Free Republic

Washington homeowners could face tens of thousands of dollars in costs to convert natural-gas homes to electric after the Washington Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved initiative designed to protect natural gas as an energy option. The Building Industry Association of Washington has estimated that converting an existing natural-gas home to all-electric can cost approximately $40,000, depending on the home and upgrades required. Conversion can involve replacing gas furnaces and water heaters, installing electric appliances, and upgrading electrical panels and wiring. The court’s ruling does not itself require homeowners to convert to electricity. Rather, it eliminates Initiative 2066, which restricted...

‘This is just who she is’: Jake questions whether Mayor Wilson can learn from repeated PR failures “I understand if this was the new mayor, but almost more than a half year, three quarters of a year in, and a team that has already seen multiple replacements,” Spike said. “There’s a professional, respectful way to do that job, and an accountable way to do that job, and they just aren’t doing it.” Jake pushed the argument further, saying the pattern isn’t about bad advisers; it’s about who Wilson is. “She’s a socialist. Until she was mayor, she was to defund...

Elected officials in Washington state are sounding the alarm about an increase in uncounted ballots, especially in rural areas. Their warnings come as President Donald Trump ramps up his fight against vote-by-mail states.Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, both Democrats, teamed up Wednesday to announce that significantly more mail-in ballots were disqualified as “late” in the August primary election than in prior elections. That uptick, they said, was a result of changes to U.S. Postal Service postmarking protocols the agency implemented last December.Across the state, the rate of ballots that were rejected for late postmarks...

William Tolliver, one of three men involved in a 2020 mass shooting in downtown Seattle, has been released. The Washington State Department of Corrections confirmed to KIRO Newsradio that Tolliver was released this week. In January of 2020, Tolliver and two other men got into a gunfight near 3rd Ave. and Pine St. that was sparked by a Facebook post insulting a friend of Tolliver’s. Tanya Jackson, a 50-year-old woman, was killed, and seven others were hurt, including a 9-year-old boy who was shot in the femur while walking with his family after a visit to the Pacific Science Center....

Some things never seem to change. The Mercatus Institute recently released a study about American moving trends, and the overall gist isn’t surprising: those in blue states are still picking up and heading to red ones.States like New York, ranked number one for outbound movers, have long counted their own people as their number one export. Electing socialists like Zohran Mamdani, who are hostile to businesses and taxpayers, probably doesn’t help.According to Mercatus, the number one destination for relocating Americans is the proudly Republican state of Idaho. And as Chris Cargill writes, “Washington was Idaho’s single largest source of newcomers,...

SEATTLE — A 44-year-old citizen of Mexico who federal prosecutors say is illegally in the United States is now in federal custody in Seattle after being charged with returning to the U.S. following removal, a case that authorities say follows years of arrests tied to DUI-related offenses and more recent allegations including rape. Isidro Ocampo-Cayetano appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Wednesday for the federal charge, according to an announcement from First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Prosecutors say Ocampo-Cayetano was arrested and removed from the United States five times between 2007 and 2013, with most of...

SEATTLE - Starbucks has filed a notice with the state announcing details on a layoff of more than 200 corporate employees at its headquarters in SoDo. According to economics experts, the workforce reduction stems from two distinct groups within the company. Who's impacted by the layoffs What we know: Joseph Phillips, Professor of Economics at Seattle University, says the first group includes around 120 information technology workers who chose not to relocate to Starbucks' new corporate office in Nashville. He says the second group is made up of employees who worked on Starbucks' store design.

A hearing on the merits of a recall petition filed against Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is scheduled for Aug. 31 in King County Superior Court as a new poll showed a majority of voters want her to leave office. The 9 a.m hearing before Judge Patrick Oishi was scheduled Wednesday after the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office reviewed the petition by a North Seattle couple, Melinda Jacobson and Dale Osterud, and forwarded it to the Superior Court. The Prosecuting Attorney's Office review is the first step in the review process.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Idaho — What started with a lightning strike ended with the Tartar Fire burning more than 158,000 acres across Washington County. But some ranchers say the wildfire wasn't the only source of their losses. Kirk Chandler, who has lived on his family's ranch his entire life, says ranchers spent days working to protect their property as the Tartar Fire moved through the area. "If you're the third one to call or the second one to call for help, they're not available, and so you just have to take care of yourself," Chandler said. That meant protecting cattle, sheep...

A dispute over who should be allowed inside a women's-only spa where clients are nude has moved from Lynnwood to the U.S. Supreme Court, where a petition was filed today asking the justices to weigh in. At issue is transgender access, specifically transgender women at Olympus Spa, which offers traditional Korean body scrubs, open soaking pools and steam rooms in Lynnwood and Tacoma. The case stems from a battle that began more than six years ago, when a transgender woman said she was denied access to the spa. Olympus Spa had a longstanding policy that transgender women are welcome, but...

