State Senator Steve O’Ban (R-Tacoma) has asked Attorney General Bob Ferguson to defend the state’s local income tax ban. In the letter O’Ban sent to Ferguson, he reminded the AG that it is a state law that bans local jurisdictions from imposing an income tax.  O’Ban then said, “The state is your client. And a state law in place for over 35 years has just been found invalid on grounds rarely invoked by the court system. We expect you to represent the state’s interest by defending the constitutionality of the law.” (Washington Policy Center)

The former head of the King County Parks department said “he was yelled at, bullied, threatened and intimidated” by County Executive Dow Constantine. Kevin Brown said he was ill-treated because Constantine wanted his friend and financial backer, Kevin Meinert, to obtain the lucrative concessions business for the Marymoor Park concert series. Allegedly Constantine also wanted Brown to find a phony excuse to invalidate the contract of vendor who already had earned the business. (Seattle Times)

The new General Manager for Seattle’s expansion NHL team says Seattle not having an income tax will be beneficial to the new franchise. At his first news conference, Hockey Hall of Famer and new GM Ron Frances said the lack of an income tax will “be appealing for players to want to come and play here.” The new team will begin play at the Seattle Center in the fall of 2021. (KUOW)

Yakima Valley hops growers are working with Salmon Safe, a non-profit sustainable certification organization, to ensure their farming is safe for salmon habitat. In the past five years about a quarter of the region’s hops have been certified and can marketed as “salmon safe.” 90% of the country’s hops are grown in Yakima and Willamette valleys. (Crosscut)

Like many districts around the state, the Spokane School District is facing a serious budget crunch after negotiating a large raise for its teachers. The district estimated that they are going to have a $31 million shortfall next school year. To lessen the severity of possible cuts, Spokane has chosen to dip into their “rainy day fund” for $3.6 million.  (Spokesman-Review)

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