Washington lawmakers must have been watching Robin Hood on repeat—except they’re siding with Prince John. As Jason Mercier points out in a recent op-ed, while Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are busy delivering record tax relief, Washington is racing in the opposite direction, crafting a staggering $21 billion in new taxes over four years. Wealth tax? Check. Payroll tax? Check. Property tax hikes? Check. And don’t worry, that tiny sales tax cut won’t kick in until 2027—because nothing screams fairness like “pay now, maybe save later.”

The Legislature even revived its infamous blank ghost bill, HB 2043, which basically says, “We’re gonna tax you more—details to come.” Lawmakers supposedly banned these Title Only bills, but why let rules get in the way of more taxes? Meanwhile, Canada’s new Prime Minister is cutting capital gains taxes to attract investment—because apparently, even Canada understands Econ 101 better than Olympia.

Gov. Bob Ferguson claims Washington won’t “tax our way out of this thing.” Sounds great! Now if only he’d tell his party to stop proposing exactly that. Maybe it’s time for him to channel King Richard and put an end to this tax-happy madness. Read Mercier’s full op-ed at Center Square.

Sound Transit is already a bloated, unaccountable mess, so who better to lead it than Dow Constantine, the guy who ran King County into the ground? Instead of a transparent hiring process, the agency kept details under wraps—except for Constantine, who conveniently confirmed his own bid. His reward? A cushy salary potentially hitting $650,000, outpacing even transit CEOs in New York and Chicago.

Under Constantine’s watch, King County has been a model of inefficiency and wasted tax dollars, so expect more of the same at Sound Transit—just with an even bigger price tag. Supporters claim he’s great at delivering capital projects, but if that were true, King County’s infrastructure wouldn’t be such a disaster. Now, he’s set to oversee a transit agency infamous for delays, cost overruns, and broken promises.

With Constantine at the helm, Sound Transit’s biggest accomplishment will likely be burning through even more taxpayer money—at record speed. So, strap in, Puget Sound, the train to nowhere is about to get even pricier. Read more at Center Square.

Democrats in Olympia are once again making it clear that parents’ voices don’t matter. As Jason Rantz reports, when citizens—including Tim Eyman—showed up to oppose House Bill 1296, they were shut out of the hearing, then literally removed by security. Instead of listening to the overwhelming public opposition, the committee chair stacked the testimony in favor of the bill, proving that public input is just a formality when it doesn’t fit their agenda.

The bill guts Initiative 2081, which prioritized parental rights, and puts government back in charge of kids’ education—because apparently, parents can’t be trusted. Over 80% of regular citizens who weighed in opposed the bill, but that didn’t stop lawmakers from plowing ahead. Eyman predicts it’ll sail through the Legislature, leaving Gov. Bob Ferguson as the last hope for stopping this power grab. If Olympia can silence parents this easily, what’s next? Read more at KTTH.

Jay Inslee’s parting gift to Washington was approving parole for Timothy Pauley, a triple murderer who executed three people in cold blood during a 1980 armed robbery. Bob Ferguson, after days of public outrage and pleas from victims’ families, finally stepped in to cancel the release. Turns out, letting a convicted killer walk free wasn’t a popular move—who knew?

The parole was based on a recommendation from the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board, and Inslee rubber-stamped it on his way out the door. But after backlash from families and the public, Ferguson suddenly found the conviction to “carefully review” the decision. He ultimately decided Pauley wasn’t rehabilitated—something the victims’ families could have told him without all the paperwork. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.

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