The man suspected of setting a fire that destroyed hundreds of Spokane homes and forced 60,000 people to evacuate was contacted by law enforcement last summer for two fires but never arrested, according to court documents. Detectives say Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, was wearing the same green shirt, which says “Who needs luck, I have charm,” at one of last summer’s fires as the wind-driven Old Trails fire started Saturday on the West Plains that rapidly moved east, ravaging neighborhoods in northwest Spokane. Law enforcement contacted Farinacci shortly after the fire started Saturday and released him without charges. They later...

The Brief:A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of intentionally starting the Old Trails Fire in Spokane County. Investigators say the wildfire has burned more than 3,600 acres and destroyed hundreds of structures, though the suspect is not believed to be linked to two other major fires. Authorities have not identified a motive, and all three major Spokane County wildfires remain 0% contained. SPOKANE, Wash. - A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson for allegedly starting the Old Trails Fire, one of three wildfires in Spokane County that have destroyed hundreds of homes. The suspect is...

A 37-year-old Spokane, Washington, resident with a previous manslaughter conviction was arrested Monday in connection with largest of the region’s three wildfires, which have displaced thousands and destroyed hundreds of structures, authorities said. Aaron Farinacci, 37, was taken into custody without incident with the help of a SWAT team after a judge signed a warrant based on an allegation of first-degree arson, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at an evening news conference. Farinacci was being held on $1 million bond, he said. It was unclear if he has been formally charged or has a lawyer, and the public defender’s...

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes was relieved of his duties Wednesday night by Mayor Katie Wilson, five different sources tell FOX 13 Seattle. According to sources, Barnes began texting individuals Wednesday night discussing his dismissal. Barnes had been scheduled to conduct 1-on-1 interviews with Seattle media Wednesday afternoon, but those interviews were abruptly canceled. At 6:30 p.m., he appeared at a silent vigil for victims of the Bite of Seattle shooting. He left abruptly, and sources tell FOX 13 he had a meeting with the mayor after the vigil, which is when he was asked to resign. The backstory: On...

Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton has been fined and suspended from attending the team's next five home games, the WNBA confirmed to Fox News Digital. The suspension and fine come after Keaton allegedly called a pair of teenage Sophie Cunningham fans "f---ing insane" during a game on Tuesday, independent Seattle-based journalist Brandi Kruse told Fox News Digital. Kruse was in the arena and accompanied the girls, who were there to watch Cunningham and the Indiana Fever take on the Storm. Cunningham addressed the incident involving Keaton in an X repost of Fox News Digital's report late Wednesday night.

Seattle's police chief now refers to gangs as 'small groups' in the wake of a mass shooting in the city that killed three. Shon Barnes repeatedly used the term during a press conference Monday, hours after Sunday's massacre at the Bite of Seattle food festival that is believed to have been gang related. He told a press conference that a motive remains under investigation but that it was 'certainly group activity.' Seemingly referring to gangs, the police chief added: 'We have small groups that appear to be at odds with each other.' 'In our city, 0.01% of the population is...

Multiple people were shot at a food festival in Seattle on Sunday night, sending families running for their lives. Rapid gunfire was heard at around 6pm at Seattle Center, which was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival over the weekend, the Seattle Times reports. Early reports suggest at least six people were shot, including possibly a child. The victims were then transported to Harborview Medical Center, according to KING 5.

Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson recently signed on to a renewed attempt to overhaul the visa program for agricultural migrant workers. The proposed legislation includes a change long-sought by Idaho’s dairy industry leaders — it would allow year-round agriculture producers to access workers, instead of just for seasonal labor. “This is an issue that I’ve been working on for probably 20 years with the dairy industry in Idaho and the challenges they face,” Simpson said at a June 30 press conference to announce the legislation. The bill, H.R. 9535, would make several changes to the H-2A visa program, which...

The combination of anti-Semitism and violence on the left deamands attention. It is a toxic brew. Democrat Washington Rep. Adam Smith provides a recent example in connection with his vote against aid to Israel this week. Matthew Shea reports at Jewish Insider (links in original): Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, indicated he voted to cut off military aid to Israel in part because of sustained personal threats against his family and his staff, part of what he described as a violent and relentless campaign of intimidation by far-left anti-Israel activists. Smith voted...

A super-woke Democrat running for Congress in Washington state has admitted she’s too scared to come out in support of LGBTQ+ rights because it might upset Muslims, even though they account for a tiny fraction of her district. Melissa Chaudhry, 34, who is running for a second time in Washington’s 9th congressional district after losing her 2024 bid, made the glaring admission in an interview with a local Seattle-based newspaper. Chaudhry, who took her Muslim Army veteran husband’s last name and wears an Islamic headscarf, or hijab, was asked why she had nothing on her campaign website about LGBTQ+ rights,...