Cantwell Statement on Trump’s Escalation of Trade War on Canada

Sen. Maria Cantwell

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, released this statement regarding the Trump administration’s announcement of new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods:

"Trade with Canada powers $7.3 billion in Washington state exports and supports more than 200,000 jobs.

"To protect American workers, wine growers, and brewers, President Trump must drop these tariffs, honor the USMCA, and restore our productive partnership with one of America’s closest allies and largest trade partners."

According to a recent report by the Seattle-based Washington Council on International Trade, Washington state imported $15.2 billion in Canadian goods from April 2025 to March 2026. Washington state businesses shipped $7.3 billion in goods to Canada.

Sen. Cantwell has been a steadfast champion of opening new markets for American manufacturers overseas, and of defending American businesses from the Trump Administration’s damaging tariffs.

Immediately following President Trump’s April 2, 2025, ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, Senators Cantwell and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan Trade Review Act to reaffirm Congress’ key role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy. 

The Trade Review Act of 2025, modeled after the War Powers Resolution of 1973, would reestablish limits on the president’s ability to impose unilateral tariffs without the approval of Congress.

The Trade Review Act of 2025 has considerable bipartisan support, and a bipartisan companion bill to Cantwell’s legislation has also been introduced in the House of Representatives. 

In October, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization, endorsed Sen. Cantwell’s legislation and the National Taxpayers Union included the Trade Review Act in their Top 10 Bipartisan Bills for Taxpayers “No Brainer” list for 2025. 

View all statements of support, including from organizations that represent millions of small, medium, and large businesses, HERE.

Read more...

Candidate for Senate 32nd Legislative District - Ira McBee

Ira McBee

Ira McBee - Candidate for Senate 32nd Legislative District

I never wanted to be a politician.
A few years ago I started sending emails to my representatives about decisions being made in Olympia and their impact on our communities. Eventually I realized that if people who believe accountability matters don't step forward, things don't stay the same. They get worse.

I've spent most of my adult life doing work that required exactly what I think a good legislator needs: bringing together people who disagree, building trust where little exists, and helping them solve problems they couldn't solve alone. I've worked in over twenty countries, including active conflict zones, helping deeply divided communities find a way forward. I wrote a conflict reconciliation curriculum while living in the West Bank. I've been doing that kind of work for more than two decades.

I've done that in harder rooms than Olympia.

My wife and I live in Edmonds and are raising our family here, and like many families, we've felt the pressure of rising costs and growing frustration with the direction of our state. Washington isn't delivering the results families were promised. The state budget has more than doubled, yet too many people feel like they're working harder, paying more, and falling behind. Healthy government requires balance, scrutiny, and people willing to ask hard questions about whether spending is actually working.

The question isn't how much government spends. The question is whether people are seeing the results. We should feel it in our paychecks, on our roads, and in our schools. Most families don't.

I would bring to the Senate a track record of building trust with people who had every reason not to give it, and a genuine commitment to asking whether we're getting the results we're paying for, not as a slogan, but as a standard I've applied throughout my career.

If Washington were working, we'd all know it. We'd feel it. The fact that we don't is the reason I'm here.

Ira McBee
Republican Candidate, Washington State Senate, 32nd District
iramcbee.com

Read more...

The Washington Supreme Court and The Rule of Law - presentation July 15, 2026 at Third Place Commons

Photo courtesy Washington Courts

THE WASHINGTON STATE SUPREME COURT AND THE RULE OF LAW

• Do you know what role the Washington State Supreme Court Justices play in our lives?

• What is the role of an independent judiciary in our governmental system of checks and balances? 

• What is the rule of law anyway?

These are questions that many voters will have as they consider their primary ballots arriving this month, when 5 of the 9 seats on the Washington State Supreme Court will be on the ballot.

King County Bar Association (KCBA) Vice President Ms. Cynthia B. Jones and
Judge Johanna Bender from the King County Bar Association’s Civics Stewardship program.

The North King County Unit of the League of Women Voters of Seattle King County is sponsoring a public presentation featuring King County Bar Association (KCBA) Vice President Ms. Cynthia B. Jones and Judge Johanna Bender from the King County Bar Association’s Civics Stewardship program.

The presentation is scheduled for Wednesday July 15, 2026 at 6pm in Third Place Commons in the Lake Forest Park Town Center mall at 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155.

The goal of the KCBA Civics Stewardship Program is to enhance understanding of our justice system and its role in the three branches of government.

Ms. Cynthia Jones is a practicing attorney who focuses on civil and criminal appeals in federal and state courts, including the Supreme Court of Washington.

Judge Johanna Bender has served on the King County Superior Court bench since 2015 and is the former Chief Judge of the Maleng Regional Justice Center, Assistant Chief Criminal Judge for the Superior Court and the Lead Judge for the Involuntary Treatment Court. She is currently assigned to hear child welfare cases.

