After seven hours of debate and public testimony—most of it against her plan—Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown still managed to get half her homelessness “overhaul” across the finish line Monday night, thanks to some shady last-minute maneuvering from the city’s progressive council majority.

Voters overwhelmingly approved Prop. 1 in 2023 to ban public camping. The State Supreme Court tossed it on a technicality in April, giving the City Council a golden opportunity to reinstate the will of nearly 75% of the public. Naturally, the liberal majority refused—because why listen to the people when you can listen to activist nonprofits instead?

Brown’s grand plan to replace the voter-approved measure was floundering—until the council suddenly resurrected parts of it after most residents had gone home, including a watered-down encampment rule that gives just a three-day warning before cleanup. Councilmember Michael Cathcart called it what it was: “dirty politics” and “tricking the community.”

Even worse, there were allegations of backroom coaching, collusion during a recess, and councilmembers pressuring others to switch their votes. But sure, let’s pretend this is about “transparency.”

Meanwhile, downtown business owners—who actually have to deal with the fallout—begged the city to take action before the economy suffers more. One asked bluntly what he was supposed to tell the residents who showed up in force to support enforcement, only to be backstabbed later: “We were bamboozled into this,” he said.

With a final vote delayed to June 30, the message is clear: in Spokane, public process is just window dressing for pre-decided outcomes. The people voted, the people testified, and the council’s progressive bloc threw them all under the bus to preserve their failed compassion-by-chaos agenda. Read more at Center Square.

Apparently, if you gather 200 radical protesters, block traffic, vandalize federal property, trap government employees inside a building, and assault a journalist with wasp spray—you still won’t get arrested in Democrat-run Washington.

That’s exactly what happened in Tukwila, where Antifa-style agitators clashed with police outside a DHS building. Armed with frozen water bottles, makeshift shields, and an utter disregard for the law, the protesters claimed they were standing up for immigrants—even though the people being asked to check in with ICE weren’t undocumented and weren’t being deported.

Officers gave warnings. Protesters responded with graffiti, violence, and an actual chemical attack on journalist Brandi Kruse. And in the end? Not a single arrest. Not one. Because in blue-run Washington, the message is clear: break the law for the “right” cause, and you’ll be protected, not prosecuted.

Welcome to progressive paradise—where Antifa gets a free pass, and public safety gets left on read. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.

In Washington state, accountability is expensive—and thanks to years of mismanagement by Democrats, neglect, and legal loopholes, taxpayers are footing a skyrocketing bill.

A landmark 2018 ruling in a horrific foster care abuse case opened the floodgates for lawsuits, holding the state liable not just while kids are in custody, but even after. That precedent—combined with years of negligence, botched investigations, deaths in custody, and a foster care system that still resembles a Dickens novel—has led to a surge in legal claims.

How big? Try $502 million in tort payouts just this fiscal year, with legal defense costs topping $56 million. That’s on top of the $281 million in payouts last year, which had already shattered records.

It turns out letting government agencies like the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) repeatedly fail at their core duties has a price tag. The DCYF alone has been hit hardest, including a wave of lawsuits over sex abuse in state-run youth detention centers—some dating back to the 1950s. One firm has filed 800 claims just over juvenile facility abuse.

Adding fuel to the fire: the state has no cap on damages, a new Supreme Court ruling expanded the statute of limitations, and lawmakers just eliminated it entirely for some abuse claims. The result? A litigation gold rush.

Senate Republicans tried to impose some oversight—proposing hearings for payouts over $1 million—but Democrats declined to act. Instead, they turned to budget gimmicks to paper over the exploding liabilities.

An actuary estimates Washington faces $2.5 billion in pending claims. Meanwhile, dollars meant for public services are drained into legal settlements—because government accountability, in this case, is too often a post-mortem exercise in check-writing. Read more at the Washington State Standard.

Just when you thought Washington Democrats couldn’t get any more reckless, they’re now entertaining a proposal to become the state-sponsored drug dealer of the Pacific Northwest. Thanks to the latest recommendations from a taxpayer-funded workgroup, lawmakers are considering handing out prescription opioids to addicts—because apparently, overdosing is more “humane” if it’s government-approved.

