A Republican-led bill was heard in the Senate Transportation Committee yesterday that would alter the valuation method used to determine car-tab fees, which could drastically reduce fees for drivers. “Some are facing the choice of paying rent or licensing their car,” said Sen. Steve O’Ban (R-University Place), the primary sponsor of the bill. “Those fees should be based on a value that is more realistic than MSRP.” Drivers saw their car-tabs skyrocket after the ST3 measure passed in 2016. (KING 5)

A bill sponsored by Rep. Christine Kilduff (D-University Place) wants to siphon money from the gas tax account to avoid a toll bridge increase on the Tacoma Narrows bridge. “The original projections were for higher traffic volumes across the bridge. The [2008] recession hit, and, as a result, revenue went down,” Kilduff said. Current bridge rates on a two-axle vehicle is $5 for those who use an electronic Good to Go pass, $6 if motorists pay in cash, and $7 to pay by mail. (The News Tribune)

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s administration hid facts from taxpayers about a homeless parking lot program. “KOMO News filed a public disclosure request for emails related to internal discussions on the placements of the safe lots,” Matt Markovich reported. “We received redacted emails with potential site locations blacked out.” The lots are intended to provide homeless car owners a spot to park their car safely, while also connecting them to showers and bathrooms. (MyNorthwest)

Ocean Shores City Councilman Jeff Daniel was killed Monday afternoon in a surfing accident off of the North Jetty. Daniel was deeply involved in the community. A real estate broker for John L. Scott, he also worked as an Ocean Shores Planning Commission member and was the past Chamber of Commerce president. (The Daily World)

After a vote by the Spokane County commissioners made collective bargaining negotiations between the county and its unionized employees more public, plenty of alarmists began wailing on their special interest trumpets. Groups like the Northwest Accountability Project, a group backed by unions, irrationally complained about open government and those who have the audacity to think government should be available to the public. “If their [unions] true goal is empowering working class families, they would support open government policies like Spokane County’s new resolution, because that gives every citizen the same free access to the inner workings of their government,” wrote Erin Shannon is director of the Center for Worker Rights at Washington Policy Center. (Spokesman-Review)

Nurses at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center took to the streets to demand a better contract that, among other things, would improve staffing levels. “Providence manages hospitals around the state and has been asking nurses in every hospital to give up more and more,” said Heather Weiner, spokeswoman for the Washington State Nurses Association. “Staffing shortages are causing them to work more than 12 hours and they can’t take breaks.” (Spokesman-Review)

The food strike at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell ended after the prison agreed to provide hard boiled eggs for breakfast. At one point roughly 1,700 prisoners declined prison-served meals due to complaints about the food quality. In addition to the egg, the prison also agreed to increase the number of inmate-purchased TVs in multi-person cells. (Tri-City Herald)

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