The League of Women Voters of Seattle King County is a nonpartisan organization that does not support any candidates or parties.

Our mission is to empower voters and defend democracy.

Read more...

Dembowski celebrates installation of 90th new ballot drop box in King county

Rod Dembowski at the Northgate Branch of The Seattle Public Library.

King county Councilmember Rod Dembowski, along with CM Jorge L. Baron, Elections Director Julie Wise, and Seattle Public Libraries Chief Librarian Tom Fay

celebrated the 90th ballot drop box in King County at the Seattle Public Library-Northgate! 

We will have 100 drop boxes by November. 

Rod says, "I wrote legislation in 2015 to significantly expand the drop box program — and voters love it; 67% of voters used them last November.

 
"In our most recent budget we added funding for more boxes and more security features to protect them. 

"We are ready for whatever the Feds throw our way. Thank you Julie Wise for your years of leadership supporting this effort!"

Neighbors commented that this particular drop box will benefit the residents of multiple local senior living communities.

The Shoreline area already has drop boxes at the 192nd park 'n ride, the Shoreline Library, LFP City Hall,  the Lake City Library, and the Broadview Library.

Read more...

Seattle Mayor endorses opponent of Rep. Gerry Pollet in 46th district of northeast Seattle

Washington state capitol in Olympia

By Bill Lucia

Washington State Standard

The democratic socialist mayor of Seattle on Saturday night endorsed opponents running to the left of two longtime Democratic state legislators who represent the city, including the party’s top lawmaker in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen said Mayor Katie Wilson told him during a meeting she requested yesterday that she would endorse Hannah Sabio-Howell, the progressive activist challenging Pedersen in Seattle’s 43rd Legislative District. Pedersen said he’d asked Wilson last fall for her endorsement, but she’d demurred.

Rep. Gerry Pollet said Wilson told him in a phone call on Saturday morning that she planned to endorse one of his primary opponents, Ron Davis, for the House seat in the 46th District, which includes much of north Seattle east of Aurora Avenue. Pollet has held the seat since 2011.

“It’s just astonishing to me,” Pollet said Saturday. “I have worked hard to support the city’s agenda, including since she became mayor.”

Wilson confirmed the endorsements in an emailed statement late Saturday.

With the endorsements, the first-term mayor of the state’s biggest city is spurning two veteran Seattle legislators — including one of the most powerful lawmakers in Olympia — while backing a pair of political newcomers who are more firmly in her camp on the party’s left flank.

“There is strong pressure for elected officials to endorse fellow incumbents. It’s a way of maintaining relationships, part of the quid pro quo of governing. I understand this, but it’s not the way I want to do politics,” Wilson said in the statement.

“We’re at an inflection point in our city and our region. Voters are feeling a warranted frustration with the status quo,” she added.

Her endorsements come after Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist mayor of New York City supported a slate of successful congressional candidates in New York primary races this week. They ran on progressive economic policies and opposition to U.S. support for Israel, and their wins rattled centrists in the party nationwide heading toward this year’s midterms.

Pedersen didn’t rule out the idea that the dynamics in New York are reflected here.

“I think there are people who want it to be a comparison,” he said. “Who aspire for us to be divided in that same way.”

Pedersen, who was elected to the Legislature in 2006 and has served as Senate majority leader since late 2024, was a main architect of the state’s new income tax on high earners. He said Saturday that he’d hoped Wilson would devote her political energy this year to defeating an expected ballot measure aimed at overturning the income tax.

“It’s a little disappointing that she’s instead doing this,” Pedersen said.

Pollet, who has a reputation as a key liaison between Seattle municipal government and Olympia, said Wilson indicated that her decision was driven not by his policy positions, but by the mayor’s ties to Davis. 

Davis helped lead efforts to create a campaign fundraising operation that supported Wilson’s mayoral run last year, raking in around $442,000.

“She acknowledged that I’ve been a leader in support of the city,” Pollet added, recounting his phone call with Wilson. The message, he heard: legislators who work with the city “can be thrown overboard if the mayor has a personal relationship with someone else.”

Pollet pointed to frustrations among constituents in his district with the mayor, specifically related to gun violence and sex trafficking around Aurora Avenue.

He said he’d recommended to residents in that area that they block off streets themselves (which they did with planters) following shootings in the corridor. He told them this would likely spur the city to take action to address the crime issues. Earlier this month, Wilson moved to close some streets in the area.

“They’re not happy with her,” Pollet said.

Both Pedersen and Pollet questioned how much of a difference Wilson’s endorsement will make as Washington’s Aug. 4 primary election approaches.

In Pollet’s race, both he and Davis trail a third contender in fundraising. Will Dreher, also a Democrat, has raised around $257,000. Pollet has about $165,000 socked away, and Davis has raised around $135,000. Because it’s a three-way race, it’s possible Pollet could get knocked out in the primary stage.

