Free Republic

Washington does not recognize Easter or Yom Kippur as state holidays. The state of Washington, which does not officially recognize Easter or Yom Kippur as state holidays, became the first state in the nation to recognize the two Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as unpaid state-recognized holidays when Democrat Governor Bob Ferguson signed the legislation into law this month. “Senate Bill 5106, sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma), adds both Eid holidays to a list of 20 other state holidays. Rep. Osman Salahuddin (D-Redmond) sponsored the companion bill,” Ferguson’s website stated. “The new law does not establish...

'They can’t wait two years for a hearing. They need ... relief right away.' Illegal aliens with criminal convictions in Washington state may soon get an "expedited review" of their application for a pardon or commutation from the governor, thanks to a bill passed exclusively by Democrats. In the last few weeks, both the Washington state House and Senate have passed H.B. 1131, making it ready to send along to the desk of Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson. While the bill addresses a number of issues related to pardons and clemency, it specifically sends those at risk of deportation to the...

Video surveillance captured the attack on a student at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. Both attackers relived of their college jobs. The instructor Patrick Mahoney is now facing assault charges.

A Washington State University (WSU) instructor and PhD student was arrested for allegedly assaulting an engineering student who was wearing a red “Take America Back” hat from the 2024 Donald Trump campaign, according to a police report obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. The victim, Jay Sani, told Pullman Police that he was walking to a restaurant when the suspect, identified as Patrick Mahoney, grabbed the MAGA hat and threw it onto the street. After attempting to defend himself, the police reports say that Mahoney, along with a second suspect identified as Gerald Hoff, “grabbed Sani and took...

A bombshell report from the America First Policy Institute has exposed a staggering $100 million in foreign dark money laundered through the Sixteen Thirty Fund to bankroll radical ballot initiatives across 25 states. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a notorious hub for progressive causes, has been caught funneling foreign cash into state ballot measures targeting divisive issues like abortion, election law, and drug policy. According to the America First Policy Institute: Non-citizens can influence U.S. elections and domestic policy through donations to ballot initiatives. Instead of the ballot initiative process being decided by state residents who are affected by the result,...

The WIAA was told by the state’s Attorney General Nick Brown and Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, both Democrats, as well as the state’s Office for Civil Rights, that the proposals would violate state law.. The governing body for high school sports in Washington State has announced that it will not ban men from women’s sports following legal threats from Democrat officials. Washington state law currently requires educational agencies to allow students to participate in interscholastic sports "that most closely aligns with their gender identity.” The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) previously announced that it had proposed two bylaw...

A millionaire fitness coach has been identified as the woman who keyed a Tesla during a parking lot confrontation. Kamelia Enzler, 55, is facing charges of Malicious Mischief in the Third Degree after she was filmed vandalizing another driver's Tesla Model Y on March 20 at the Issaquah Commons shopping center, according to police. Viral footage of the incident shared by reporter Jonathan Choe shows the woman, dressed in a grey sweater, angrily exiting her Toyota 4Runner and yelling a few words. She then walked up to the Tesla, keyed it, and calmly got back inside her own car. The...

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released his payroll expense tax (PET) report for 2024 Tuesday, and its projections came up nearly $50 million short. “Today’s announcement that PET revenues collected in 2024 were $47 million lower than projected requires action to ensure our budget remains balanced,” Harrell explained in a statement. Harrell said that his 2025 budget proposal was based on the projections from the independent Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts. But since they got it wrong, the mayor said for the 2026 budget, “my office will consider all options, including additional revenue sources and appropriate expense reductions, to ensure...

A former Hawaii resident, and longtime green card holder, is among those being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HONOLULU (Hawaii News Now) -- Green card holders are officially Lawful Permanent Residents of the United States, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. But being a resident of the United States is very different from being a citizen. Lewelyn Dixon immigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii 50 years ago. She graduated from Farrington High School and has been working as a lab technician at the University of Washington. Dixon was returning home to Seattle from a family trip...

Oh, the irony. And in progressive Seattle, no less! Thanks to the quick-thinking decision of a driver in the Pacific Northwest, the man who covered his face while terrorizing this woman for driving a Tesla should be rather easy to find. And perhaps he can answer why he feels justified in lecturing others abut vehicle choices when he drives a car that makes Gaia cry and Greta Thunberg snarl: ... A mother says she was harassed and cut off by another driver for driving a Tesla, an incident she described as terrifying and unprovoked. The confrontation, which was caught on...

