Democrats pushed their budget with a $3 billion tax package through the House, despite opposition claiming some taxes to be unnecessary. “We have more than enough revenue this year to complete this budget without a single new tax,” Rep. Cary Condotta (R-Wenatchee) explained. However, in typical liberal fashion – they intend to take as much money from taxpayers as they can squeeze out.

An internet privacy bill sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans was introduced into committee in Olympia this week. The legislation has three main goals: increasing transparency from internet service providers, requiring providers to gain consent from users before sharing private information and requiring providers give protection against and notification of data hacks.

Fishing-industry groups have filed a complaint against Gov. Inslee with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The complaint is in regards to the nominations Inslee made for a federal fishery-council seat after he ignored the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) recommendations in favor of his own preferences, read: friends. One of the people nominated has even appeared in an Inslee re-election campaign advertisement.

Proposal for a men’s homeless shelter in Bellevue has hit controversy as residents ask for a more appropriate location. “We’re not fighting the need for a homeless shelter. We’re asking the council to find an appropriate site not near a college, not near three preschools and idle cars sitting in a park-and-ride lot,” resident Tu Li Davenport said.

More than 150 small business owners, and labor unions, have come together to object  to Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s proposed soda tax. “This is not fair to the minorities who are owning most of the convenience stores,” convenience-store owner Gurdev Singh Mann said. “The tax on soda is not fair for the working-class people who drink the soda.” 

East Link wants praise for keeping projects under budget, despite their $225 million cost-overruns on I-90. Jason Rantz, KIRO, once again had the perfect analogy, explaining that their plead for a pat on the back for being at- or under-budget for most of their projects is, “the equivalent of asking the boss for kudos every time you show up to work on time.” Budgets are created in the foundational part of projects, meaning sticking to the budget should be the norm and not something that garners praise.

45 academic disciplines at the University of Washington were ranked in the top ten around the world and UW was ranked the ninth-best institution, overall, this week. UW’s social work program ranked #1 in the world. Pulling in a second-place ranking were audiology & speech language pathology and oceanography.

Democrat Ben Stuckart holds town hall, says will fight to get big money out of politics.“I’m running because I’m angry,” the Spokane City Council president said. Stuckart is challenging Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers for representation of the 5^th.

Cowlitz Indian Tribe won the right to open a $510 million casino near the Oregon border. They plan to open the 360,000 square foot casino on part of the 157 of acres near La Center that was granted to them from a decision by the U.S. Department of Interior.

Two inmates escaped from the Yakima County Correctional Center earlier this week. “All indications are that the door would have had to be left unsecured by a staff member who has access to facility keys,” a news release about the break-out said. The two men, Steven D. Roche, 31 and Chad E. Tipton, 31 are still missing.

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