Read more...

Lake Forest Park residents invited to serve on Pro and Con Committees for Public Safety Levy Lid Lift

The City of Lake Forest Park invites residents to serve on the “Pro” and “Con” committees that will write the official statements in favor of and against a proposed six-year Public Safety Levy Lid Lift. 

The City Council approved placing a six year levy lid lift proposition on the November 3, 2026, general-election ballot. For a current draft of the proposal, please refer to the resolution 26-2084 found here: June 25, 2026 Regular Meeting Packet.

Under RCW 29A.32.280, each committee may have up to three voting members and any number of non-voting advisors; all members must be registered voters living in Lake Forest Park. 

If appointed, members will collaborate to draft a 200-word statement supporting or opposing the levy and may later prepare a 75-word rebuttal after reviewing the opposing side’s submission. King County Elections deadlines require the final statements to be submitted no later than August 14, 2026.

Residents interested in participating should email City Clerk Matt McLean at mmclean@cityoflfp.gov by 5:00pm on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Please include your name, residential address, phone number, and indicate whether you want to serve on the Pro or Con committee. The City Council will appoint committee members at its meeting on Thursday, July 23, 2026, and their names will be sent to King County Elections by August 4, 2026.

For additional information, contact Matt McLean at mmclean@cityoflfp.gov or 206-368-5440. Thank you for helping provide Lake Forest Park voters with balanced and informative perspectives on this important public-safety measure.

Read more...

Battle against WA ballot initiatives aimed at transgender students

No Hate in WA State yard signs for the campaign against two Let’s Go Washington ballot initiatives. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard)

No Hate in WA State argues the two initiatives, backed by the conservative group Let’s Go Washington, would invade children’s privacy, vilify transgender youth and leave vulnerable kids unwilling to seek help.

One of the initiatives, IL26-001, looks to eliminate changes Democratic lawmakers made in 2025 to a Let’s Go Washington initiative on the rights of parents of public school students. 

The Legislature had approved the initiative a year earlier. 

The other measure, IL26-638, would bar transgender K-12 students from competing in girls’ sports, confirming children’s sex assigned at birth through routine athletic physicals.

No Hate in WA State has raised $736,000 this year in its fight against the initiatives, with big backing from teacher unions, including the National Education Association and its Washington state branch. 

The American Civil Liberties Union, Gender Justice League and the Service Employees International Union 775 are among the other major donors.

READ MORE

--Washington State Standard

Read more...

Cantwell introduces Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act

The side of NOAA's WP-3D Hurricane Hunter "Miss Piggy" displays stickers representing hurricanes the aircraft has flown through over its 50 years of service. Each sticker represents a mission that provided critical data to forecasters, helping improve storm predictions and deliver more accurate warnings to communities in harm's way.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, yesterday introduced the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act. 

The legislation will, for the first time, codify the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA's) Hurricane Hunter mission in federal law and authorize up to nine Hurricane Hunter aircraft. It also includes provisions to better prepare the nation’s first line of defense against stronger and more frequent hurricanes, atmospheric rivers, and winter storms.

The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Ted Budd (R-NC).

NOAA's WP-3D Hurricane Hunter “Miss Piggy.” The aircraft collects vital data from inside hurricanes and severe storms, improving forecast accuracy and warning lead times for communities across the United States.

“As atmospheric rivers become more frequent and severe across the Pacific Northwest, our communities increasingly depend on accurate forecasts to prepare for flooding and other extreme weather,” said Sen. Cantwell. 

“NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft collect critical data that improves those forecasts, but much of the fleet is more than 50 years old. This bipartisan legislation will modernize and expand the fleet, strengthening NOAA’s ability to provide the timely, accurate warnings that help keep families, businesses, and communities safe.”

Inside the cockpit of NOAA's Gulfstream IV-SP (G-IV) Hurricane Hunter aircraft. The G-IV flies above hurricanes and atmospheric rivers, deploying dropsondes that measure wind, pressure, temperature, and moisture. These observations fill critical data gaps over the ocean, improving forecasts and helping communities better prepare for flooding, landslides, and other storm-related hazards.

NOAA's Hurricane Hunter aircraft conduct airborne weather reconnaissance missions that are essential to accurate storm track and intensity forecasts, giving coastal communities critical lead time to evacuate and prepare. 

The aircraft also carry out atmospheric river reconnaissance, providing data that improves forecasting of the extreme precipitation events that drive flooding and landslides across the western United States. 

The existing fleet is aging, and without investment in replacement aircraft and modernized radar and remote sensing capabilities, the continuity of these life-saving missions is at risk. 

For example, NOAA’s two WP-3D aircraft that fly through hurricanes, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, will reach the end of their service life in 2030. While two C-130J aircraft are currently being built to replace them, with increasing severe storms and atmospheric rivers, NOAA needs additional aircraft to meet their mission requirements.

