Gov. Bob Ferguson is treating the state budget like a cliffhanger episode, keeping everyone—from lawmakers to lobbyists—guessing about whether he’ll sign off on a $9.4 billion tax package and a two-year budget that relies entirely on it. Also hanging in the balance: a transportation bill that jacks up the gas tax another 6 cents.

Just four months into the job, Ferguson is already embracing the classic Democrat playbook: tax more, spend more, then act surprised when things get unaffordable. He admits taxes are going up—because apparently there’s “no way” to close a $16 billion shortfall without squeezing more out of taxpayers. Cutting spending? Never crossed their minds.

While he’s proud of shoehorning in a $100 million law enforcement hiring grant (because of course that needed “so much work” in this Legislature), he hasn’t signed the bill funding it yet. But don’t worry—he says he’s spending our dollars as efficiently as possible. Just not affordably. Read more at the Washington State Standard.

Gov. Bob Ferguson is off on a Tri-Cities victory lap, where he’ll sign 11 bills into law—but don’t expect him to touch the real landmines. Notably missing from the lineup: the state’s operating budget and a trio of controversial bills that are lighting up headlines and infuriating parents, hospitals, and anyone with a functioning calculator.

Let’s start with House Bill 1296, the Orwellian-sounding “student safety and privacy” bill. Supporters claim it protects kids; critics say it’s another parental rights dumpster fire—keeping moms and dads in the dark while schools potentially help minors make medical decisions behind closed doors. You know, just your average “trust us, we’re the government” moment.

Elizabeth New of the Washington Policy Center is urging Ferguson to veto it, pointing out that even federal agencies are sniffing around now that OSPI told schools to flat-out ignore federal Title IX guidance under Trump. So much for following the law.

New also slammed SB 5083, a bill that would jack up insurance costs and push providers further into the red—because nothing says “access to care” like price caps and closed clinics.

Oh, and if you think that’s the end of the health care hits, think again. Ferguson already signed SB 5480, banning medical debt from credit reports. Sounds nice until you realize it’s just another step toward single-payer fantasyland. New calls it exactly what it is: lawmakers trying to make people beg for socialized medicine.

Then there’s SB 5041, the latest brainchild from the “who’s paying for this?” caucus. It lets striking workers collect unemployment…from the employers they’re refusing to work for. Because nothing says “fairness” like making businesses foot the bill for protests against themselves.

With the clock ticking on the budget signing deadline (May 20), Ferguson’s silence on these hot-button bills is deafening. But hey, as long as the photo ops are good, who needs accountability? Read more at Center Square.

In its latest attempt to tackle rising crime without actually enforcing laws, Seattle is launching a new “Chinatown-International District Ambassadors Program.” It’s a joint venture between the city, Amazon, and the Asian American Foundation, and it kicks off June 1. The plan? Train smiling hall monitors to “deter disruptive behavior” and “connect businesses to city services.” Translation: replace cops with clipboard-wielding goodwill reps.

The program is a response to growing public safety concerns in the AAPI community — concerns that have exploded thanks to years of soft-on-crime policies and urban neglect. A 2024 survey from TAAF shows 38% of AAPI Seattleites experienced anti-Asian incidents in the past year, and nearly 75% have changed their daily routines out of fear. But hey, who needs consequences for criminals when you can have “visibility” and “belonging”?

Seattle and TAAF are throwing a combined $1 million over two years at this project, hoping that an increase in khaki-clad ambassadors will bring safety and foot traffic back to one of the city’s most culturally rich — and most neglected — neighborhoods.

Mayor Bruce Harrell praised the effort with the usual feel-good buzzwords about “support” and “cultural significance.” As for results? The city claims it’s modeled after other ambassador programs that have supposedly worked, but didn’t bother providing any metrics — probably because you can’t measure feelings-based policing.

In short: Seattle’s answer to rising crime is not stronger enforcement, but more branding, more bureaucracy, and more people paid to look busy while the city burns around them. Read more at Center Square.

The University of Washington has officially made the national honor roll — for censorship and cowardice. The David Horowitz Freedom Center just dropped its list of the worst campuses for free speech, and surprise! UW snagged the #10 spot among “Ivory Tower Hypocrites.”

Why? Because it turns a blind eye when far-left activists throw tantrums, break laws, and trample on other people’s rights — all while cracking down on students who dare to express non-woke opinions. Case in point: a recent event with Olivia Krolczyk from the Riley Gaines Center, who had the audacity to argue that biological men shouldn’t compete in women’s sports. Naturally, a mob of 200 radical leftists from Students for a Democratic Society showed up to shout her down, and someone even pulled a fire alarm, forcing the evacuation of the building. UW’s response? A whole lot of nothing — until the Title IX complaint landed.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The report also slams UW for its spiraling antisemitism problem. Pro-Hamas protesters have been harassing Jewish students, shouting down speakers at official meetings, and even physically threatening anyone who wears a yarmulke. Yet again, university leadership shrugs.

According to the Freedom Center, UW has handed the radical gender and anti-Israel mobs the keys to campus while letting women and Jewish students fend for themselves — speech rights be damned.

So congratulations, UW. You’re not just failing your students — you’re doing it with award-winning hypocrisy. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.

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