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Lynnwood Times: Who is voting for what? Future 42 releases its scorecard for local governments

Lynnwood Times: Who is voting for what? Future 42 releases its scorecard for local governments

The Lynnwood Times has covered Future 42 Snohomish County’s scorecards: Future 42 Snohomish County has analyzed key 2024 votes in the Snohomish County Council, and the city councils of Edmond, Everett, and Lynnwood into a custom scorecard for each to help inform residents if local council members are reflecting their values with their votes. Links to the...

Washington lawmakers push for recycling scheme at your expense

Washington lawmakers push for recycling scheme at your expense

Washington lawmakers are considering legislation, known as the “bottle bill,” that would impose a new bottle deposit system on residents, despite concerns that similar programs in other states have led to higher costs, fraud, and declining recycling rates. House Bill 1607, sponsored by Rep. Monica Stonier (D-Vancouver), would require consumers to pay a 10-cent deposit...

Politics unPacked: Week 6

Politics unPacked: Week 6

Brandi Kruse has everything you need to know about what happened this week during the legislative session in Olympia.

By Brandi Kruse

Washington lawmakers move to weaken the initiative process and repeal the Parental Notification Law

Washington lawmakers move to weaken the initiative process and repeal the Parental Notification Law

Washington Democrats are moving forward with two bills that undermine citizens’ influence over state policy. Senate Bill 5382 would impose new restrictions on the state’s initiative process, making it significantly harder for grassroots campaigns to place measures on the ballot. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 5181 seeks to repeal a recently enacted parental notification law— one that...

Property taxes are going up—here’s what’s changing in Snohomish County

Property taxes are going up—here’s what’s changing in Snohomish County

As we enter into tax season, the high cost of living and taxes have been a significant topic of discussion in our community and throughout the state. Local governments throughout Snohomish County adopted different strategies to address their planned expenditures in their final budgets for 2025. We can anticipate slight tax increases from time to time for essential services...

[un]Divided: Serious ethical concerns as Dow Constantine eyes Sound Transit CEO job

[un]Divided: Serious ethical concerns as Dow Constantine eyes Sound Transit CEO job

As his time as King County Executive comes to an end, Dow Constantine confirms he’s a finalist to be the next CEO of Sound Transit – a job that could pay more than $600K a year. On unDivided, Brandi Kruse says hiring Constantine would be a clear case of cronyism.

Politics unPacked: Week 5

Politics unPacked: Week 5

Brandi Kruse has everything you need to know about what happened during the legislative session in Olympia this week.

By Brandi Kruse

Announcing Future 42 Snohomish County’s 2024 Scorecard for the Everett City Council

Announcing Future 42 Snohomish County’s 2024 Scorecard for the Everett City Council

Future 42 Snohomish County is a local county project dedicated to advocating key issues such as public safety and tax relief. We are a grassroots effort mobilizing Snohomish County citizens to make their voices heard at the local level. We have recently completed our first set of local scorecards which highlight key votes taken by...

Center Square: Dems push to repeal WA’s cap on property tax hikes encounters stiff resistance

Center Square: Dems push to repeal WA’s cap on property tax hikes encounters stiff resistance

The Center Square Washington covered Tuesday’s committee hearing in which lawmakers debated HB 1334, which would allow state and local governments to triple the rate they increase property taxes, compared to what is currently allowed under law. The bill faced still opposition from the public, with 12,124 people signed-in to oppose the bill with just...

Politics unPacked: Week 4

Politics unPacked: Week 4

Brandi Kruse has everything you need to know about what happened this week during the legislative session in Olympia.

By Brandi Kruse