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Democrats spent five years and $133 million to convert one ferry and now want applause for “being on the right path.”
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Ferry Tale Fails — Liias Defends $133M Lemon as “Progress”
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Washington Democrats promised the nation’s greenest ferry fleet, but all they’ve delivered so far is one delayed, wildly over-budget hybrid vessel—and a whole lot of hot air. Their $4 billion “zero-emissions” ferry fantasy is looking more like a financial faceplant.
So far, just one ferry conversion is complete—one—and it’s a full year late and cost $133 million, far more than expected. Meanwhile, not a single new electric ferry or shore charging terminal is expected before 2030. The rest of the plan? A mystery wrapped in budget overruns and bureaucratic fog.
Yet Sen. Marko Liias, the architect of this mess as Senate Transportation Chair, assures us that despite the blown timelines, ballooning costs, and paused projects, “we’re headed in the right direction.” Right off a fiscal cliff, maybe. Liias now wants to ditch conversions and chase even more expensive new builds—starting with three ferries at a whopping $405 million apiece.
Even some Democrats are finally starting to ask the obvious: how many emissions are we actually reducing for all this money? Ferry officials couldn’t answer. And it was Republican Rep. Andrew Barkis who had the courage to say what everyone else is thinking: it’s time to take a hard look at the whole boondoggle.
But don’t worry—Liias says we just need to “be more eyes wide open” moving forward. After six years of planning, $1.68 billion committed, and almost nothing delivered, that’s not a plan—it’s damage control.
This is what happens when climate absolutism replaces common sense. Washington doesn’t have a ferry problem—it has a Democratic leadership problem. Read more at the Washington State Standard.
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Bob Ferguson Melts Down Over Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”
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Governor Bob Ferguson and Rep. Pramila Jayapal threw a full-blown tantrum in Seattle this week over President Trump’s newly signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act—an 870-page budget overhaul that dares to cut spending, reduce the deficit, and limit how much of your paycheck ends up funding their progressive wish list.
Ferguson ranted that the bill is a “big betrayal” (he said that three times, just to be dramatic) and warned that Washingtonians will go hungry, lose healthcare, and possibly fall into the sea—all because D.C. finally stopped writing blank checks to cover Olympia’s bloated spending habits.
Among his chief complaints: the bill reduces federal Medicaid funding, trims food stamp (SNAP) spending, and—brace yourself—puts a one-year pause on Medicaid money for Planned Parenthood. Of course, he failed to mention that the bill actually protects core entitlements while eliminating fraud, tightening eligibility loopholes, and refocusing benefits on the truly needy—rather than subsidizing endless expansion and dependence.
Ferguson even admitted the obvious: 28% of Washington’s budget comes from federal dollars. That’s not normal, it’s a warning sign. For years, state Democrats have built a house of cards on borrowed federal money, and now that the wind is blowing, they’re blaming everyone else.
Jayapal called it “the most cruel piece of legislation” she’s ever seen. (This from the same crowd that cheered when gas stoves were banned, parents were labeled domestic threats, and kids were locked out of schools during COVID.)
Bottom line? Republicans passed a bill to restore some semblance of fiscal sanity and rein in unsustainable federal spending—and Democrats are panicking because they might finally have to live within their means. Read more at Center Square.
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Democrats Left a Fentanyl Loophole, Spokane Valley Had to Fix It Themselves
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After years of Democrat-controlled state government ignoring the exploding fentanyl crisis, the Spokane Valley City Council just passed a local ordinance to close a glaring loophole in state law—one that somehow still doesn’t consider reckless exposure to fentanyl a serious offense.
While state law treats meth as a Class B felony for endangerment, it bizarrely leaves out fentanyl and other opioids, which means cops have had to get creative when toddlers overdose after finding their parents’ stash. (Yes, that’s actually happened.)
The Council’s fix? A gross misdemeanor ordinance with mandatory jail time—90 days for the first offense, 180 for repeat offenders—targeting anyone who “knowingly or recklessly” exposes others to narcotics. It’s a modest but necessary move after overdose deaths in the county jumped 15% last year, with fentanyl deaths alone up 19,000% since 2018.
All this because Olympia has spent more time decriminalizing drugs than stopping them. Local leaders are now forced to cobble together protections for kids and seniors while state Democrats argue over pronouns and safe-injection sites.
Sadly, it’s a pattern: real problems, real damage, and real silence from the people in charge. Read more at Center Square.
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