The Substance Use Recovery Services Advisory Committee (SURSAC)—which sounds like something from a dystopian novel—wants to set up “safer supply” programs that range from drug lounges with medical staff to DIY heroin parties at home. And if that’s not wild enough, one proposal suggests forming a “Buyers Club” where addicts pool their cash to buy drugs in bulk and distribute them back to the community—just like Costco, but with fentanyl!

And if you’re still shaking your head, try this: another model calls for making these drugs available without a prescription at dispensaries. That’s right—just stroll in, skip the doctor, and walk out with state-blessed opioids.

Naturally, this whole scheme is based on a failed harm reduction fantasy that’s been playing out in places like Seattle, where fentanyl kits are handed out with zero mention of treatment. Even the program’s own consultant admits the goal isn’t to stop drug use—it’s to make people slightly less dependent on street dealers, while the state steps in to fill the role.

Doctors would need to risk their licenses. Federal law would be ignored. And overdose deaths—already sky-high thanks to Democrats’ earlier soft-on-drugs approach—would likely soar.

But don’t worry, the experts say, this is all part of a “philosophical and political movement.” Translation: ideology over outcomes, addicts over accountability, and another step toward turning Washington into a taxpayer-funded, narcotics-fueled mess. Read more at KTTH.

In yet another slap in the face to victims and public safety, Washington Democrats are eyeing changes that would let convicted murderers walk free even earlier—because apparently, serving your full sentence for a brutal gang stabbing is just too harsh.

Jordan Castillo and Robert Suarez were 14 and 16 when they murdered sixth-grade teacher Bob Mars in cold blood outside his middle school in 2004. Now, both are up for early release thanks to the state’s Intermediate Sentence Review Board, which seems more concerned with the killers’ feelings than the community’s safety. And if that’s not outrageous enough, House Democrats pushed a bill this session that would let juvenile murderers petition for release after just seven years. Yes, seven—for murder.

Mars’ widow, Kris—herself a teacher—is speaking out, stunned that after nearly 30 years of promised justice, the state is ready to pull the rug out from under her family. “We were shocked,” she said. And who wouldn’t be? A violent gang initiation left a beloved teacher dead, and now the focus is on the “rehabilitation” of his killers.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tarra Simmons (D-Bremerton), didn’t make it out of committee this time—but it shows exactly where Democrat priorities lie: not with victims, not with justice, but with shortening sentences for murderers who, let’s not forget, knew exactly what they were doing.

So while families like the Marses relive their trauma just to beg the state not to let killers walk early, Democrats are drafting laws that would open the prison gates even wider. Because in Washington, “justice” is just another thing they’re willing to trade for ideology. Read more at Center Square.

In a state facing massive budget shortfalls and telling agencies to brace for more cuts, Washington’s Department of Ecology thought it was the perfect time to drop $400,000 on a public awareness campaign encouraging people to… bring their own coffee cup. Seriously.

Starbucks and other coffee shops have pushed reusable mugs for years. It’s already a standard part of Washington’s latte-loving culture—and it comes with a built-in perk: discounts. Yet somehow, Ecology decided we all needed a taxpayer-funded nudge to “take the pledge” to do what tens of thousands already do daily.

As the Washington Policy Center reports, originally budgeted at $848,000 (yes, nearly a million), the “Bring Your Own Cup” program was mercifully trimmed to $400K. And what did we get for that? A website, a map of participating coffee shops, some surveys, and about 3,200 pledges. If every one of those pledgers uses one fewer cup per day for a year, the state will have spent 34 cents to avoid each paper cup—way more than the cup’s environmental cost.

To make it worse, their so-called data collection is laughably weak. Site visits, self-reported pledges, and “qualitative” business chats don’t exactly scream accountability. And let’s not forget the dubious stat claiming Americans throw away 50 billion cups a year—without even clarifying whether they meant nationwide or just in hyper-caffeinated King County.

This isn’t just wasteful. It’s insulting—especially when the same amount of money could’ve gone to actual environmental efforts like salmon recovery. But, for Washington Democrats, virtue signaling trumps impact every time. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

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