Now that the dust is settling after the short 2026 legislative session, a conservative tax policy think tank has compiled a multiyear breakdown of when the slew of new state taxes and handful of tax cuts go in and out of effect.
Washington boasts 221 housing-related programs across 30 state agencies.
But despite all of these initiatives, Lt. Gov. Denny Heck thinks the state is still going in the wrong direction developing affordable housing.
“We’re not doing a very good job at all, because the hole is getting deeper,” Heck said last week.
Heck is part of a group of elected officials, state agency staff, tribal members, local government advocates and developers tasked with devising ideas for Washington to set up a new state Department of Housing.
Tucked into President Donald Trump’s new budget request is a plan that could dramatically change — and, critics say, slash — how much money and help states provide to people needing jobs and training.
The Trump administration has dropped its appeal to a federal court ruling that blocked its cap on federal reimbursement for state energy programs, threatening projects ranging from energy efficiency and grid resilience to wildfire mitigation.
Labor organizers are calling the recent 2026 legislative session a success for workers and their families and calling out lawmakers who didn’t support their efforts.
Opponents of Washington’s new income tax on high earners filed a lawsuit April 9, arguing the controversial law is unconstitutional and in conflict with nearly a century of state Supreme Court precedent.
The Richland Public Facilities District, or RPFD, has selected the grassroots group that has worked for decades to establish a performing arts center in the Tri-Cities to study how an existing outdoor amphitheatre can better support community and cultural events.
