Democrats are pretty clear losers of 2017 tax battles. For the last five years, Dems have had one clear goal in mind: Use the McCleary education funding case as an excuse to pass new types of taxes… here’s a look at just exactly what those were. (Read more here)

A record-breaking three special sessions have lapsed in Olympia, as House Democrats walked off of the House floor yesterday before lawmakers could pass a capital budget or even vote on a fix to the Hirst decision. Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville) echoed all of our thoughts when he said, “Anything that affects 39 counties in the state is worth working on, fighting for”.

The Supreme Court has ruled the University of Washington must respect Seattle’s landmarks-preservation law, despite their attempts to thwart the law following a controversial demolition of a building last year that had been used in the past to house a nuclear reactor. The demolished building had been on the National Register of Historic Places before its destruction in 2016.

15 candidates are fighting for three positions on the Port of Seattle, which will be voted on during the primary election. August 1^st is the deadline to vote. (Read more here)

Only 6% of school-board races have three or more candidates, coming out to only 44 out of 700 races being contested with 3+ candidates.

“We have a leader in our Emerald City, Ed Murray, who said it the best: ‘Either you’re looking at a serial pedophile or this is a big political take down’,” Ron Upshaw wrote in a piece on MyNorthwest. Upshaw is criticizing Seattle Mayor Ed Murray for, “desperately trying to stay in control by pulling all Seattle’s levers of distraction,” referencing the recent executive order by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. (Read more about his distraction techniques here)

Officers in the Seattle Police Department will begin wearing body cameras tomorrow, with the West Precinct bike cops becoming the first members of the force to wear the body cameras – required after Seattle Mayor Ed Murray signed an executive order mandating their use. Negotiations with the Seattle Police Officers Guild are still underway. 

Faith-based pregnancy care providers must provide signage, declaring the words, “This facility is not a healthcare facility,” in King County after a ruling by the King County Board of Health yesterday.

Metropolitan King County Council is proposing a property-tax levy for Veterans, Human Services and Seniors, which would double the current size of the levy. The proposed rate is a 10-cent tax for every $1,000 of assessed property value or $45 a year for a $450,000 median-priced home. If approved, half of the funds would be directed towards veteran services, 33 percent would be directed towards human services and the remaining 17 percent would be for seniors.

76 units of housing for homeless people will be built by Catholic Charities in Spokane after the city issued building permits for the units. With those additions, Spokane now has 316 affordable units under construction in the area called Holy Names Haven.

Spokane International Airport is welcoming rideshare companies, such as Lyft and Uber. Spokesman Todd Woodard reports they haven’t seen a decline in parking revenue but that they have seen a decline in taxi use.

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