A lawsuit accusing Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane) of defaming Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Pendell is allowed to continue per the ruling by a Spokane County judge. Shea’s attorney had argued that, “purposefully filing and serving a suit on a legislator during session is forbidden by our constitution”.

Former Seattle mayor and current mayoral candidate, Mike McGinn, has decided he wants to use city funds to help Sound Transit. “Sound Transit can build light rail faster than the current schedule if Seattle commits to finding innovative solutions in partnership with the regional transit agency to expedite permitting and financing of planned projects,” McGinn wrote in his blog. 

Are local communities being bullied by Sound Transit and WSDOT? Read more about how the agencies are stepping on the toes of Mercer Island and other local communities as they take control of I-90 from The Seattle Times’ editorial board here.

South Bellevue Park and Ride is closed for the next five years as Sound Transit moves crews into the site for staging and construction of the Eastside light rail. A few local churches have stepped up to allow their parking lots to be used, but Sound Transit has failed to come up with an alternative for commuters during the interim – a (not so) surprising failure from an agency that concerns itself primarily with facilitating commuting routes.

Express lanes on I-90 through Seattle will no longer be accessible to drivers after June 5, as Sound Transit will take over control of the lanes to be used for their light rail.

Landlords are suing Seattle over socialist Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s legislation that, once it passed in January, “limit(ed) the amount of security deposits and non-refundable move-in fees,” among other requirements (full legislation here). Rent control is illegal in Washington, but this bill was touted as the next best thing.

Rep. Jessyn Farrell (D-Seattle) is abandoning her post in the legislature to join the crowded race for Seattle Mayor. Due to campaign finance laws, Farrell would not have been able to raise money for her campaign during the special legislative session if she stayed in office. Farrell is expected to make her announcement official today.

Construction of a new youth jail in Seattle may be halted after the passing of legislation sponsored by Councilmember Mike O’Brien. The ordinance will allow anti-jail activists to appeal the legitimacy of the county permit needed for construction of the replacement jail.

Seattle-area housing prices have skyrocketed, up 12.3% from last year – twice the national increase average of 5.8%. May is the seventh month in a row where Seattle home price growth has been the highest in the nation according to the Case-Shiller home price index via The Seattle Times.

What the City of Spokane thought was a water leak was actually Fairways Golf Course illegally using water despite their outstanding bill of over $40,000. The city has since turned water to the golf course off. Fairways club professional Kris Kallem has said, “we’ve done everything the city asked us to do… by my count, they have overcharged us $200,000 for the last 10 years.”

Spokane County Commissioners approved a lawsuit against the federal government because of their assistance in approving a $400 million casino on the West Plains.

Do you like The Morning Briefing? Forward this to a friend! It helps us grow our community and serve you better.

If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected].

If you don’t want to receive this email each morning, click here to opt-out of The Morning Briefing.