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Ferguson’s rent cap fantasy isn’t solving Seattle’s housing crisis—it’s pouring gasoline on it and lighting a match.
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Ferguson's Housing Plan: Nuking Seattle, One Rent Cap at a Time
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Governor Bob Ferguson just signed HB 1217, a rent control bill so economically illiterate it could flatten Seattle. Starting June 2025, landlords will be shackled to a cap of 7% plus inflation—or 10% max—on annual rent increases, all while needing to give 90 days’ notice. Because nothing says “thriving housing market” like strangling the supply side with red tape.
The law bans rent hikes in the first year of a lease, limits increases on mobile homes to 5%, and throws single-family homes a temporary lifeline with an exemption—likely until they’re next on the progressive chopping block. The bill squeaked through without a single Republican vote, but hey, when has economic sanity ever mattered to Democrats?
KIRO’s John Curley didn’t mince words, calling Ferguson’s move “a slow-motion detonation” of the city’s housing market. His remedy? Cut the insane permitting and impact fees that make it nearly impossible to build in the first place. But Ferguson’s approach? Double down on the failed logic that got us into this mess.
Democrats call it “housing justice.” The rest of us call it a housing shortage. Read more at KIRO News Radio.
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EV Grift Hits a Pothole: Blue States Sue Trump After Burning Billions and Building Nothing
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After spending four years fumbling $3.3 billion in federal EV charger funds and managing to build almost nothing, a coalition of 17 Democrat-led states—headed by California, Washington, and Colorado—is now suing the Trump administration for pausing the gravy train. Because apparently, lighting taxpayer cash on fire isn’t enough; they also want to sue to keep the match.
The lawsuit targets the Trump administration’s freeze on the NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program—part of the 2021 infrastructure law—that set aside $5 billion for EV chargers. The problem? States like California and Washington haven’t finished even one NEVI-funded charger, despite being handed hundreds of millions. But now that $1.7 billion in unallocated funds is on pause, suddenly they care about “congressional mandates.”
The feds say they’re just reviewing the mess, not pulling the plug—yet. And judging by the track record, there’s a lot to review: out of 44 states that got funding, only 16 have even one operational NEVI charger. That’s a whole lot of green for a whole lot of nothing.
Meanwhile, EV charging tech is evolving so quickly that the hardware being funded might be obsolete before it’s even installed. But that hasn’t stopped blue states from suing to keep the spending spree alive—because the only thing more sacred to Democrats than climate slogans is federal cash with no accountability. Read more at Center Square.
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Washington Democrats Ditch Parental Notification and Bury Common-Sense Transparency
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In a new piece, the Washington Policy Center describes how Amendment 1164 could’ve been a small win for Washington parents. It simply required schools to tell families—once a year—what medical, mental health, or behavioral services they’re offering to kids without parental consent. That’s it. Not consent. Not interference. Just information.
But thanks to legislative maneuvering, even that modest transparency measure got the axe.
The amendment was added to SB 5181, a bill that didn’t survive. The bad news? Its more aggressive twin, HB 1296—which removes parents’ right to be notified about these services—did pass and is now sitting on Governor Bob Ferguson’s desk. It doesn’t include Amendment 1164. So schools are free to know about a child’s health issue or mental crisis, arrange care, and never say a word to parents—who are legally responsible for those kids.
The irony is brutal: Washington just enshrined teen privacy while actively hiding what those privacy rights include. Want to know what services your child can access at school without you? Too bad.
In this state, minors—sometimes at any age—can access abortions, mental health counseling, and even gender-transition-related care, all without telling their parents. The “mature minor doctrine” kicks in at 13. And if educators do tell you? Under HB 1296, they could get in trouble for it.
As the Washington Policy Center points out, supporters say this protects kids from abusive homes. But that’s a smokescreen—schools already must report suspected abuse, and CPS can intervene. Most parents are just trying to raise their kids, not control them. Yet now they’re shut out of life-changing decisions they might not even know are happening.
Amendment 1164 would have helped fix that. Its disappearance is a warning sign: this Legislature trusts bureaucrats more than parents—and wants you in the dark. Read the full article at the Washington Policy Center.
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Patty vs. Patel: When a Career Politician Walks Into a Buzzsaw
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As KTTH’s Jason Rantz describes, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) strutted into a recent Senate hearing thinking she’d ambush FBI Director Kash Patel with accusations of politicizing the Bureau. Instead, she got bodied in record time by a man who’s actually been on the receiving end of the FBI’s partisan vendettas.
Murray’s big “gotcha” moment? Whining that Patel put FBI agents on leave—agents who, inconveniently, violated their ethical oaths. Apparently, holding rogue agents accountable is “political” if they’re on Team Blue. Patel calmly torched that narrative, pointing out he only benched those who broke the rules—and reminded her, bluntly, that twisting his words won’t fly with him or the agents now expected to act like professionals again.
In a scene worthy of a political blooper reel, Murray capped it off by preaching that the FBI shouldn’t be “weaponized”—this from a senator whose party spent years turning the Bureau into their personal smear machine. Patty Murray thought she was walking into a battle of wits. Turns out, she showed up unarmed. Read more at KTTH.
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