Washington Democrats aren’t leaving anything to chance when it comes to protecting their new 9.9% income tax on earnings above $1 million.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Lanese upheld ballot language written by Attorney General Nick Brown’s office claiming repealing the tax would reduce funding for K-12 schools, higher education and healthcare. The problem? The tax won’t even start being collected until 2029.

Let’s Go Washington, which gathered more than 511,000 signatures to put Initiative 645 on the ballot, had planned to challenge the language in court. Instead, Lanese’s ruling effectively canceled its hearing before the group could make its case.

The rest of the system has already lined up behind the tax. Democrats wrote the law to prevent a referendum, the state Supreme Court upheld that move, Brown’s office wrote the ballot warning, and public-sector unions are helping bankroll the campaign against repeal.

Now voters get their turn.

Initiative 645 would repeal the 9.9% tax, but thanks to the way Democrats structured the law, that requires voters to vote yes to vote against it. Read more at Seattle Red.

Washington lawmakers approved nearly $20 million in taxpayer money this year to preserve long-term care coverage for lawfully present immigrants facing a federal Medicaid cutoff.

They thought it would cover nearly 1,200 people.

It will cover 173.

That’s not a rounding error. It’s an 85% miss.

And lawmakers knew the broader plan could eventually cost nearly $100 million every two years. Now they’re scrambling to find even more money while the state is already facing budget problems.

The absurdity is almost impressive: Olympia spent $20 million based on assumptions that turned out to be wrong, then discovered the money won’t come close to doing what lawmakers promised.

Washington’s taxpayer-funded solution to a $20 million problem? Spend the $20 million, discover it doesn’t work, and start asking taxpayers for more. Read more at the Washington State Standard.

Speaking on KIRO’s John Curley Show, Walsh said that much one-party power meant “things get worse,” warning Democrats could start “monkeying around” with the state Constitution while an unchecked majority became “arrogant, sloppy, and stupid.”

Walsh said Republicans could actually gain seats in November, pointing to competitive races in the 17th and 18th districts. But he identified the usual Washington problem: voter turnout. With the primary taking place while families were on vacation, Walsh urged Republicans to ditch the digital campaigning and get back to knocking on doors.

He also called on Gov. Bob Ferguson’s Supreme Court appointees Theo Angelus and Colleen Melody to recuse themselves from income-tax cases, citing their connections to Ferguson and, in Melody’s case, the Attorney General’s Office.

As Walsh warned, give Democrats a supermajority, and Olympia gets even more creative with your money, your Constitution and your patience. Read more at KIRO Radio.

The Spokane-area fires are finally winding down, but the story surrounding the largest blaze is getting more bizarre.

More than 900 structures have been damaged or destroyed across the Old Trails, Autumn Lane and Fairview fires, with the Old Trails Fire accounting for the overwhelming majority. Nearly 64,000 people were under evacuation orders at the peak. As of Monday, most evacuation restrictions had been lifted or downgraded as firefighters moved into mop-up operations.

Meanwhile, the man accused of starting the Old Trails Fire, 37-year-old Aaron Farinacci, is facing multiple first-degree arson charges. Prosecutors say he confessed to investigators that he had planned the blaze for roughly two weeks and told detectives he had previously started as many as 25 fires, with investigators corroborating four. His bond has been increased to $2 million, and a competency evaluation has been ordered.

The revelations are particularly troubling because Farinacci had previously been questioned by law enforcement about suspected fires in the Spokane area. He also has a prior manslaughter conviction in Arizona for killing his father.

Now the focus is shifting from simply stopping the flames to rebuilding what was lost. Families are returning to neighborhoods where homes once stood, while emergency assistance centers are helping residents replace basic necessities and begin the long recovery.

The fires may be coming under control. For hundreds of Spokane families, the road to recovery is just beginning.