In December 2025, atmospheric rivers dumped an estimated five trillion gallons of rain across Washington state, triggering devastating floods, damaging homes and businesses, and disrupting critical transportation corridors. In the western United States, atmospheric rivers are responsible for 84 percent of flood damages—costing approximately $1.1 billion annually—and account for 97 percent of flood damages in King County alone.

Following the December storms, at least 73 landslides were reported across Washington, with many more likely going undocumented. Major transportation routes were severely impacted, including U.S. Highway 2 near Leavenworth, which remained closed for weeks due to flood damage, while floodwaters washed out 1,000 feet of a primary access road in Stehekin.

NOAA's Hurricane Hunter aircraft collect unique atmospheric data that significantly improves forecasts of atmospheric rivers and other major storms, providing communities with earlier and more accurate warnings. As atmospheric rivers become more frequent and intense, expanding NOAA's weather reconnaissance fleet and codifying atmospheric river reconnaissance as part of its mission is critical to protecting lives, infrastructure, and local economies across the Pacific Northwest.

These forecasts are critical around the country, too. Today, the first named storm of the 2026 hurricane season made landfall in the U.S., and NOAA forecasters warned that it is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated higher totals near 20 inches, resulting that it could result in life-threatening flash flooding in states along the Gulf Coast.

The Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act would:

• Authorize $2.5 billion in appropriations to purchase more Hurricane Hunter aircraft and $45 million per year for NOAA aircraft operations and maintenance.
• Codify NOAA's Hurricane Hunter mission in federal law, establishing a permanent statutory foundation for airborne weather reconnaissance and research.
• Increase the authorized number of C-130J aircraft from a maximum of six, to at least six and up to nine, to meet increasing storm demands across the country.
• Direct NOAA to acquire aircraft to meet its airborne weather reconnaissance mission, including atmospheric river reconnaissance that supports flood forecasting in the West and across the country.
• Require NOAA to maintain backup aircraft to ensure continuity of operations if aircraft are grounded due to maintenance or mechanical issues.
• Modernize airborne radar and remote sensing capabilities to ensure Hurricane Hunter aircraft are equipped with the most up to technology available.
• Authorize multi-year contracting authority for future aircraft acquisition and support, enabling more efficient and cost-effective procurement needed to speed up aircraft purchases and save taxpayer dollars.
• Codify the requirement that NOAA maintain a sufficient number of qualified NOAA Corps pilots, preserving the specialized expertise these Hurricane Hunter flights demand.

The dropsonde launch tube aboard NOAA's WP-3D Hurricane Hunter aircraft. As the aircraft flies through a hurricane, crew members release dropsondes—small weather instruments that descend by parachute and measure wind, air pressure, temperature, and humidity. The data they transmit in real time provides forecasters with critical information about a storm's structure and intensity.

Sen. Cantwell is leading the effort to improve the nation’s weather forecasting capabilities. Earlier this year, she led a letter to Senate appropriators along with Sens. Padilla, Andy Kim (D-NJ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) requesting robust funding for NOAA aircraft operations, including $11 million to finalize acquisition of a second G550, and $357 million to purchase an additional C-130J aircraft.

In March, Sen. Cantwell’s Weather Act, which authorizes programs at NOAA that will strengthen weather research and forecasting to save lives and better prepare our nation against dangerous weather disasters, unanimously passed the Commerce Committee. 

The Weather Act is an important component of Sen. Cantwell’s 5 Point Plan to bolster U.S. weather readiness, which she outlined in a letter to President Donald Trump in July 2025. 

Earlier this year, she introduced legislation to establish the Radar Next Program which will carry out deployment of the nation’s next generation weather radar system. Last August, she introduced legislation to modernize the nation’s weather communication and radio service as the country faces increasingly powerful floods, fires, and hurricanes.

Sen. Cantwell’s provision in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022, which was passed into law through the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, directed NOAA to acquire adequate aircraft to meet its air reconnaissance and research mission and authorized six aircraft to replace the aging WP-3D aircraft, along with $800 million in funding. 

Sen. Cantwell helped secure $3.3 billion in NOAA investments in the Inflation Reduction Act to help communities prepare for and adapt to climate change, boost science needed to understand changing weather and climate patterns, and invest in advanced computer technologies that are critical for extreme weather prediction and emergency response. 

Her Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen NOAA’s ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires, passed the Senate in September of last year.

The text of the bill is HERE.

Read more...

Washington state Supreme Court affirms $25M judgment against Facebook for campaign finance violations

Public Disclosure Commission investigation led to Attorney General’s lawsuit

The Washington state Supreme Court issued a ruling today upholding both a 2022 King County Superior Court ruling that Meta, parent company of Facebook, violated state campaign finance law on dozens of occasions and a judgment ordering $24.6 million in fines plus attorney’s fees.

