So much for the squeaky-clean image. A national controversy is brewing concerning our very own Gov. Bob Ferguson. According to a new report from Axios, Ferguson admitted on tape that he knew way back in 2019 about misconduct allegations against one of his closest aides, Mike Webb — and chose to do nothing meaningful about it. The accusations? Intimidation, pressure, and an alleged sexual encounter that even the FBI took note of.

Webb, who’s been glued to Ferguson’s political hip since his days as attorney general, finally resigned in March — but only after creating what staff called a toxic work environment. Ferguson? He’s now claiming it was all just handled “appropriately” at the time, even though there were no HR complaints, no real follow-up, and no accountability.

State auditors flagged the issue, the FBI got involved, and one woman said she felt “pressured” during a sexual encounter while Webb had influence over her employer’s funding. Another said he tried to intimidate her into silence. Yet somehow, Bob’s big takeaway was: Let’s move on.

And just last month — yes, after Webb resigned — Ferguson let him hop aboard a taxpayer-funded flight with staff, forcing the same people Webb allegedly made uncomfortable to cozy back up next to him in the sky. His response? “Pretty stupid decision.” No kidding.

Democrats like Ferguson love to preach about “believing women” — unless it’s inconvenient, involves a longtime ally, or might cost them political capital. Then suddenly, it’s all “context,” “consent,” and six-year-old HR shrugs.

The only thing worse than Webb’s behavior is how long Ferguson covered it up. But hey, at least he apologized… after getting caught. Read more at Axios.

At the July 24 Sound Transit Board meeting, staff unveiled the vaguely titled “Enterprise Initiative”—a desperate rebranding of yet another financial meltdown. They claim it’s about delivering the “greatest benefits” of the ST3 plan “within available financial capacity.” Translation: ballooning costs have finally made even their fantasy spreadsheets give up. They’re out of money, out of excuses, and now they’ll have to decide which projects to delay, gut, or quietly bury.

Naturally, their presentation was scrubbed clean of any actual numbers—because transparency might alert taxpayers to just how deep the budget black hole has become. But here’s what we do know: after decades of warnings, missed forecasts, and comical ridership projections, Sound Transit’s light rail obsession is circling the drain.

This isn’t a one-off. In 2001, they lowballed costs by over a billion. In 2009, ST2 projects had to be shelved months after approval. In 2021, the Board spent 17 months pretending they could “realign” ST3. Now in 2025, after raking in $2.5 billion a year—and taxing the average household $1,700 annually—they still can’t make the numbers work.

Why? Because they refuse to reconsider their rigid, wildly expensive light rail blueprint—one that delivers fewer riders per mile the farther it stretches. Even pre-COVID, the system barely moved 3% of regional trips. Now, ridership is in freefall. Yet they press on, as if pouring more billions into empty trains will magically solve a problem decades in the making.

The Board could use this collapse as a reset. Drop the broken assumptions, listen to the critics they’ve ignored for years, and finally build a mobility system that works. But that would require admitting failure—and inviting outside experts to clean up the mess.

Let’s see if the “Enterprise Initiative” is actually about fixing anything… or just putting a new name on a very old problem. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison just filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over two executive orders aimed at reining in gender ideology and eliminating bloated DEI bureaucracies from the federal government. Apparently, Seattle is outraged that the feds might stop funding its progressive pet projects—and is now trying to block the president from restoring anything resembling common sense.

One of the orders, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism,” defines sex as male or female based on biological reality. The other, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” tells agencies to scrap taxpayer-funded DEI departments. Seattle’s response? A federal lawsuit claiming these moves are unconstitutional, coercive, and—wait for it—threatening to their progressive utopia.

Mayor Bruce Harrell took to a press release to grandstand about “fair shots” and “level playing fields,” apparently forgetting that federal law isn’t written in PR slogans. Davison echoed the usual outrage lines, claiming the executive orders are “coercive attempts at control” (as if linking funding to policy compliance is a new invention).

Seattle’s preparing for the fallout by raising its business and occupation tax exemption threshold from $100K to $2 million—an oddly timed move that’s supposed to offset a potential $90 million shortfall in federal funding. Because when you lose federal dollars, the solution is obviously to raise local taxes. Again.

This marks the third lawsuit Seattle has filed against the Trump administration since his return to office—part of a trend where progressive cities use courtroom theatrics to fight culture wars they’re losing at the ballot box. And while Seattle officials sue over definitions of “woman,” public safety, homelessness, and skyrocketing costs remain conveniently on the back burner.

Priorities, Seattle-style. Read more at Center Square.

In our latest podcast episode, Chad Magendanz joins the show to talk about his campaign for the state Senate in Washington’s 5th Legislative District. With a background that spans submarining, teaching, lawmaking, and school board service, Chad breaks down the challenges facing Washington—from broken education systems to workforce misfires. He also dishes on what it means to be a sensible voice in a state drowning in political extremes.

Listen now and find out why Chad might just be the nerdy, practical disruptor Olympia desperately needs.

Available on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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