Boeing’s first quarter numbers mean for WA
KOMO 4 TV (ABC)
Pike Place Market to start limiting vehicle access at 1st and Pike
Whatcom County fluoride-free as Lynden joins others in water policy shift
Harrell signs Earth Day executive order to develop new climate action plan
Infant measles case confirmed in King County: 5th in Washington this year
Federal Way parents criticize school district’s emergency response to playground shooting
Budget crisis threatens $40M state funding cut to Washington homeless outreach program
KUOW Public Radio
Seattle cleared 2,500 homeless encampments last year. Is it helping?
The White House killed this one of a kind report. The scientists behind it aren’t giving up
KXLY (ABC)
Boeing doesn’t expect its recovery to be impacted by trade war with China
Web
Cascadia Daily News
Family farms get added protections with new agritourism bill (Berg)
Northwest Indian College gets state support to address student homelessness (Timmons)
Skagit County takes step to buy Haller property to protect farmland, salmon habit
Chuckanut Drive between Oyster Dome and Chuckanut Manor to be closed for days due to slide
Opinion: Washington renters need stability (Shewmake)
Cascade PBS
Voters renew property tax for King County fingerprinting system
WA asylum seekers, lawyers receive emails ordering they leave U.S.
MyNorthwest
WA’s new transportation bill hits drivers where it hurts
Seattle business leaders issue dire warning over state tax proposals
Totaled car? New WA law stops insurers from lowballing payout or repairs (Stanford)
WA Democratic Senator upset after VA is ‘no show’ at veterans round table
WA’s midnight tax storm: House pushes through big business hit, Tesla tax
The Urbanist
Market to Test Out Long-Requested Pike Place Car Ban
West Seattle Blog
TRAFFIC, WEATHER, TRANSIT, ROAD WORK: Wednesday notes
ELECTION 2025: Fingerprint-tech levy renewal passing
VIDEO: City and county leaders come to West Seattle to plead for full state funding of a ‘gold standard’ encampment-resolution program (Alvarado, Fitzgibbon, Thomas, Robinson, Ormsby, Pedersen)