The penalty is believed to be the largest ever imposed for campaign finance violations in United States history.

“Washington state law requires all commercial advertisers – from Mom-and-Pop print shops to the largest companies in the world – to promptly disclose information related to the purchase of political advertisements,” said Executive Director Peter Frey Lavallee. “The state Supreme Court has affirmed that Meta must follow the law.”

The Washington state Court of Appeals previously affirmed the judgment in December 2024. Meta appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court.

Meta asked the court to consider both the company’s liability for the violations and the size of the penalty. The majority of the court affirmed the previous courts’ rulings that Meta is liable for the violations of state law. The court was divided in three even parts on the issue of the penalty, resulting in the original court’s judgment being affirmed.

The PDC investigation began after the agency received complaints against Facebook. Agency staff presented its initial findings to the five-member Commission, which voted to refer the matter to the Washington state Attorney General’s Office. 

The AGO filed a lawsuit with broader allegations beyond the PDC complaints against Facebook in 2020.

Two years later, the King County Superior Court awarded $8,220,000 in civil penalties and $3.5 million in attorney fees and costs, then tripled both figures per state law, because Meta’s violations of state campaign finance requirements were found to be intentional. Current Commission Vice Chair Douglass North was the presiding judge in the original case, prior to his appointment to the PDC.

Commercial advertisers – businesses that sell political advertising – are required by Washington public disclosure law to make information about those ads and their purchasers available for the public to inspect upon request. The lawsuit argued that Facebook sold hundreds of ads to Washington state political committees without making required information available.

Read more...

Pramila Jayapal: Resources for the World Cup

We are just 11 days away from welcoming millions of fans from across the globe for the 2026 World Cup! Seattle is hosting six matches at Lumen Field June 15 until July 6. 

While this is such an exciting time, it’s important that we are prepared.

Seattle is one of the few host cities that will feature World Cup matches in the heart of downtown. This means that many fans plan to use transit to get to and from matches – there is no public parking at the stadium. 

Here are some changes to be aware of: 

• King County Metro plans to add 60 buses on match days and 30 to 40 additional buses on non-match days during the tournament. To plan your trip, use the King County Trip Planner, or download the King County Metro Transit App.
• King County Metro will be providing free rides on the new waterfront shuttle service beginning May 21 through Labor Day. Connections will take place between Seattle Center, Waterfront Park, Pioneer Square, Seattle Stadium, and the Chinatown-International District.
• Temporary barriers and concrete barricades will be installed in some areas, including along Royal Brougham Way, to enhance pedestrian safety.
• Sound Transit will increase service on its light rail lines, running trains every eight minutes on game days until 1:00am.
• The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will scale back major road construction, including pausing the Revive I-5 construction zone on the Ship Canal Bridge.
• The City of Seattle is creating a Pedestrian Zone in Pioneer Square on match days, where the streets will be closed to traffic. Street closures will typically begin about 4 hours before match start times.

If you have any questions about closures, reroutes, or service disruptions during the World Cup, be sure to visit the King County Metro website.

Safety is a top priority — for visitors and Seattleites. FEMA and other federal partners will be taking steps to prepare and protect our community. Here are some ways to stay informed and safe during the tournament: 

• Download the FEMA App to get real-time updates in English or Spanish for the area you are in or up to five locations.
• Follow FEMA Region 10 on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn, along with FEMA on Facebook and Instagram, for additional public safety updates.
• Sign up for emergency alerts from King County in the language of your choice by text, voice call, or email at ALERT King County.
• Sign up for AlertSeattle to receive customized emergency alerts via text message, email, voice message, or social media. Or text the word SEATTLE to 67283.

As always, stay alert and be aware of your surroundings.

Local and federal partners have worked together to make Seattle a welcoming, inclusive, and safe place for fans, while mitigating disruptions to our community members. Let’s all look out for each other during these matches. Until then, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to my office at 206-674-0040.

Pramila Jayapal
U.S. Representative (WA-07)

Read more...

Dembowski begins a process to bridge the gap in the Interurban Trail

The Interurban Trail stops at 200th Street in Shoreline and breaks east before continuing over State Route 104 — a highway intersection that sees more than 41,000 daily cars. (Screenshot via Greater Northshore Bike Connector Map)

Last year, when King County voters approved Proposition 1’s six-year, $1.45 billion parks levy, King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski planted a seed for the Interurban Trail, the roughly 30-mile-long path following an old rail line that once connected Everett to Seattle.

“For a century or more, that corridor has connected the region — until we took out the trolley a long time ago and built a highway across it, and disrupted that connection,” Dembowski said Friday. “And it’s long past time to restore it in a safe way.”

During an event at Shoreline’s Echo Lake Park, Dembowski explained that he secured $5 million of the money generated through the levy to reconnect the Interurban Trail from its King County endpoint, near the Aurora Village Transit Center, to its Snohomish County endpoint on the other side of State Route 104/N 205th St.