LYNNWOOD, Wash. - A mother says she was harassed and cut off by another driver for driving a Tesla, an incident she described as terrifying and unprovoked. The confrontation, which was caught on video, occurred while she was on her way to a doctor’s appointment in Lynnwood Wednesday morning. Leigh, who has driven a Tesla for the past two years, said she first noticed the aggressive driver honking behind her as she approached a red light. "Thankfully, I was by myself," Leigh said. "When I made a left turn, they followed me and cut around me." According to Leigh, the...

A Washington state mayor scolded an LQBTQ+ activist who was outraged that the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action flag was allowed to fly over City Hall but the Pride flag was not. Newcastle Mayor Robert Clark was berated by activists at a public hearing Tuesday night as citizens of the city — about 12 miles from Seattle — were upset over the council’s decision last year to stop the Pride flag from being flown at City Hall during Pride Month. Toward the end of the three-hour session, an activist stood in front of the council and called Clark “disgusting” and...

Washington lawmakers are revisiting a bill that would extend unemployment insurance to workers on strike. The bill was reintroduced this year by Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, reviving debate among labor advocates and business associations. “Without a social safety net during a strike, workers are faced with tremendous pressures to end the strike quickly or never go on strike in the first place,” Riccelli said in public testimony. “I think this levels the playing field.” ...

The electric buses in question were made by a company called Proterra, which went bankrupt two years ago.. A city in Washington is selling nearly half of its electric bus fleet following reliability issues and difficulty getting replacement parts. The Everett City Council voted earlier this week to sell nine of the electric buses, of which only four are in service right now, because of reliability issues, including critical sensors and components that have been failing since they went into service. The city is now looking to purchase retrofitted diesel buses so there are no gaps in service. According to...

The Lynnwood City Council will consider rescinding its appointment for the vacant Position 5 seat after discovering that its original choice, Jessica Roberts, reportedly operates an OnlyFans account. OnlyFans is a subscription-based platform primarily known for allowing creators to share explicit content — pictures, videos, messages — with their “fans.” Roberts’ account, which has since been shut down, had a profile bio that read: “A bisexual transwoman” followed by graphic details of her body parts. Roberts was appointed by the Lynnwood City Council to fill the Position 5 vacancy left by Julieta Altamirano-Crosby. But people who recognized Roberts were quick...

The state of Washington filed a lawsuit against the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and Adams County on Monday for violating the Keep Washington Working Act, which established the state as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Attorney General Nick Brown argues in the complaint that the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, since at least 2022, has been “consistently engaged in several practices that violate state law.” The lawsuit alleges that deputies have “unlawfully held people in custody based solely on their immigration status” and “have gone out of their way to enable federal immigration agents to interview or question people in custody,...

Kash Patel announced on Thursday night that three individuals have been arrested by the FBI and other agencies “for theft of government property and a bribery scheme.” According to a DOJ press release, “Jian Zhao, and Li Tian, active-duty U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, along with Ruoyu Duan, a former U.S. Army soldier, were arrested today following indictments by federal grand juries in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Washington.” ” Tian and Duan were charged in the District of Oregon for conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property. Zhao was charged...

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration's executive order banning funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming treatments to transgender youth. The order applies to the states of Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Colorado. Newsweek contacted the White House press office for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters Since returning to the White House on January 20, President Donald Trump has signed a slew of executive orders impacting on transgender rights, which his supporters claim muddy the biological difference between males and females and are a...

SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle issued a preliminary injunction late Friday night blocking President Donald Trump's executive order halting federal funding of gender-affirming care for transgender youth. King, a Biden appointee, previously said the executive order “blatantly discriminated against trans youth.” The temporary restraining order issued on February 14 was set to expire at midnight. King filed Friday's ruling hours before the temporary pause was set to lapse. “The Court’s holding here is not about the policy goals that President Trump seeks to advance; rather, it is about reaffirming the structural integrity of the Constitution by ensuring that...

The story of a 1996 altercation in the parking lot of a Council Bluffs casino has seen new light after anonymous tips were made to news outlets in Seattle. Bruce Harrell, who was elected as the mayor of Seattle in 2021, allegedly confronted a person with a weapon and resisted arrest nearly three decades ago while outside the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs. The now-mayor said the incident was an example of racial profiling, and it inspired his position on police accountability. Harrell moved from Seattle to Omaha in the mid-1990s with his wife Joanne, who had accepted a job...