A new Bankrate study ranks Washington fifth in the nation for hidden homeownership costs, with residents shelling out an average of $27,444 annually just to keep the lights on, roofs from collapsing, and internet limping along. These costs—ranging from property taxes to skyrocketing maintenance—don’t even include your mortgage. While Hawaii and California top the list (shocking), Washington proudly trails just behind, driven by ever-increasing property taxes, bloated utility costs, and pricey maintenance on aging homes.

Why so expensive? You can thank the state’s relentless push for costly energy mandates, natural gas bans, and the Legislature’s gift to local governments: the power to raise your taxes without even asking you first. And with building codes changing more often than Democrats dodge accountability, even routine repairs turn into a bureaucratic nightmare. Meanwhile, home prices have surged 197% while incomes crawl at 40%, making homeownership in Washington a luxury for the lucky, not the hardworking. But hey, at least we’re “leading on climate,” right? Read more at Center Square.

Washington state is staring down the barrel of a potential budget crisis—again—even after Democrats shoved through the largest tax increase in state history. According to the latest report from the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, all that taxing and spending still might leave the state in the red by the end of the 2025–27 biennium.

Republicans like Rep. Ed Orcutt warned this would happen, but Democrats were too busy breaking open taxpayer piggy banks to notice. Now state bean counters are eyeing the “rainy day fund” as their safety net—because nothing screams fiscal responsibility like torching the reserves just to stay afloat two years after passing a record-breaking budget.

Total revenues are still expected to grow by more than 11%, but the problem isn’t how much is coming in—it’s how much Democrats can’t stop spending. Senate Republicans offered a no-tax-hike alternative budget, but Olympia’s ruling party predictably chose tax-and-burn economics instead. Even now, Dems like Rep. Timm Ormsby are trying to spin the situation as just a matter of “monitoring” and “nonpartisan analysis.”

Spoiler: If you’re monitoring a dumpster fire, it doesn’t put itself out. But hey—at least they’ve got $2.2 billion left in the rainy day fund. Just enough to cover their tracks until the next tax hike. Read more at Center Square.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck just rolled out a plan to raise $90 million in new taxes on businesses—not to fix crime, homelessness, or clean up the city, but to fight the economic “threat” of Donald Trump. Their so-called Seattle Shield Initiative would raise the city’s B&O tax on larger employers starting in 2026, even as downtown is bleeding jobs, storefronts sit vacant, and companies are already heading for the exits.

Under the plan, mid-sized and large businesses—the ones Seattle desperately needs to retain—would get slapped with rate hikes. And this is all happening while the city faces a $251 million budget deficit of its own making.

The business community isn’t buying the spin. The Downtown Seattle Association called the plan a “self-inflicted wound” that will make it even harder to attract companies back downtown. The Metro Chamber warned that with office vacancy among the worst in the nation, declining tourism, and weakening consumer spending, now is not the time to punish job creators. Let’s not forget: iconic businesses like REI have already fled the city, citing crime and public safety concerns. Amazon paused construction and moved employees out of downtown. Dozens of restaurants and retailers have either closed shop or moved out entirely.

But instead of addressing those root problems, Harrell is busy drafting ballot language to blame Trump. It’s fiscal fantasyland—taxing the shrinking business base harder while ignoring why it’s shrinking in the first place. If this is Seattle’s “shield,” someone might want to tell the mayor it’s made of wet cardboard. Read more at KOMO News.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is campaigning for another term, claiming he’s “stabilized” the city and laid a “great foundation”—though he forgot to mention that foundation is cracked, flooded, and covered in graffiti. In a recent radio interview, Harrell bragged about throwing billions at housing and homelessness, touting the city’s “largest housing levy in history” while 85% of King County’s tiny homes are stuffed into Seattle. He calls it intentional; critics might call it desperation disguised as leadership.

On crime, Harrell insists things are “great”—because car theft is only down 32% and violent crime is just 20% lower than last year’s chaos. He also points to 4,000 new police applicants, a shiny new “CARE” department, and a PR-worthy $1 million for CID safety upgrades. But even with all that spin, many neighborhoods remain dangerous, and the city’s public safety reputation is still circling the drain.

He’s also pitching himself as the most “qualified” candidate based on the sheer number of bills he’s introduced (because quantity = leadership?), conveniently dodging questions about a lawsuit alleging crude comments from Harrell himself in a city hall sexual harassment scandal. His response? Basically “I don’t know her.”

In true Seattle fashion, Harrell says he needs more time, more money, and more power to fix the problems Democrats helped create and then blamed on everyone else. And if you’re not convinced, just check out the housing levies, the CARE acronyms, and the endless “executive orders”—because nothing says “effective leadership” like a new task force every time the last one fails. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.

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