“This is just the beginning, but it is, I think, the first sign of real forward momentum to really reconnect King County with Snohomish County in a safe way, and really complete this regional trail network,” Dembowski said.

The Interurban Trail descends from the Everett-Seattle Interurban rail line, which ran from 1910 to 1939, and ultimately became a utility corridor. In the 1990s, Snohomish County and the cities of Lynnwood and Everett opened an 11.8-mile pedestrian and cycling route along that path. 

Shoreline began its development of the Interurban in the mid-2000s. From Shoreline heading south, the trail winds down a combination of protected bike lanes and sharrow-marked streets to the Fremont Bridge and into Downtown Seattle.

Rod Dembowski, King County Councilmember

Dembowski gave credit to North Sound Bicycle Advocates (NSBA), a nonprofit organization that works to improve infrastructure, road safety and promote cycling in North King and South Snohomish counties.

In 2024, amid a push by advocates to close the Interurban gap, NSBA brought Dembowski to visit the trail on a walking tour. 

From the Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline, he saw the end of the existing trail, forcing travelers to cut east, then north, to cross the state highway and rejoin the trail.

He remembered watching as a lone cyclist struggled to find the trail and continue their ride. 

And, according to Washington State Department of Transportation data, the intersection of State Route 104/N 205th and Meridian Avenue North/76th Avenue West averages about 41,000 cars daily — about 12,000 more than the intersection of Aurora Avenue and 205th Street, half a mile away. That tour, he said, compelled him to act.

The parks levy included major investments into King County’s regional trail system, Dembowski said, but none for the “missing link” to the Interurban Trail — until he included the $5 million set-aside as a “down payment” on the work. He also carved out funding from the County budget that assigned staff to lead the project forward, beginning with a study of what’s possible.

“My idea was to use our knowledge and capabilities as a regional government to fulfill that regional leadership role here across the governments and bring some starter money to it,” Dembowski said. “Community advocates can only go so far. At some point, the government needs to respond.”

Edmonds resident Gordon Black, who serves as vice president of NSBA, said that Dembowski has encouraged him and his fellow advocates to “think big.” He feels the best option for connection would be a bridge spanning State Route 104.

“We feel very excited that we’ve made progress in getting a study, and then the next installment will be to work with state and federal officials to get funding for construction,” Black said. He estimates that a bridge project would cost between $12 million and $16 million. “We believe that we’ll let the experts, the engineers and others determine the range of options,” he said.

Dembowski also observed the power — and potential — of the trail as a transit project connecting bus transit to light rail, which could bring additional funding.

When asked, Dembowski declined to guess when the Interurban gap may be closed.

“I think maybe, in six to nine months, we’ll have a better understanding of what the timeline may be,” he said.

As for his goal?

“I want to see the vanquishment of the missing link. I want to see the folks that we’ve seen coming by here on bicycles and wheelchairs — walking, biking, rolling, strollering — to be able to go all the way north, and for our friends from the north to come south,” Dembowski said.

--David Mendez is the publisher of The Osprey

--Republished from MyEdmondsNews.com

Read more...

Following request from Sen. Murray, Sen. Warren, Independent Government Watchdog expands investigation into Trump Admin efforts to dismantle Education Department

Half the staff have been removed
from the Department of Education

Government Accountability Office (GAO) announces investigation into transfer of defaulted student loan portfolio from Education Department (ED) to Treasury Department, other interagency agreements

Washington, D.C. – 

• U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), 
• Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), 
• Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), 
• Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies,

received a response to their request from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent government watchdog, confirming the expansion of its investigation into the Department of Education’s (ED) transfer of critical programs to other agencies through interagency agreements (IAAs), including the transfer of student loan default collections to the Department of the Treasury. 

Following a letter from Senators Murray, Warren, Sanders, and Baldwin, GAO previously confirmed it had initiated an investigation into ED’s transfer of grant programs for career and technical education and adult education to the Department of Labor.

“These illegal agreements jeopardize the resources students and families rely on and weaken our nation’s education system,” said Senator Murray.

“The GAO’s investigation is an important step in protecting the programs that serve our students and the rights they are entitled to by law. I’ll keep fighting back to ensure our students and schools receive all the support they deserve.”

Last summer, the Trump administration formalized an IAA moving the day-to-day management of career and technical education and adult education grant programs, like Perkins V and AEFLA, from ED to the Labor Department. 

The Administration has since entered into nine other IAAs moving the administration of large parts of the Department of Education to other federal agencies. On February 19, 2026 the senators asked GAO to investigate the agreements’ impacts on program costs, timely access to funding, access to services, and quality of technical assistance for grantees.

On March 11, the GAO confirmed it had opened an investigation into ED’s transfer of grant programs to the Department of Labor and other agencies, writing: “GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority.”

