Rep. Matt Manweller (R-Ellensburg) has introduced legislation to sell Evergreen State College, proposing to reduce its state funding incrementally over the course of five years. His bill comes shortly after the college mishandled protestors amid racial tensions. Read more about how the, “Evergreen mob shows even minor dissent will get you ostracized,” here.

Sen. Maralyn Chase (D-Shoreline) is drafting a universal health care system for Washington. While Chase has yet to figure out how to fund something like this in the state, she quickly (and unsurprisingly) pointed to taxes as a possible resource.

CenturyLink has been fined $123,000 for leaving thousands without 911 service without notifying state officials in a timely manner last November. This is not the first time state regulators have fined the company in relation to the availability of their 911 services.

Despite their average pay being “among the highest paid in the state,” the Everett teachers union is threatening to strike. A strike in Everett would be at the expense of the students and, as pointed out in Smarter Government Washington, it “would be illegal.” (Read more here.)

In Seattle, is it now taboo to be friends with a Republican? Read the piece by The Seattle Times’ Danny Westneat, penned following socialist Councilmember Kshama Sawant proudly claiming to not have any Republican friends during a public hearing. It is incredibly inappropriate for a representative of Seattle citizens, regardless of their party, to make a statement like that.  (Read the full column here)

Anshutz Entertainment Group has withdrawn their bid to renovate KeyArena, writing, “significant factors through the bidding process have eroded our confidence in the ultimate execution of this project, no matter which group is selected.” They cited an “unrealistic financing structure,” and a lack of transparency among reasons for their withdrawal. Oak View Group is now the only group with a bid to renovate the arena.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s soda tax proposal would be 8 times the state beer tax. Despite the Seattle city council recently deciding to exclude diet soda from the tax, it is still unclear how the tax would impact beverages like made-to-order coffees. The council is set to vote today on the proposal.

WSDOT put Colfax bridge replacements on hiatus, citing bids as being $800,000 more than the state expected as the reason for putting the projects on hold.

Spokane Transit Authority is being sued by the bus drivers’ union after they denied a request to place advertisements on their buses. The ads would have read, “Do you drive for Uber, Lyft, charter bus, school bus? You have the right to organize.” The union believes the ads were rejected, “simply because it is (about) a union.” STA is claiming they are not currently accepting nor rejecting bus ads and also pointing to a policy prohibiting, “advertising expressing or advocating an opinion, position or viewpoint on matters of public debate about economic, political, religious or social issues.”

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