Now, GAO is expanding its probe. In the new letter, GAO wrote that it has initiated work in response to the lawmakers’ February request for a review of the impacts of ED’s IAAs and that it intends to initiate additional workstreams reviewing other IAAs announced by ED, including the transfer of student loan default collections from ED to the Treasury Department.

The full text of the letter is available HERE.

Read more...

Sen. Murray trades tennis shoe for ankle brace

Sen. Patty Murray in ankle brace

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement:

"Earlier this week, while running down the stairs in a rush, I tripped and ended up breaking my ankle—I wouldn’t recommend it. 

"Next week, I’ll be back at the Capitol for votes and hearings and doing everything else I can to be a voice for Washington state in the Senate—I’ll just be swapping one of my tennis shoes for an ankle brace for a bit. 

"Whether on foot, crutches, or wheels—I have no doubt I’ll still be one of the fastest Senators and I hope to be speed walking through the halls of Congress again very soon. 

"I want to express my deep gratitude to the staff at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center for their excellent care and treatment.”

Read more...

America at 250: Activism and Political Participation in the West

Dr. Kyle Kinoshita and Shoreline City Councilmember Chris Roberts

America at 250

ACTIVISM AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE WEST
Thursday, May 28, 2026 from 5:30 - 7:00pm
Presented by Winnick & Associates, Shoreline College, 

and the City of Shoreline
Shoreline Community College, PUB
16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline WA 98133

Public event. Free.

In the second part of the America at 250: Roots, Resistance, and Renewal series, join Shoreline City Councilmember Chris Roberts and Dr. Kyle Kinoshita to explore how communities engage in activism and participate in politics.

Chris Roberts traces his family’s journey through the long, uneven history of Native voting rights in the United States and explores the evolving role of tribal citizens in civic life. Roberts is an enrolled member of the Choctaw nation of Oklahoma.

Dr. Kyle Kinoshita, retired Chief of Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction for Seattle Public Schools and a member of the Japanese American Citizens League, examines how Japanese Americans turned to the First Amendments —speech, assembly, and the right to petition—in their pursuit of justice after wartime incarceration.

After each speaker, there will be short facilitated discussions with participants.

RSVP here

Reminder: The first session of the series will be Roots, Resistance & Renewal with Fern Renville (see previous article)
Location: PUB, Building 9000, 16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133
Date and time: Thursday May 21, 2026 5:30pm

Read more...

Become a Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) for your neighborhood - filing deadline Friday May 8, 2026

This week is PCO filing week for both Democrats and Republicans in King County. It would be incredible for Shoreline to fill all 80+ precincts with officers!

PCO - Precinct Committee Officer. Each legislative district is divided into neighborhood-sized precincts. The PCO is the information conduit between their neighbors and their political party. (Republican or Democrat).

The time commitment is what you make it. These are publicly elected grassroots officials who connect local voters with either the Democratic or Republican parties. 

PCOs represent their neighbors, boost voter turnout, elect party leadership, and fill vacant legislative seats, acting as the foundation of local political organizing.

Online candidate filing for PCOs is open *now* through Friday, May 8, at 5:00pm.

There is no cost to file, and by going through the registration process, your specific precinct will be identified.

LINK TO FILE

Read more...

Dembowski issues statement on future of Regional Homelessness Authority

King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski

King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski issued the following statement Tuesday after passage of a motion he co-sponsored to boost oversight and evaluate the future of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority:

“The region’s leaders and service providers have increasingly acknowledged that the Regional Homelessness Authority has failed to make any progress and should be shut down.

"Since its formation, the number of people living on our streets has nearly doubled.

"Coupled with its repeated inability to get its financial affairs in order, and the serious risk to King County’s budget, investment pool, and taxpayers, it’s clear to me that we must exercise the County’s right to withdraw from the KCRHA as soon as practicable.

“That withdrawal and transition of services will be handled carefully and in coordination with our partners and stakeholders. Today’s action will facilitate that process.

"Both the taxpayers and those living unsheltered on our streets deserve better. We should waste no more time – and risk no more public dollars – in fixing this.”

 

Read more...

Lake Forest Park Community town Hall May 20th

Ask a question and get an answer at the first ever community sponsored Lake Forest Park Town Hall. 

Wednesday, May 20th

6:30 - Open House, 

7:00 – 8:30 pm Program

Third Place Commons

17171 Bothell Way NE

Lake Forest Park, WA, 98155

LFP is busy. Fish passages, traffic circles, traffic detours, staff changes, Police chief retirement, housing codes changing and who knows what else? Local community organizations along with local volunteers organized the May 20th Town Hall so that residents can learn what their Mayor and City council members are working on for our LFP community. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session for residents to express their desires and questions.

Read more...

Jesse Salomon: How We've Worked to Support our Schools

As a parent of a child in public school, and as a legislator, I am deeply concerned to see our schools without adequate resources. 

In Olympia, it is our duty to support every one of the 1.1 million K-12 students in Washington state and the educators who prepare them for a happy and successful life. 

Despite our budget shortfall, we worked to avoid cuts to education funding that would affect students in the classroom. In fact, we made $1.4 billion available in last year’s budget for special education services and to help districts pay for materials, supplies, and operating costs (or, MSOC). 

This session, we also passed a sales tax exemption on services such as temporary staffing in special education classrooms along with several other bills to help improve outcomes for our schools, students, educators and families. 

Early learning

• SB 5872 allows the state to engage in a public/private match program to expand access to the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) dramatically throughout the state. The Ballmer Group has already committed to providing funding for up to 10,000 new school day slots per year for the next 10 years.
• HB 2317 helps streamline child care licensing requirements in a way that maintains quality and is more equitable for all types of providers.
• HB 2219 helps remove burdens to expanding care by providing additional flexibility to child care providers without compromising child safety.

Supporting student learning

• SB 5346 moves Washington toward phone-free schools by helping districts make informed decisions as they develop policies that meet their schools’ needs. The bill requires the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to make research available to districts on the effects of cellphone use on students and best practice strategies for teaching students how to use cellphones and requires OSPI to report to the Legislature a summary of district cellphone policies in Washington, implementation barriers that districts have faced, and recommendations.
• HB 1295 aims to improve literacy outcomes for students by requiring school districts, starting in 2027, to ensure any new literacy curricula they adopt for kindergarten through fourth grade meet certain minimum criteria and are implemented consistently with the developer’s guidance.
• SB 6278 ensures Washington’s educator preparation programs are meeting the needs of today’s classrooms by requiring the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to incorporate additional criteria, including input from teachers and administrators, into its ongoing review of approved programs.
• SB 6268 increases parents’ access to special education community complaint decisions, giving them more equitable and consistent information as they support their students with disabilities.
• HB 2557 ensures parents of students with disabilities can participate in a more meaningful, collaborative, and informed way in establishing their child’s educational needs.
• HB 2594 ensures unhoused students have full access to educational opportunities by ensuring predictability for students. 

Giving districts financial flexibility

• SB 5922 gives school districts additional budgeting flexibility as they determine the best use of their resources, especially when enrollment declines.
• SB 6065 gives school districts in financial distress an additional tool as they build back to financial solvency. Last session, we passed SB 5412, authorizing interfund loans from districts’ capital projects fund under certain conditions. This year’s bill simply allows school districts to take a similar temporary interfund loan from their transportation vehicle fund under the same conditions.

Improving student health and safety

• SB 5272 increases safety at official extracurricular school events by making it a misdemeanor to interfere with or intimidate officials like referees or other volunteers who are working at them.
• HB 1795 gives educators a better understanding of their options for maintaining healthy, safe learning environments while also protecting students from unsafe, harmful isolation and restraint practices.

We should be proud of the progress we’ve made, but our work is not over. I know that many of our school districts still need help. I am committed to working alongside our communities to direct much-needed state resources towards our district and our state’s public education system. 

Stay in Touch

Due to election-year restrictions, this will be my final e-newsletter, and my website will not be updated until results are certified. However, my office remains open and ready to assist you. 

Please feel free to send me an email at Jesse.Salomon@leg.wa.gov or call 360-786-7662.

Read more...

Salomon, Davis to Host In-Person Town Hall in Shoreline Sunday, May 3rd

 

32nd District legislators Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline) and Rep. Lauren Davis (D-Seattle) will be hosting an in-person town hall at the Shoreline City Hall on Sunday, May 3 from 2-3 P.M. Legislators will be sharing a mid-session update, hosting a Q&A, and discussing the important work completed during the 2026 legislative session.

WHO: Sen. Jesse Salomon and Rep. Lauren Davis

WHAT: 32nd District In-Person Town Hall

WHEN: Sunday, May 3 from 2-3 P.M.

WHERE: Shoreline City Hall in the City Council Chambers. 17500 Midvale Ave North, Shoreline, WA 98133

For event details and to submit a question in advance, click HERE or visit https://bit.ly/32ndTownHall2026.

Learn more about bills sponsored by the 32nd Legislative District’s elected officials this year:

    Sen. Jesse Salomon

    Rep. Lauren Davis

Read more...

Save the Date: Lake Forest Park Community Town Hall Wednesday May 20th

Lake Forest Park Community Town Hall

Wednesday May 20th at 6:30pm

Third Place Commons

17171 Bothell Way NE

Lake Forest Park, WA, 98155

What do our Representatives in Lake Forest Park hope to accomplish for our Town? How do they represent us in our region on committees and board and commissions?

Come to the Third Place Commons for a chance to listen, ask questions, and get answers from our Lake Forest Park council members and Mayor.

Read more...